SOME ASIATIC ACTINIDIAS. 9 



[No. 115.] 



Hon. Francis B. Loomis, 



Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. 



Sir: I have the honor to inform you that last fall I obtained a sample of fruit called 

 by the Chinese "yang-taw." On investigation I learned that the original plants were 

 brought by Mr. Wilson, a botanist of Kew Gardens, London, from near the borders of 

 Yunnan in the foothills in the southern part of the province of Szechwan (a climate 

 similar to southern California). He sent some of the plants to England, where they 

 endeavored to introduce them, but found the climate unsuitable, being too cold, 

 except those that were planted in the Kew Gardens. The latter have proved a success. 

 The botanical name given them at Kew Gardens is Actinidia chinensis. The fruit is 

 about the size of a hen's egg,. has a thin, leathery, hairy skin covering it, and is full of 

 meat; seeds very similar to a gooseberry or fig. It is sometimes called the hill goose- 

 berry. In bloom it has a beautiful flower, and in my opinion it belongs to the same 

 family as the passion flower. When the fruits are picked and left for a few days until 

 soft they are very fine eating. They have the flavor of the gooseberry, fig, and citron. 

 They make delicious jam, pies, and sauce. 



I asked Capt. Lovett, the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs' Harbormaster here, if 

 it was possible to procure a few plants, as I would like to send them to the United States 

 Department of Agriculture. We supposed they had come from Ichang and would be 

 like currant shoots. He wrote to the party that sent the fruit (Mr. Goodhart, of Ichang) 

 who said he would try. After giving up all idea of receiving them, a box came two 

 days ago, weighing three or four hundred pounds, with the information that they had 

 been secured at Chungking (1.000 miles up river), from plants formerly obtained on 

 the borders of Yunnan by Mr. Wilson, under whose advice they have been packed in 

 moss and sand, warranted to keep for months. I felt I had a white elephant on my 

 hands; the bill for them has not yet been presented. I have inquired of several 

 southerners and none of them are acquainted with the fruit in the South, and it cer- 

 tainly would be a valuable fruit to introduce there. I think it worth the cost and 

 trouble of sending it. I will forward it to Shanghai and request Consul General 

 Goodnow to have it transferred to a Japanese steamer to Consul Harris, of Nagasaki, 

 and have requested him to put it on a transport for San Francisco, in care of Mr. William 

 A. Cooper, U. S. Despatch Agent, to hold it pending instructions from the State 

 Department as to where he is to ship it. I will also write Mr. Cooper to inform the 

 State Department of its arrival. I have packed in the box two bottles of the fruit that 

 I put up in alcohol last fall in order that the Agricultural Department may get some 

 idea of the two varieties that I received. The long variety seems to be the finer 

 flavored. 



As the plants are carefully packed and strongly boxed, I trust that they may arrive 

 in good condition and that the fruit may be more valuable for family use than the 

 navel orange. At least I trust it will not be the case of a "mountain bringing forth a 

 mouse." 



I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 



L. S. Wilcox, 

 Consul General. 



Hankow. China, March 21, 1904. 



At the Plant Introduction Field Station at Chico, Cal., these plants 

 have flowered (PI. I) and have been propagated. Since 1904 the Office 

 of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction has sent out 1 ,340 young plants 

 of this remarkable climber, and one of these flowered in 1910 

 at Durham, N. C. Unfortunately, however, the speeimens which 

 flowered at Chico turned out to be males, and therefore the plants 

 72780°— Cir. 110—13—2 



