93 
possible collections of the "best types of castor 
iDeans which can "be obtained anywhere In the world, 
and those from China, I imagine, are likely to 
prove as high in their content of oil as any. In 
fact, I have an idea from looking over the litera- 
ture on the subject that the Chinese "beans are 
likely to be best suited to our conditions. 
My reason for asking you to ship one hundred 
pound lots at once was to be prepared for the 
emergency which apparently is cojning. 
Upon receipt of your cabled report, I can tell 
better what steps to take, and I may cable you 
again just what to do. "^t is interesting to con- 
template the changed situation with regard to the 
castor bean, the market for which has been so 
poor that the industry has practically died out 
in this country. 
Mr. Meyer wrote regarding this cable on October ?5. 1917i 
from Klngmen, Hupeh, as follows: 
Now the Consul General at Hankow wi-ites 
me "that immediately upon receipt of this 
cablegram they investigated the conditions 
as to the local market and ascertained that 
practically no shipments of either castor 
oil or castor beans are made from this port. 
Local exporters state that Newchwang and 
^ Dalny act as the chief centers for these 
products although Shanghai exports small 
quantities". 
What I personally have seen here in 
Central China of the castor bean I should 
say it plays a very small roll. One finds 
it here and there around the edges of the 
fields, grown for home consumption only ap- 
parently. However, should I come across 
promising varieties I'll send you seeds in 
as great a quantity as I can get them. 
On October ?3, 1917, Mr. Pairchild wrote Mr. Meyer the 
following letter regarding Castanea mollissima : 
Doctor Galloway, Mr. Bisset and I spent 
a day looking over Doctor Van Fleet's fas- 
cinating place at Bell, Md. You y/ould be 
immensely interested to see his dwarf hybrids 
betv/een the chinquapin and the Japanese chest- 
nut, but you would be particularly interested 
December 31, 1917. 
