
          while long immersion in water is thought to make the timber firmer and 
less subject to attacks by borers. This species seeds freely which 
makes propagation very easy. Suitable only for southern Florida and 
other warm sections.

54428. BENINCASA HISPIDA. From China. Presented by F. A. McClure, 
Canton. A Chinese vegetable similar to squash, called Paak pei tung 
kwa.

56292. BENZOIN sp. Spice Bush. From China. Collected by J. F. Rock, 
Agricultural Explorer. Along the Taiping River this is a common small 
tree with a spreading crown. The trunk is sometimes a foot or more 
in diameter, though usually less, and the leathery aromatic leaves are 
dark green and glossy. From the scarlet, one-seeded fruits, borne in 
short clusters, is obtained a white, oily liquid used to make a yellow 
wax which is valued in China for softening leather, for burning, and 
for other household purposes. It is an ornamental dooryard tree, especially attractive on account of its delightfully pungent leaves and 
brilliant fruits.

52454. BERBERIS AGGREGATA. Barberry. From China. Received from 
Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co., Paris, France. This little-known barberry 
comes from thickets in the Min Valley of western Szechwan, where it 
grows at altitudes of 4,000 to 7,000 feet. It reaches a height of 5 
feet and has yellowish brown spines in clusters of three; the yellow 
flowers, about one-fourth of an inch wide, occur in dense spikes and 
are followed by attractive salmon-red fruits.

54061. BERBERIS AGGREGATA. Barberry. From China. Presented by 
the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

55071. BERBERIS AGGREGATA PRATTII. Barberry. From China. Presented 
by Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co., Paris, France. A variety of B. aggregata 
which forms a dense mass of twiggy branches from which appear 
long, whiplike young shoots. The flowers are pale yellow in short 
panicles and the ovoid, salmon-red fruits, which ripen in September 
are borne in great abundance.

55718. BERBERIS DICTYOPHYLLA. Barberry. From China. Collected by 
J. F. Rock, Agricultural Explorer. This handsome thorny hedge plant 
is of value as an ornamental on account of its pretty flowers which 
are solitary and pale yellow. It grows naturally on limestone in the 
Likiang Mountains, at 12,000 feet. The fruits, which are brilliant 
red, enhance the beauty of the plant.

BERBERIS HOOKERI VIRIDIS. Barberry. Presented by Sir David Prain, 
Kew, England. An evergreen ornamental shrub native to the Himalaya 
Mountains, producing a dense thicket of erect, angled stems, which 
branch near the top. The leathery leaves are dark green above and 
whitened beneath and the margins are armed with slender teeth; the 
flowers, large for this genus, are pale yellow blotched with red. 
The handsome purplish black berries, which appear in autumn, are narrowly cylindrical and have the ornamental advantage of remaining on the

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