591 



This year being an excellent fruiting year, I have been 

 studying mangos a good deal, and I am astonished to find such 

 a large number of excellent varieties that are undoubtedly 

 seedlings even amongst our garden kinds. 



With regard to your Inquiry about the number of stamens 

 in a flower. I have not made a particular study of this 

 point, but so far as my memory goes only one fertile stamen 

 was observed to one flower. Climatic conditions at the time 

 of flowering very largely influence pollinating. Some years a 

 crop is completely destroyed by rain or cloudy weather at the 

 time of flowering. This year I experimented with bagging the 

 flowers in order to prevent cross fertilization; although some 

 fruits set, yet they dropped off very soon. A light, dry, and 

 airy time is needed at time of flowering to ensure successful 

 pollinating, and no irrigation should be done at that time. 



Of the two varieties you mention I only know one, Mulgoa, 

 this fruit is all right. I have never heard of a case where 

 staminate flowers only are produced, although the inflorescen- 

 ce is of course polygamous. 



There is one other point that I should like to bring to 

 your notice, and that is our so called country Plums. . These 

 are supposed to be varieties of Prunus domestica, var. insiti- 

 tia. (Syn. P. Bokhariensis ) . These are supposed to have orig- 

 inally come from Bokhara. They are a distinct class of fruit, 

 many are excellent, but I can find no record of them being 

 grown in any other country than India. You may probably have 

 come across them elsewhere in your extensive travels, and must 

 have noticed them when you were in India. I hope to make a 

 detailed study of them next year." 



(Issued September 21, 1912.) 



