6 



SEEDS AXD PLANTS IMPORTED. 



Nos. 39199 to 39218; and the 2 commercial rices of the Valencia rice- 

 growing region of southeastern Spain, Nos. 38685 and 38686, 



Vegetables. — A fine variety of the winter pe-fsai or Chinese cab- 

 bage, Brassica pekinensis, Xo. 38782, ^yith very white heads of a 

 mild flavor; 2 rhubarb species, Nos. 39049 and 39050, from Dar- 

 jiling, the stems of one of which are used for tarts, which 

 might be hybridized with Rheiwi rhaponticum; 22 varieties of 

 cassava, Nos. 38947 to 38968, representing the most important sorts 

 grown in the State of Bahia, Brazil; a variety of pumpkin, No. 

 38884, from the Oasis of Merv, Turkestan, which has w-ithstood the 

 heat and drought of Sonora, Mexico, better than other sorts tested 

 there; a long blood-red carrot for pickling purposes, from Sianfu, 

 China, No. 38786; and a shrubby species of indigo, Indigofera 

 dosua, No. 39119, from the temperate Himalayas, the flowers of which 

 are eaten as a potherb, while the plant is used for fodder. 



Fruits. — Seedlings from a large feijoa fruit, No. 38970, which was 

 3J by 2J inches, a most unusual size for this promising Paraguayan 

 fruit ; the Pelese apricot from Somma Yesuviana in Italy, No. 38778, 

 which, according to Dr. Gustav Eisen, the discoverer, is superior to 

 the Royal, with very firm flesh and fine flavor and good shipping 

 qualities ; the wampi, Claucena lansium, No. 38708, a fruit related to 

 the orange, but not as yet fruited in America, promising, furthermore, 

 as a stock for the orange and grapefruit; a tropical grape, Vitis 

 tiliaefolia, No. 38853, of vigorous habit and producing good fruits 

 useful for jellies, which deserves to be used in the production of 

 varieties of tropical grapes of good quality ; six varieties of kuruba or 

 Passiflora, Nos. 38881, 38882, and 39223 to 39226, which in Bogota 

 are standard market fruits very highly esteemed by North Ameri- 

 cans there, a red-fruited variety being particularly prized because of 

 its decorative color; a new species of Eriobotrya, E. petiolata, No. 

 39111, related to the loquat, which may be of value as a stock for the 

 latter, from the eastern Himalayan region; the Luisa mango. No. 

 38981, a fine type, presumably originating from Philippine seed 

 in the island of Cuba ; a quantity of litchi seeds gathered from 

 bearing trees of this important fruit now growing in the Hawaiian 

 Islands, No. 38779; Poupartia axillaris., No. 39136, a new fruit and 

 shade tree from western Hupeh and Szechwan Provinces of 

 China, which has proved hardy in Georgia; Sorhus cuspidata and 

 Sorhus insig7iis, Nos. 39133 and 39134, two deciduous fruit trees 

 native to the eastern Himalayas; Dillenia pentagyna^ No. 39109, a 

 deciduous tree from Oudh, Bengal. Assam, India, and Burma, the 

 flowers, buds, and green fruits of which are eaten by the natives : and 

 a remarkable rambling Rubus, R. niveus, No. 39130, from Kashmir 

 and Sikkim, which is reported to bear a fruit superior to the English 

 blackberry. 



