NEW SOUTH WALES, Burringbar. Mr. B. Harrison writes January 
12' that four species of Carissa grow in New South Wales. The 
small specimen he saw of C. Ovata appeared to he too insignifi- 
cant either for ornamental or economic use. "There are many 
economic trees here, not yet known in the United States, among 
them being the fruit trees, Hicksheachia pinnatifolia (red-nut), 
Macadamia ternifolia (Australian nut; is known in California), 
Adamsons, or the Sour Plum, Meston's mangosteen, native rasp- 
berries of several kinds, and many Eugenias, "beautiful evergreen 
flowering shrubs, the fruit of most of them being edible, and 
native limes, etc." 
NEW SOUTH WALES, Wahroonga. Mr. J. Staer writes January 16 
that he will shortly send a collection of Australian grasses * He 
has only a small plant of Carissa brownii (or ovata) growing in 
his nursery, but in April or May he will make a trip to the for- 
ests where it grows, and procure seeds and plants, together with 
photograph and water color painting for us. 
PARAGUAY, Cahi Puente. Mr. C. P. Mead writes December 26 and 
30, ]910. "Of the guayaba (Psidium guajava) tree, there are at 
least eight varieties of which I know, all growing wild and dif- 
fering both in size of tree and fruit, ranging, from a shrub 2 
feet high to trees 35 to 50 feet high, and the fruit from the 
size of a grape to the size of an orange. As regards this fruit, 
some doubt has arisen in my mind as to whether this guayaba found 
here may be the guava. In this section of Paraguay the guayaba is 
very scarce, but near Asuncion in towns of Aregua, Ipacarai and 
San Bernardino, it is very abundant growing wild, and in the lat- 
ter town one ma.y ride for miles through forests of guayaba where 
you can see thousands of tons of fruit on trees and in various 
stages of decay on ground. By first train during this week I am 
going to send a peon to Asuncion for medical aid and I will ar- 
range with him to bring me as much seed and of as many different 
varieties as have merit. During this last week I was talking with 
my head capataz as regards maize and he informed me that in the 
Yerbales, about 10 days voyage north of Asuncion, the Indians 
have a class of maize, each ear of which is (don't laugh) from 30 
to 36 inches long, that the plant is tall but a heavy cropper, 2 
to 3 ears to each plant, and also that this kind is planted in 
virgin soil only. If you think it worth while, I will take a trip 
up that way with my capataz on conclusion of this work. I will 
stand all expenses as I need a vacation, though I haven't much of 
a hankering to mix up with those little Indians and their poi- 
soned arrows. In about four months you will receive from me a 
shipment of cassava canes, or possibly seed before. This cassava 
matures sufficiently for eating purposes in 4-|- months, is at its 
prime from 6th to 7th month and will not last either above or be- 
low soil over 11 months. It must be planted in poor soil or it 
will all run to top." 
