16 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



25804 to 25807— Continued. 



25806. "(South Dakota No. 167.) Of unknown origin. Purchased from a 

 seed dealer at Hartford, S. Dak., in 1894, and grown near Baltic, S. Dak., 

 from 1894 to 1904. Baltic seed grown at Highmore, S. Dak., from 1904 to 1906. 

 Highmore seed grown at Mitchell, S. Dak., from 1907 to the present time. 

 Seed of the 1906 crop is under experiment under S. P. I. No. 19969 and 

 P. L. H. No. 3251. The 1907 seed is under experiment under S. P. I. No. 

 22946 and P. L. H. No. 3332. The present sample and S. P. I. No. 25537 are 

 of the 1908 crop. (The so-called Baltic, alfalfa.)" (Brand.) 



25807. "(South Dakota No. 240.) Acclimatized Turkestan alfalfa, crop of 

 1908. This sample was grown from the same parent seed as No. 25805, South 

 Dakota No. 164. This strain of Turkestan presents one of the most striking 

 examples of acclimatization yet encountered. Seed of the original importa- 

 tion, S. P. I. No. 991, was grown at Highmore, S. Dak., from 1899 until 1906. 

 Highmore seed was taken to Mitchell, S. Dak., in 1901, where it has since 

 been grown. The present sample and S. P. I. No. 25607 are of the 1908 seed 

 crop, grown at Mitchell. The 1906 seed crop, grown at Highmore, is under 

 experiment under P. L. H. No. 3252." {Brand.) 



25816. Tacca pinnatifida Forst. 



From Quilimane, Zambesia, Portuguese East Africa. Presented by Mr. O. W. 



Barrett, Director of Agriculture, Lourenco Marquez, Mozambique, Portuguese 



East Africa. Received July 31, 1909. 



" Semicultivated plant having 3 to 5 Amorphophallus-like leaves from a cluster of 



smooth, thin-skinned, roundish corms and a corymbose cluster of greenish flowers on 



the summit of a naked, yellowish, erect stipe (some 3 to 4 feet high, about twice height 



of leaves). Corms edible. The natives use it in a variety of ways— like potatoes and 



dry it in the form of a coarse flour. Habitat, gardens (and vicinity) of natives in 



Zambesia district. Native name, Tl ide." (Barrett.) 



Distribution.— -Widely distributed in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific 

 islands. 



25817. Barosma crenxilata (L.) Hook. Buchu. 

 From Cape Town, South Africa. Presented by Mr. Charles P. Lounsbury, govern- 

 ment entomologist, Department of Agriculture. Received August 2, 1909. 



"Buchu succeeds best if sown in time and treated in the same way as nursery trans- 

 plants. It naturally grows in amongst large rocks, so that the roots go into the ground 

 at the side of the rocks or large stones; this keeps the roots cool, and the ground holds 

 moisture longer. Buchu stands here at 1,500 to 4,000 feet elevation." (Lounsbury.) 



"This is a shrub about 3 feet high bearing short-petioled, opposite leaves, which 

 vary in form from narrowly oval to lanceolate, with crenate margins and with the 

 surface marked by pellucid oil glands. The leaves form a drug, official in many 

 lands, in America under the name of buchu leaves, valued for their diaphoretic, diuretic, 

 and tonic properties. They contain from 1 to 2 per cent of a volatile oil. The plant 

 occurs uncultivated in the vicinity of Cape Town, South Africa." (R. II. True.) 



25822 to 25831. Gourd. 



From Nice, France. Presented by Hon. Dulany Hunter, consul-general. Re- 

 ceived August 3, 1909. 

 Seeds of the following: 



25822 to 25824. Lagenaria vulgaris Ser. 



25822. Ornamental, spiral shaped, climbing. 



25823. Ornamental, bottle shaped, climbing. 



25824. Bottle shaped. 

 176 



