La Junta tribune., 1899-03-25
QUEST FOR COMMERCE
DIR. FAiRcHiLp.S MISSION TO
SOUTH AMERICA.
Hunting for Food Pisnts-Tbo.s or
South American Piiins VIII lie Cul-
ti~sted Hrre-H saeee.sfui Our Food
supply WIN lie Inrrssssd.

Dr. ID. G. Fairehlld Of the department.
Of agriculture has gone to South
America in search OF new food plants
which will be introduced into the
United States. II these plants can be
successfully cultivated here. reyolu-
tion will result in the character and
amount Of our food supply. According
TO Professor n l.. BrItton of Colum bia
DR.. Fairchild will make careful study
o. South American plants OF all kinds
such as can be grown in this country.
Il refer, OF course he said ITO
plants of utilization-the invaluable
commodities that commerce deals in
and which are essential to the well be
Ing and comfort OF civilization. Thsre
are vast tracts OF desert lands in ouE
west where nothing grows. and where,
II is believed. nothing can grow. / ex-
pect that this state OF affairs Will soon
he changed. and that before many
years these desert lands-hundreds OF
thousands of square miles of waste
viii be made to blossom like a fertile
garden.
There is a vast desert in Chill. sim
p
where various plants OF great use to
civilization flourish. We believe tina,
these plants can be transplanted here
where the same conditions obtain pret-
~ much as In the Chilian desert of
Atacama. and these immense stretches
OF unproductiye land VIII be converted
into tracts OF great fertility. From thf
iEthmus down TO Patagonia there is a
variety of plants OF immense value.
None of these is produced now within
the territory OF the United States, bu,
they can be.
There is food plant known as
guinea. This grows high on the An
des and produces great quantity OF
small black seeds which the natives
grind into meal. II serves the noun
tain men as bread food. and very
good food it is. too. 1t is starchy
stun and takes the place of our own
grain. corn and buckwheat and is cui-
tivated at high attitudes. This plant
Is unknown In this country, but we be-
lieve 1t can be grown everywhere in
the high attitudes in this country
where no other food plant will flour
ish. and also IN Alaska. The introduc-
tion of this plant alone will transform
what are now cold, uninhabitable
cheerless and barren stretches OF
land into farms OF great productive
ness. ! myself grew this plant next tc
my house here last summer. but II
didn't sipen to seeds. Il does not thrive
in warm spots.
oS
American food plants which can bs
grown in this country, according to the
section, climate aud altitude. there ara
the drug and fiber plants. The indis-
pensable quinine and the expensive
ipecac are now imported and grow no.
where within our borders. The GIN
chon. bark ia carried in British or
German ships mainly from Brazilian
pcrts TO ports in Grea: Britain or Ger
many. wntie it is ground into qui-
nine powder and then exported to this
country. Now. the trees from which
quinine is extracted can be cultivated
properly In Porto Rico, Cuba and
doubtless In the Philippines. Here II
a trade worth untold millions that car
be. and undoubtedly will be. placed
within our own borders. So with ipe.
cac. which is expensive because the
fierce competition for 1t has well-nigt
exhausted its roots. Balsam CT Co
paiba. TONGA beans. Perubian balsam-
these and many other drug plants
yielding a tremendous revenue to our
merchants and great gain and bene-
fit to our people. can all be cultivated
ia United States territory.-New YORK
journal.