- 7 - 
for food, being taken just "before the flower opens and being 
cooked as young squash are. The flowers themselves are also 
cooked and eaten. The covering of the mature fruits is also 
eaten, having much the same flavor as the eastern date. From 
the leaves of this same tree is also obtained a fiber which 
forms the bulk of the ' ixtle' fiber exported from this consular 
district." (Voetter.) For distribution later. 
UNIDENTIFIED. (Zinziberaceae . ) 295.29. Roots of ginger 
from near Tsinanfu, Shantung, China. Presented by Rev. H. W. 
Luce, Shantung Christian University, Weihsien, China. "This 
light colored variety so far as I can find out is grown in sandy 
soil." (Luce.) Introduced for the purpose of trying ginger cul- 
ture in more northern latitudes than has heretofore been tried 
in the United States. For distribution later. 
NOTES FROM FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS. 
ALGERIA, Oued-Zenati. Mr. A. Clave, Director of the Oued- 
Zenati School for Boys, writes February 2 that he has not been 
able to get the seed of Pyrus longipes, but he sends specimens of 
Medicago sativa tunetana and several other plants of his locality. 
FIJI, Suva. Mr, Charles H. Khowles, Superintendent of Ag- 
riculture, writes December 23, 19] 0, that he will be glad to send 
us specimens and seeds of Aleurites triloba as soon as he can 
obtain them. If he can find the Maba elliptica on the island of 
Eandavu, which he visits rather rarely, he will get it for us. 
HONDURAS, Puerto Cortes. Mr. Claude I. Dawson, American 
Consul, sends us under date of January 26, sample of the wood of 
the so-called guano "palm", really Ochroma lagopus, one of the 
Bombacaceae. "The wood is very porous, and one of the lightest 
of all woods, lighter even than true cork, the specific gravity 
of which is 0.240, while the guano is 0.120; fibrous and very 
difficult to work, because of the fibers which impede the action 
of the tools." (Cook and Collins, Economic Plants of Porto Rico.) 
This specimen was secured for the Office of Pomological Investi- 
gations in the hope that the sawdust of this species may take the 
place of cork and the sawdust of heavier woods, for grape and 
other fruit packing. 
INDIA, Calcutta. Major A. T. Gage, Superintendent, Royal 
Botanic Garden, writes January 14 that there will be no difficul- 
ty in getting for us quite a quantity of the seeds of Diospyros 
embryopteris (D. peregrina), as the trees, are fairly common in 
the garden and fruit fairly freely. 
