') JANUAEY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1921. 3 



i' ^ith yields comparable to the best European varieties. What will 

 i iiappen to the black rice of Burma (No. 52751), which Mr. Rock 



found and used with keen relish as a breakfast dish at Moulmein, 

 ; "time only can decide. He declares it is a grain especially prized in 

 1 Siam and when served as he used it is particularly delicious. What 



might it be when puffed? 

 The fundi grass of Sierra Leone, Digitaria exilis (No. 52736), 



which is grown by the Nigerian tribe as a supplemental food grain, 

 i may prove too expensive for production on a large scale because of 

 j the small size of its kernels ; but, like the Abyssinian teff, it deserves 

 I to be thoroughly investigated as having possibly some particular use 



for invalids. 



Forage and fodder 'plants. — Fodder trees have received little at- 

 tention in this country, though in the drier parts of India and Aus- 

 tralia much use is made of them. Two new ones from New South 

 Wales, the leopard tree, Flindersia maculosa (No. 52798), and the 

 myall, Acacia pendula (No. 52800), deserve study by the ranchmen 

 of the extreme Southwest, where fodder grasses are scarce, since in 

 years of unusual drought these trees can tide over the stock until 

 rains come. They have nutrient values of 48.5 and 29, respectively, 

 and will stand periods of prolonged drought. 



Yegetahles. — ^Why should we not use the old-fashioned potherb 

 Good King Henry, Chenop odium honus-henricus (No. 52789) ? It 

 is extremely hardy and two weeks earlier than asparagus produces 

 shoots that are easily blanched and have a delicious flavor. It is re- 

 lated to our own lamb's-quarters, C. olhum^ which is also excellent. 



Tomato growers may be interested in Mr. Harrison's giant tomato 

 bush (No. 52334) which in the frostless region of Burringbar, New 

 South Wales, produced in 12 months a plant 16 feet across and 11 

 feet high that bore 100 dozen fair-sized fruits. 



Nut-producing plants. — Telfairia pedata (No. 52450), a cucurbit 

 growing like a liana in the tropical forests of East Africa and pro- 

 ducing immense fruits which are filled with large flat edible seeds, 

 although brought to the attention of horticulturists in 1824 seems 

 nowhere to have been cultivated. It deserves a thorough trial. 

 There is something alluring in the idea of replacing the scrub oaks 

 of the pinelands of Florida with the deciduous oaks of Siam (Nos. 

 52440 to 52448) which produce great masses of sweet edible acorns. 



Dye and tannin plants. — Mr. Rock's account of the black dye made 

 from a tropical species of persimmon, Diospyros mollis (No. 52510), 

 a substance whose color is so prized by the Chinese that they ship 

 into Siam yearly over $800,000 worth of silk and pay duty on it in 

 order to have it dyed there, should attract the attention of the 

 manufacturers of dyes. Seed of the tree to grow in Porto Rico and 

 Hawaii was secured. 



