482 KKPOKT OF OKFICE t)F EXPKKIMENT STATIONS. 



The following- \:iiicti('N were rci-i'iNcil h\nn Ihc Jiuuuicii Kotaiiic 

 Gardens in .laniuirv. It is probaljlo that there are four to six redupli- 

 CJitions of tlie native varieties under these names: 



MartalKiii. Pisang KiVm-Kcla. Cinerea. 



I'isang Sen-li. Pisang Kiidjo Ihulaiig. (Tiiiiidy. 



Pisang Aliiu'idii. Pisaiig Palemltang. Lady's t'mgrr. 



Pisaiig Kclat. Ki'd. Lady's linger (Pasliopgar). 



Pisang Rajali. China. Discolor. 



Pisang Soosoo. Martabanica. linbra. 



Pisang Ani])on. Champa. .Xplilc 



Pisang 31ass. 



YAUTIA CULiLlX'TlON. 



The coHec'tion of Yautiu {XantJio.soiiKi spp.) which was l)ejifuii in 

 liio Picdras lias been more than doubh^l, and it is Ixdieved to now coii- 

 tfiin i)ractically all the known varieties. (PI. XIX, fig-. 4). This mo-t 

 valuable root crop appears to be contined to Tropical America, though 

 perhaps the oldest cultivated plant in the world. Experiments have 

 been begun in methods of planting. With one " short season '' variety 

 nine kinds of fertilizers have been used; the plant does not readil; 

 respond to chemical fertlizers, but stable manure has given very gooa 

 results. 



The collections consists at present of the following 25 varieties: 



Rollisa, or Islena. Cimarronu. Kolli.sa Ancha. 



Blanoa. Palma. Aloat.va marshdlU. 



Amarilla, or Huevo. Gris, or Amarilla de Maya- Alonimi batavemk. 



Punzera. giiez. 1 Venzuelan variety. 



Prieta, or Morada. Martinica. 2 Trinidad varieties. 



Guayamera lolorada. Islena de l^once. 6 Jamaica varieties. 



Cruayamera ^erde. Orqueta. 



The question of s^'nonymy can not be fully worked out until the 

 roots are harvested, but judging from the leaf and petiole characters, 

 there is not a great amount of duplication among these names. 



Though even the natives of Porto Rico commonly l)elieve that the 

 Yautia never flowers, a photograph of the flower of the "Martinica" 

 variet}' was taken at the coffee substation (PI. XX, flg. 3), and evi- 

 dence was obtained that at least three other kinds have been seen in 

 bloom. 



The average market price (li to 2 cents per pound) of Yaut''- '° 

 about twice that of Taro, or "Malanga."' 



The very rare and interesting plant which is popularly kno^^ 

 "Yautia del Monte," and which had been considered an AmorphopUc. 

 lus, has been found to be Dracontium. asjperum^ an Aroid from South 

 America, not known to be native elsewhere in the West Indies. Tw 

 colonies of the plant occur at the station grounds, and specimens ; 

 feet high have been measured, the flower photographed, and the seed 

 collected. The corm, sometimes 1 foot in diameter, is dug and eaten 



