24 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



about 8 pence to 1 shilling 4 pence, and 4^ pence to 10^ pence per pound, respectively, 

 the largest size commanding the highest price. The tree thrives best in deep, loamy, 

 and well-drained soil, in a hot and moist climate, and up to 1,500 feet elevation. Being 

 dioecious, that is, the male and female flowers borne on separate trees, it is impossible 

 to tell to which sex a tree belongs until it flowers. The proportion of 1 male to 10 or 

 12 female trees (or 10 males to an acre) should be enough for insuring the fertilization 

 of the flowers of the latter. The trees become productive at the age of 7 or 8 years, 

 and increase in yield till they reach about 30 years, when the crop may be 3,000 to 

 5,000 or more nuts per tree. They produce two crops a year, and continue to be pro- 

 ductive for very many years. Trees about 70 years old in Peradeniya Gardens bear 

 very heavy crops annually and appear to be now in their prime. Propagation is 

 usually by seed, which take about three months to germinate. Sow in pots or boxes 

 under cover, or in a well-prepared bed in a shady corner; cover with an inch of fine 

 soil, and water daily in dry weather; artificial shade is beneficial until the seeds have 

 germinated. When the seedlings are old enough to handle, transfer them to baskets 

 or bamboo pots and plant out in permanent places when 8 or 10 inches high, at dis- 

 tances of about 30 feet apart. Owing to the uncertainty of the proportion of male to 

 female plants when raised from seed, propagation by budding or inarching should as 

 far as possible be resorted to." {Macmillan, Handbook of Tropical Gardening and 

 Planting.) 



35906. Lansium domesticum Jack. Duku. 



From Buitenzorg, Java. Presented by the director, Department of Agriculture. 

 Received July 31, 1913. 

 For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 35885. 



35907 and 35908. Ceiba pentandra (L.) Gaertner. Kapok. 



From Nairobi, British East Africa. Presented by Mr, Ralph M. Odell, commer- 

 cial agent, Department of Commerce and Labor, who secured them from Mr. A. 

 C. MacDonald, Director of Agriculture. Received August 1, 1913. 

 "Pods of the so-called kapok cotton tree, which grows wild out here. The fiber is 

 very soft and silky, but the staple is very short and I am in doubt as to whether it could 

 be spun into yarn without a great deal of difficulty or without special machinery." 

 {Odell.) 



35909. Mammea Americana L. Mammee apple. 



From Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Presented by Mr. Charles M. Hatha- 

 way, jr., American consul. Received August 4, 1913. 

 "Seeds and fruits of the mammee picked from a tree on the land of Eugenie 

 Deschamps, on the edge of Puerto Plata. The leaves are dark olive green and shiny. 

 The fruit is hard, solid, and heavy. When ripe it is of a yellowish brown color and has 

 on the surface grayish specks like those on a potato skin. The rind is thick and leathery 

 and may be readily stripped off after being quartered like the rind of an orange. It 

 has the smell of an apricot. The larger specimens are from 16 to 18 inches in circum- 

 ference and contain three stones; smaller ones contain one or two stones. The meat, 

 which is of the color and smell of an apricot, is solid and adheres to the stones like that 

 of a green peach. The fruit becomes soft only when decay sets it, as it does without 

 showing any sign from the outside except softness to the touch. It should be eaten 

 when still hard, but a little yielding to pressure. After the rind is stripped off, the 

 fibrous layer that covers the meat should be scraped away. All the rest may be eaten. 

 I have been told that the meat is improved by soaking a little while in salt water before 

 eating. It is made into two sorts of jam, or dulce, as it is called here. " {Hathaway.) 



