800 



i . f 



places at an elevation of from 10000 to 14000 feet. Though 

 closely allied to the Himalayan S. ligulata and the Siberian 

 S. crassifolia, it is extremely different from, and far more 

 beautiful than either of those species. Nothing indeed 

 can exceed the bright glossy green of the leaves which are 

 elegantly margined with red, or the deep, bright, vinous, 

 red-purple of its scape and inflorescence." (Curtis 's Bo- 

 tanical Magazine, pi. 5066.) 



Sorbus spp. (Malaceae.) 39133-155. Seeds from Dar- 



jeeling, India. Three species, all native of the higher 



Himalayas, and one with small edible fruit. May be of 

 value for stocks for other malaceous fruits. 



Vaccinium glauco- album. ( Vacciniaceae . ) 39141. Seeds 

 from Darjeeling, India. A shrub with large white persis- 

 tent bracts under the pinkish flowers which are borne in 

 dense racemes, found on the slopes of the Himalayas at an 

 elevation of from 7500 to 10000 feet, from Sikkim to 

 Bho t an . 



NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD. 



Prank N. Meyer, Agricultural Explorer, writes from 

 Ping yang fu, Shansi, China, August 1, 1914: "It is about 

 one month ago since I wrote you last and so far as real 

 distance is concerned I have not advanced much, but we 

 went over some very interesting territory and I was lucky 

 to discover the real wild peach, growing in loess ravines 

 some 2-3 days to the East from here, near a village called 

 Tchao yu. The plants are of smaller dimensions than our 

 cultivated strains and the stones are somewhat different 

 as regards shape and grooves, but still on the whole there 

 is little difference between a very poor seedling peach 

 and this wild one. 



These wild peaches are locally cut for firewood, for 

 the fruits are pretty near inedible, being small and hav- 

 ing hard, sourish flesh. They grow at the edges of deep 

 loose ravines and on the steep, sloping bottoms of such 

 ravines, in company with such plants as Pyrus betulaefolia , 

 Hippophae rJuuinnoides , Prunus awneniaca, Prunus bungei , Xan- 

 thoceras sorbifolia, Syringa oblata. Ziziphus sativa, Celtis sincn- 

 sis , Elaeagnus multiflora. All of these plants are very" 

 drought-resistant and do well in semi-arid regions. The 

 Chinese locally do not call this peach "yeh tao or "shan 

 tao" but "mao tao," meaning "hairy peach." In the vi- 

 cinity where they grow, no peaches are cultivated, air 

 though half a day's journey lower down, one meets with 

 some poor looking trees in gardens. 



