64 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



36718 to 36810— Continued. 



36779. CucuRBiTA maxima Duch. Squash. 

 '•(No. 1966a. Hwai lai, Chihli Province, China. July 29, 1913.) An edible 



squash or gourd, used stewed, as a vegetable. Chinese name Yu hua. Of 

 value especially for the semiarid sections of the United States." 



36780. NicoTiANA RUSTicA L. Tobacco. 

 "(No. 1967a. Tie ling tze temple, Hsiao Wu tai shan, Chihli Province, 



China. August 25, 1913.) A coarse variety of tobacco cultivated in the tem- 

 ple garden, at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Chinese name Hsiao yea yen. For 

 nicotine-content tests." 



36781. Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Skeels. Cabbage. 

 "(No. 1968a. Kalgan. China. September 5, 1913.) A Chinese early winter 



cabbage having light-yellow heart leaves. Called Huang ya pai ts^ai. For cul- 

 tural information, see former notes on the Chinese cabbage (S. P. I. No. 36113)." 



36782. Brassica chinensis Jusl. Cabbage. 

 "(No. 1969a. Kalgan, China. September 5, 1913.) A Chinese summer 



cabbage having heavy white midribs, which are cut in inch-long pieces and 

 eaten fried, either alone or with meat, or boiled in a soup made from dried 

 shrimps, gi\'ing all these dishes a very appetizing flavor. Chinese name 

 Chiang glian pai ts^ai.^' 



36783. Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Skeels. Cabbage. 

 "(No. 1970a. Hwai lai, Chihli Province, China. July 29, 1913.) A large 



variety of winter cabbage, said to be of good quality. Chinese name Tung 

 pai ts'ai, meaning 'winter cabbage.' " 



36784. Medicago ruthenica (L.) Trautv. Alfalfa. 

 "(No. 1971a. Near Tan hwa, Chihli Pro\ince, China. September 2, 1913.) 



A wild alfalfa of spreading and semiasc ending growth; found in all sorts of 

 open spaces. Flowers of dark yellowish color, pods short and flat, borne in 

 little clusters, springing open and scattering their seeds when ripe. On very 

 dry and exposed places the plants make but small growth, but where found in 

 moist places and between grasses they supply quite a mass of herbage, which is 

 eagerly eaten by all grazing animals. This alfalfa is found at elevations of 2,000 

 to 8,000 feet, making a much more abundant growth in the higher mountain 

 regions than on the lower plains. Of decided value as a forage plant on ranges 

 and grazing grounds. Mght be found valuable enough even to be grown in 

 congenial localities for hay and for green fodder. Chinese name Ye mu shu, 

 meaning 'wild alfalfa.' " 



36785. SoJA MAX (L.) Piper. Soybean. 

 "(No. 1972a. Peking, China. September 29, 1913.) The original wild soy 



bean, which occurs in North China here and there in hedges, copses, between 

 shrubbery, and between reeds {Phragmites communis) on the drier places, where 

 it turns itself around any support available. The beans are blackish and very 

 small and are inclosed in small pods, which are quite hairy, though looking 

 typically like some of the smaller cultivated varieties of soy beans. The 

 poorest of the Chinese eat the young.pods when boiled, but the plant at large is 

 considered a weed and is gathered only when large quantities are found, in 

 which case it is fed to domestic animals as a fodder. Of value possibly as a fod- 

 der plant when sown out among erect-gro"«T.ng vegetation, like barnyard millet, 

 Johnson grass, and corn. Chinese name Mau doh, meaning 'hairy bean.' " 



