- 6 - 
ZEA MAYS. (Poaceae.) Prom the Andean Highlands, near Cuzco, 
Peru. Presented by Mrs. Harriet Chalmers Adams. For im- 
mediate distribution. 
NOTES FROM FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS. 
BRAZIL, Diamantina. Mr. Ernest G. Swain, July 10. Offers to send 
seeds and plants from there. Describes a fruit resembling a 
cactus, called Jaca di Agua. Says he has never seen it else- 
where and will send fruits. Also describes a new spinach 
growing there and a very pretty wild flower resembling the 
Spanish-needle. 
CHILE, Temuco. Mr. D. S. Bullock, July 20. Says that a plant 
apparently just like the cultivated potato and called by the 
Chileans wild potato, grows very commonly in that locality 
along the banks of rivers, but that he has never been able to 
find tubers. Has been told by the natives that up in the 
mountains these plants have tubers about as large as a man's 
thumb and 10 or 12 inches long. 
CHINA, Tientsin. Dr. Yamei Kin, July 7. Speaks of a beautiful 
yellow varnish called t'ung yu, better known to foreigners 
as Ningpo varnish. It is as easy to put on as an ordinary 
shellac varnish, but is not in the least affected by hot or 
cold water, while it is so beautifully transparent that the 
grain of the wood shows as clearly as on a waxed floor and 
with a fine polish. It is a fine preservative for boats. 
The yellow softens to a tawny tint with age. Says that just 
now the Manchurian bean is attracting a good deal of atten- 
tion and that the Chinese have a company with an expert 
chemist who has a laboratory in Paris, also that they have 
evolved a number of products, among them a fine soap and a 
kind of vegetable ivory. 
CHINA, Weihsien, Shantung. Mr. Henry S. Cousins, June 28. About 
October 5, will send 250 catties of pistache seeds. 
INDIA, Poona, Bombay. Superintendent, Empress Botanical Garden, 
July 5. Describes the preparation of Sesbania grandiflora for 
food. Says the tender shoots, the fresh flowers, the pods 
while tender and the seeds are all used. The flowers and pods 
are used to make curry, the tender shoots are cut up and used 
as a vegetable, being cooked with asafoetida, cumin seed, 
sweet oil, etc. 
JAVA, Lawang. Mr. M. Buysman, July 6. Suggests the establish- 
ment by this Government of a garden in Java. Says that with 
the exception of European fruit trees, as apples, pears, etc., 
