126 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPOETED. 



exclusively of a flour of the Egyptian lentil. Purees of lentil and lentil soup are deli- 

 cacies of the European menus quite absent, generally, from American tables. As a 

 forage crop as well, these lentils should receive serious study. This is a typical Egyp- 

 tian variety. It brings nearly $2 per hectoliter, according to custom-house returns 

 of exports. The yield varies from 20 to 25 bushels per acre and upward. Sown at 

 rate of 1 bushel per acre broadcasted. Grown in irrigation basins. Requires little 

 water. ' ' ( Fairchild. ) 



7029. Trtgonella foenum-graecum. Fenugreek. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 623, April 26, 

 1901), July 1, 1901. 



"Egyptian fenugreek or Helba, as it is called by the Arabs. This plant yields an 

 important condiment and its root system is so remarkably provided with tubercles 

 that it is worthy serious attention as a green manure crop. The seeds are also of value 

 for feeding purposes, and a large amount of fodder is produced, which, if cut before 

 seeds ripen, is of excellent quality. The condition powders and condiment foods which 

 are sold in England extensively and fed to ailing horses and cattle are mixtures of 

 the fenugreek with other meals or grains. It is sometimes planted with berseem 

 here to give a slight purgative effect to theg^een fodder given so commonly in Egpyt 

 to horses and cattle." (Fairchild. ) 



7030. GOSSYPIUM BARBADENSE. Cotton. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 647, May 11, 

 1901), July 1, 1901. 



Ashmouni. ' ' Secured through the kindness of Mr. George P. Foaden. This should 

 prove valuable for experiments in the hot dry uplands. It is the variety grown 

 especially in the upper Nile region." (Fairchild.) 



7031. Trifolium alexandrinum. Berseem. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 620, April 26, 

 1901), July 1, 1901. 



Muscowi: "This variety, as noted in No. 4254, is the common variety of the Delta 

 region. It is the variety from which the largest number of cuttings can be made and 

 the one likely to prove of greatest use in America. ' ' ( Fairchild. ) 



7032. Hibiscus cannabinus. Ambari hemp or Teale. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 625, April 26, 

 1901), July 1, 1901. 



' ' This fiber plant, which is used here as a wind-break for the cotton fields, may 

 be worth investigating, as I am assured by Mr. George P. Foaden, of the Khedivial 

 Agricultural Society, that the prices offered for it in the London markets are very 

 high. This Teale may be quite a different variety from the ordinary Ambari hemp 

 and better suited to culture in irrigated regions of America. Mr. Foaden intends 

 trying several acres of it as a culture next year. It is planted at the same time as the 

 cotton in a thickly sown row around the cotton field, forming a sort of hedge. This 

 practice is a very old one in Egypt. Some samples of this Egyptian Teale were sent 

 to London and a quotation of £20 per ton was secured by Mr. Foaden." (Fairchild. ) 

 (See Dodge's "Fiber Plants," pp. 192-193.) 



7033. Triticum vulgare. Wheat. 



From Cairo, Egypt. Received through Mr. D. G. Fairchild (No. 629, April 26, 

 1901), July 1, 1901. 



Mezzafannager White. "A variety of Indian wheat which has recently been intro- 

 duced into Egypt and has met with unusual success, being a much heavier yielder 

 than the native. Though small in grain and thin husked, it yielded near Cairo about 

 12 bushels per acre more than any native sorts. Samples sent to England were pro- 

 nounced 'the finest of their kind' by experts. The yield of straw was unusually 

 large in some preliminary tests made on the grounds of the Khedivial Agricultural 

 Society. On the Domain's lands last year there were about 1,500 acres of this Indian 

 wheat planted and over 5,000 acres of native wheat. The Indian averaged nearly 12 

 bushels an acre more than the native. Less seed is required than of ordinary varie- 



