JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1921. 



11 



It is these that I am sending. This variety of taro is common in all imrts of 

 Kwangtung and Kwangsi and is the earliest variety known here. Its qual- 

 ity, however, is only medium, compared with that of the later varieties. 

 The taro prefers a loose sandy soil and is sometimes grown along with ginger, 

 bean, or Chinese melons, in various companion-cropping systems. The fertil- 

 izers commonly used are ashes from rice straw, horse manure, and night soil. 

 The average yield per mow (one-fifth acre) is about 20 taams, or 2,600 pounds. 

 Of these, about one-half are the large * mother ' tubers [corms] and about 

 one-half are the new small tubers, or oo tsai. The large ones are fed to hogs 

 largely, because of their inferior quality and coarseness. They bring an aver- 

 age price of $1.60 local silver (about $1 G.) per 130 pounds. The small ones 

 are used for human consumption, and they bring about $2 local silver per 

 130 pounds. In selecting for seed, the largest and finest tubers are chosen, 

 those which have a red swollen sprout at the top being preferred. The crop 



1 is planted here in February and March, and the harvest is ready by June and 



I July." (McClure.) 



" Leaf stem deep purplish maroon, shading into green near the blade, and 

 with conspicuous band of bright green at base. Petiolar sinus grayish white 

 with network of purplish veins. Petiolar spot on blade indistinct or absent." 

 {R. A. Young.) 



52333 and 52334. 



From Burringbar, New South Wales, Australia. Seeds presented by 

 B. Harrison. Received January 7, 1921. 



52333. Acacia sp. Mimosacese. Wattle. 

 "A creeping wattle, rooting at the joints, which should prove useful 



as a sand binder. It grows to a height of about 3 or 4 feet on the 

 beach here." (Harrison.) 



Received as Acacia procumhens, for which a place of publication has 

 not been found. 



52334. Lycopebsicon esculenttjm Mill. Solanacese. Tomato. 

 Harrison's Prolific. This tomato is a rapid grower and in our 



district, which is subtropical, grew in 12 months to the height of 11 

 feet, attained a . spread of 16 feet, and produced 100 dozen fair-sized 

 fruits. It commences to bear when only 9 to 12 inches in height and 

 branches profusely both close to the ground and along the stems. The 

 fruit is scarlet, very fine flavored, and about 4 or 5 inches in circum- 

 ference. The first plant attracted a great deal of attention from 

 residents for miles around, who declared they had never before seen 

 anything approaching it. The soil where the plant grew was well 

 drained and had been lightly burned over, which was probably the 

 cause of the vines thriving so well and escaping any disease." (Har- 

 rison.) 



52335. Tritolium subterraneum L. Fabaceae. 



Subterranean clover. 



From Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Seeds purchased from F. H. Brun- 

 ning. Received January 10, 1921. 

 " One of the most nutritious plants known to agriculture, indigenous to Brit- 

 ain and found growing on dry, sandy, and gravelly soil. The stems grow over 

 each other to a depth of 6 or 7 inches, the lower ones being as healthy as those 

 above." (Brunning.) 



