1337 



Boehmeria macrophylla (Urticaceae) , 46080. From 

 Darjeeling, India. Presented by Mr. G. H. Cave, Di- 

 rector, Lloyd Botanic Garden. A pretty shrub with 

 narrow, dentate leaves, 6 to 12 inches in length, and 

 very long, drooping flower spikes. It is a native 

 of Upper Burma and northeastern India, where it as- 

 cends to an altitude of 4,000 feet. The wood is light 

 reddish brown and moderately hard, and the bark yields 

 a good fiber which is used for ropes and fishing 

 lines. (Adapted from J. S. Gamble, Manual of Indian 

 Timbers, p. 658, 1902.) 



Cajan indicum (Fabaceae), 46050. Pigeon-pea. From 

 New York, N. Y. Purchased from S. Rosen. "The pigeon- 

 pea, or guandu, supposed to be a native of India, is 

 cultivated widely for food in the tropics and subtrop- 

 ics. It is perennial in frostless regions, but is 

 usually cultivated as an annual. About ten months 

 are required to mature the seed. Frost kills the 

 plants. There are many varieties of pigeon-peas, some 

 suitable for food and some not. Being a legume, the 

 crop is valuable for soil improvement as well as for 

 the seed. The plant develops into a large, semi-woody 

 bush reaching a height of from 5 to 10 feet. When 

 grown for seed, plant 2 or 3 seeds in each hill, in 

 four-foot rows, and 3 feet apart in the row, thinning 

 later to one plant in a hill. Pigeon-peas are resist- 

 ant to excessive rains in the tropics, and the seed 

 does not rot when planted as is the tendency with 

 some other leguminous crops. Although the skin of 

 the pigeon-pea is a little tough the flavor of the 

 peas is good. They are cooked like ordinary shelled 

 beans, that is, soaked overnight and then parboiled 10 

 to 15 minutes with a little soda in the water; boiling 

 for one hour or a little more after this usually cooks 

 them completely." (Young.) "The Hawaiian Experiment 

 Station, at Haikee on the island of Maul , has grown 15 

 acres of this pea as a forage crop; and Mr. Krause 

 informs us that the practice is to cut the upper third 

 of the plant, which bears practically all the pods , cure 

 this like hay on portable hay-curing trucks, and, af- 

 ter 7 to 10 days, mill it by the hammer-throw process. 

 The meal is as fine as alfalfa meal, and is used as a 

 base with ground cane tops, corn meal and molasses 

 (35$ of the meal being used). This has a feeding value 

 higher than that of alfalfa. It is cut twice and the 

 plants are in their prime the third year. The yields 

 range from 3 to 4 tons of cured pigeon-pea tops per 



