950 



Tamarix dioica Roxburgh. (Tamaricaceae . ) 41624. Seeds 

 of a tamarisk from Saharanpur, India. Presented by Mr. A. 

 C. Hartless, Superintendent, Government Botanic Gardens. 

 "A small tree. Branches with drooping extremities; ulti- 

 mate branchlets elongate, patent-f astigiate . India and 

 Burma." (Hooker, Flora of British India, Vol. 1, p. 



Tfieobroma cacao L. (Sterculiaceae ) 41666-41670. Seeds 

 of cacaos from Brazil. Presented by Col. Manoel Couros 

 through Mr. H. M. Curran. Nos. 41666-41667. "Var. Para. 

 These seeds are from the largest and most perfect fruits 

 found in a young vigorous plantation on new soil, mount- 

 ains of Rio Contas. They represent the best type of cacao 

 grown in this region. Rio Contas basin is one of the big 

 cacao regions and produces fine quality cacao beans." No. 

 41668. "Egg shell variety. A small form of fruit with 

 thinner shell and few seeds. Occurs in all plantations 

 but not selected for planting as the yield is less. From 

 a young vigorous plantation on new soil, mountains of Rio 

 Contas." Nos. 41669-41670. "Var. Para. Cacao called Mar- 

 anhao. Probably the same as S.P.I. Nos. 41666 & 41667, 

 though preferred by certain planters. Large perfect fruits 

 selected by Col. Manoel Couros from trees on his plantation 

 were the source of these seeds." (Curran.) 



Wasabia pungens Matsumura. (Brassicaceae . ) 41567. 

 Roots from New York City. Presented by Mr. H. Terao. "Be- 

 fore cooking the graded wasabi is usually beaten on a 

 dresser with the back of a knife so that the root-cells 

 may be mostly broken up, as you have perhaps learned in 

 Japan. It is said that there is no wasabi for sale in New 

 York City yet. Two Japanese restaurants here get 50 roots 

 a year from San Francisco, where the wasabi comes from 

 Japan. " (Terao. ) 



NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD. 



Mr. F. J. Wiens China M. B. Mission, writes from 

 Shonghong via Swatow, March 7, 1916: 



"I recall my promise from last summer to send to you 

 some of the native water chestnuts which seem to be quite 

 an article of export here. 



"I now take pleasure in sending under separate cover 

 some samples and trust that it will not be so cold any more 

 in the states through which they have to go that they will 

 freeze. The natives plant them here in June, (but it will 

 have to be earlier where it is not so warm. This is more 

 a fruit for warm climate) and then they are not put right 

 into the ground but they take sand and plant them in wet 

 sand so that the point sticks out of the sand and then they 



