JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1912. 13 
32386. PnrtJS teocote Cham, and Schlecht. Okote pine. 
From Mexico. Presented by Dr. C. A. Purpus. Zacuapam, Huatusco. Vera Cruz, 
Mexico. Received January 2, 1912. 
•'From Esperanza. Puebla. 2.700 to 2,800 meters [8.850 to 9,180 feet] altitude. ; ' 
Distribution. — Mexico; from San Luis Potosi, where it rises to an elevation of 8,000 
feet, southward to the region of Orizaba. 
32387 to 32389. 
From Siberia. Received through Mr. Frank N. Meyer, agricultural explorer, 
Bureau of Plant Industry. Received January 6, 1911. 
Seeds of the following: 
32387. Festuca sp. Fescue. 
From Omsk, Siberia. 
"(No. 1629a. July 19, 1911.) A grass said to be native to the steppe country 
of western Siberia; much grown for hay. Possesses the desirable quality of 
not sprouting when once plowed under, in case the land is needed for wheat 
culture. To be tested in the semiarid northwestern sections of the United 
States/' (Meyer.) 
32388. Triticum durum Desf. Wheat. 
From Chistunka. southwestern Siberia. 
"(No. 1630a, September 9, 1911.) A hard-kerneled summer wheat, called 
Bjela-turka, meaning White Turkish. It is much grown throughout western 
Siberia on account of its resistance to drought and its early-ripening qualities. 
•Winter wheats can not be grown successfully in western Siberia, as the 
winters are too cold and often have very little snow, so at present all wheats 
raised are summer wheats. " ( Meyer.) 
32389. Medicago falcata L. 
From western Siberia. 
"('No. 1634a, July 18 and October 4, 1911.) The sholteek. as this wild alfalfa 
is generally called in western Siberia, occurs over the greater part of Eurasia, 
being found in the Himalayas as low down as the thirtieth degree of latitude, 
near Yakutsk, and in Norway between the sixtieth and seventieth parallels. 
There is a very great amount of variation to be observed in the wild plant; 
some forms grow up to from 5 to 6 feet and may be fairly erect, while others 
reach a height of a few inches only and are often prostrate in habit. The 
more prostrate forms lend themselves excellently for naturalization purposes 
on dry pasture grounds, while the erect varieties may be cultivated for forage 
purposes in sections of the United States where the ordinary alfalfa gets winter 
killed. The present habits of this sholteek indicate that possibly a great amount 
of selection and breeding may have to be done before ideal types will have been 
evolved, but the many excellent qualities this plant possesses, viz, the eagerness 
with which all sorts of domestic animals devour it, its apparently great nutritive 
capacities, especially for milk cows, its remarkable resistance to drought, 
to close grazing, and to adverse conditions in general, all seem to make it well 
worth while to spend some extra efforts on improvement. The roots of this 
sholteek also possess the capacity of producing new plants whenever cut off or 
when exposed to the air on account of the soil having been washed away. This 
characteristic is of great value in pasture grounds, where the crowns are easily 
damaged by the close grazing and by the hoofs of the animals trampling over 
them. The soil best suited to this Medicago seems to be a blackish, well-drained 
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