276 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



9422. A.VBNA 8ATIVA. Oat. 



From Moscow, Kussia. Received through Mr. E. A. Bessey, from Immer & 

 Sons (No. 104, July 22, 1902), February 10, 1903. 



Swedish Select. "This excellent variety has proven exceptionally good for the dry 

 Steppe region. This is a selection made in Sweden of the Ligowo oat and bred up by 

 Immer & Sons. It originally came from Ladoga, near St. Petersburg. This year's 

 crop. ' ' ( Bessey. ) 



9423 to 9425. Panicum miliaceum. Proso. 



From Moscow, Russia. Received through Mr. E. A. Bessey, from Immer & 

 Sons. (Nos. 105 to 107, July 22, 1902.) 



9423. 



Red Orenburg. Crop of 1902. Received February 1.0, 1903. (No. 105.) 



9424. 



Red Voronezh. Crop of 1902. Received May 22, 1903. (No. 106.) 



9425. 



Black Voronezh. Crop of 1902. Received May 22, 1903. (No. 107.) 



9426. PlSTACIA LENTISCUS. 



Mastic. 



From the rocky cliffs along the seashore, between Leghorn and Castiglioncello, 

 Italy. Collected by Mr. W. T. Swingle (No. 123, January 14, 1903). 

 Received February 17, 1903. 



"The lentisk or mastic tree is found chiefly in^the immediate vicinity of the sea 

 in the Mediterranean region wherever the winters are not too severe (it is decidedly 

 less hardy than the terebinth). Its northern limit is about the January isotherm of 

 42.8° to 46.4° F. It is a small evergreen tree (other species of Pistacia are decidu- 

 ous) or more often a shrub, branching profusely from the ground. When growing 

 in tree form it sometimes reaches a height of 20 to 25 feet, and a diameter of 8 inches 

 to one foot. It prefers silicious soils and avoids those decidedly calcareous in nature, 

 being just the opposite of the terebinth, so the two are very rarely seen growing 

 together in a wild state. The leaves are rich in tannin (11.5 per cent), and are col- 

 lected and sold in Tunis as a substitute for sumac for tanning. The seeds are much 

 liked by pigs, goats, and wild boars in Tunis, and are an important source of food 

 in dry years when the fruit is apt to be unusually abundant, while other forage is 

 scarce. In Chios a grafted variety yields mastic, a soft resin much prized in the 

 Orient for chewing gum and for flavoring liquors. This is a propping stock on 

 which to graft the pistache, especially on silicious or slightly acid soils near the sea. 

 It is said not to be so long lived as the terebinth, and the pistache, when grafted on 

 the lentisk, is said to live only forty years, whereas it lives one or two centuries on 

 the terebinth. It is probably a dwarf stock and pistaches grafted on it should be 

 set out at smaller distances apart than on other stocks. On sandy soil with moder- 

 ate bottom heat, there should be no difficulty in starting the cuttings." (Swingle.) 



9427 to 9436. 



From Nice, France. Presented bv Mr. A. Robertson-Proschowsky. Received 

 January 12, 1903. 



A collection of seeds as follows: 



9427. Aristolochia elegans. 



9428. Cestrum elegans. 



9429. ClSTUS ALBIDUS. 



9430. Cleome arborea (?) 



9431. Dolichos lablab. 



9432. Echinocactfs schfm w- 



NTANUS. 



9433. Phlomis frfticosa. 



9434. 



Sutherlandia frute- 



SCENS. 



9435. plttosporum undulatum. 



9436. Tacsonia manicata. 



