1455 
Dioseorea alata (Dloscoreaceae ) , 47446. Yam. 
From Honolulu, Hawaii. Presented by Mr. J. E. Higgins, 
horticulturist, Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. 
"This yam, understood to be the best variety grown in 
Hawaii, has purple skin; when cooked, the flesh is a 
little dark and, like many other varieties, is 
somewhat moist. Besides being boiled and mashed - a 
favorite method of preparation - yams may be baked, 
or after being boiled, may be sauced, or, like po- 
tatoes, may be made into a salad which is especially 
good . " (Young. ) 
Dracaena sp. (Liliaceae), 47511. From Zamboanga, 
P. I. Seeds presented by Mr. P. J. Wester, agricultural 
advisor. "This Dracaena may prove a good pot plant for 
the conservatory and of course for culture out of 
doors in Porto Rico and south Florida." (Wester.) 
Elaeis guineerms (Phoenicaceae) , 47504 to 47507. 
Oil palm. From Buitenzorg, Java. Seeds presented by the 
chief of the Division of Plant Breeding, Department 
of Agriculture. The oil palm Is indigenous to the 
Guinea coast, where travelers found it used by the 
natives as early as the sixteenth century. From there 
it has gradually been disseminated throughout the 
tropics. The palm attains 15 to 20 meters In height; 
its trunk is erect and straight; the flowers are mo- 
noecious, and the pistillate ones develop into fruits 
(drupes) of the form and size of a prune, yellow or 
brownish when ripe , according to variety. These fruits, 
numbering 1,000 to 1,500 upon a raceme, have a hard, 
woody endocarp surrounded with a fibrous and at the 
same time fleshy pulp, varying In thickness according 
to variety, and containing much oil. The seed contains 
an oleaginous kernel which is exported to Europe under 
the name "palmiste." In his "Documents sur le palmier a 
huile," Chevalier mentions several varieties of this 
plant , differing in production and the quality of their 
oil. The development of improved varieties will be a 
matter of great importance. The racemes are harvest- 
ed by natives who are very skillful in climbing the 
palms. The principal season of ripening is toward the 
end of the rains, but the harvest continues more or 
less throughout the year. The fruit yields two sor.s 
of oils: one is extracted from the pulp "huile de 
palme , " the other from the seed "huile de palmiste." 
"Huile de palme" is seen In Europe only in the solid 
state, since it does not become liquid at a lower 
