40 



GLYCINE HISPIDA. 



The Soybean, Glycine hispida, of which I recently sowed some 

 seeds obtained from a Soy factor)-, germinated with fair rapidity and 

 grew well on being planted out. It commenced to fruit when onlv 

 about six inches tall. The flowers are all cleistogamous, that is to 

 say, the petals never develop and the flower never opens but is 

 fertilized by itself in the hud. At the time of fertilization the hud 

 is less than a quarter of an inch long, with a green hairy five-pointed 

 calyx and minute pale blue petals which soon become pale pink 

 and persist without developing further for some time during the 

 ripening of the fruit. The ovary is green and covered with white 

 hairs and the style is decurved on it so that the stigma comes into 

 contact with one of the minute black anthers and is thus fertilized, 

 thus the plant is quite independent of insect agency for its feiti* 

 lization and would fruit anywhere. It might be worth while seeing 

 the large demand there is for the beans here to try the use of this 

 plant as a catch crop. 



I note one enemy it has in the form of a minute black beetle 

 (apparently one of the Halticidae) which nibbles the leaves and 

 makes small spots on them. I have seen it also on other beans. 



Editor. 



NOTE ON A PECULIAR FLOW OF LATEX 

 IN A HEVEA. 



As a rule, when a Para rubber tree is opened by the herring-bone 

 method, the flow of latex commences immediately and continues for 

 about an hour when it erases to produce anymore. There is a large 

 tree, however, in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which behaves in a 

 very different manner. When the cuts are opened, no latex or very 

 little appears for from an hour to an hour and a half. It then com- 

 mences to flow free!)- for several hours, requiring a cup to be changed 

 several times. Thus when tapped at 5 A.M. it had only just ceased to 

 flow at I P. M. All the adjacent trees flowed naturally, and the 

 cause of this curious action is not at all clear. The tree which 

 otherwise altogether resemhles those next to it had previously (some 

 years ago) been tapped on the same side. 



Editor. 



Malay Peninsula Agricultural Association. 



A General MeeVi^g. 



A General Meeting was held on Tuesday, the 24th January, 1905, 

 at Xo. 5, Weld Quay, when the following Members were present: — 



Hon. J. Turner — President, Mr. T. BOYD — Vice-President \ Mr. 

 L. ES CHASSERIAU, Mr. E. ES ChASSERIAU, Mr. [OSEPH MOIR, Mr. 



F. 0. Hallifax, Mr. John Symes, Mr. n. Douglas, Mr. p. 



