﻿60 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



45572. Pennisetum pttrpuretjm Schum. Poacese. Napier grass. 



From Rhodesia. Seeds presented by Mr. J. Burtt Davy, Johannesburg, 

 Union of South Africa. Received December 5, 1917. 



" The great value of prolific and drought-resistant fodder plants, which are 

 generally very difficult to procure, is well known to stock owners, and this 

 species, which is but little known as yet, can be most highly recommended for 

 both of these qualities. During the last season, which was very dry and 

 most disastrous for stock, this grass grew to a height of nearly 11 feet and 

 produced a large quantity of succulent, nutritious, and fattening fodder. This 

 is greatly relished by the stock and is, according to analysis, much richer than 

 green maize. A reliable official says : ' There is a consensus of opinion that in 

 this plant we have found a fodder of great value and one which remains green 

 even during such long periods as from six to eight months when other herbage 

 is parched up or destroyed.' It grows rapidly to the height of 12 feet or 

 more in favorable weather, thrives well in various soils, and resists both frost 

 and drought to a remarkable extent. At a height of 7 feet it has produced 

 12 tons of green fodder per acre, and a few months later 15 tons, making a 

 toteil yield of 27 tons per acre. It is everlasting when once established, and 

 the tufts or stools increase in size after each cutting or when grazed off- It 

 should prove of untold value to farmers in South Africa, who suffer much 

 loss through frequent and protracted droughts, and in the East Indies and 

 other countries where light rainfall and semiarid conditions obtain. As a 

 prolific and drought-resistant plant it promises to prove one of the very best 

 brought into cultivation." (B. Harrison.) 



See S. P. I. No. 43241 for previous introduction. 



45573. Aralia chinensis mandshurica (Eupr.) Eehcler. Ara- 



liacese. 



From Jamaica Plain. Mass. Plants presented by the Arnold Arboretum. 

 Received December 5, 1917. 

 This is a small hardy tree from Japan, resembling Aralia spinosa (Hercules'- 

 club), but it is more treelike, has fewer spines, and does not sucker, which 

 makes it a much more desirable lawn tree. It does not form many branches, 

 but the large bipinnate leaves cast a good shade. The greenish white flowers 

 are borne in large panicles. The berries are dark red when ripe, producing a 

 very pleasing effect. Like all other aralias, A. mandshurica grows freely from 

 pieces of root. (Adapted from The Florists' Exchange, November 6, 1915.) 



45574. Medicago sativa L. Fabacese. Alfalfa. 



From Novelda, Alicante, Spain. Seeds presented by Mr. Elias Rizo. Re- 

 ceived December 11, 1917. 



45575 to 45578. 



From the city of Guatemala, Guatemala. Seeds collected by Mr. Wilson 

 POpenoe, Agricultural Explorer for the Department of Agriculture. Re- 

 ceived December 15, 1917. Quoted notes by Mr. Popenoe. 

 45575. Crataegus stipulosa (H. B. K.) Steud. Malacese. Manzanilla. 



"(No. 216a. November 20, 1917.) A native species of Crataegus, well 

 known in the Guatemalan highlands where it occurs both wild and culti- 

 vated. Seed previously sent in under No. 32a (S. P. I. No. 43430). 



" The manzanilla is a large shrub or small, erect, slender tree about 20 

 feet tall, sometimes having a thick trunk a foot or more in diameter at 



