The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-02-12
NEW WORK AT
THEGARDENS
EXPERIMENTAL STATION WILL
BE A BUSY PLACE SOON.

and Plants Have Been Received
And VIII Be Planted at Once-Ex
perinents With Alfalfa and Cactus
The corps of government experts
at the South Texas Gardens are re
ceiving from Washington daily con-
signments of seeds and plants with
which to conduct the experimental
work during the yeaf. The shipments
include varieties of numerous shrubs
and plants and seeds of vegetables
many of them having been gathered
in foreign countries.
Among the consignments recently
received is one of alfalfa seed, with
which some extensive experiments
have been planned by the agricultural
department for the station here this
season and, perhaps, for several seas
ons to come. In this consignment
are seed of eighty-seven varieties of
alfalfa, including almost every va
riety known to the agriculturist. Each
of the specimens will be planted in a
small bed or field by itself and its
growth and progress carefully noted
by the experts. All data relative to
the growth of the different varieties
will be sent to the department at
Washington and from there furnished
to the public through the regular
channels.
Another plant that will be given
attention this year is a new species
of cane-new at least to this coun-
try The seed cane was shipped
from Cienfugos, Cuba. and has Just
been received at the station. 1t is
a particularly valuable variety of
cane and the experiments with it will
be watched with no little interests by
those who are interested in cane
growing. he seed cane will be
planted at once as the season for
cane planting, according to the ideas
of those in charge of the experimental
work, is already well advanced. This
is not the only variety of cane that
will be experimental with this seas
on as matter of course, as the ex-
-periments with the other kinds that
were grown last year will be con-
tinued and on a larger scale than last
season. Ii it is shown, however, that
the Cienfugos cane can be success
fully grown here it will add another
valuable commodity to the products
of the soil
Cotton and grapes are plants that
are receiving good deal of atten-
ton this spring. Ninety-seven va
rieties of cotton will be experimental
on this year, including the kinds
of cotton raised in almost every
part of the world OF grapes there
are 29S varieties already set out
or to be planted. They include every
known varity.
One class of work that is of con-
siderable more Importance than
might be apparent at first thought is
the experiments with cactus. The
object aimed at is to produce a cac-
tus that is minus the prickly part, so
that it can be used for stock food
without going through a costly pro-
cess to remove the thorns Cactus is
a splendid stock food and is especial
ly valuable in this section, and in fact
in all cactus-growing sections, be-
cause of the large percentage of
liquid in its composition. In the dry
where the cactus thrives
this liquid property enables animals
that are fed on cactus to go for days
and weeks with but very little water.
The great drawback has always been
that stock are unable to eat the plant
owing to the fortress of bristles in
which it is encased. In some sec
lions stock owners have resorted to
the tedious process of burning the
thorns off the plants, but this, besides
being slow work, detracts from the
nutritive value of the plant.
Over 200 varieties of cactus are
now being experimental with at the
gardens and the men in charge of the
the work express the opinion very
that they will be able
to produce thornless plant
With the consignments of plants
received from Washington this week
there are now 1892 varieties of
plants being experimental with at
tn gardens. These include specimens
of one kind or another from every
civilized country on the globe and
some from countries that are not civ
ilized. Some of those received lately
have not yet been planted but the
work is being done as rapidly as con-
ditions will justify. From the amount
of work laid out by the department
for the station this year the season
would seem to promise to be very
E. L