APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1921. 



3 



Plant breeders who are trying to produce larger and finer fruited 

 varieties of blackberries and raspberries can not fail to be interested 

 in the strains of the Hawaiian species of Rubus {R. macraei^ Nos. 

 53480 to 53482, 53625, 53759, 53760, and 53847). The problem will 

 be to find a suitable moist, cool, but not too cold, climate in which to 

 grow both these Hawaiian and Mr. Popenoe's Ecuadorian species of 

 Rubus. 



The brilliant-berried Vaccinium meyenianum (No. 53488), from 

 the volcano of Kilauea, and the showy white-flowered Fagraea auri- 

 culata (No. 53483), as well as the forest tree Sterculia macro'phylla 

 (No. 53484), which Mr. Rock introduced, will, it is hoped, find places 

 in this country. 



An unusual number of valuable species has been presented to the 

 department by foreign institutions and by interested foreign ama- 

 teurs, to whose generosity we have always been indebted in the past. 



The Hon. Vicary Gibbs, of Herts, England, has sent us 21 varieties 

 of the beautiful aster {Aster novi-belgii, Nos. 53009 to 53029), some 

 of which are sure to beautify the dooryards of this country. 



Victor O. Fletcher, of Hobart, Tasmania, has sent four new grasses 

 (Nos. 53115 to 53118) that are proving valuable for forage on the 

 dry hills of Tasmania, where the rainfall totals only 14 inches 

 annually. 



Sir David Prain, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, 

 has favored us with 19 new or rare species of Rubus (Nos. 52939 to 

 52951 and Nos. 53535 to 53540) and a very unusual collection of 

 Berberis, Lonicera, Clematis, Rosa, Viburnum, and Cotoneaster (Nos. 

 53627 to 53752). 



Consul Cavin, of Tananarive, Madagascar, presents a remarkable 

 collection of the coffee species now recognized by botanists as distinct 

 (Nos. 53454 to 53462). 



Consul Goding, of Guayaquil, sends in a salmon-pink shaddock, 

 or ^^rapefruit (No. 53611). 



Through the kindness of Messrs. Kenoyer and Dudgeon, of Ewing 

 Christian College *kt Allahabad, India, we have come into possession 

 of a remarkable collection of Indian tree and shrub seeds (Nos. 

 53563 to 53590). This includes Bauhinia vahlii (No. 53567), which 

 they say is put to more uses than almost any other forest plant ex- 

 cept the bamboo. It is a gigantic climber with white flowers turn- 

 ing to cream color and large flat leaves which are sewed together 

 to make plates, cups, and even rough tablecloths, umbrellas, cloaks, 

 and rain capes. It has grown well in southern Florida in Charles 

 T. Simpson's hammock. The collection also contains Boswellia 

 serrata (No. 53569), the source of Indian olibanum, used as an in- 

 gredient in incense; Diospyros tupni (Nos. 53572 and 53573), a 

 tropical persimmon tree as yet not cultivated in India; nine flower- 

 ing trees of promise for Florida (Nos. 53574 to 53582) ; two stately 

 trees {Sterculia urens^ No. 53588, and Tenninalia tomentosa^ No. 

 53589) suitable for street use; a variety of purple-stemmed wheat 

 from the Ganges Valley (No. 53590) ; and a species of jujube 

 {Ziziphus xylopyrus^ No. 53593), the charred fruits of which make 

 a black dye for leather. 



