1455 



Dioscorea alata (Dloscoreaceae ) , 47446. Yam. 

 From Honolulu, Hawaii. Presented by Mr. J. E. Higgins, 

 horticulturist, Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. 

 "This yam, understood to be the best variety grown in 

 Hawaii, has purple skin; when cooked, the flesh is a 

 little dark and, like many other varieties, is 

 somewhat moist. Besides being boiled and mashed - a 

 favorite method of preparation yams may be baked, 

 or after being boiled, may be sau'ed, or, like po- 

 tatoes, may be made into a salad which is especially 

 good. " (Young. ) 



Dracaena sp. (Liliaceae), 47511. From Zamboanga, 

 P. I. Seeds presented by Mr. P. J. Wester, agricultural 

 advisor. "This Dracaena may prove a good pot plant for 

 the conservatory and of course for culture out of 

 doors in Porto Rico and south Florida." (Wester.) 



Elaeis guineensis (Phoenlcaceae) , 47504 to 47507. 

 Oil palm. From Buitenzorg, Java. Seeds presented by the 

 chief of the Division of Plant Breeding, Department 

 of Agriculture. The oil palm is indigenous to the 

 Guinea coast, where travelers found it used by ths 

 natives as early as the sixteenth centu y. From there 

 it has gradually been disseminated throughout the 

 tropics. The palm attains 15 to 20 meters In height; 

 Its trunk is erect and straight; the flowers are mo- 

 noecious, and the pistillate ones develop into fruits 

 (drupes) of the form and size of a prune, yellow or 

 brownish when ripe , according to variety. These fruits, 

 numbering 1,000 to 1,500 upon a raceme, have a hard, 

 woody endocarp surrounded with a fibrous and at the 

 same time fleshy pulp, varying in thickness according 

 to variety, and containing much oil. The seed contains 

 an oleaginous kernel which is exported to Europe under 

 the name "palmiste." In his "Documents sur le palmier a 

 hulle," Chevalier mentions several varieties of this 

 plant , differing in production and the quality of their 

 oil. The development of improved varieties will be a 

 matter of great importance. The racemes are harvest- 

 ed by natives who are very skillful in climbing the 

 palms. The principal season of ripening is toward the 

 end of the rains, but the harvest continues more or 

 less throughout the year. The fruit yields two sor s 

 of oils: one is extracted from the pulp "huile de 

 palme," the other from the seed "huile de palmiste." 

 "Huile de palme" is seen in Europe only in the solid 

 state, since it does not become liquid at a lower 



