The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-08-29

ing for seed as we'll as 1c<I1~, We
are breeding corn for the oil CO a2o,.
in the grain and also to increase ~.
size of the crop and cut down the
oranges Which will withstand the
frost. extending the orange belt 400
miles farther north. We are marry
ins the lettuces, and Joining the va
r:eties Of flax SO that the plants are
taller and the fibers are better We
parts Of the world and growing GER
tam kinds for wrappers and others
for filters and binders.
IN this WORK We are aided by agri-
cultural explorers who have been sent
I2il over the world and who are now
| scratching the skin Of old mother
earth for new plants and seeds. There
! is Il bureau devoted to this introduc-
/ ton in the west wing Of the Agricul-
tural Department, and it is one Of the
! busiest places in Uncle Sans factory.
! It has already introduced something
! like 10000 new vegetable 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 it, and
within q few days it 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 hundred thousand cards
which tell the story Of each distribu
| ton.
The Seeds and. Plants OF One Week.
During my stay in the departm ent.
Prof David Fairchild, who is a the
head OF the bureau showed me some
thing of ths work, as it is now going
on. With him l went over the CARDS
that have been received the past week.
Here are the items: The first is new
alfalfa from Pretoria, South Africa,
the second a scarce barley from Nepal
in India, and third japanese larch
sent from Copenhagen in Denmark.
And then We have new magnolia
from Buitenzorg, Java, a new kind Of
to yellow magnolia just received
from Buitenyorg, Java, a new kind of
banana which comes here through the
Kew Gardens Of England. and twenty
one bulbs Of the yellow lily, which
are sent from va Chow-fu in China,
on the borders Of Tibet Other i'm
portatiOns Of this week are a white
rubber from near Buena Ventura,
Colombia which it is thought may be
grown on the Everglades of Florida, a
new tobacco from Santa Clara, Cuba,
which may Withstand 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 a
peach, and it is thought that it may be
crossed with may-pop Of South Caro-
ma. 1t makes ueI1ClOuS ices, ana Tn
profits of raising it may reach as high
as $500 per acre. The fruit is now
grown in the greenhouses Of England
and it commands good price in the
markets.
In addition to these, the bureau re-
ceived yesterday a hardy white ginger
from the province of Shantung ir
China which will be planted in Texas
four species of persimmons from Java.
and some plants related to the pa apaya
} 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, it is thought, may produce
an oil which can be mixed with lin
seed oil to be used as paint dryer
There are also several new Wheat
, number Of mangoes to be added tC
the several hundred varieties which
have already been tested.
, New Crops For Uncle Sam.
| This work of one week gives you
, some idea Of what Uncle Sam is do
ing to find food for his American
children. New seeds and plants are
coming IN daily by express, freight
and mail and in some cases the i'm
portations weigh tons. Among the re-
suits already accomplished we have
, now the largest collection of date
varieties known. They are growing
III the gardens Of Arizona and Cali
fornia We have also the creates
variety of nangoes extant and we
are testing that fruit with a view tc
its introduction into Florida Porto
Rico and Hawaii. We have French
artichokes now growing in the truck
gardens Of the South. kaffiT corn from
Abyss1nia, which is being tested II