972 



Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft. (Aplaceae.) 42137. Apio 

 tubers received from Kingston, Jamaica. Presented by Mr. 

 William Harris, Superintendent Hope Gardens. "This uncom- 

 mon vegetable is a native of the Andes in South America 

 where it is cultivated between 5,000 and 7,000 feet alti- 

 tude. It is a low parsnip-like plant, producing large 

 edible starchy, carrot-shaped roots, the flavor of which 

 has been compared to a combination of parsnip and potato. 

 The plant will thrive in any good soil, and is adapted only 

 to the higher elevations, say from 4,500 to 6,000 feet. It 

 is commonly cultivated as a vegetable at Bogota in Colombia 

 up to 8,000 feet elevation." (H. F. Macmillan, Handbook 

 of Tropical Gardening, 2nd Edition, p. 234, 1914.) Re- 

 quires 12 to 16 months without frost for development of its 

 fleshy roots. See Plant Immigrants No. 75 for Plate and 

 description p. 548. 



Sambos guadua Humb. & Bonpl. (Poaceae.) 42066. Seeds 

 from Puerto Bertoni, Paraguay. Presented by Dr. Moises S. 

 Bertoni. "In connection with Guaduas I must notice the 

 guadua itself, the most indispensable plant of all New 

 Granada after the plantain, the cane and maize. It might 

 be called the lumber-tree, for it supplies all our fencing 

 except walls of brick, rammed earth, and rarely of stone, 

 and also the wood-work of most houses and whatever is made 

 of boards at the North. It is an enormous grass, like the 

 bamboo of the Eastern tropics, growing, however, to a less 

 height, only 30 or 40 feet. The slender foliage is of in- 

 conceivable beauty, comparing with that of other trees as 

 ostrich feathers do with goose-quills. The stem is about 

 6 inches in diameter with joints about 20 inches apart. 

 The thickness of the wood is nearly an inch. When poles or 

 slats are wanted, the stem is split into four, six or eight 

 parts. For boards for the top of a coarse table, bench, or 

 bedstead, it is opened and flattened out, splitting almost 

 at every inch of width, but not coming entirely apart. For 

 a dish, candle-case, grease-pot, or extemporaneous vessel 

 for carrying drink to a company of hunters or laborers, it 

 is cut off just below the partitions. Such a receptacle is 

 called a tarro. Tarros of double capacity are made for 

 bringing the domestic supply of water for a family, by 

 taking a piece two joints long, with a septum at each end 

 and one in the middle. A hole is made in the upper and 

 middle septa, and if they be used for carrying molasses, a 

 bung can be put in, or an orange used for a stopper. Bot- 

 tles of a single joint are used for holding castor oil, 

 ect. In short, the uses of the guadua are innumerable. 

 The guadua starts from the ground with the full diameter, 

 or nearly so, but the Joints are at first very short. Some 



