804 



Acrista monticola. (Phoenicaceae . ) 39188. Seeds of a 

 palm from Mayaguez, Porto Rico. Presented by Mr. W. E. 

 Hess, Plant Propagator, Porto Rico Experiment Station. 

 "Palma de Sierra. The mountain palm of Porto Rico covers 

 many mountain slopes especially in the eastern part of the 

 island between 2000 and 3000 feet abpve sea level. It ap- 

 parently thrives in this very humid cool atmosphere and 

 usually forms a clear stand. This palm greatly resembles 

 Areca bauerii grown to a great extent as a decorative palm 

 in greenhouses, and young plants of Acrista are equally 

 attractive. The bud of the mountain palm furnishes a good 

 cabbage, but it is not as sweet as those of the palm. Its 

 black fruits are the size of a cherry and are relished by 

 hogs." (Hess.) 



Aeria attenaata. (Phoenicaceae.) 39189. Seeds of the 

 Hume palm from Mayaguez, Porto Rico. Presented by Mr. 

 W. E. Hess. "The tallest of Porto Rico palms, reaching a 

 height of 60 to 100 feet. Its foliage resembles that of 

 the royal palm, but is shorter; the trunk never exceeds 

 6 to 8 inches in diameter. This palm is found only on 

 limestone hills and usually feeds upon nothing but the 

 humus collected in the cracks of these rocks. The large 

 bunches of orange-red berries which are the size of a 

 small cherry are very attractive and are fed to chickens 

 and hogs. " (Hess. ) 



Balanites maughamii. (Simaroubaceae . ) 39196. Seeds 

 from Swaziland, Africa. Presented by Mr. J. Burtt-Davy, 

 Agricultural Supply Association, Johannesburg, Transvaal. 

 "The seed is considered a valuable oilseed in those parts 

 of the country in which it grows, that is to say, at alti- 

 tudes below 1500 feet in the sub-tropical belt, but with 

 comparatively low rainfall, probably not more than 15 

 inches, this coming during the summer season. The tree is 

 a handsome one though not very large, and should be useful 

 in Florida." (Burt-Davvy . ) "This species of Balanites is 

 a native of Portuguese East Africa and may be found grow- 

 ing in the Lebombo Mountains, the Madanda Forest and by 

 the Umbeluzi and Rovuma Rivers. It is a tree which 

 reaches a height of about 50 feet, with irregular shaped 

 bole up to one and two thirds feet in diameter. According 

 to the report of the Imperial Institute, the fruits of 

 Balanites maughamii seem unlikely to be of economic value 

 for export use owing to the difficulty of removing the ex- 

 ternal sugary pulp and extracting the kernel from the 

 thick fibrous shell in which it is enclosed, but may how- 

 ever, be of considerable importance for local consumption. 

 The oil obtained from these kernels is clear, yellow and 

 liquid, possessing no marked smell or taste and having the 



