32 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



24636. Mangifera indica L. Mango. 



From Papeete, Tahiti, South Sea Islands. Presented by Mr. Barbour Lathrop. 



Received January 30, 1909.. 



"This is a tiny, rich-flavored mango, very different from any I have ever seen, 



not much larger than a very big English walnut. There is only one tree on the island, 



and no one can tell me where it came from. The fruits from which these seeds were 



taken were about the size of a large plum and very delicate in taste." {Lathrop.) 



24637. Mascarenhasia elastica K. Schum. 



From Mozambique, Portuguese East Africa. Presented by Mr. O. W. Barrett, 

 Director of Agriculture, Lourenco Marquez. Received February 1, 1909. 

 "(No. 22.) Seed of a shrubby tree 20 to 30 feet high. Wild in hinterland of 

 Mozambique Company's territory. Rubber of about same quality as Landolphia 

 kirlcii. Mr. W. H. Johnson, the agronomist of the Mozambique Company, thinks the 

 species a rather valuable discovery. It grows with Landolphia kirlcii and the rubber 

 exported through Beira probably consists of the two gums mixed." {Barrett.) 



Distribution. — A native of the woods of German East Africa, in the vicinity of Dar-es- 

 Salaam and Mbaffu. 



24638. Ilex cornuta Lindl. and Paxt. 



From 75 or 100 miles northwest of Shanghai, China. Presented by Rev. J. M. W. 



Farnham, Chinese Tract Society, Shanghai, China. Received January 30, 1909. 



Distribution. — A native of China, being found at Shanghai and Chinkiang in the 



province of Kiangsu; at Ningpo and Kiangsi in the province of Chekiang; and at 



Ichang in the province of Hupeh. 



24639. Phaseolus semierectus L. 



Grown at Biloxi, Miss., in 1908, by Mr. S. M. Tracy, special agent. Received 



January, 1909. 



"Original seed from Cuba, where the plant is valued highly as a semivolunteer 



cover crop in orange groves. Flowers are in spikes which continue to grow indefinitely, 



so that ripe seed and fresh flowers occur on the same stem, which makes seed gathering 



slow work . " ( Tracy . ) 



24640. Sapium verum Hemsle}^. Virgin rubber. 



From Chaparral, Tolima, Colombia, South America. Purchased from Mr. Andres 

 Rocha. Received February 2, 1909. 

 " Caucho virgen (Tolima). Caucho bianco (Cauca). Seeds of the Tolima (virgin) 

 rubber tree, once common in the forests of the upper valleys of the Magdalena basin 

 in Colombia, but to-day scarcely seen in its wild state and seldom cultivated. It 

 grows in a temperate, almost cold but equable climate, between 1,800 and 3,200 

 meters of altitude, in such conditions of soil and general environment as to make the 

 possibility of its acclimatization in Florida appear very doubtful. It might be tried 

 with better prospects of success in the upper forest zone of the Philippine Islands, 

 as well as in Hawaii and Porto Rico. When cultivated in its own country it thrives 

 splendidly. Trees 8 to 10 years old are expected to yield annually from 1 to 3 

 kilograms of rubber of very high quality, second only to the best Para. One indi- 

 vidual 14 years old seen at Tocota, near Cale, Colombia, measured 65 centimeters 

 in diameter and 50 meters in height. The tree flowers for the first time when about 

 3 years old. As far as is known, the only way of obtaining a full yield of the 

 latex is to fell the trees, the average product being from 5 to 8 kilograms of raw rubber 

 to each tree. This method is generally applied to the wild trees, which explains the 

 rapid disappearance of the species." {H. Pittier.) See also S. P. I. Nos. 3820 and 3948. 

 162 



