lowest was 6 inches from the earth of the pot and the highest 8 inches, so the five were closely crowded together. The trunk at this point is little, if any, larger than a lead pencil. The fruit is of good color, as Chinese peaches go, and taste better than any others I have eaten in China. The flesh is white and it clings to the pit. The fruit hangs on the tree a very long time and is quite ornamental. The blossoms are quite showy, too. The Chinese say it comes true from the pits. I picked the last one yesterday, and the first was ripe a month ago. The ordinary peaches here are very poor-not fit to eat unless cooked." (Campbell.)

For an illustration of this peach, see Plate VI.

41396 to 41400. AMYGDALUS PERSICA L. Amygdalaceæ.

(Prunus persica Stokes.)

Peach.

Seeds from Barcelona, Spain. Presented by Mr. Carl Bailey Hurst, American consul general. Received October 14, 1915. Quoted notes by Mr. Hurst.

"The peach tree of Spain is said to be of Persian origin and its numerous varieties as found here to-day may be divided into four classes-the common peach, or Albérchigo, the fruit of which has a yellow and red skin; the Abridor, the fruit of which has white, tender flesh; the Pare, the fruit of which is fine and succulent, and the Bruñón, the fruit of which has a hard flesh and strong, tenacious skin. From these four kinds 44 varieties have been developed. Those most cultivated here are divided into two groups, those planted in the spring and those planted in the fall. The spring peaches, which ripen in June and July, are known as temprano, or early, the varieties of which found chiefly here are Magdalena Rojo, De Malta, Canciller, and Valenciano. Seeds of the fall peaches known as tardio, or late, can not be had at present in any of the peach stores of Barcelona.

Spanish peach trees are planted in well-fertilized soil, the depth varying according to the quality and nature thereof and local weather conditions. A piece of bone is placed at the bottom of each hole made in the soil before planting. From the experience of local horticulturists it has been found that the use of a mixed vegetable and animal fertilizer is best adapted to the growth of the young peach trees. The earth around the planted tree should be worked frequently. The planting of peach trees too close to garden or other walls is found to be highly prejudicial to their development, and in transplanting they should be placed not nearer than 1 foot away. During the first three or four years much attention is devoted to the pruning of Spanish peach trees, in order to develop symmetric growth and enable the sap to distribute itself proportionately in all parts. Argillaceous or very cretaceous soil is not found advantageous to peach culture here, as in such soil the roots can not extend freely. If the soil be too damp, the fruit becomes insipid and matures late. Where the soil is sandy the fruit produced is more aromatic, but less juicy. The soil preferred for peach culture in Spain is a turfy mellow loam of a calcareous nature. The seed of the cultivated peach is very rarely planted here, as the growth of the tree is so slow that four years are required to produce fruit. When, however, it is planted by the nurseryman, it is usually done in the month of March. The Spanish horticulturist prefers to plant a wild-peach seed which grows rapidly and gives at the end of a year a stock upon which a cultivated peach bud may be grafted. The budding is generally done in August, but may also be performed in May or September. The incision is made from 4 to 6 inches above the ground. Preferable here to grafting on the wild-peach stock is grafting the cultivated peach on the almond or cherry

stock, which is stronger and not so susceptible to climatic changes. Fruit is obtained sooner and the life of the tree lengthened, because the peach tree does not usually live more than 8 to 10 years here. For this reason the almond is preferred to the cherry, although both are adapted to this purpose, as they grow rapidly and are long lived."

41396. "No. 1. Wild peach."

41397. "No. 2. Magdalena Rojo. This peach is the fruit of a vigorous
tree which produces abundantly. The peaches are large, the skin is
highly colored, while the flesh is white streaked with red.
and very fragrant and the stone is easily separated.
matures by the end of August."

It is sweet This peach

41398. "No. 3. De Malta. This peach grows abundantly on a strong tree, is of medium size with white flesh, and matures by the middle of August."

41399. "No. 4. Canciller. This peach is large and of fine appearance. Its flesh is firm, and it ripens by the end of August."

41400. "No. 5. Valenciano. This variety is a medium-sized fruit, with reddish tinged flesh, which grows on a strong tree that produces abundantly."

41401. ACTINIDIA CHINENSIS Planch.

Dilleniaceæ.

Yangtaw.

Presented by Rev. Hugh W. White,
Received October 14, 1915.

Seeds from Yencheng, Kiangsu, China. American Presbyterian Mission, South. See S. P. I. Nos. 21781, 30196, and 33431 for previous introductions and descriptions.

41402. TRITICUM DURUM Desf. Poaceæ.

Durum wheat.

Seed from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Presented by the Ministerio de Agricultura. Received October 2, 1915.

"Commonly known as Candeal, a name which commercially covers all durum wheats grown in this country. Although we have no division of winter and spring wheats, we would classify this particular variety under the second heading." (Sr. Guillermo Ancizar.)

41403 to 41417.

Seeds from Bhutan, India. Collected by Mr. R. E. Cooper and presented by Bees (Ltd.), Liverpool, England, at the request of Mr. A. K. Bulley. Received October 14, 1915. Quoted notes by Mr. Cooper.

