46 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



33695 to 33709— Cent iiiiied. 



tauce. The natural (roe growth and form leaves nothing to be desired. With- 

 out any kind of improvement this may be added to your list of cultivated 

 fruits. For breeding purposes it has great possibilities crossed with the large 

 fruiting Myrtus of Japan and China. 



"A clean, beautiful tree for adornment. It is white, with delightfully fra- 

 grant bloom. The wood and branches are extra-hard and durable in the ground 

 and in constructions. Tlie bark and leaves are very astringent and balsamic. 

 Infusion of bark cures diarrhea, etc. It is also used externally to cure wounds 

 on animals; the powdered leaves are also used for the same with good results. 

 The bark, leaves, or wood are used for \i\ei\ kidneys, colds, internal pains, 

 swellings, etc. — a standard remedy." 

 Distribution. — The vicinity of Valparaiso in Chile. 



33706. SoLANUM sp. Nightshade. 

 "(No. 1190.) ' Tomatillo.^ This is an annual found only in the 'chacras' 



where beans, potatoes, corn, squashes, and melons are planted. It grows about 

 2 feet high and from 3 to 4 feet wide. The fruit grows in bunches under the 

 leaves, which are of good size and dark green. The plant is fleshy, juicy, and 

 broken easily. The fruit is green in color until it is fully mature, when it turns 

 black. It is not edible. Apart from the plant growth, it is exactly like Bur- 

 bank's wonderberry in every particular of appearance. 



" It is a bush with vine habits, about 2 or 3 meters [6^ to 10 feet] high, loA'ing 

 the shade of the fences that it covers with large clusters of bloom — all shades of 

 lilac and blue purple. The clusters are about 4 or 5 inches in diameter, very 

 beautiful but scentless. The entire plant is medicinal and is a worthy substi- 

 tute for quinia and quinine. It is employed with excellent results in typhoid 

 and other malignant fevers, sickness caused by colds, chills, ague, etc. It is a 

 powerful tonic and extremely bitter: a small bit of a green branch placed in a 

 tumbler of water for but half a minute makes it xery bitter. This is the way it 

 is taken as medicine: Pieces of wood placed in the water which fowls or animals 

 are to drink invigorate them and prevent disease. This plant should be care- 

 fully studied, as there is more in it than is known at present. Grows in dry 

 poor soil or in the moist south in good soil." 



33707. NicoTiANA TABACUM L. Tobacco. 

 "(No. 1193.)" 



33708 and 33709. Xicotiaxa loxgiflora Cavanilles. 



"(No. 1194.) While this plant is cultivated for its flowei's, it may have an 

 industrial use for its gum. It is hairy; at the end of each is a tiny drop of oil 

 or gum. This belongs to a class of hairy plants in Chile, from which exudes a 

 liquid gum or sticky substance." 



33708. "White, yellowish flowers." 



33709. "Pink flowers." 



Distribution. — A perennial, or in northern countries an annual, found 

 in Chile and Argentine. 



33711 and 33712. Medicago spp. 



From Chile. Received through IMr, Jose D. Husbands, Limavida, via Molina, 

 Chile. June, 1911. Numbered May 20, 1912. 

 Seeds of the following; quoted notes by Mr. Husl)and."<: 



33711. Medicago hispida reticulata (Benth.) Urb. 



"(No. 1180.) A dwarf bur clover which is late and new to me. This beard 

 less variety spreads along the ground, and the stems are so interwoven with each 



