54 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



63477. TlUTK I'M AESTIVUM L. (T. vul- 



H'treYiU.). Poaceae. Common wheat. 



From Orleans. Loiret, France. Seeds pre- 

 sented by Edmond Yersin. St. Jean le 

 Blanc. Received March 27, 1925. 



A now winter-wheat selection ; not yet 

 named nor in the trade. The heads are 

 large and well filled ; the yield is very 

 large and the quality excellent. It is rust 

 resistant and does not lodge ; it is sown in 

 October or November, maturing in July, 

 i Yersin.) 



63478. Trifolium pratexse L. Faba- 

 ceae. Red clover. 



From Chalonnes sur Loire. France. Seeds 

 presented by E. Jouffray. Received Feb- 

 ruary 6, 1925. 



Locally grown seeds. 



63479 to 63483. 



From Algeria. Collected by David Fair- 

 child, agricultural explorer. Bureau of 

 Plant Industry. Received March 30. 1925. 

 Notes by Doctor Fairchild. 



63479. Iris alata Poir. 



Iridaceae. 



Scorpion iris. 



Plants of a dwarf iris growing in the 

 dry. stiff, clay soils west of Aumale, Al- 

 geria, at an altitude of 2,500 feet. The 

 rhizomes are located several inches below 

 the surface, and in the autumn the plant 

 sends up beautiful blue flowers. The 

 leaves look like grass and are spread out 

 in a kind of rosette. 



63480. Narcissus bulbocodium moxo- 

 phtllus (Dur.) Baker. Arnaryllida- 

 ceae. 



A delicate, white-flowered plant, closely 

 related to the narcissus but more deli- 

 cate than • any narcissus I ever saw. It 

 is fragrant but less so than some other 

 narcissus. The slender scape rises above 

 the rocky ground to a height of not over 

 8 inches. In the summer it must be ex- 

 posed to the blazing subtropical sun and 

 get thoroughly dt-ied out, for it occurs on 

 the mountain tops in the edge of the 

 Sahara near the Oasis of Bou Saada. 



63481. Populus thevestixa Dode. Sali- 

 caceae. Poplar. 



Cuttings of a strictly fastigiate, bril- 

 liantly white-barked desert poplar. As I 

 saw this tree it seemed to me that I had 

 never seen any poplar so delicate in out- 

 line or so ghostlike in its white coloring. 

 As a landscape tree for the irrigated re- 

 gions of California it should prove to be 

 a great addition. 



63482. ROMULEA BULBOCODIUM (L.) Se- 



bast. and Mauri. Iridaceae. 



Bulbs. As we drove from Aumale to 

 the Oasis of Bou Saada we observed the 

 Arab boys and women digging up the 

 tiny corms of this plant and tying them 

 into bundles. We found these corms 

 good to eat and quite sweet. The baked 

 clay soils of this region are peppered 

 with the little rosettes made by the slen- 

 der grasslike leaves. 



63483. Scilla peruviana L. Liliaceae. 



Squill, 



Bulbs. On the baked clay steppes of 

 the region east of Aumale we found that 



63479 to 63483— Continued. 



the rosettes of this interesting species 

 were common. 



A blue-flowered, bulbous plant resem- 

 bling tbe hyacinth in habit. 



63484 to 63486. 



From Srinagar, Kashmir, India. Seeds pre- 

 sented bv R. K. Koul, proprietor, Koul*s 

 Gardens. Received March 30, 1925. 

 Notes by Mr. Koul. 



63484. Brassica oleracea caulo-rapa 

 DC. Brassicaceae. Kohl-rabi. 



The Enol-khol is indigenous to Kash- 

 mir and was cultivated there long be- 

 fore America was discovered. The ap- 

 pearance is somewhat rough and the skin 

 hard, but it is a most delicious vege- 

 table, and I consider it far superior to 

 the American kind imported into the 

 Old World. The Kashmir varieties 

 known as Munjees, 2 to 8 pounds in 

 weight, are rare, being cultivated at 

 only a few places in the valley. Be- 

 sides being eaten as an ordinary vege- 

 table, they make splendid pickles. 



63485. Brassica oleracea viridis L. 

 Brassicaceae. Kale. 



The Kashmir sag (Karmi Hakh) is 

 between 12 and 18 inches long and is 

 indigenous to Kashmir. When the 

 leaves are from 4 to 5 inches long and 

 five to six in number each leaf is picked 

 and collected in bundles of 10 to 12 

 each. The pickings, which take place 

 every now and then during the season, 

 are from the side shoots and not from 

 the stem, which is kept intact. There 

 are two ways of preparing this vege- 

 table : First, the leaves when well ex- 

 amined and washed are slightly fried in 

 oil or butter and then a sufficient quan- 

 tity of water, salt, and condiments 

 added, and the leaves are boiled until 

 soft ; second, the leaves are first boiled 

 and then fried and spiced. This vege- 

 table is very delicious and is peculiar 

 only to Kashmir. 



63486. Raphaxus sativus L. Brassica- 

 ceae. Radish. 



The Mirpur radishes are large, be- 

 tween 12 and 13 inches long and from 

 1 to 4 pounds in weight, and are famous 

 throughout northern India. They are 

 eaten raw after being cut into small 

 slices, are very delicious, and are better 

 than any other table radish. They may 

 also be cooked as an ordinary vegetable 

 or used for pickling. 



63487 to 63489. 



From Medellin. Colombia. Seeds presented 

 by Camilo C. Restrepo. Received March 

 7, 1925. Notes by Senor Restrepo. 



63487. Chloris sp. Poaceae. Grass. 



Splendid for permanent pastures ; 

 originally from Australia. 



63488. Echixochloa sp. Poaceae. 



Grass. 



Janeiro grass. A good grass for arid 

 land. 



63489. Juglaxs sp. Juglandaceae. 



Walnut. 

 An unidentified species. 



