24 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



23535. [ndigofera glandulosa Wendl. Befri. 



Prom Baroda, [ndia. Procured by Mr. William n. Michael, American 



consul-general, Calcutta, India, through Lieut. Col. M. J. Meade. C. I. !•:., 



superintendent, Baroda Presidency. Received September I. L908. 



"The befri planl is an annual ami belongs to the natural order Leguminosae. 



It generally grows in black soil, and does nol require much water. Befri is 



contained in very small pods, which are gathered after the rainy season is over, 



•• Befri contains 21.13 per cenl of albuminoids, whereas their proportions in 



Indian wheal ami oatmeal are. respectively, 13.50 and 1G per cent. In other 



words, befri is 56 per cent more nutritious than wheal and 32 per cenl more so 



than oatmeal. It is -round, mixed with Hour of ba.jri or other less nutritious 



-rains or uT;iss seeds, and made into bread, bhedki, etc." (Shamsudin •/. Sule- 



/mini, chief medical officer of Baroda State.) 



23536. Canarii m luzonici m (Blume) Gray. Pili nut. 



Prom Tayabas Province, P. I. Presented by Mr. William S. Lyon, Manila, 

 P. I. Received September 8, 1908. 



'* I sent s I' these mils to a New York fruit seller some five years ago, 



and in his opinion they rivaled the famous Brazil nut (Bertholetia) as a (les- 

 sen inn. He, however, expressed an adverse opinion of their ever having any 



commercial value as dessert nuis. owing to the hard shell resisting any ordinary 

 hand nutcracker. 



" In a lol I picked up in Tayal.as I found tw ■ three which, though far 



from hav ing paper shells, were amenable t y heel on a hoard n •. i thoughl 



the mailer worth looking op, and ascertained thai i hey came from the neigh- 

 borhood, and speni a few .lavs collecting fruits \v all the fruiting trees in 



the v Icinity. Although I made no • and,' I semi on the fresh collected seeds Cor 

 you to grow as stock in case i Mm able to secure later scions of the paper-shell 

 variety." I Lyon. I • See No. 21860 for pre 1 ! ions importation, i 



23542. Cucumis melo L. Muskmelon. 



from Paris, France. Presented by Mr. w. w. Keen, 1729 bhestnul street, 

 Philadelphia, Pa. Received August 26, L908. 



"• Seci of melons now so ahundaut here i Paris). They are much larger than 

 Our cantaloupe and of quite as line a flavor, if nol even Letter. The interior is 

 a beautiful reddish yellow." {Keen.) 



"This is | roha .ly oi ' the varieties of the large Persia lelons which do 



nol thrive In this region (Washington, D. C), hut do much hotter in the hot, 

 dry climate of Colorado ami westward." I W. w . Tracy, sr.) 



23543. Phaseolus vulgaris L. Bean. 



Fr Helsingfors, Finland. Presented by .Mr. V. F. Sagulin. Received 



September 10, 1908. 

 Finnish runner bean. 



23544 to 23547. 



Prom Ningyuenfu, Szechuan, via Chengtu, China. Presented by Rev. 



R. Wellw 1. American Baptist Mission. Received September 10, 1908. 



Seed of each of the following. Varietal descriptions by Mr. H. T. Nielsen. 

 23544 to 23546. Glycine hispida (Moench) Maxim. Soy bean. 



23544. Large yellow with dark hilum ; similar in appearance to 

 Nos. 199SG and 22877. 



23545. Yellow with brown hilum : similar in appearance to No. 

 17862. 



23546. Very small, black, smaller than any black-seeded soy bean 

 we have had. 

 23547. Pisttm arvense L. Eield pea. 



14S 



