684 
ceme, an egg-shaped pod, with a smooth resisting, yellow- 
ish skin and a fleshy-spongy mesocarp, the flavor of which 
is rather agreeable to smell and taste. Each pod contains 
one of the black elongated seeds known as Tonka beans, 
which contain- coumarin, a compound extensively used in 
perfumery. The native country of the Tonka bean is in the 
little-known tract of country embracing the headwaters of 
the Orinoco and the northern reaches of the Amazon River. 
The Venezuelan annual crop is exported through Ciudad 
Bolivar, after having gone through a process of curing 
which consists in soaking beans in rum for about 12 hours 
and drying them again by exposure to the sun. They then 
become covered with a thin, white, minutely crystalline 
coating and so acquire their characteristic perfume." 
(Plttier.) For distribution later. See halftone plate. 
Elaeocarpus bancroftii. (Tiliaceae.) 36046. Seeds of the 
ebony-heart tree from Brisbane, Australia. Presented by 
Mr. William Soutter, Secretary, and Manager, Queensland Ac- 
climatisation Society. "This is an evergreen tree of the 
linden family often reaching a height of over 100 feet, 
and a diameter of over 2 feet. The leaves are simple, the 
small white flowers in racemes. The wood is hard and dur- 
able, light with a darker center, likely to prove useful 
for sheaves for blocks. It considerably resembles the 
American lignum vitae, for which, indeed, it might form a 
good substitute." For distribution later. 
Erythrincb arborescens . (Mimosaceae . ) 36009. Seeds from 
Darjeeling, India. Presented by Mr. F. W. Popenoe, Agri- 
cultural Explorer. "This tree is indigenous to the cen- 
tral and eastern Himalayas, up to an altitude of 7500 
feet. In Darjeeling, where there is an occasional snow- 
fall in winter, it seems perfectly hardy, and should 
therefore, withstand the frosts of southern California and 
south Florida without injury. As the annual rainfall at 
Darjeeling is about 130 inches, however, the dry climate 
of California may not be well suited for it. Attaining a 
height of 30 or 40 feet, and bearing its brilliant flowers 
in the greatest profusion, it naturally forms a very 
prominent feature of the landscape; in fact, it may be 
said to be the most conspicuous of all plants in Darjeel- 
ing. The leaflets are dark green, cordate, sometimes a 
foot in breadth, and persist while the tree is in flower, 
preventing the tree from exhibiting the bare appearance so 
much objected to in most Erythrinas. The flower spikes 
are often a foot in length, the individual tubular flowers 
being two inches long and of the most brilliant scarlet. 
