JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1915. 95 



40203 to 40205— Continued. 



" The above description applies to two varieties, seed of which 

 was received by the Bureau of Agriculture from the Gold Coast, 

 West Africa, in 1911, and which in some respects differ radically 

 from all other forms examined by the writer. They differ from 

 each other in that one kind belongs to the red type of roselle, while 

 the other form is intermediate between the red and the green. 

 They evidently have no economic value on the Gold Coast, for our 

 correspondent forwarded the seed with the remark that it was an 

 ' interesting plant.' 



" Because of the fibrous and spiny character of the small calyces 

 of the two forms belonging to Altissima they have no culinary value. 

 However, their habit of growth is favorable to the production of 

 long fiber, and according to Mr. M. M. Saleeby, chief of the fiber 

 division of this bureau, the two forms of Altissima are far superior 

 to jute and all other varieties of roselle (including four from India) 

 in habit, growth, and yield. As yet, the fiber of the Altissima has 

 not been carefully studied, but it is apparently suitable for all uses 

 in which jute fiber is now employed. The commercial possibilities 

 of the fiber of the Altissima are now being investigated by Mr. 

 Saleeby ; the results will be published in a future issue of the 

 Review. 



" In India roselle is grown chiefly for its fiber, and in a limited 

 way it is considered as a food plant in the Old World Tropics, the 

 equatorial belt of the Western Hemisphere, and Australia. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. W. E. Safford, Bureau of Plant Industry, United States 

 Department of Agriculture, before the advent of artificial refrigera- 

 tion the wealthy planters in certain parts of Mexico sent Indian 

 runners to the snow-capped mountains in their neighborhood to 

 bring down ice or snow for making roselle sherbet. 



"It may be of interest to readers in foreign countries to know 

 that roselle soda water, roselle sundaes, roselle sherbet, and roselle 

 ice cream are now included among the other standard offerings of 

 a similar character in some of the best restaurants and ice-cream 

 parlors in Manila, and it is confidently believed that if the roselle 

 products were advertised and featured in .the United States it 

 would be a question of only a short time when their real excellence 

 would win for them general recognition ; the culture of roselle 

 would then become an industry of considerable importance among 

 the minor crops of the Tropics and subtropics." (Wester, The 

 Philippine Agricultural Review, vol. 7, p. 268-269, 101'/.) 



40206 and 40207. Malus spp. Malaceae. 



From Albano, Stockholm, Sweden. Presented by Dr. Veit Wittrock, di- 

 rector, Botanic Garden. Received March 16, 1915. 

 40206. Malus zumi (Mats.) Rehder. Crab apple. 



"A small tree of pyramidal habit; young wood slightly downy. Leaves 

 ovate or oblong; li to 3i inches long, three-fourths to 1^ inches wide; 

 tapering or rounded at the base, smooth except when quite young; stalks 

 about 1 inch long. Flowers pink in bud, becoming white after opening, 

 1 to li inches diameter, produced in clusters of four to seven ; calyx 

 lobes woolly, especially inside; flower stalks 1 to li inches long. Fruit 

 one-half inch diameter, globose, red. 



77481°— 18 7 