41403. SWERTIA sp. Gentianaceæ.

"No. 4157. Only seen in fruit, scarce, growing in moist sand and gravel at an altitude of 12,000 feet on a bare hillside."

41404. PRIMULA sp. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4164. Preferring moist sand on exposed hillside or peat marsh under Abies forest at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet. Leaves glabrous, reticulate. Inflorescence of superposed umbels, most variable, from a head of three flowers to three umbels. Mixed seed from all sorts of plants. Flowers not seen, but suspected to be small, yellowish."

41405. HYDRANGEA sp. (?) Hydrangeaceæ.

"No. 4165. Bush under Acer forest at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Four feet high with showy bright-blue bracts on large heads."

THE QUINOA, AN IMPORTANT "GRAIN" PLANT OF THE ANDES (CHENOPODIUM QUINOA

This is one of the most useful plants in the mountain regions of Peru and Bolivia, the extremely small seeds of the white variety being cooked with potatoes to make a staple dish among the lower classes. Dark-colored seeds are used almost entirely for making chicha, or native beer. Before using, it is necessary to wash the seeds thoroughly in order to eradicate a bitter flavor which they possess. The value of this plant in the United States lies in its possibilities as a breakfast food. (Photographed, natural size, by the Yale University-National Geographic Society Expedition; P17780CA.)

A CHINESE DWARF PEACH FOR PLANT BREEDERS (AMYGDALUS PERSICA), S. P. I.

No. 41395.

Although dwarf peaches such as the Dwarf Orleans have long been known and little use made of them, a new dwarf from China, the home of the peach, may not be without interest, particularly to breeders. This variety, sent in by Rev. George Campbell, of Kiayingchow, near Swatow, produced seven fruits when only 15 inches high. They were white clingstones of a good quality and quite ornamental, and were borne close to the trunk, which was about the size of a lead pencil. It is said to come true to seed. (Photographed by Mr. Peter Bisset in 1916 from seed planted at Chico, Cal., in October, 1915; P20612FS.)

41403 to 41417-Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. R. E. Cooper.)

41406. PRIMULA SP.

Primulace.

Primrose. “No. 4166. Only seen in fruit, but allied to if not Primula obtusifolia; preferring peaty soil under shade of Abies forest, along stream edges at altitudes of 12,000 to 13,000 feet."

41407. IRIS sp. Iridaceæ.

Iris.

"No. 4190. Growing under oak forest at an altitude of 8,000 feet, only seen in fruit and suspected of being only half hardy, but growing in dry situations on slopes that are snowed under in winter. May prove all right."

41408. PRIMULA PETIOLARIS Wallich. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4213. Growing under rhododendrons at altitudes of 10,000 to 11,000 feet, in moss, on rocks, trees, etc. Not seen in flower. Inflorescence stalked."

41409. PRIMULA PETIOLARIS Wallich. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4214. Growing in similar situations as S. P.. I. No. 41408 and differing only in the sessile inflorescence a la Primula winteri. Flowers not seen."

41410. PRIMULA sp. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4217. Suspected of being Primula whitei W. W. Smith, growing under rhododendron scrub at an altitude of 10,000 feet in moss on bowlders by stream. Never in actual swampy peat by water. Flowers dark blue, yellow eye, in a head often of 12 to 20 flowers." 41411. PRIMULA MOLLIS Nutt. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4227. Growing in sodden leaf soil in undergrowth of Elatostema on slope facing north at an altitude of 7,000 feet. Not hardy. Flowers not seen."

41412. PRIMULA OBTUSIFOLIA Royle. (?)

Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4270. Var. lutea. Flowers yellow with golden eye, harsh scented, growing in profusion in peaty alpine meadows at an altitude of 14,000 feet."

41413. TAMARIX sp. Tamaricaceæ.

Tamarisk.

"No. 4283. Scrubby plant with spike of heather-colored flowers, growing on gravel by a stream in the bed of a glacial valley at an altitude of 12,000 feet. Plants 6 inches to 1 foot high, in masses; fruits woolly."

41414. MECONOPSIS sp. Papaveraceæ.

"No. 4293. Allied to Meconopsis simplicifolia; only seen in fruit among dwarf rhododendrons at an altitude of 13,000 feet. Fruit peculiarly round, differing in this from usual long fruits of Meconopsis simplicifolia."

41415. PINGUICULA SP.

Pinguiculaceœ.

Butterwort.

"No. 4311. Only seen in fruit, growing in moist peat by a stream in an alpine meadow at an altitude of 12,000 feet."

41416. PRIMULA Sp. Primulaceæ.

Primrose.

"No. 4330. Same as S. P. I. No. 41404, but seed selected from plants with only two or three tiers of fruits."

41417. BRYOCARPUM HIMALAICUM Hook. f. and Thoms. Primulacex.

"No. 4332. Flowers yellow, solitary, growing in moss, etc., under Abies forest at an altitude of 11,000 feet."