JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1914. 



47 



37217 and 37218— Continued. 



of thick fleshy roots instead of a tuber. But while it is nearly allied to 

 C. crispata, C. tliorncroftii differs markedly from that species in having 

 much smaller flowers characterized by the gibbous projection at the mid- 

 dle of the keel on the inner side of the lobes, of which there is no trace 

 in C. crispata. Mr. Lynch informs us that C. thorncroftii requires the 

 usual treatment under ordinary tropical conditions of the other species 

 of the genus except that in winter it appears to demand a rather higher 

 temperature than the majority and to prefer a greater degree of dry- 

 ness. It has done well in the stove, but has not succeeded in the cactus 

 house. The masses of fleshy roots appear to be sensitive to any excess 

 of moisture, especially if associated with too low a temperature." 

 {Curtis' s Botanical Magazine, 1912, tab. 8^58.) 

 37218. DiMORPHOTHECA sPECTABiLis Schlechtor. 



" Magenta color, disk purple, attains a height of 2 feet on the mountain 

 stony places, altitude 5,000 feet. This plant appears after the first 

 rains in October, and is burnt off in the winter by the veldt fires. A 

 very beautiful plant." (Thorncroft.) 



37219. Zea MAYS L. Corn. 

 From Puerto Bertoni, Paraguay. Presented by Dr. Moises S. Bertoni. Re- 

 ceived February 21, 1914. 

 " Seeds of a new variety of early hard maize, communis minor. This is a 

 new variety which we believe will be of great interest in those countries in 

 which the early European maize gives good results with difficulty. It is a 

 new variety which we have obtained in this agronomic station by hybridization 

 and selection of various species of hard and soft maizes of different degrees of 

 earliness. It is almost as early a ripener as the variety of Early Soft maize, 

 which serves as the base, and almost as hard and good as the Hardy Canary 

 maize, with which it was first crossed. It is notably hardy and drought resist- 

 ;int. The plant is small and of good production." (Bertoni.) 



372^0. Phaseolus VULGARIS L. V Bean. 

 From Bahia, Brazil. Collected by Messrs. P. H. Dorsett, A. D. Shamel, and 

 Wilson Popenoe, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Received January 

 22, 1914. 



"(No. 53a. December 26, 1914.) Mulatinha (little mulattress), a bean grown 

 or. the dry lands of the interior of Bahia State. One liter oi seed purchased in 

 the Mercado Novo at 240 reis [8 cents]." (Dorsett, Shamel, and Popenoe.) 



37221 and 37222. 



From Nice, France. Presented by Dr. A. Robertson Proschowsky. Re- 

 ceived February 6, 1914. 



37221. Annona cherimola L. Cherimoya. 

 " Seeds of the anona which this year produced a few quite good fruits in 



my garden. This species fruits every year, but usually the fruits are 

 full of seeds and have little edible substance." (Proschowsky.) 



37222. Secamone wightiana (Hook, and Arn.) Schumann. 

 (Toxocarpus ivightiana Hook, and Arn.) 



" Small shrub, showy orange-colored flowers, rather thorny." ( Pros- 

 chowsky. ) 



Distribution. — The Provinces of Hupeh and Kwangtung in China and 

 the islands of Hongkong and Hainan. 

 69935 ''—17 i 



