238 



germinating power of seeds, and on tlie action of the ultra-violet 

 rays in the production of flowQrs ; and his keen interest in morpho- 

 logy was shown in papers on epiphyllous inflorescences and on 

 peltate and pitcher-shaped leaves. 



He upheld the family traditions in affording botanists free 

 access to the classic Candollean herbarium and library, and the 

 extension of the latter was the subject of his special care. 



After a long and painful illness he died at Vallon, near Geneva, 

 on the 3rd October, 1918. One of his sons, Augustin de Candolle, 

 carries on the botanical tradition of the family in the fourth 



generation. 



The Oil Palm. — In the Bulletin Agricole de Tlnstitut 



15^5 (Mav. 1919), Dr. Aug. 



Chevalier describes a variety of the oil palm under the name of 

 Elaeis guineensis, sub-sp. nigrescens, var. Poissoni, A. Chev., 

 about which a note (based on a specimen sent from near Calabar 

 by Mr. "W. H. Johnson) was published in the Kenr Bulletin, 

 1913, pp. 92-93. It has also been named Elaeis Poissoni by 

 Lieut. Annet in the Congres d' Agriculture Colonial* de Paris, 



24th May, 1918. The leading feature of this variety is the persistent 

 fleshy perianth, which, like the seed, is rich in oil, and surrounds 

 the fruit like a cupule. In Nigeria this variety is know as 

 Ayara Buvana," or " Ayara Mbana," and in French West 

 Africa " Agode." P. Janssens in Bull. Agric. Congo Beige, 

 ix. p. 225 (1918), states that at Mayumbe, on the lower Congo, 

 it is called ** Yuakania *' and "ISTagari ya mabele," and at 

 Ponthierville, also on the Congo, " Basatum." In Togoland and 



at Dahomey it bears the name " Klude " or " Klode." According 

 to Dr. Gruner, 61 seeds of " Klude," planted in 1905, produced 

 51 palms, which bore "Klude ,f fruits, and 10 palms which bore 

 fruits of " Dento," or the ordinary variety. c. H. w. 



(C 



Strychnos Nux vomica in Cochin China.— In K.B., 1917, 



p. 121, a general revision of the genus Strychnos in India and 

 the East was published, and on pp. 184-185, reference was made 

 to S. j\vx- vomica in Indo-China, and some doubt was expressed 

 as to its occurence there in a wild state. Later on some evidence 

 bearing upon this point was received, together with some seeds 

 collected from wild trees in Cochin China, which conclusively 

 proved that the species was indigenous [see K.B., 1917, 

 p. 341]. Quite recently Dr. Auguste Chevalier kindly 

 forwarded to Kew samples of Xux-vomic seed- collected in 

 Benhoa and Barea, Cochin China, and from Bangui, Annam. In 

 Bulletin Agricole de l'lnstitut Scientitique de Saigon, May, 1919, 

 p. 160, Dr. Chevalier notices the earlieT paper in the K.B., but 

 apparently not having seen the subsequent note [1917, p. 341], 

 gives the following particulars of interest. Strychnos Nux- 

 vomica, is one of the most characteristic trees of certain forests 

 of Cambogia, of Cochin China (Baria, Benhoa, Tlradatuaot, 

 Chaudoc, Tayninh), and of the South of Annam. In the last 



