1334 
stump and soon renew themselves. 
."lime. On the Bert rand estate at L'Arba we saw a 
remarkably large-fruited variety of lime known as 
Mimoncello di Napoll ' . The fruits must be three 
times as large as our ordinary lime. 
"Fig. The Verdale variety does excellently in Al- 
geria and is considered a very heavy yielder. There 
is but one crop but the figs ripen successively from 
September to December. 
"Celosia. In the public garden at Oran we saw a 
beautiful, red-leaved Celosia grown as, a bedding 
plant. 
«Saeeharum (Erianthus) ravennae. This grass is very 
common in wet ground at Biskra and ought to be valua- 
ble for ornamental planting, fully as effective in its 
Way as pampas grass. It grows in dumps, is quite 
tall, and has a large, silvery, purplish panicle. 
"Hybrid Origin of Cultivated Plants. - Dr. 
Trabut says that all cultivated plants, the origin 
of which he has carefully investigated, are hybrids 
between more than one natural species, and mentions 
alfalfa, oats, fig, and pear as illustrations. 
"It is not unlikely that Dr. Trabut will visit 
the United States in the near future with Mr. Brunei, 
the Director of Agriculture of Algeria. Dr. Trabut, 
as you know, is a perfect storehouse of botanical and 
horticultural information, much of which has not been 
published. For this reason an opportunity to visit 
Florida and California with him would be one of the 
most instructive and Interesting experiences any one 
could possibly have. 
"I saw M. Jacques de Vilmorin in Paris and asked 
him in regard to the seed drying machinery which you 
spoke to me about. He said that the principle had 
been worked out and they were just starting to have 
one constructed when the war broke out, since which 
time nothing further had been done about it. M. de 
Vilmorin was mobilized and, after seeing some active 
service, was detailed to the Ministry of Agriculture, 
where, I understand, he has been placed in charge of 
emergency seed work. 
"Very sincerely yours," 
(Signed) T. H. Kearney. 
