OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1921. 



3 



Mr. BieakTvell, of Sydney, New South Wales, sends two strains of 

 sweet sorghum (Nos. 54435 and 54436), which, when grown under 

 Australian conditions side by side with American varieties of which 

 he imported seeds, were much superior to the latter. 



M. Goffart, of Tangier, Morocco, who has made a specialty of 

 acacias for many years, sends us Acacia pycnantha (Xo. 54439), 

 which he finds less intolerant of lime in the soil than any other 

 species, although it is not so hardy. This species ought to do well in 

 Florida, where many species of Acacia fail. 



The success which has attended the use of the native species, Agati 

 (Seshania) macrocarpa^ in the Coachella Valley of California has 

 made it seem advisable to try the Indian species A. grandifiora (No. 

 54468) , which, although growing into a good-sized tree, has the 

 characteristic of developing its root nodules when quite young and 

 thus suiting itself to use as a green soiling crop. Doctor Lyon, of 

 Hawaii, who sends in the seeds, reports that this species has been so 

 used there by planting thickly and turning under when 4 to 6 feet 

 high. 



Most species of Eucalyptus are too tender for cultivation in north- 

 ern Florida and most parts of California, but E. gunnii (No. 54469), 

 the Tasmanian eucalypt, has stood temperatures of 22° F. without 

 the least injury and should be utilized in those localities which are 

 too cool for the other species. 



Garcinia spicata (No. 54470) from peninsular India will be a valu- 

 able thing if the true mangosteen can be grafted on it and if it wiU 

 grow better than those other species which we have introduced for 

 stock purposes. 



The Ohia tree, Caryophyllus malaccensis (Nos. 54489 and 54530), 

 as it grows in Panama is a superb ornamental tree even though one 

 must stand under it to see the superbly beautiful rose-pink flowers 

 which form on the larger branches and are partly hidden by the 

 dark-green foliage. Though perhaps not a really first-rate fruit 

 tree, it deserves to be grown wherever possible for its flowers. 



The successful acclimatization of the kafir orange, Strychnos 

 spinosa^ in southern Florida, where its fruits are beginning to be 

 appreciated, makes the introduction of another species of this genus 

 (Strychnos sp., No. 54503) of more than usual interest, for it may be 

 possible now to improve this wild fruit which lacks only quality and 

 a knowledge of how to ripen it to make it a plant well worth culti- 

 vating in dooryards. 



The demand for a timber which the teredos and white ants will 

 not attack should make of particular interest the cultivating of the 

 stringy bark eucalypt. Eucalyptus obliqua (No. 54506). 



The unusual behavior of hybrids should entitle the Worcester berry 

 {Ribes nigrum X reclinatum, No. 54507), which is a cross between 

 the gooseberry and the black currant, to a wide trial, particularly 

 since it is said to be a regular bearer and a very vigorous shrub. 



Mr. Harrison, of Burringbar, New South Wales, has sent us again 

 some interesting new plants, among them the Congo grass {Pen- 

 nisetum purpurewm (No. 54513), a variety of the elephant grass 

 better than the type; it yields permanent fields of fodder on dry 

 soils. He also sends a selected large-fruited variety of the poha, 

 Physalis peruviana (No. 54514). 



