1471 
e Coloniale of Naples, through Mr. B. Harvey Carroll, 
Jr., American consul. "Tomato seed of the variety 
'fiascone' or 'fiaschetti' of which the English trans- 
lation would be 'little flagons' on account of the 
shape of the tomato. This is the type of tomato most 
largely grown in this consular district and most used 
for canning and for making tomato paste." (Carroll.) 
Meryta sinelairii ( Araliaceae ) , 47570. From Auckland, 
New Zealand. Seeds presented by Mr. James W. Poynton. 
"Native name 'puka. ' The meryta has large leaves, and 
is rather a striking-looking small tree, much grown in 
gardens for ornament. For a time it was believed to be 
the rarest tree in the world, - only one plant being 
known. One of our early botanists saw a tree near a 
large native camp, but the Maoris declared It was 'tabu' 
and forbade him under penalty of death to touch it. He 
reported Its discovery and described it as accurately 
as he could. No other naturalist had ever seen such a 
tree in New Zealand and much interest was aroused by 
his report. Twelve years afterward he returned to 
the place and found the camp deserted; but the tree 
was still there. He got some leaves and flowers and 
sent them to the eminent botanist, Sinclair, who classi- 
fied it, and it is now named after him. Subsequently 
27 plants were found on some islands in the Hawakl 
Gulf near Auckland and from them seeds were obtained 
for distribution. The plants are male and female." 
(Poynton. ) 
Metrosideros tomentosa (Myrtaceae), 47571. From 
Auckland, New Zealand. Seeds presented by Mr. James 
W. Poynton. "The Christmas tree of our early settlers ; 
native name 'pohutukawa. ' It comes into bloom mostly 
during Christmas week (midsummer here). The flowers 
are deep red and the tree is very pretty when In flower. 
It grows well by the seaside, gives good shelter, and 
endures salt spray splendidly. The wood is hard and 
durable but the tree does not grow straight, being 
bent at the branches. For this reason It was much 
sought after for knees for boat building. " (Poynton. ) 
Ochroma lagopus (Bombacaceae) , 47593. Balsa wood. 
From Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. Seeds presented by 
Mr. M. Calvino, director, Agricultural Experiment 
Station. A wild iee, rather abundant, growing about 
40 feet high and a foot or more in diameter. The wood 
is white, stained with red, luminous in aspect, and 
sometimes silky. It is very porous, the lightest of 
