DECEMBER, 1903, TO DECEMBER, 1905. 149 



ing. In some orchards the cuttings are irrigated only a single time, receiving about 

 6 gallons each. Extraordinary precautions are taken to preserve the soil moisture 

 near the surface, the olive being a shallow-rooting tree. The trees are planted from 

 65 to 80 feet apart each way, the wider planting giving seven trees per acre. The ground 

 between is kept entirely clean, not even grain crops being grown after the tree begins 

 to bear. The surface of the soil is always kept in a well-pulverized condition to 

 reduce evaporation. Three or four plowings a year are given, and as many cultiva- 

 tions as are necessary to keep out weeds. Manuring is practised only to a very lim- 

 ited extent. The orchards at Sfax are ahvays created with pieces of wood from the 

 base of very old trees, such as those sent you. The cuttings are generally set out in 

 the fall (but sometimes in the spring) in the bottom of holes that are 2 feet deep 

 and 2 feet square. These are tilled up as the tree grows, until in about two years 

 they are entirely filled. It is often the practise to keep a shallow basin, 6 inches or 

 so deep, around the base of the tree during the rainy season (winter), the diameter 

 of the basin being about equal to that of the spread of the foliage. In summer the 

 ground is plowed up to the bases of the trees. The soil around Sfax is a reddish sandy 

 loam to a depth of 2 or 3 feet or more, below which hardpan is often encountered. 



' ' The trees are pruned during the harvest every other year, beginning when 3 

 years old. The average yields obtained at Sfax from trees respectively 10, 15, 20, 

 and 25 years old appear to be about 2, 6, 10, and 12J quarts of oil per tree. In good 

 years twice as much is obtained. The percentage of oil in the fruit, as well as the 

 quantity of fruit produced, increases rapidly as the tree grows older." {Kearney. ) 



13568. MusA SAPiENTUM. Banana. 



From Gabes, Tunis, North Africa. Received thru Mr. T. H. Kearnev, April 20, 

 1905. 



13569. PiSTACiA VERA. Pistache. 



From Caltanisetta, Sicily. Received thru Mr. T. H. Kearney, from Signor 

 Deleo, April 20, 1904. 



Trahonella. 



13570. Zea mays. Sweet corn. 



From Riverside Farm, Nashua, N. H. Received April 17, 1905. 

 Crosby. Said to be the result of eighteen years' selection. 



13571. Nephelium lappaceum. Rambutan. 



From Buitenzorg, Java. Received thru Doctor Treub, April 22, 1905. 



Native of south India and Malay Islands, and furnishes a fruit similar to the Litchi, 

 namely, the Rambutan or Ramboostan fruit. All species of Nephelium seem to 

 require rather a moist, mild, forest clime than great atmospheric heat. 



The fruit is of a bright-red color, about 2 inches long, of an oval form, and slightly 

 flattened, and covered with long, soft, fleshy spines or thick hairs. Like the other 

 Nepheliums it contains a pleasant acidulous pulp very grateful in tropical countries. 



13572. Garcinia mangostana. Mangosteen. 



From Buitenzorg, Java. Received thru Doctor Treub, April 17, 1905. 



13573. JuGLANS REGIA. ^ Persian walnut. 



From Kashgar, eastern Turkestan, Asia. Presented by Rev. P. J. P. Hendriks. 

 Received April 11, 1905. 



13574. Glycyrrhiza glabra. Licorice. 



From London, England. Received thru Messrs. Barr & Sons, April 17, 1905. 



13575. Althaea rosea. Hollyhock. 

 From New^ York, N. Y. Received from Henry & Lee, importers, March, 1905. 



Japanese. 

 97 



