mi 
The seeds are small, flat and dry, and are crowded together in a flat triang- 
ular capsule. This is a most valuable ornamental shrub for southern Florida, where 
it thrives vigorously in dry, sandy soil. Its distinct and not too Btrong perfume, 
which is exhaled particularly during the night, is an additional charm." 
ficus pAdifolia (Moraceae), 44116. Fig. From Bl Coyolar, Costa Rica. "This is 
the most elegant and graceful in my collection of Ficus, consisting of about forty 
different species. Its rather small leaves, growing in dense masses along the 
slender drooping branches, are glossy, light green, contrasting strongly with the 
deep somber green foliage of Ficus retusa {F. nitida) and F. benjamina. The young foliage 
is light coppery-red, adding much to the beauty of the plant, which is extremely 
dense - so dense, indeed, that the beautifully drooping branches have to be bent 
aside in order to examine the trunk. I received two small plants April 9, 1919, 
and planted them out here on my Naples place in November, 1920, one in a dry sandy 
spot, the other in moist undrained soil on the edge of my cypress hammock. Though 
this latter specimen is quite healthy, it cannot be compared in luxuriant growth, 
beauty and elegance with the one in high vineland. This is about 15 feet high 
and about 10 feet in spread, provided with dense leafy branches from the ground 
up. The one in the moist soil is scarcely more than 6 feet high, and its growth 
is rather open. This experiment shows that this charming Ficus is a dry land 
plant. It will prove a most valuable tree for lawns and for avenue planting in 
southern Florida. Its root system is vigorous but not agressive, as is the case 
in so many other species of the genus. It is the most charming and beautiful, 
the most graceful and dense of all the trees on my place. It has ripened quite 
a number of small berries, the size of peas and dull red. Hocking birds are very 
fond of these fruits. My trees have received now' and then an application of 
blood and bone fertilizer." 
ulmus densa (Ulmaceae), 32829. Stamboul elm. From Merv, Turkestan. 
"In 1917 I received two young trees of this elm, and planted them in my ex- 
perimental nursery, where they grew about 4 feet in two years. I then transplant- 
ed them to an open, well-drained space on high ground. At this date both are 26 
feet high, with a diameter of 18 inches 5 feet above the ground. They grow rapid- 
ly and symmetrically, and have very small leaves, much smaller than those of our 
native elm; the branches grow horizontally, drooping at the ends. The rather 
dense foliage is a healthy green, and the trees have been absolutely free from 
any disease or insect pest. They were sufficiently hardy to withstand, one year 
after planting, one of the severest winters ever experienced in this latitude." 
(W. S. Pilling, Philadelphia, Pa., August 25, 1924.) 
The Quetta Nectarine. 
(Amygdalus pertica neetarina Ait.; S.P.I. No. 34685.) 
On the table before me is a plate of nectarines just received from the Plant 
Introduction Garden at Chico, Calif. As we eat one of these delicious, juicy, 
aromatic specimens, we mentally turn back the pages of history and see a town 
