716 
There is a plant here called surwcucu, which is evi- 
dently a species of Pereskia. It has tough, hard spines, 
very slender and up to two inches in length, profusely 
produced all along the branches, making it very effective 
as a hedge plant, and this is its usual use around Bahia. 
Dr. Pranceschi, however, told me that someone with whom he 
was acquainted has conceived the idea of using these 
spines for phonograph needles, and I believe the theory 
was that they produced a much softer and finer sound than 
any manufactured needle. Just as soon as we can get to it 
we are going to collect enough of these spines to allow of 
experiments to find out just how valuable they are for 
this purpose; if the scheme should prove feasible, it 
would be an easy matter to introduce the plant to Florida 
and produce the spines on a commercial scale, for the 
plants are extremely productive, there being a cluster of 
three to twelve spines at each leaf base, and the leaves 
are not more than an Inch apart. 
The Grumixama, Stenocalyx brasiliensis , impresses me as 
one of the best myrtaceous fruits I have ever eaten. The 
fruits • came as near to being a European cherry of the 
Bigarreau type as anything I have seen; they are about the 
size of a cherry, with a stem an inch and a half long, and 
are deep crimson in color. The skin is thin and delicate; 
the seeds, one or two in number, are the size of small 
cherry stones and do not adhere to the flesh; the flesh 
itself is soft and tender, of very mild and agreeable 
flavor, and entirely free from any disagreeable character. 
This seems to be a very promising thing for Florida, as 
the trees are very productive, and are worthy of culti- 
vation anywhere as ornamentals alone. 
The Inspectoria de Obras Contra as Seccas maintains a 
Horto Florestal at Joazelro, and Dr. Lisboa will give us 
letters to the director if we go there. We understand 
they are growing some interesting things. The date palm 
is considered most promising for the arid interior of Bahia 
state, and we have promised to assist the Department of 
Agriculture in obtaining offshoots of the best Arabian and 
Algerian varieties. From the fact that the date palm 
grows in that region, you can easily see that it must be 
very similar to our own arid Southwest, and it seems to us 
that it would be a very promising field for exploration. 
Of course, there is not a great variety of either wild or 
cultivated plants, but any that are found ought to stand a 
good chance of proving successful in some part of our 
country. " 
