748 
Campomanesia sp. (Myrtaceae.) 37491. Seeds of a 
guabiroba from Sitio, Mlnas Geraes, Brazil. "A wild 
myrtaceous fruit called guabiroba by the natives. The 
plant is 10 to 12 feet high, and upright in growth. The 
fruits are oblate in form, an inch in diameter, orange 
yellow when ripe, containing one or two perfect seeds and 
several abortive ones, surrounded by white melting pulp, 
of rather acid and guava-like flavor." (Dorsett, Popenoe, 
and Shamel introduction.) For distribution later. 
Carica papaya. (Caricaceae . ) 37577. Seeds of a so- 
called 'seedless' papaya from Manila, Philippine Islands. 
Presented by Mr. William S. Lyon, collaborator. "One of 
these so-called seedless fruits has now perfected 26 and 
the other 35 seeds and at the same time we are still 
getting plenty of entirely empty fruits. After all, seed- 
lessness is no especial virtue in a papaya even though the 
normal fruit found here bears always a double handful of 
seeds, several hundred at least, but seedlessness has the 
undoubted value of decreasing the size of the placental 
cavity and of greatly Increasing the thickness of the 
flesh. Most of cur seedless fruits have had a pulp of 
from 30 to 32 mm. in thickness as opposed to an average of 
from 12 to 15 mm. in the unimproved kinds. These figures 
are from measurement and not by guess. If prolificacy be 
a trait worth cultivating, then this variety has it in a 
superlative degree. Only now about 16 months from the 
seed, we are eating the last of the third crop, aggregat- 
ing for the three about 110 fruits, and a fourth crop due 
to begin to ripen in about one month. The greater part of 
the first crop I have sold at the rate of $15 per hundred, 
although as I Indicated to you oefore, the greatly reduced 
size of the subsequent crops would depreciate their market 
value. Still another freak development I notice that 
would make the fixation of the variety even by vegetative 
means a matter of doubt. The freak noted is a sudden 
variation in form, the present crop showing a preponder- 
ance of oblong fruits, while a few are as round as a 
pomelo. This is a feature however that I surmise may lie 
much within the control of the cultivator. The immense 
size of the fruits and their position, one bearing down 
upon the other, has an undoubted tendency to elongate 
them. Careful thinning I believe would modify this to the 
extent of producing the rounder fruits that are desired." 
(Lyon.) For distribution later. 
Castanea spp . (Fagaceae). 37547-548. Cuttings and 
seeds of chestnuts from the mountains south of Sianfu, 
Shensi, China. Two varieties, one remarkably large fruit- 
ed and of low growth, the other said to have large fruits. 
