26 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



37713. Asparagus tenuifolius Lam. Convallariaceae. 



Asparagus. 



From Chene, Geneva, Switzerland. Presented by Mr. Henry Correvon. 

 Received April 6, 1914. 

 See S. P. I. No. 33147 for previous introduction. 



"An herbaceous perennial from southern Europe ; like A. officinaUs, with very 

 slender, numerous cladodes and large, bright red berries." {J. B. Norton. In 

 Bailey, Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture.) 



37714 to 37717. Cicer arietinum L. Fabacese. Chick-pea. 



From Dardanelles, Turkey. Presented by Mr. F. R. J. Calvert, Thymbra 

 Farm. Received April 4, 1914. 



" The season for planting these beans is from the beginning of April to the 

 middle of May." (Calvert.) 



" It is a viscose, pubescent, much-branched, annual herb, generally not exceed- 

 ing 60 cms. in height. The stem is more or less woody and ribbed, and the 

 leaves are compound, pinnate, and stalked, with a varying number of leaflets, 

 not generally exceeding 16. The flowers are papilionaceous, white or purplish 

 in color, solitary, and with geniculate stalks. The fruit is an oblong, turgid, 

 2-seeded pod 2 to 2.5 cms. long and about half as broad, and the seed is gener- 

 ally somewhat symmetrically wrinkled. No varieties are distinguished by grow- 

 ers, but seed merchants distinguish two forms, viz, the Nitaya and the Dakar, 

 these two merely constituting a single variety, superior samples being reckoned 

 as Nitaya and those inferior in quality as Dakar. When the crop is to be 

 eaten fresh, the harvesting is done about four months after planting, while the 

 seed is yet tender and before the seed coat begins to harden and become tough. 

 Grown for grain, the crop is harvested about five and one-half or six months 

 after sowing," (Foaden and Fletcher, Textbook of Egyptian Agriculture.) 



The four numbers were received separately, but without any notes as to their 

 differences. In appearance there are no evident differences. 



37718. DiospYROs kaki L. f. Diospyracese. Persimmon. 

 From Wakamatsu, Iwashire, Japan. Presented by Rev. Christopher Noss, 

 M. D. Cuttings received April 9, 1914. 

 " Gosho.'' 



37719 to 37721. 



From Kashgar, Chinese Turkestan. Presented by Mr. George Macartney, 



British consul general. Received April 4, 1914. 



37719 and 37720. Linum usitatissimum L. Linacese. Flax. 



37719. From Kashgar. 37720. From Tashmalik. 



37721. Cannabis sativa L. Moracese. Hemp. 

 "Kashgar hempseed." 



The hempseed was requested as the variety from which hashish or bhang is 

 made. See Watt, Commercial Products of India, for a full account of the prepa- 

 ration and use of this narcotic. 



37722. Canavali sp. Fabacese. Babricou bean. 



From Bridgetown, Barbados, British West Indies. Presented by Mr. John 

 R. Bovell, Department of Agriculture. Received March 15, 1914. 



