32 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



10624 to 10627. 



From Moscow, Russia. Received from Immer & Sons, seedsmen, thru Mr. E. A. 

 Bessey, April 23, 1904. 



S«eds, as follows: 



10624. AVENA SATIVA. O^t. 



Belijak. A race of oat bred from the Srithf oat and especially valuable in 

 regions of linuted rainfall, where it gives large crops when other sorts fail. 



10625. Panicum .miliaceum. Broom-corn millet. 



Orenburger. A low sort, especially bred for large yield in dry regions by the 

 owner of a large estate. Not on the market. Obtained by Immer & Sons from 

 the breeder as a personal fav(jr to them. 



10626. Trifolium pratense. Red clover. 



Red-clover seed from an estate at Kostroma, 150 miles north of Moscow, a 

 region of very cold winters, almost at the edge of clover-seed production. 



10627. Tripoli LM pratense. Red. clover. 



Red-clover seed from an estate in the northern part of Simbirsk government, 

 a region of cold winters with little snow. 



10628. Beta vulgaris. Beet. 



From Catania, Sicily. Received thru Mr. Alwin Berger, La Mortola, Venti- 

 miglia, Italy. Received April 21, 1904. 



"Sample of beet seed from the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Catania 

 for the breeding experiments of Dr. C. O. Townsend and Mr. E. C. Rittue, of this 

 Department. ' ' {FaircliUd. ) 



10629 and 10630. Beta maritima. 



From Sicilv. Received thru Dr. Carl Sprenger, Vomero, near Naples, Italy, 

 April 25,' 1904. 



"Sample of seed from two different localities in Sicily for the breeding experiments 

 of Doctor Townsend and j\lr. Rittue, of this Department. No. 10629 was marked 

 'I' and No. 10630 was marked 'II.' No further information." [FairchiUl.) 



10631. Caesalpinia brevifolia. Algarobillo. 



From New York. Received thru A. Klipstein & Co., 122 Pearl street. New 

 York, N. Y., March 23, 1904. 



Pods of the tannin shrub "algarobillo." This is a small tree found growing wild 

 on the foothills of the Andes in Chile. It is said to occur in the driest portions of 

 the arid coast and to produce large quantities of pods very rich in tannin. Accord- 

 ing to Dr. Louis E. Levi, of the Pfister & Vogel Leather" Company, of INIilwaukee, 

 Wis., "it is an excellent tanning material, but gives a very light yellow color to the 

 leather, whit'h is partially ol>jectionable, yet I'think in mixtures with quebracho, 

 or the like, it would answer the purpose of the tanner. The same contains about 50 

 per cent of tannin. The tannin material has as yet not been used very much in the 

 United States on account of its objectional)le color and easily fermentable properties 

 when in solution. I think this is not very objectionable, as an experienced tanner 

 would be able to get around this fault." 



Mr. C. A. Spencer, importer and dealer in tanning materials, 183 Essex street, 

 Boston, Mass., says: "Regarding the value of this material as a tanning agent, we 

 mav say its use for the purpose is very limited. While it is very strong in tannin it 

 does not have the filling properties tliat make it a desirable material for the manu- 

 fai^ture of leather, altho there is a limited quantity used in Great Britain and Europe, 

 but from tlie l)est information we have been able to obtain, there are only about 

 1,000 tons yearly of this article available. As compareii with other tanning mate- 

 rials grown in the United States, and with (juebracho extract, ganil)ier, etc., the price 

 is somewhat higher, which no doulit accounts, to a certain extent, for its limited 

 consumption. We formerly imported this article regularly, but the deniand for it 

 has grown much less during the past two years, ami there are now practically but 



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