16 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPOETED. 



34381 to 34409— Continued. 



34405. EscALLONiA REVOLUTA (R. and P.) Persoon. Siete camisas. 

 (No. 29.) "Flowers very beautiful." 



"In Valdivia is frequently called siete camisas (seven shirts). It is scarce in 

 the central valley of Chile, but frequent in the Cordillera of Santiago. In Val- 

 divia it grows in moist soils preferably and rarely reaches a height of 5 meters, 

 sending out branches from the base of its slender trunk. Its light soft wood is 

 used only for fuel. {Castillo and Dey, Jeografia hotanica.) 



Distribution. — A shrub with racemes of white flowers found in the vicinity of 

 Concepcion, in Chile. 



34406. Meladendron chilense Molina. Palo negro. 

 (No . 30. ) " Large black tree. ' ' 



34407. QuiLLAJA SAPONARIA Molina. Quillai. 

 (No. 31.) "Soap tree, very large. This is a very valuable tree and should 



grow well in many parts of the United States." 



34408. Chusquea sp. Bamboo. 

 (No. 32.) 



34409. Lapageria rosea Ruiz and Pavon. Copigue. 

 (No. 33.) "Climbing vine; very rich flower." 



34412. Mangifera indica L. Mango. 



From Honolulu, Hawaii. Presented by Mr. E. V. Wilcox, Hawaii Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. Received October 15, 1912. 

 * ' Odhu. Nearly seedless. ' ' ( Wilcox. ) 



34413. Parthenium argentatum A. Gray. Guayule. 



From Saltillo, Mexico. Presented by Mr. Philip E. Holland, American consul. 

 Received October 15, 1912. 



"The plant grows along the northern frontier of Mexico, especially in dry and 

 mountain lands. It reaches an average height of 25 inches, weighs about 20 ounces, 

 and its average thickness at the base is IJ inches. In proportion to its size, each plant 

 yields 10 per cent of pure rubber. The Mexican guayule does not produce the same 

 milky sap common to other rubber plants. 



"Scarcely any industry in Mexico has experienced so rapid a development as that 

 of guayule rubber. Since its appearance in the market its price has advanced amaz- 

 ingly. In 1903 it sold for $5 to $7 per ton; only four years later, in 1907, the price 

 had risen to $50 per ton, and to-day (1911) its value is approximately $100 per ton. 



"The most valuable guayule plantations are found in the vast desert of Coahuila, 

 a State whose wealth was made fabulous by guayule production. The States of 

 Nuevo Leon, Chihuahua, and Tamaulipas also produce guayule in large quantities." 

 {Extract, Bui. Amer. Rep., 1911.) 



34414. Prunus humilis Bunge. 



From Chevy Chase, Md. Presented by ]^Ir. David Fairchild, of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Received October 17, 1912. 

 "Seeds collected from a plant presented by the Arnold Arboretum and grown in 

 Maryland since 1906. A remarkable ornamental free and early flowering plum. Its 

 dwarf habit makes it suited for cultivation about city houses in dooryard plantings. 

 Prof. C. S. Sargent informed me that the seed from which this plant came he bought 

 of a fruit vendor at a railway station between Tientsin and Peking." {Fairchild.) 

 Distribution. — The provinces of ChihU and Shantung, in China. 



