2 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



region (Nos. 58518 to T 58548). These include wild species of Pyrus, Malus, and 

 Prunus, possibly valuable as stock plants on which to graft some of the cultivated 

 varieties; also cotoneasters, species of Elaeagnus, Berberis, Euonymus, and 

 other ornamental shrubs; and local strains of wheat and barley. 



Vicary Gibbs, whose fame as an amateur exhibitor of rare plants is well known 

 throughout the British Isles, has sent from his Aldenham House Gardens 21 

 species of ornamental shrubs (Nos. 58603 to 58623), many of them sufficiently 

 hardy, in all probability, to permit their cultivation over wide areas in the 

 United States. From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has come a collection 

 of wild relatives of the onion, for the use of department plant breeders (Allium 

 spp., Nos. 58868 to 58886); a similar collection (Allium spp., Nos. 58675 to 

 58691) was presented by the director of the botanic garden at Nancy, France. 

 Prof. D. Bois, of Paris, has forwarded a large collection of leguminous plants and 

 grasses, also for the use of department specialists (Nos. 58692 to 58718). G. H. 

 Cave, curator of the Lloyd Botanic Garden at Darjiling, India, has again con- 

 tributed seeds of numerous ornamental trees and shrubs of the Himalayan 

 region (Nos. 58901 to 58930). 



The Barouni olive (Olea europaea) has been reintroduced as No. 58661. 

 Because of its large size and excellent quality for ripe pickling, this variety is 

 meeting with favor among the olive growers of California. It deserves further 

 consideration by commercial growers and also by plant breeders. 



The ravages of chestnut blight in the eastern and southern United States and 

 the need of finding a resistant species to replace the rapidly disappearing American 

 chestnut have led to the introduction of numerous strains of the Chinese hairy 

 chestnut, Castanea mollissima (Nos. 58602, 58659, 58719 to 58724). 



Several new varieties of fig (Ficus carica, Nos. 58663 to 58668) have been in- 

 troduced to enlarge the collection in California, where much attention has been 

 given in past years to procuring the world's best varieties. In connection with 

 the department's plan to test species and varieties of rubber-yielding plants for 

 the purpose of ascertaining if any are suited for commercial cultivation in the 

 southernmost parts of this country and in the American Tropics, Ecdysanthera 

 utilis (No. 58496) has been obtained through the courtesy of the director of 

 forestry of the island of Taiwan, and several species of Landolphia (L. owariensis, 

 No. 58517, L. droogmansiana, No. 58591, and L. kirkii delagoensis, No. 58899) 

 have been obtained from Africa, the first two contributed by Frere Gillet, of 

 Kisantu, Belgian Congo, and the last named from I. B. Pole Evans, chief of the 

 division of botany at Pretoria, Transvaal. From New South Wales has been 

 sent the so-called wild plum (Sideroxylon australe, No. 58478) , which bears fruits 

 containing rich, milky juice which may be a possible source of rubber. 



Several valuable strains of wheat have been obtained for the use of American 

 plant breeders, notably Doctor Akerman's varieties from Svalof, Sweden (Triti- 

 cum aestivum, Nos. 58564 to 58567) and Professor Stapledon's collection (T. 

 aestivum, Nos. 58559 to 58563) from Aberystwyth, Wales. 



Crotalaria anagyroides (No. 58466), sent from the general experiment station 

 at Buitenzorg, Java, should be tried in Florida and other Southern States for 

 green manure. Its leafiness makes it especially desirable, and it is probably 

 hardier than some of the other Crotalarias. 



Paspalum notatum (No. 58644), a Brazilian forage grass, has been previouslv 

 introduced under Nos. 37996, 51121, 51262, and 54904. It is proving valuable 

 for pasturage in the South and, on account of its hardiness and sod-forming quali- 

 ties, should receive increased attention. 



The department's efforts to increase the cultivation of the true yams (Dios- 

 corea spp.) in the Gulf States are yielding good results. In order to have the 

 best varieties available, numerous introductions have been made in the past. 

 Two varieties (D. cayenensis, No. 58625, and D. rotundata, No. 58626) from 

 Porto Rico have been reintroduced and are listed in this inventory. 



Citrus growers in Florida and California will be glad to try Sir Percy Fitzpat- 

 rick's new grapefruit, the Cecily (Citrus grandis, No. 58457), a practically seed- 

 less variety which originated in South Africa as a sport from Walters, the well- 

 known American variety. A tree of C. ichangensis, established at New Orleans 

 from an early introduction, is serving as a source of propagating material for the 

 use of plant breeders who are attempting to develop hardier varieties of citrus 

 fruits, since this is considered one of the hardiest species of Citrus known. Seeds 

 from this tree have now been obtained (No. 58480) for further use by citrus 

 breeders. 



