22 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



37698 to 37705— Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. P. J. Wester.) 



"Size large, 22 to 30 cm. long, averaging 26 cm. in circumference; 

 average weight, 850 grams ; form oblong, cross section more or less trian- 

 gulate; color brown, the surface cracking as the cucumber attains ma- 

 turity, exposing the flesh and giving it the appearance of being reticu- 

 lated ; surface fairly smooth ; flesh perhaps somewhat less tender than 

 the standard cucumbers of the Temperate Zone, nevertheless very good ; 

 seed abundant. 



" The seed of this variety was presented to the Bureau of Agriculture 

 by Mr. A. C. Hartless, superintendent of the Seharunpur Botanical 

 Garden, United Provinces, India, in 1911, and was sown at the end of 

 the rainy season the same year at the Lamao Experiment Station. From 

 the seed saved, another sowing was made in January, 1913, together 

 with a large number of imported varieties of cucurbits of all classes. 

 In this trial the India showed itself hardier and superior to all the 

 cucurbits planted in the resistance to insect pests, which practically de- 

 stroyed the rest, notwithstanding frequent applications of arsenical 

 sprays. The variety is of vigorous growth and a satisfactory yielder 

 and is unquestionably one of the best varieties adapted to local condi- 

 tions, everything taken into consideration, that has been introduced into 

 the Philippines. A large area has lately been planted to India at the 

 Lamao Experiment Station, with a view to producing seeds for general 

 distribution throughout the Philippines another year. India is the 

 original home of the cucumber, and the variety under consideration 

 seems to be an improvement upon the aboriginal form that is especially 

 adapted to tropical conditions. According to Mr. Hartless this cucumber 

 is grown throughout India as a climber, during the rainy season. Not- 

 withstanding its extensive cultivation in India it is a curious fact that 

 this distinct cucumber variety has never received a variety name. Coin- 

 cident to its wide dissemination throughout the Philippines it has there- 

 fore been considered expedient to christen the variety in order to dis- 

 tinguish it from other varieties, and it has been named India, in honor 

 of the ancestral home of the cucumber." (Wester, Philippine Agricul- 

 tural Review, February, 191%.) 

 37701 and 37702. Dioscobea spp. Dioscoreaceae. Yam. 



37701. Dioscobea pentaphylla L. 



"Lima-Lima. An edible yam, though inferior in quality to Dios- 

 corea alata and D. fasciculata. It should prove a very interesting 

 climbing ornamental in the Tropics and In the subtropical regions 

 of the United States." 



37702. Dioscorea aculeata L. 



" Tugue. This species occurs in many varieties, from a culinary 

 point of view. These are some of the very best, mealy, with a trace 

 of sugar. From my experience with yams in Miami, Fla., I do not 

 believe that the Tugue will succeed there, but it should do very well 

 in Porto Rico and Panam;i." 



37703. Sindoba- supa Merrill. Ca>salpiniacea?. 



"A tree reaching a height of 25 m. and a diameter of 140 cm. with 

 equally pinnate leaves, coriaceous glabrous leaflets, aud densely pubescent 

 calyx Lobes which have a few straight or curved spines on the upper 

 half. Branch and branchlets glabrous. Leaves with a glabrous rachls. 

 6 to 7 cm. long; stipules foliaceous, 1 cm. long, acute, the base rounded 



