1690 
pressure, an excellent white oil which is used in cook- 
ing, for soap manufacture, and in various other ways. 
"The chief obstacles in the way of obtaining this 
oil on an extensive or commercial scale are two: the 
difficulty which has been experienced in perfecting a 
machine to crack the nuts and remove the kernels, and 
the expense connected with harvesting the racemes from 
wild palms scattered over large areas of tropical jungle. 
Several Americans interested in the exploitation of 
this plant have worked on machines for cracking the 
nuts, and in one or two places such machines have been 
used commercially with a fair degree of success. As to 
the question of harvesting the nuts economically, I 
have always felt a bit skeptical. In the first place, 
it has been my observation that even where the palms 
occur in great abundance, fruit is not available in 
enormous quantities because not all of the plants bear 
regularly. .0. F. Cook of this Department has noted, in 
Guatemala, that some of the palms bear only staminate 
or male flowers, - a condition borne out by R. Lopez 
y Parra (La Palma del Coquito de Azeite, Mexico City, 
1910); such plants do not, of course, produce any 
fruit. It has also seemed to me that palms crowded to- 
gether in the jungle produce relatively few fruits 
compared to those growing in the open. Good examples 
of the latter may be seen in the Isthmus of Tehuan- 
tepec. 
"In southern Mexico this palm is called 'coyoli'; 
in Guatemala the fruits are known under the name 'co- 
rozo, ' while the palm, at least when young (during 
which period the leaves are commonly 'used for thatch- 
ing) , is called 'manaca. ' The name 'coquito' is ap- 
plied to the nuts in several regions, I believe. It 
is probable that a more careful study would show that 
several species of Attalea are represented by the plants 
popularly referred to A. eohune in tropical America," 
(Wilson Popenoe.) 
Capsicum anmum (Solanaceae) , 53941. Red pepper. From 
Valencia, Spain. Seeds purchased through Mr. John R. 
Putnam, American consul. "'Morron.' The variety almost 
universally employed for the best grades of canned 
peppers." (Putnam.) 
A large, fleshy, sweet, rather coarse variety of 
pepper suitable for preserving and baking. Because of 
its attractive appearance this variety is in great de- 
mand for export . (Adapted from note of Don Rafael Janini, 
agronomical engineer, Province of Valencia.) 
