19 



58661. Olea europaea L. 



Oleacese. 

 Olive. 



From Ariana, near Tunis, Tunisia, Africa. Cut- 

 tings presented by F. Boeuf, chief, botanical serv- 

 ice. Received March 28, 1924. 



Barouni. "This variety is described in a paper 

 entitled 'L' Olivier en Tunisie,' by N. Minangoin, 

 published by the Department of Agriculture and 

 Commerce of Tunis in 1901. The leaves, fruits, and 

 seeds are illustrated in Plate I, figure 1, of this publi- 

 cation. I translate what Minangoin says concern- 

 ing it: 



" ' This variety is found almost exclusively in the 

 olive orchards of the Sahel (eastern coast of Tunis) 

 and in particular at Kalaa Srira (11 km. from the 

 town of Sousse) . 



'"Foliage sparse, leaves 7 to 8 cm. long, narrow, 

 light green on the upper surface, whitish on the 

 lower surface. Fruits single, very large, shaped 

 like a pear upside down, wine red when mature, 

 ripening very early. Peduncle long and strong, 

 flesh thick and white, seed one-sided, long and 

 thick, ending in a point. Flowers at the end of 

 February.' 



"Mr. Minangoin told me himself in 1904 that the 

 variety is extremely rare and that he knew of only 

 three trees, which were on the estate of M. Robert 

 at Kalaa Srira. The word Barouni means foreign, 

 and the variety is supposed to have been introduced 

 by one of the Beys of Tunis from Greece or Turkey. 

 He said that the trees - in question were old and do 

 not bear well. He stated that the fruits sometimes 

 weighed as much as 20 grams. 



"I met M. Robert, who was at that time vice 

 president of the Municipality of Sousse, and he also 

 stated that the Barouni variety is found only at 

 Kalaa Srira. He said that it was not commonly 

 grown, as it requires a good deal of water and must 

 be irrigated. 



"There are two varieties of olive in Tunis to 

 which the name Barouni is applied. The large 

 pickling olive is Barouni de Kalaa Srira, while the 

 other variety is known as Barouni de Soliman and 

 has a small fruit used for making oil." (T. H. 

 Kearney, Bureau of Plant Industry; letter of February 

 7, 19H-) 



58662. Dioscorea sp. Dioscoreacese. 



Yampi. 



From Mayaguez, Porto Rico. Tubers presented by 

 T. B. McClelland, horticulturist, agricultural ex- 

 periment station. Received March 26, 1924. 



Mapuey morado. The yampi is usually of even 

 form and somewhat club-shaped, and the tubers 

 are commonly 4 to 10 ounces in weight; the inner 

 skin is pink. The flesh is white, but often becomes 

 slightly grayish when cooked. The flavor is much 

 like that of the potato, but the yampi has in addition 

 an agreeable sweetness. {B, A. Young, Bureau of 

 Plant Industry.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 56660. 



58663 to 58668. Ficus carica L. 

 Moracese. Fig. 



From Malaga, Spain. Cuttings presented by Luis 

 Liro Ortiz, director, Estacion de Agricultura 

 General de Torrox, through D. D. Shepard, 

 American consul. Received March 4, 1924. 

 Notes by Senor Ortiz. 



58863. Blanquilla. A tree of medium size which 

 does not produce early fruits (brevas), but bears 

 only a large crop of small, very sweet, late fruits 

 (higos) . 



58684. Negra or Goen. A large tree which bears 

 both early and late fruits; these are sweet and 

 of medium size. 



58663 to 58668— Continued. 



53665. Pacueca. A tree of medium size, bearing 

 regular crops of early and late fruits, which are 

 large and black. 



58666. Pardilla. A tree which never becomes very 

 tall, because of its spreading habit. When 

 young it bears both early and late crops, but 

 after several years it bears only the late fruits. 

 These are large, brown, and very sweet. This 

 is the best variety grown in the vicinity of 

 Malaga; it yields well and the fruits are the best 

 for drying. 



58687. Valenciana. A large tree which produces 

 only a late crop, which is regular and heavy. 

 The fruits are large, white, and sweet. 



58688. Verdeja or Ojo de Perdiz. A large tree which 

 produces a late crop; the fruits are not so numer- 

 ous as those of the Blanquilla [S. P. I. No. 

 58663], nor are they so sweet. The name "Ojo 

 de Perdiz" is derived from the red eye of the 

 fruit. 



58669. Juglans regia L. Juglanda- 

 cese. Walnut. 



From Simla, Punjab, India. Plant presented by 

 Howard Spence, The Red House, Ainsdale, 

 England. Received March 7, 1924. 



In 1916 I received from Simla, India, a few wal- 

 nuts of a variety superior in quality to any I have 

 ever tasted, with a delicate coconut flavor. The 

 long, narrow nut was particularly well filled with 

 closely packed convolutions resembling those of a 

 pecan more than of an ordinary walnut. The shell 

 is rather thick, and the average length of the nut 

 is a little less than 2 inches. The original tree is 

 said to be in Bhujji (between Bilaspur and Ram- 

 pur), 23 miles from Simla, in a hot, inclosed valley 

 through which runs the Sutlej River. There may 

 be a chance that the seeds will transmit the quality 

 of the parent. {Spence.) 



58670 to 58672. 



From Manila, Philippine Islands. Seeds pre- 

 sented by P. J. Wester, Bureau of Agriculture. 

 Received February 28, 1924. Notes by Mr. 

 Wester. 



53870. Ampelocissus martini Planch. Vitacese. 



Bika. A very attractive vine, with leaves 

 dark green above and russet beneath. The vine 

 dies to the ground when the fruits are ripe. The 

 fruits are about the size of Delaware grapes, dark 

 maroon to almost black, in bunches sometimes 

 containing over 200. The flesh is juicy and acid, 

 with a rather biting aftertaste. Although in- 

 edible raw, the Americans in Cebu and Iloilo say 

 that an excellent jelly is made from them. 



58671. Carica papaya L. Papayacese. Papaya. 



This is one of the most remarkable papayas I 

 have ever seen. The fruit is oblong, obviously 

 a hermaphrodite type, medium in size, with 

 thick flesh, a small cavity, and few seeds. The 

 flesh is very firm, pale-flesh color except for a 

 distinct greenish yellow " rind " about an eighth 

 of an inch thick, and of good quality. It will 

 probably ship better than the average soft 

 papaya. 



58672. Citrus nobilis deliciosa (Ten.) Swingle. 

 Rutacese. Mandarin orange. 



This mandarin, imported from China, is the 

 best flavored citrus fruit I ever have eaten. 



