14 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



21780 to 21782— Continued. 

 A collection of seeds, as follows: 



21780. Cannabis sativa L. Hemp. 



"(No. 428, Dec. 8, 1907.) Seeds of a particularly robust form of 

 this well-known hemp. This form of Cannabis is commonly cultivated 

 in association with maize by peasants and farmers on the mountain! 

 north and south of Ichang at altitudes between 3,000 and 5,000 feet. 

 The plants vary from 6 to 12 feet, and the lower part of the stem is often 

 4 inches in circumference. 



"This plant is cultivated exclusively for the oil which is expressed 

 from the seeds after grinding and steaming in the ordinary Chinese way. 

 This oil is used tor illuminating purposes and is valued on account of iis 

 noncongealing in the coldest of weather. The stems are used for fuel, 

 though a little fiber is occasionally used for making sundries for local use. 



"It is the Tung hhi i cold hemp) of these parts." ( Wilson.) 



21781. ACTINEDIA CHINENSIS Planch. Yangtaw. 



"(No. ."17. Dec. 8, 1907.) A robust climber, 10 to 30 feet higfll 

 leaves and young slmots covered with bright crimson villous hairs. 

 Flowers unisexual or hermaphrodite, buff-yellow to white, fragrant, 1 to 

 1J inches across, produced in great profusion. Fruits abundantly pro] 

 duced, ovoid to globose, 1 to i!J inches long, 1 toll inches across, epicarn 

 membranous, russet-brown, more or less clothed with villous hairs. Flesh 

 green, of most excellent flavor, to my palate akin to that of the common 

 gooseberry bill tempered with a flavor peculiarly its own. 



"The plant is common in thickets and margins of woods from 3,000 to 

 4,000 feel high iii western Eupeb and Szechuan, Also known from the 

 Ilushan .Mountains in Kiangsi Province and from Fokien. 



"The plant is highly ornamental, either in foliage or in flower. The 

 fruits are excellent for either dessert or making into preserves. 



■• Introduced by me to the nurseries of Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea, Lon-s 

 don, and quite hardy in England. 



"Local native name, )<nti/ tao (strawberry peach)." (Wilson.) 



21782. Eucommia xtlmodoes Oliver. Tu-chung. 



"(No. 383, Dec. 8, 1907.) Tree 25 to 40 feet by 1* to 4 feet. Culti- 

 vated in western Hupeh and Szechuan at altitudes between 1,000 and 

 -l.."(Mi feet. The tree is valued for its bark, which constitutes the native 

 drug Tu-Chung. The hark, leaves, and fruit contain silky, elastic fibers 

 composed largely of a caoutchouc-like substance akin to balata. As a 

 rubber-producing plant, however, the plant has little value. 



"Eucommia was introduced from China into France by Vilmpriri and 

 into England by myself. In both countries it has proved quite hardy. 

 In Algiers and parts of Tonking this tree has been experimentally planted 

 by the French as a rubber-producing tree. 



"The medicine Tu-chung is valued as a tonic and mild aphrodisiac. 



"The customs' valuation here is: First quality, 30 taels per picul ; 

 second quality, 20 taels per picul; third quality, 10 taels per picul." 

 (Wilson.) 



21783. Bauhixia picta (H. B. K.) DC. 



From Miami, Fla. Grown in 1907 at the Subtropical Laboratory and Gar- 

 den from seed presented by Mr. J. C. Harvey, Sanborn, Vera Cruz, 

 Mexico ; distributed from Subtropical Laboratory and Garden. 



"An unarmed shrub with nearly orbicular leaves, about 3* inches long, and 

 solitary terminal racemes, 2 to 3 inches long, of white flowers spotted with 

 red." (TF. F. Wight.) 



21784 to 21805. 



From Sibpur, Calcutta, India. Presented by Capt. A. T. Gage, superintend- 

 ent, Royal Botanic Gardens. Received January 10, 1908. 

 137 



