MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 137 
avocado, clove, vanilla, black pepper, nutmeg, and several 
species of coffee. 
‘The ornamental garden is not neglected. Besides a rose 
garden surrounded by arbors supporting the climbing varie- 
ties there is also a large water-lily tank where the tropical 
varieties of both night and day-bloomers are grown, as well 
as the giant water-platter, Victoria regia. It was at Castleton 
that I had the pleasure of seeing for the first time two of the 
rarest cultivated plants in flower and fruit. One was a large 
tree of the mangosteen, Garcinia Mangostana, but unfortu- 
nately the fruit was not ripe enough to eat. The other was 
Amherstia nobilis, a native of Burma, the graceful pink 
pendant scapes being beyond description. Other interesting 
fruiting trees were hurriedly viewed, including the cannon- 
ball tree and the sapucaia nut, the latter somewhat resembling 
a cocoanut, but without its outer fibrous covering. 
‘“The gardens are a favorite resort for picnic parties, so 
we stopped at one of the benches near the ‘Wag Water’ to 
eat our lunch. As I had not sampled the native drink, cocoa- 
nut water, one of my friends instructed the native boy work- 
ing near by to ‘shinny up’ a palm and bring down a cocoanut. 
With the agility of a squirrel he very soon reached the top 
of one of the overhanging trees and with the aid of bare 
hands and feet, mostly feet, he held on to the leaves and 
pushed free the immature nuts which dropped to the ground. 
By cutting off the top we were able to obtain the cool, milky 
water. 
‘*T finally sailed from Kingston on schedule time, Saturday, 
July 14, bringing with me a large crate containing ten tree 
ferns, weighing 900 pounds, and a smaller box of various 
economic plants, all of which arrived in St. Louis in excellent 
condition.’’ 
TAGUA OR VEGETABLE IVORY 
The tagua palm (Phytelephas macrocarpa), better known 
as the ivory-nut palm, is native to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador 
and Brazil. The plant is usually found growing in groves, 
preferring wet, heavy clay areas. Many groves were seen 
growing naturally in the interior of Colombia, particularly 
in the Department of Santander, and many clumps were ob- 
served in the region north of the western coastal port of 
Buenaventura. Compared with most palms, the tagua is of 
