972 
Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancroft. (Aplaceae.) 42137. Apio 
tubers received from Kingston, Jamaica. Presented by Mr. 
William Harris, Superintendent Hope Gardens. "This uncom- 
mon vegetable is a native of the Andes In South America 
where It is cultivated between 5,000 and 7,000 feet alti- 
tude. It is a low parsnip-like plant, producing large 
edible starchy, carrot-shaped roots, the flavor of which 
has been compared to a combination of parsnip and potato. 
The plant will thrive In any good soil, and is adapted only 
to the higher elevations, say from 4,500 to 6,000 feet. It 
is commonly cultivated as a vegetable at Bogota in Colombia 
up to 8,000 feet elevation." (H. P. Macmillan, Handbook 
of Tropical Gardening, 2nd Edition, p. 234, 1914.) Re- 
quires 12 to 16 months without frost for development of its 
fleshy roots. See Plant Immigrants No. 75 for Plate and 
description p. 548. 
Bambos guadua Humb. & Bonpl. (Poaceae.) 42066. Seeds 
from Puerto Bertoni, Paraguay. Presented by Dr. Molses S. 
Bertoni. "In connection with Guaduas I must notice tne 
guadua itself, the most indispensable plant of all New 
Granada after the plantain, the cane and maize. It might 
be called the lumber-tree, for it supplies all our fencing 
except walls of brick, rammed earth, and rarely of stone, 
and also the wood-work of most houses and whatever is made 
of boards at the North. It is an enormous grass, like the 
bamboo of the Eastern tropics, growing, however, to a less 
height, only 30 or 40 feet. The slender foliage is of in- 
conceivable beauty, comparing with that of other trees as 
ostrich feathers do with goose-quills. The stem is about 
6 inches in diameter with joints about 20 inches apart. 
The thickness of the wood is nearly an inch. When poles or 
slats are wanted, the stem is split into four, six or eight 
parts. For boards for the top of a coarse table, bench, or 
bedstead, it is opened and flattened out, splitting almost 
at every inch of width, but not coming entirely apart. For 
a dish, candle-case, grease r pot, or extemporaneous vessel 
for carrying drink to a company of hunters or laborers, it 
is cut off just below the partitions. Such a receptacle is 
called a tarro. Tarros of double capacity are made for 
bringing the domestic supply of water for a family, by 
taking a piece two joints long, with a septum at each end 
and one in the middle. A hole is made in the upper and 
middle septa, and if they be used for carrying molasses, a 
bung can be put- in, or an orange used for a stopper. Bot- 
tles of a single joint are used for holding castor oil, 
ect. In short, the uses of the guadua are innumerable. 
The guadua starts from the ground with the full diameter, 
or nearly so, but the joints are at first very short. Some 
