28 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



37725— Continued. 



vated in the United Provinces as a hedge or shade plant. They observe also 

 that when the plant is cultivated as a vegetable it is grown on highly manured 

 land near villages, but when raised for cattle fodder is cultivated on light, 

 sandy soils. It is sown at the commencement of the rains and cut in October. 

 The average yield of dry pulse is about 10 maunds to the acre. Guar is 

 specially suitable as a green manure or green fodder crop, owing to the amount 

 of nitrogen it contains and its comparative freedom (when young) from fiber. 

 Church gives the nutrient ratio of the dry beans as 1:1.7, and the nutrient 

 value 79. In certain districts, such as Meerut, where this plant is regu- 

 larly and largely grown as cattle food, the breed of animals met with is re- 

 markably fine — a high testimony to the care taken of them." Watt, Com- 

 mercial Products of India.) 



37726 to 37728. 



From San Jose, Costa Rica. Presented by Mr. Carlos Wercklg, Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture. Received March 31, 1914. 



37726. Mimusops elengi L. Sapotacea?. Munamal. 

 See S. P. I. Nos. 5029 and 30957 for previous introductions. 



"A large, evergreen tree, with fleshy leaves, glossy, oval, with nerva- 

 tion slightly emphasized; calyx of six sepals in two series; corolla 

 rotate, with linear appendages; stamens six; 6-celled superior ovary; 

 berry with a single seed by abortion. The wood is good for cabinet- 

 making, joinery, and turning. The fruit, which is shaped like an olive, 

 is eaten, but its flavor is not very agreeable. The odorous flowers, 

 which possess astringent and tonic properties, serve for the preparation 

 of a perfume ; the red, woody, fibrous bark is astringent and is used as 

 a febrifuge and a tonic; a decoction is used as a gargle for salivation. 

 The fruits and seeds furnish an oil for burning. The root is astringent." 

 {Lanessan, Les Plantes Utiles des Colonics Francoises.) 



37727. Sterculia sp. Sterculiacea?. 



37728. Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) H. B. K. Malpighiacea?. Nance. 

 "A shrub or small tree, flattened and forming in certain parts of the 



torrid and temperate regions, but especially in the torrid regions along 

 the Pacific, characteristic groups called nancitalcs (from its common 

 name nance). The leaves are thick, oval, entire, and smooth. The yellow 

 flowers form short spikes ; the fruits are small yellow berries and give 

 off a peculiar odor, rather unpleasant, which is the reason, according to 

 Gagini, that the Spanish call the tree merdicra. The fruits are used to 

 make a sort of beverage." (Pittier, Les Plantas Usuales de Costa Riea.) 



37729. Ficus sycomorus L. Moraceae. Sycamore fig-. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Presented by Mr. Thomas W. Brown, at the request 

 of Prof. S. C. Mason, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Received April 

 11, 1914. 



" Sycamore fig." 



" This is the sycamore tree of Scripture. It is a very large tree, growing 

 abundantly in Egypt, Syria, and the East; it produces red figs about the size 

 of an egg, but almost insipid ; the Egyptians eat them with great relish ; for 

 drying they are of no value, being then tasteless, unpleasant, and full of seeds. 



