JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1915. 97 



40212 to 40219— Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. A. C. Jewett.) 



40214. Elaeagnus angustifolia L. Ekeagnaceae. Oleaster. 

 "Sinjid from Kabul." 



40215. Morus alba L. Moraeeae. Mulberry. 

 " The dried mulberries form the principal food of the poor people of 



the mountain districts of Kohistan. In the valleys of Kohistan and 

 around Kabul there are extensive orchards of this mulberry, all irri- 

 gated, anil the yield seems to be heavy. There is a howl if you cut 

 down a mulberry tree. When the mulberries are ripe, they sweep 

 under the trees and let the fruit fall down and dry them, just as they 

 do the plums in California. For eight months the people live entirely 

 on these mulberries. They grind them and make a flour and mix it 

 with ground almonds. My men come month after month with their 

 shirts tilled with them. They can carry in their shirts enough of these 

 dried mulberries for five days' rations. These men are commandeered 

 and they bring their food with them. They get no other food whatever; 

 mulberries and water is the whole diet. They sit down on the rocks, 

 and they lunch and dine on nothing but these dried mulberries." 



40216. Pinus gerardiana Wallich. Pinaceae. Pine. 



" Pine nuts." 



"A moderate-sized evergreen of the inner, dry, and arid northwest 

 Himalayas, generally between 6,000 and 10,000 feet ; mountains of 

 northern Afghanistan and Kafiristan ; also Hariab district at 7,000 to 

 11,000 feet." (Gamble.) 



" The chief product of this species is the almondlike seed, contained 

 in the cones. The cones ripen in October, are plucked before they open, 

 and heated to make the scales expand. The seeds are then removed and 

 are largely eaten by the natives and stored for winter use. In Kunawar 

 they are said to form a staple food with the inhabitants. They are also 

 exported to the plains from the hills of the Punjab, and large quantities 

 are imported annually into India from Afghanistan. The wood is hard, 

 durable, and very resinous, but rarely utilized, since the tree is so 

 highly valued for its seeds." (Watt, Commercial Products of India.) 



40217 and 40218. Pistacia vera L. Anacardiacese. Pistache. 



" Laughing pistachio from Herat." 



40219. I'runus armeniaca L. Amygdalaeere. Apricot. 

 " Sun-dried apricots from Kandahar." 



40220 and 40221. Cydonia veitchii Trabut. Malacea?. 



Pyronia. 

 From Algiers, Algeria. Presented by Dr. L. Trabut, Government botanist 

 for Algeria. Received March 19, 1915. 

 " Different plants from those sent you in 1914, although coming from the 

 same sowing. This is nearer to Pyrus than to Cydonia." (Trabut.) 



40220. Pyronia 538-A. 40221. Pyronia 538-B. 



See Journal of Heredity, vol. 7, p. 410-419, September, 1916, for a discussion 

 of these interesting hybrids. 



