156 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



38641 and 38642— Contd. (Quoted notes by Capt. H. E. Lemly.) 



38641. Passiflora malifokmis L. 



" Curuba. A vine, bearing fruit, yellow when ripe, saffron-colored pulp. 

 To be eaten with cream and sugar. 



"This Ciiruba flourishes at this altitude, 9,000 feet, and a constant 

 temperature of about 60° F. in the shade. It ought to grow in the 

 United States." 



38642. Passiflora ligularis Juss. 



" Granadilla. Fruit of the passion vine; greenish yellow when ripe." 



38643. Medicago sativa L. Fabaceae. Alfalfa. 



From Tripoli, Africa. Presented by Dr. F. Franceschi, Bogliasco, Genoa, 

 Italy. Received June 25, 1914. 

 " Var. khobezy. This variety grows larger and yields more foliage than the 

 ordinary type. It appears to be very common and the seed costs twice as much. 

 Experiments made at the Agricultural School of Portici have shown that it is 

 rather teuder and will be fit only for Florida and southern California, perhaps 

 also for breeding purposes." (Franceschi.) 



38644. Plukenetia conophora Muell. Arg. Euphorbiaceae. 



From Victoria, Kamerun, German West Africa. Presented by the experi- 

 ment station. Received June 27, 1914. 

 Another oil fruit which springs from the creeping plant which is cultivated 

 everywhere in the Ossidinge district in the fields among maize and can be ob- 

 tained in great quantity was sent in to us also by Dr. Mansfield, district magis- 

 trate. Prof. Gilg determined the fruit as Plukenetia conophora. The thin- 

 shelled nut, about the size of a walnut, contains a firm, round, hard, oily 

 kernel, loose in the shell. The kernel as well as the oil contains no harmful 

 substance, as various experiments with animals show ; it is used by the natives 

 as a cooking oil. It belongs also, like the linseed oil (to which it is very simi- 

 lar in other ways), to the drying oils. It will be very valuable as a substitute 

 for linseed oil, w^hich is rising in price from year to year and which is a raw 

 product for linoleum and varnish making. The kernels without the shells 

 weigh 4 to 5 grams. The native name of the plant is Ngart. The fatty residue 

 contains 7.3 grams nitrogen — 45.6 per cent protein. The investigation of the 

 oil gives the following data : 



Specification. 



Ngart 

 oil. 



Linseed oils. 



Oil content of the kernels, per cent. 

 Specific weight of the oil at 17. C. 



Congealing point of oil °C 



lodin number of the oil 



lodin number of the free fatty acids 



Saponification number 



Refraction exponent at 17.5" C 



53.8 

 -0. 934 

 -33 

 177.3 

 187.4 

 192 

 -1.4830 



0. 930 to 0. 934 

 -16 to -20 

 170 to 202 

 190 to 210 

 188 to 195 



(Adapted from K rause and Diesselhorst, Tropenpflanzer, vol. 13, p. 282, 1S09.) 



