JULY, 1906, TO DECEMBER, 1907. 143 



I' 21231 to 21234— Continued, 

 previous. The great enemy of oats here is the smut, or black rust. 

 The Chinese combat this in this way : 



" They put the oats into a small, well-heated kettle together with 

 4 ounces of juniper (chaotsiou) to the measure (teou) of 18 t'oungs 

 (say, 6 t'oungs more to the teou than the Peking teou). In order to mix 

 the two thoroughly the kettle is shaken smartly after the manner of 

 winnowing, and then permitted to rest for a few moments. 



" Without this precaution smut works havoc here. Because of the 

 scarcity of oats in this region during the past year (the harvest has 

 failed for several years because of drought) I got my seed from the 

 Siao-noor. My harvest of oats succeeded badly. I think the reason 

 of this is to be found in the climate, which is milder than that of Siao- 

 noor. My harvest resulted in a yield which was half smut. Those 

 who used less juniper in the preparation of the seed obtained a yield 

 which was a little more than a third good grain. We notice here that 

 the oats sown in fine weather give a yield very different from those 

 sown in cold and cloudy weather ; hence, the sowing should be done on 

 fine, sunny days. 



"As to the general features of our district of Moa Ming-ngan, there 



is a succession of undulating plains, interspersed with occasional rocky 



mountains. The soil is stony and in working it the plows often break. 



Our region is at a much greater elevation than the town of Pao-t'ou; 



from that point there is a two days' journey, rising continually all the 



way." (Francois de Boeck, missionary.) 



"Note. — The t'oung (or t'ung) referred to by the writer seems to be the 



official tube, kept in the magistrate's yamen, with which to test measures of 



capacity. 



"All efforts to secure uniform weights and measures in China have thus far 

 proved failures. Every county seems to have its own peck and pound. The 

 teou (or tou) mentioned is that commonly called the "peck" by foreigners. 

 It varies in various districts from 4 liters or a little more to 42 liters. The 

 Peking liter, to which reference is made, is perhaps that used in measuring 

 the tribute rice, which contains jj liter, or about 630.5 cubic inches — that is, 

 about 1.17 pecks." (Rock-hill.) 



21235. (Undetermined.) 



From Victoria, Kamerun, West Africa. Presented by Dr. A. Weberbauer. 

 Received July 29, 1907. 



Sent in as Sideroxylon dulcificum. According to Prof. C. F. Wheeler it is 

 something different. 



21236. Cephalostachyum pergracile. 



From St. Symphorien, Belgium. Presented by Mr. Jean Houzeau de Lehaie. 

 Received July 27, 1907. 

 " This plant is found growing in the Singhbhum forests of Chota Nagpore ; 

 Sibsagar lakhimpur and Naga Hills in Assam ; all over Burma, where very 

 common and often gregarious. A deciduous, arboreous, tufted bamboo, with 

 glaucous-green culms 30 to 40 feet high, 2 to 3 inches in diameter, and rather 

 thin walled, the walls usually about one-half inch thick. It is one of the chief 

 bamboos of Burma, and one of those most frequently found in association 

 with teak. It flowers usually gregariously, but also sporadically, though when 

 thus flowering it rarely produces good seed, following in this the example of 

 the male bamboo. The culms are used in building and mat making, and rice 

 is often cooked in the joints to be easily carried on a journey. In Assam it is 

 used for basket work." (Gamble, Manual of Indian Timbers.) 



21237 to 21241. 



From Peking, China. Received through Mr. E. H. Wilson, of the Arnold 

 Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass., in cooperation with this office. Re- 

 ceived July 29, 1907. 



Although these seeds came via Peking they were probably collected near 

 Ichang, Hupeh, where Mr. Wilson had his headquarters. 

 132 » 



