16 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



44469. Amaranthus paxictjlatus L. Amaranthacese. Alegria. 



From San Juan Bautista, Tabasco, Mexico. Purchased from Mr. Gabriel 

 Itie. director, Agricultural Experiment Station. Received April 3, 1917. 

 Alegria is produced in Tlajomulco. Zacoalco, and San Pedro Tlaquepaque, 

 districts belonging to the State of Jalisco. This annuul is sown m nurseries; 

 in the month of December it is harvested and is used in the making of sweets. 

 I was told the seeds in question are found with difficulty in the pueblos near 

 Guadalajara, for the inhabitants do not put them to any practical application ; 

 and, if they are sometimes used, it is when they are m'xed with dulce for 

 children. They are surely very insipid. [These J^eeds are sold in Mexico City, 

 and] they are also seen in the State of Michoacan, where they are used for the 

 same purpose." (Iti6.) 



44470. Ficus pseudopalma Blanco. Moracece. 



From the Philippine Islands. Presented by Dr. E. D. Merrill, acting 

 director, Bureau of Science, Manila. Received April 5, 1917. 



" A single fruit of Fictis pseudopalma, which apparently has fertile seeds. 

 This fruit was recently sent to me from Corregidor. The species is a most 

 striking ornamental and will probably thrive out of doors in southern Florida 

 and in southern California ; it is well worthy of cultivation in greenhouses. 

 The stems are erect, unbranched, and usually about 3 cm. in diameter. The 

 stem is tipped by a dense crown of very characteristic leaves which are some- 

 times nearly a meter in length. The fruits are borne in the leaf axils. On 

 account of its palmlike aspect Blanco selected the name pseudopalma ; the com- 

 mon Tagalog name is niogniOfKin, which literally means 'little coconut.'"' 

 (MerriU.) 



44471 to 44473. 



From Granada. Spain. Plants purchased from the Pedro Giraud Nurs- 

 eries, through Mr. Percival Gassett, American consul, ^lalaga. Received 

 April 7, 1917. 



44471 and 44472. Ficus carica L. Moracese. Fig. 



44471. "Alhanes, the name by which the Paharero fig is here known." 

 (Gassett.) 



44472. " Isabeles, the most delicious fig. much sought after." (Gas- 

 sett.) 



44473. Pyrus communis L. IMalaceae. Pear. 



Peraleta. A dwarf variety of the common pear. 



44474. CiTRULLUs vulgaris Schrad. Cucurbitacese. Watermelon. 



From Lusambo, Belgian Kongo, Africa. Presented by Mr. E. B. Stilz. Re- 

 ceived April 10, 1917. 

 " Seed of a native watermelon. It grows here like a weed ; the vine is almost 

 exactly like that of the cultivated watermelon, only not quite so fuzzy. The 

 fruit also resembles a watermelon, being green and about the size of a man's 

 head when ripe. The rind is very tough and the meat is white and stringy and 

 about as fit to eat as that of a gourd. It has the watermelon smell, however. 

 I do not know whether it is the ancestor or a degenerate descendant of our 

 watermelon." (Stilz.) • ' 



