7. Asiatic maize ‑ Naga Hills in Assam.

Stonor and Anderson (1949) have already given a detailed description of the races from this region, and thus I shall give a fuller report only after having studied two generations of material obtained from the same source. As to the origin of these Asiatic races, which probably are quite old, the following hypothesis should be taken into consideration seriously. The nearest replicas of the type of ear of the Assam races can be found in the Amazon Basin (Caraja). Thus it seems quite possible that the distribution of these tropical races had been made by Portuguese sailors and merchants who travelled from Brazil to other Portuguese possessions, scattered over Southern Asia. Changing sea routes and the decline of Portuguese sea power may have been the reason that no further importation of other and better races was made, and owing to the mechanism acting in limited and isolated populations, specialized races must have been established in these backhill regions.

Himalaya Foot Hills north of the Brahmaputra. The material, collected by Stonor, is quite different from the above and would probably be classified by Anderson as belonging to the "Caribean" races. As a working hypothesis, I am studying the relation of these races to types from the Pacific coast of Colombia and Central‑American countries.

Solomon Islands. Very interesting material has been received through the help of Dr. Bridgenan, from New Guinea, and the material is promising a very good harvest. According to the information received from the collector, these races are locally considered as very old "Portuguese" introductions.