
          48238. BERLINIA SP . From Victoria Falls, Rhodesia. Seeds
presented by J. Burtt-Davy. A small, unarmed, leguminous tree
with abruptly pinnate leaves and white or whitish flowers in
terminal clusters.

46840. BETULA SP. From Jamaica Plain, Mass. Presented by
C. S. Sargent. An unidentified birch.

47837. BOEHMERIA PLATYPHYLLA . From Darjiling, India. Seeds
presented by G. H. Cave, Director, Lloyd Botanic Garden. A
large shrub or small tree with opposite, broadly ovate leaves,
native to the Khasia hills, eastern Bengal, and southern In-
dia. The wood is moderately hard and of a reddish-brown color.
All the species of this genus are said to yield good fibers.

48025. BOMBAX MALABARICUM . Red Silk-Cotton Tree. From Slam.
Presented by A. Robertson-Proschowsky , Nice, France. A beauti-
ful semi tropical, red-flowered, deciduous shade tree, which
may attain a height of 160 feet or more and a girth of 8 feet.
The trunk and branches are thorny. Surrounding the seed in
the pods is a yellowish cotton almost as fine and glossy as
silk. The bark furnishes a good fiber for cordage.

45263. BRASSICA SP. Mustard. Collected by F. N. Meyer, Agri-
cultural Explorer. Said to have come from the north of China
where mustard is a summer crop.

38783. BRASSICA NAPIFORMIS. Tuberous-rooted Chinese mustard.
From China. Collected by F . N. Meyer, Agricultural Explorer.
A biennial with thin bluish foliage and tuberous roots which
reach a diameter of 3 or 4 inches. In China the tubers are
used as a winter vegetable.

BRASSICA PEKINENSIS. Pai ts'ai, or Chinese cabbage. A cabbage
with long cylindrical heads. NOT SUITABLE FOR SPRING PLANTING.
When sown early this variety runs to seed without heading.
Sow in seed beds late in July; transplant to rich moist soil,
spacing 15 inches apart in rows 2 to 3 feet apart, or the
seed may be sown in the open ground. Plant a few seeds in
rows where the plants are to grow and when the seedlings are
large enough thin to one plant. Harvest after the first light
frost. Leave roots on; pull off outer leaves, and store in a
cellar under layers of straw, or out of doors with a heavy
covering of soil.

46479. BRASSICA RUGOSA. Rai , or Indian Mustard. From India.
Presented by H. G. Carter, Economic Botanist. A tall erect
annual, 3 to 5 feet in height, with bright green foliage.
This species is widely cultivated in India both for its
leaves, which are used as a vegetable, and also for its seed
from which is manufactured a mustard oil used as food by the
natives. Of all kinds of oil mustard oil is most largely

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