10 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPOKTED. 



4381. Vigna catjang. Cowpea. 



From Naples, Italy. Received February 5, 1900, under the name of Dolichos 



bahiensis. 



4382. Vigna catjang. Cowpea. 



From Naples, Italy. Received February 5, 1900, under the name of Dolichos 

 bicontortus. 



4383. Dolichos atropurpureus. 



From Naples, Italy. Received February 5, 1900. 



4384. Dolichos sempervirens. 



From Naples, Italy. Received February 5, 1900. 



4385. Phaseolus caracalla. 



From Naples, Italy. Received February 5, 1900. 



4386. Panicum texanum. Colorado grass. 



From Fort Wcrth, Tex. Received February 5, 1900. 

 ( This seed was destroyed because of its low germination. ) 



4387. Zea mays. Corn. 



From Texas. Received February 7, 1900. 



Mexican June. This variety is much used in Mexico and southern Texas for late 

 planting. In the southern half of the Gulf States it can be successfully grown after 

 a crop of oats, millet, or wheat has been harvested. It is a white corn and the ears 

 are of a good size, each stalk producing from one to three ears. The stalks attain a 

 height of from 10 to 15 feet. The blades are more numerous than on most other 

 varieties, making this valuable for forage or ensilage purposes. It is often planted 

 between rows of Irish potatoes and other truck, and is suitable for rich bottom lands 

 that become dry enough to plant early in June. 



4388. Mimusops balata. Balata. 



From Georgetown, British Guiana. Received February 7, 1900, from John 

 Guillat. 



This tree is the source of .the balata gum of commerce, a substance closely resem- 

 bling guttapercha, and substituted for it in many manufactures. It is a native of 

 tropical South America. Distributed. 



4389. Cucumis melo. Winter muskmelon. 



From California. Received February 8, 1900. Presented by Ira W. Adams, 

 of Calistoga, Cal. 



"The seed of this valuable melon was procured by Dr. J. D. B. Stillman, at 

 Smyrna, in 1879. It came from the city of Cassaba, in Asia Minor, a city celebrated 

 for the fine quality of its melons. I found them to be the sweetest, spiciest, and 

 most delicious melons I ever ate. I could compare them to nothing else I ever ate 

 in the fruit line, unless it was to a ripe, luscious pineapple. I kept one of these mel- 

 ons through the winter of 1885, until April 3; it was then fully ripe and very deli- 

 cious. They should be planted the same as other muakmelons and picked after the 

 frost has killed the vines or nipped them pretty badly. Light frosts do not harm 

 them in the least. Cut off the stem quite close to the melon and handle carefully, 

 putting them in the coolest and dry est place you have. If stored in a warm room 

 they ripen very rapidly, and will be gone before the winter fairly sets in. This melon, 

 unlike any other I have ever seen, when cut from the vine is very hard, especially 

 two-thirds of it from the stem end, and quite rough and deeply corrugated, deflect- 

 ing, however, very much from a straight line. The rind is of a grayish-green color, 

 and can scarcely be indented with the thumb nail. The flesh is a creamy green and 



