46 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



38585 and 39586. 



From Jamaica Plain, Mass. Presented by the Arnold Arboretum. Re- 

 ceived December 24, 1914. 



To be grown as stocks. 



39585. Crataegus lauta Sargent. Malacese. Hawthorn. 

 " A spiny arborescent shrub, allied to C. ellwangeriana, with ovoid 



fruit, bright orange-red, three-quarters of an inch long. Much planted in 

 Boston parks, but of unknown origin." (Rehder. In Bailey, Standard 

 Cyclopedia of Horticulture.) 



39586. Kalopanax ricinifolius (S. and Z.) Miquel. Araliacese. 

 (Acanthopanax ricinifolium Seem.) 



See S. P. I. Nos. 20312 and 34783 for previous introductions and de- 

 scription. 



39587 and 39588. Holcus spp. Poacese. 



From Algiers, Algeria. Presented by Dr. L. Trabut. Received December 

 21, 1914. Quoted notes by Dr. Trabut. 



39587. Holcus halepensis X sorghum. 



" Var. annuum. Called Mezera by the natives. 1914." 



39588. Holcus halepensis X sorghum. 



" Described as a variety cultivated in the same region which hybridizes 

 with H. halepensis and gives the Mezera, but under cultivation appar- 

 ently a hybrid between Johnson grass and sorghum." 



39589. Phaseolus mungo L. Fabacese. Urd. 



From Manila, P. I. Presented by Mr. William S. Lyon. Received Decem- 

 ber 19, 1914. 



" Seeds of a native Phaseolus. I lay no claim to its virtues as a seed pro- 

 ducer; indeed I have it growing side by side with a number of other species, 

 and I find it relatively inferior as such, but as a cover crop I have wholly dis- 

 carded all of the scores of leguminous plants I have tested in favor of this. 

 I have made distribution of the seeds to a number of abaca planters and they 

 are most enthusiastic over its utility in young hemp plantations. Like myself, 

 they all have come to discredit cowpeas and all velvet beans, Lyon included, for 

 the reason that in good soils the growth of the cover crop is so exuberant that 

 except at great outlay for labor any plants under 1 meter tall are smothered 

 out of existence. On the other hand, in old plantations which are fairly well 

 shaded the cowpeas and velvet beans make a spindling and inefficient growth 

 to accomplish the main purpose of choking out a number of objectionable weeds 

 and grasses which, notwithstanding the shade, flourish to the detriment of the 

 abaca. I have more than an acre now in my rose garden and for two seasons 

 have grown this bean to the exclusion of all others. It makes a low, dense, 

 spreading mat about a foot thick and not much disposed to climb ; the result is 

 I am able to plant two crops a year among my dwarf rose bushes without 

 choking them, with a marked saving in cultivation and irrigation, as well as 

 a marked improvement in the quantity and quality of the flowers obtained." 

 (Lyon.) 



