PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION. 435 



Another case of lily l)ull).s (/.. Iiat^isii ?) was received from the same 

 firm and planted at Mayai'uoz in September, with negative results. 



The Roman l^yacinths failed utterly; only a))<)ut 1 per cent of the 

 bulbs flowered. We suspe(^t that both the "seed" and the ])henological 

 conditions were not g'ood. 



Al)()ut 75 per cent of the narcissus bull)s flowered, ))ut did not make 

 a satisfactory growth thereafter and produced only a very small num- 

 ber of weak side bulbs. 



Out of some 500 freesia bulbs plantc^l not more than 1^5 per cent 

 produced plants above 3 inches in heioht, and not one flower was pro- 

 duced. 



The Barbados lily {lUppeastnim eqiiestrt^^ or "Mapola," is a weed 

 in many places in Porto Rico, though it retails at 15 cents in the 

 Northern market. Experiment proved that full-sized bul])s ccmld be 

 grown 4 inches apart in ordinary soil. Thus in a plat 11 feet square 

 1,000 salable bulbs could be grown with very little attention, and 

 even at one-half cent apiece their cultivation should be highly renm- 

 ncrative, provided a market could be depended upon. 



Three varieties of fancy-leaved caladiums were found growing wild 

 in the station grounds at Rio Piedras. This plant is native to tropical 

 America, and appears exceedingly hardy and very proliflc of ofl'sets. 

 Small plants of the size which retails in the North at 10 to 15 cents 

 were easily grown on the experimental grounds at MaA'aguez. Cut- 

 tings of the parent bidb sprout readily, and in a moist, rich soil make 

 a very rapid growth. 



MISCELLANEOUS IMl'ORTED CROPS. 



Seeds of the tree Umv.xto {('i/j>h(>in<iii<lr(i hdavai) were secured in 

 Caracas, Venezuela, and the plants, though very sensitive to climatic 

 influences, are growing slowh'. 



Plants of P((t<sii1ora ediilis^ from seed received from Jamaica Di^part- 

 ment of Agriculture, are doing well. Seed of a species of Passiflt)ra 

 were collected in Caracas; the seedlings are growing slowly. 



Four kinds of tea — Japan, Anam, Amoy. and Dragon's Pool — 

 received through the United States Depaitment of Agriculture, have 

 mad(^ a slow iirowth and manv i)l:ints died in the drv season. 



Nine varieties of Venezuelan beans have been tested. 



CASSAVA. 



A drv, uravellv patch ol' clavev soil underlaid with '"Tosca" lime- 

 stone was chosen for this collection. (PI. XIX, tig. 3.) No fertilizer 

 has been applied, ])ut the plants have responded well to the clean culti- 

 vation given them. 



