1287 







"Concerning curd made from acorns, I have not come 

 across it yet; it seems to be rather a country product. 



"Concerning obtaining quantities of Davidia involu- 

 erata, it seems that the tree is especially abundant 

 south of Patung, but with all the fighting going on 

 there no one knows what time a collector could travel 

 In that district. 



"Concerning similarity of fruits of Pyrus ealkryana 

 and P. betulaefolia, well, that has been some problem. I 

 found out that the first, when fully ripe, turns into 

 a brown color and the last becomes black. However, 

 when natives bring in several thousands of pounds of 

 fruits and not all entirely ripe then you may realize 

 what a job we had in trying to separate the two kinds. 



"Growing Chinese yams for flour production in 

 America; well, the digging of yams is a very laborious 

 process and right here they are really in the nature 

 of a luxury. This whole hunting for new food products 

 is really a trying situation. So much experimenting 

 is needed to establish a new crop that often a per- 

 son's whole life might have to be devoted to it. 



"I think that soy bean flour might come to the 

 front and all sorts of beans should be tried, espec- 

 ially in the Southern States. 



"Your very sympathetic remarks are surely appre- 

 ciated by me. Times certainly are sad and mad and 

 from a scientific point of view so utterly unneces- 

 sary. 



"Well, later on I'll answer more correspondence 

 from you and from others in our Office. 



"With kindest regards to you all, I remain, 



"Very sincerely yours," 

 (Signed) Frank N. Meyer. 



c/o American Legation, Peking, China. 



