8 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



si)ecies (see Nos. 4:5989 to 43995 and 440TT to 44084) are (iiiite hardy 

 with us, and these deserve the same place in our gardening that the 

 more tender species occupy in England. 



Tt is not often that a plant is introduced from a region so little 

 !:ii()\vn as the Falkland Islands, and the climate of these islands of 

 the southern hemisphere may be difficult to approximate in America, 

 but the tussock gniss {Poa fahelhita^ No. 44000). which grows in 

 peaty soils near the sea. yields a good forage, and has edible nutty 

 flavored shoots, should be tested carefully. 



The tree-tomato {('i/phoniaudrd hetacea. No. 44064) appears to 

 have })ecome a cultivated fruit plant in British East Africa, and 

 a ])urple-fruited strain of it found there indicates that something 

 ifiay ))e done in the selection of this promising species of Solanaceae. 



The species of Rollinia (No. 44094), as yet undescribed, collected 

 !)y Mr. ]\I. T. DaAve, in the lowlands of northern Colombia, is said to 

 bear orange-colored edible fruits. This adds another annonacef)US 

 fruit to the collection being assembled for purposes of hybridization 

 and selection at- Miami, Fla. 



The pacaya palm {('hamardorca sp.. No. 44059), cultivated in 

 nearly every garden in Coban, Guatemala, and producing edible in- 

 florescences like eare of corn, deserves to be studied, and if it can 

 be grown in southern Florida or California it should be planted in 

 sufficient quantities to test it thoroughly as a salad-producing plant. 



A native grape {Vitis tiUaefolia., No. 44060), sold in the city mar- 

 kets of Guatemala, is used extensively for jelly making. It grows 

 luxuriantly in southern Florida and may prove a stock for North 

 American or European grapes. 



The soft lumbang tree (.Uerwifes trisperma^ No. 44061), produc- 

 ing an oil similar to that of the Chinese tung-oil tree, deserves study 

 on a plantation scale to determine whether it can be grown economi- 

 cally in our tropical territory and can be depended upon to increase 

 the supply of this valuable drying oil, which has trebled in price 

 since the war. 



A lemarkable collection of pear species and varieties (Nos. 44274 

 to 44280) made by Mr. Meyer in Chihli Province, China, and includ- 

 ing a cultivated variety of Pyms ussuriensis with edible fruits and 

 another pear, possibly a new species, is used for stock by the Chinese 

 horticulturists. 



Mwngifera caesia (No. 44290), a .species related to the mango, may 

 be worth}- of trial as a stock, or possibly crosses of it niight be 

 useful. 



Four varieties of seedling avocados {Persea americana^ Nos. 44439, 

 44440, 44444, and 44445) from Guatemala, collected by Wilson 

 Popenoe, include one producing fruits of very unusual size (45 



