84 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



6425 to 6428— Continued. 



6427. Brassica oleracea. Cabbage. 



Stockholm's Torg. "A native variety of Swedish cabbage, said to be a very 

 early maturing sort. For planting in Alaska." (Fairchild.) 



6428. Pisum sativum. Pea. 



Stensarter akta. "An early ripening Swedish pea, suitable for Alaska and 

 other northern localities." (Fairchild.) 



6429. Vitis vinifera. Corinth. 



From Panariti, Greece. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 575, March 



6, 1901), May 9, 1901. 



' ' The variety of grape producing the currants or corinths of commerce. These cut- 

 tings were purchased in the village of Panariti, which lies among the mountains 

 back of Xyloncastron. This village is noted for producing some of the finest corinths 

 in Greece. It is the custom in Greece to plant very long cuttings in the rocky soil, 

 digging down even into the bed rock, upon which the base of the cutting is allowed 

 to rest. In Greece the vines are planted about 5 feet apart each way, and are trained 

 wholly without a wire or other trellis. The claim is made that the fruit is so deli- 

 cate, being, as is well known, an essentially seedless grape, that it requires the dense 

 shade made by the foliage of the low sprawling canes which spring from the low-cut, 

 upright, main trunk of the plant. As the clusters mature, these sprawling canes are 

 lifted from the ground and supported on short stakes to prevent the grapes from 

 actually lying on the ground. After the petals have dropped from the flowers, i. e., 

 when the fruit is well ' set,' the vines are ringed or girdled. This girdling is done 

 on the main trunk of the vine, a thin quarter-inch- wide ring of bark being removed. 

 This ringing is said to be essential to the production of a large berry. It is the belief 

 that the berries from vines not ringed are richer in sugar, not so filled with juices, 

 and keep better than those from ringed vines. The climate and soil in w T hich the 

 corinth will thrive are various. Necessary requisites are a long summer with good 

 insolation and a not too high temperature, 95° F. being looked on as a very high 

 temperature in the regions where these plants are cultivated. It is a popular belief 

 that the corinth degenerates rapidly on being introduced into foreign countries, and 

 that it even becomes a seed-bearing grape. I can not find that this belief is supported 

 by sufficient evidence. Samples of corinths grown in Australia show that at least the 

 plant does not produce seed there and does produce a utilizable product, which, how- 

 ever, is inferior in size and flavor to good Greece-grown specimens. The small size 

 may be caused by a neglect :o ring or a failure to perform this important process at 

 the proper time, i. e., just after the fruit sets. This variety is exceedingly subject to 

 the downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), and the fields of Greece were ravaged by a 

 frightful epidemic of this disease last year. The immediate locality from which 

 these cuttings came was spared." (Fairchild.) 



6430. Phaseolus viridissimus. G-ram. 



From Athens, Greece. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 571), May 

 9, 1901. 



"One of the smallest and most delicate beans in the world. The beans are not 

 much larger than grains of rice and of a deep green color. They are said to be most 

 delicious when cooked alone or with rice in the national Greek dish called Pilaff. 

 Their culture in Greece is a restricted one and the beans are considered a great deli- 

 cacy. This is a variety which should receive a thorough distribution, as it is one 

 worthy of trial throughout the south. I am indebted to Prof. Th. de Heldreich, of 

 Athens University, for calling my attention to this species of which he has made a 

 special study. Probably a variety of the grata of India (Phaseolus mungo)." 

 ( Fairchild. ) 



6431. Vigna catjang. Cowpea. 



From Athens, Greece. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 572, March 



7, 1901), May 19, 1901. 



"This legume is highly prized by the Greeks, who use it as we do the ordinary 

 bean. (Fairchild.) 



