The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-08-27

1S6atH
New breeds of wheat and onts Uncle
Sam is trying. MT. Carpenter is Ave
Get eight inches high.
averaging $50 and upwards per acre
Since these introductions the rice
lands OF the United States have been
greatly extended. The crop is now
very large in Louisiana. Arkansas and
| Texas, and 1t is said that II can be
grown on any soil adapted TO wheat
or cotton. provided the climate con-
ditions are right
Some Other New Crops
We are also breeding new cottons.
marrying the best of India and Egypt
TO our favorite daughters of the up.
lands and sea islands. We are breed
Ing for seed as we'll as for
| lint We are breeding corn
for the oil contained in the
grain and also to increase the size OF
the crop and cut down the size of the
cob. We are making oranges which
| Will withstand the frost extending
the orange belt 400 miles farther
North. We are marrying the lettuccs.
and joining the varieties of fax so
that the plants are taller and the
| fbres are better. We are marrying
the tobaccos from all parts OF the
world and growing certain kind. for
wrappers and others for hllers and
binders.
| In this work we are aided by agri-
cultural explorers who have been sent
! all over the world and who arc now
| ratchng the skin of old mother
earth for new plants and seeds. There
Is bureau devoted to this introduc-
| ton In the west wing of the AgrIcul-
| tural Department, and II is one OF the
| busiest places In Uncle Sans factory.
| II has already introduced something
| like 10000 new vegetables creations.
| and more are arriving each day. The
! moment one comes In 1t Is sent to the
| special station or plant breeder best
| fitted to test and develop II. and with
in few days 1t IS under the earth
| and in just the conditions fitted TO give
good results. Records are kept of every
receipt, and there are now several hun
dred thousand cards which tel the
story of each distribution
The Seeds and Plunts of One Week.
During my stay in the department,
Professor David Fairchild. who s at
| the head of the bureau, showed me
something OF the work. as 1t Is now
going on. With him I went over the
| cards that have been reoeived the
first is a new alfalfa from Pretoria,
South Africa. the second a scarce bar
| ley from Nepal in India. and a third
a Japanese larch sent from Copen-
hagen in Denmark. And then we
have a new magnolia from Calcutta.
which will be married to a yellow
ma gnolia just received from Buiten-
| zorg. Java. new kind of banana which
comes here through the Kew Gar
dens of England and twenty bulbs
| Of the yellow lily. which are sent from
va Chow-fu In China. on the borders
of Tibet. Other importations OF this
week are white rubber from near
Buena Ventura, Colombia, which II is
| thought may be grown on the Ever
slades OF Florida, new tobacco from
Santa Clara. Cuba, which may with
i stand the Granville tobacco insect
and a passion fruit from Tahiti. in
the Society Islands OF the Southern
Pacific Ocean.
This passion fruit is as large as
peach. and 1t Is thought that 1t may
be crossed with the maypop of South
Carolina 1t makes delicious Ices. and
the profits of raising 1t may reach as
high as $500 per acre. The fruit is
now grown in the greenhouses of Eng
land and IT commands a good price
in the markets
In addition to these, the bureau re-
ceived yesterday a hardy white ginger
from the province of shantung in
China. which will be planted In Texas
four species of persimmons from Java.
and some plants related to the papaya
from the Royal Botanical Gardens at
Rome. Explorer Parker. Of Mukden.
has just sent in eight new kinds of
soy beans from Manchuria, and some
of these. 1t is thought. may produce
an oil which can be mixed with lin
seed oil to he used as a paint dryer.
There are alec several new wheats
from the highlands of Mexico and a
number OF mangoes to be added to
the several hundred varieties which
have already been tested.
New Crops for Uncle snm
This work of one week gives you
some Idea of what Uncle Sam ia doing
to find food for his American chill
dren. New seeds and plants are com
Ing in daily by express. freight and
mall. and in some cases the importa :
tons weigh tons. Among the results
already accomplished we have now the
largest collection Of date varieties
known. They are growing in the gar
dens of Arizona and California We
have also rhe greatest variety of man
goes extant. and we are testing that
fruit with view to Its Introduction
into Florida. Porto Rico and Hawaii
We have French artlohokes now grow
ing in the truck gardens of the South.
kaftir corn from Abyssinia which is
being tested in Kansas. and a new
kind of oats from Northern Finland,
which Is being grown In Alaska. We
have new alfalfas from Arabia and
Chinese Turkestan. We are starting
a sisal hemp industry in Porto Rico.
and we arm growing Japanese banboos
which, 1t Is thought, take the place
of tho old canebrakes of the South
We have also a valuable paper plant
from Japan. wood oil trees from China,