﻿JANUARY 
  1 
  TO 
  MARCH 
  31, 
  1912. 
  13 
  

  

  32386. 
  Pinus 
  teocote 
  Cham, 
  and 
  Schlecht. 
  Okote 
  pine. 
  

  

  From 
  Mexico. 
  Presented 
  by 
  Dr. 
  C. 
  A. 
  Purpus, 
  Zacuapam, 
  Huatusco, 
  Vera 
  Cruz, 
  

   Mexico. 
  Received 
  January 
  2, 
  1912. 
  

   "From 
  Esperanza, 
  Puebla. 
  2,700 
  to 
  2,800 
  meters 
  [8,850 
  to 
  9,180 
  feet] 
  altitude. 
  " 
  

   Distribution. 
  — 
  Mexico; 
  from 
  San 
  Luis 
  Potosi, 
  where 
  it 
  rises 
  toan 
  elevation 
  of 
  8,000 
  

   feet, 
  southward 
  to 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  Orizaba. 
  

  

  32387 
  to 
  32389. 
  

  

  From 
  Siberia. 
  Received 
  through 
  Mr. 
  Frank 
  N. 
  Meyer, 
  agricultural 
  explorer, 
  

   Bureau 
  of 
  Plant 
  Industry. 
  Received 
  January 
  6, 
  1911. 
  

   Seeds 
  of 
  the 
  following: 
  

  

  32387. 
  Festuca 
  sp. 
  Fescue. 
  

   From, 
  Omsk, 
  Siberia. 
  

  

  "(No. 
  1629a, 
  July 
  19, 
  1911.) 
  A 
  grass 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  native 
  to 
  the 
  steppe 
  country 
  

   of 
  western 
  Siberia; 
  much 
  grown 
  for 
  hay. 
  Possesses 
  the 
  desirable 
  quality 
  of 
  

   not 
  sprouting 
  when 
  once 
  plowed 
  under, 
  in 
  case 
  the 
  land 
  is 
  needed 
  for 
  wheat 
  

   culture. 
  To 
  be 
  tested 
  in 
  the 
  semiarid 
  northwestern 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  

   States." 
  (Meyer.) 
  

  

  32388. 
  Triticum 
  durum 
  Desf. 
  Wheat. 
  

   From 
  Chistunka, 
  southwestern 
  Siberia. 
  

  

  "(No. 
  1630a, 
  September 
  9, 
  1911.) 
  A 
  hard-kerneled 
  summer 
  wheat, 
  called 
  

   Bjela-turka, 
  meaning 
  White 
  Turkish. 
  It 
  is 
  much 
  grown 
  throughout 
  western 
  

   Siberia 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  its 
  resistance 
  to 
  drought 
  and 
  its 
  early-ripening 
  qualities. 
  

  

  "Winter 
  wheats 
  can 
  not 
  be 
  grown 
  successfully 
  in 
  western 
  Siberia, 
  as 
  the 
  

   winters 
  are 
  too 
  cold 
  and 
  often 
  have 
  very 
  little 
  snow, 
  so 
  at 
  present 
  all 
  wheats 
  

   raised 
  are 
  summer 
  wheats 
  . 
  " 
  ( 
  Meyer 
  . 
  ) 
  

  

  32389. 
  Medicago 
  falcata 
  L. 
  

   From 
  western 
  Siberia. 
  

  

  "(No. 
  1634a, 
  July 
  18 
  and 
  October 
  4, 
  1911.) 
  The 
  sholteek, 
  as 
  this 
  wild 
  alfalfa 
  

   is 
  generally 
  called 
  in 
  western 
  Siberia, 
  occurs 
  over 
  the 
  greater 
  part 
  of 
  Eurasia, 
  

   being 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Himalayas 
  as 
  low 
  down 
  as 
  the 
  thirtieth 
  degree 
  of 
  latitude, 
  

   near 
  Yakutsk, 
  and 
  in 
  Norway 
  between 
  the 
  sixtieth 
  and 
  seventieth 
  parallels. 
  

   There 
  is 
  a 
  very 
  great 
  amount 
  of 
  variation 
  to 
  be 
  observed 
  in 
  the 
  wild 
  plant; 
  

   some 
  forms 
  grow 
  up 
  to 
  from 
  5 
  to 
  6 
  feet 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  fairly 
  erect, 
  while 
  others 
  

   reach 
  a 
  height 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  inches 
  only 
  and 
  are 
  often 
  prostrate 
  in 
  habit. 
  The 
  

   more 
  prostrate 
  forms 
  lend 
  themselves 
  excellently 
  for 
  naturalization 
  purposes 
  

   on 
  dry 
  pasture 
  grounds, 
  while 
  the 
  erect 
  varieties 
  may 
  be 
  cultivated 
  for 
  forage 
  

   purposes 
  in 
  sections 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  where 
  the 
  ordinary 
  alfalfa 
  gets 
  winter 
  

   killed. 
  The 
  present 
  habits 
  of 
  this 
  sholteek 
  indicate 
  that 
  possibly 
  a 
  great 
  amount 
  

   of 
  selection 
  and 
  breeding 
  may 
  have 
  to 
  be 
  done 
  before 
  ideal 
  types 
  will 
  have 
  been 
  

   evolved, 
  but 
  the 
  many 
  excellent 
  qualities 
  this 
  plant 
  possesses, 
  viz, 
  the 
  eagerness 
  

   with 
  which 
  all 
  sorts 
  of 
  domestic 
  animals 
  devour 
  it, 
  its 
  apparently 
  great 
  nutritive 
  

   capacities, 
  especially 
  for 
  milk 
  cows, 
  its 
  remarkable 
  resistance 
  to 
  drought, 
  

   to 
  close 
  grazing, 
  and 
  to 
  adverse 
  conditions 
  in 
  general, 
  all 
  seem 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  well 
  

   worth 
  while 
  to 
  spend 
  some 
  extra 
  efforts 
  on 
  improvement. 
  The 
  roots 
  of 
  this 
  

   sholteek 
  also 
  possess 
  the 
  capacity 
  of 
  producing 
  new 
  plants 
  whenever 
  cut 
  off 
  or 
  

   when 
  exposed 
  to 
  the 
  air 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  soil 
  having 
  been 
  washed 
  away. 
  This 
  

   characteristic 
  is 
  of 
  great 
  value 
  in 
  pasture 
  grounds, 
  where 
  the 
  crowns 
  are 
  easily 
  

   damaged 
  by 
  the 
  close 
  grazing 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  hoofs 
  of 
  the 
  animals 
  trampling 
  over 
  

   them. 
  The 
  soil 
  best 
  suited 
  to 
  this 
  Medicago 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  blackish, 
  well-drained 
  

   282 
  

  

  