PLANT INTRODUCTION NOTES. 17 



tli '\ interweave their tough, thorny branches, making an impenetrable 

 harrier for stock of all kinds. When in flower the white, jasmine- 

 like blossoms show off strikingly against tin* dark background of foli- 

 age; and the red fruit which follows is quite as pretty. It is an 

 interesting sight to see the children hunting up and down the hedges 

 about the city houses for the ripe amatungulas, with which they till 

 their aprons. 



A nearly related species of Carissa (<'. arduina DC.) is one of the 

 prettiest shrubs in the municipal gardens in Cape Town. Its sym- 

 metrical form and dark-green leaves and branches make it well worth 

 a place on the lawn of any subtropical park, while its pendant red 

 fruits, which look like large barberries, make a showy contrast to the 

 dark background. These fruits, like the amatungulas, are filled with 

 a milky-juiced flesh, and are not unpleasant to the taste, although they 

 have no sprightliness of flavor. 



Whether or not the genus has in it sufficient material from which, 

 by breeding, a new superlative fruit plant can be produced, which at 

 the same time will make good hedges, is a question for experiment. 



RHODES GRASS. 



At Groot Schur, Mr. Cecil Rhodes's estate, near Cape Town, there 

 are several large grass fields of a species of chloris {('. vi/rgata Sw.) 

 grown from seed which Mr. Rhodes had collected in the eastern prov- 

 inces of Cape Colony some years ago. Although, according to Pro- 

 fessor MacOwan, the plant occurs commonly in the subtropical zone 

 in other continents, from the fact that it was first brought into culture 

 in South Africa by so noted a man as Mr. Rhodes it has been' given 

 the name of Rhodes grass. 



Like other species of the same genus, this one sends out long, creep- 

 ing stems, which lie flat on the ground, and from these the finger-like 

 inflorescences arise. These stems lying on the ground are tough and 

 hard and are likely to be of little food value, but the mass of leaves 

 which is produced above them on good soil attains, it is said, a foot or 

 more in height and has excellent feeding properties. 



It does not seem likely that this species will prove more resistant to 

 drought than many other grasses, for on the slopes of Table Mountain 

 a patch was pointed out which was evidently not a success, and the only 

 explanation for the failure was that the ground there was too dry. 

 However, the planters to whom the steward of the estate has distrib- 

 uted seed have found the grass a valuable fodder plant, and there is 

 such a local demand for the seed that a single sack was all that could 

 be secured for trial in America. This quantity was given after appli- 

 cation to the Chartered South African Company and to the steward of 

 Groot Schur. 



27609— No. 25—03 2 



