South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-03-03
FOREIGN PLANTS
TESTED BY j. s.
New Fruits, Nuts and Salad
Plants Being introduced
Into This Country.

WASHINGTON, March "A wide
variety Of promising foreign plants
are now being propagated and test
ed by the government in the plant
introduction gardens maintained by
the United States department of ag-
riculture in Florida. California,
Washington and Maryland.
These gardens may be called the
Ellis islands" of the plant immigra-
ton service. In them the plant i'm
migrants are carefully studied in
order to make sure that they carry
with them no disease, and only those
which are known to be desirable ad-
ditions are permitted 10 make a
home i'm this country. The plants
which have successfully passed this
scrutiny are distributed 20 the state
experiment stations and to thous-
ands of experimenters and breeders
throughout the country.
At the present time, says an ar
ticle by p II. Dorsett in the 1915
year book of the department, much
attention is being bestowed upon
recent importations from China.
Among these are the jujube. This, it
is said. may well prove commercially
profitable in California and the
semi-arid south and southwest.
When prepared with cane sugar. jul
jules have as delicate a flavor as
many dates. 1t is also a very good
fresh fruit and has long been pOpu-
lar in China.
The Chinese pistache is another
importation which has been sug-
gested for use as an avenue tree.
Thousands of young trees have been
distributed 10 parks throughout the
country for this purpose. One advan-
tage of this tree is the great age TO
which il lives. For the production
of nuts the variety Of pistache found
in central and western Asia is being
tried. At present the entire supply
of nuts used in the coloring and
iavoring of ice cream and candy
comes from abroad, but il is said
that there is 40 reason why this
country should not grow its own
supply The Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys in California appear
10 be we'll suited to the industry.
Chinese Products Are Tested.
Chinese persimmons and Chinese
chestnuts are also being tested Ii
is believed that the Chinese chest
nut may prove exceptionally valu-
able because of its power 10 resist
the chestnut bark disease, which is
doing so much damage among the
native chestnuts. The persinmon,
it is thought, might be grown COM
mercially in California and in those
sections in the south where the
temperature does not fall much be-
low zero. In China and Japan dried
persimmons are a staple food and
there seems 10 be no reason why
they should not be eaten largely In
this country.
Still another importation is an
early sweet cherry which has been
introduced from Tangshi, China
This may prove profitable 10 growers
as an early cherry for the eastern
markets.
A number Of new vegetab les, too
are being tested in the plant intro
duction gardens. Among these are
the chayote from tropical America
This vine produces pear-shaped
fruit in abundance in the fail. They
somewhat resemble in flavor sum
mer squash or vegetable marrow
and may be used as a fresh vege-
/ table throughout the winter.
The udo is a new salad plant from
/ Japan that may grow i'm practically
every state. This is grown in much
/ the same way as asparagus and may
/ be cooked as we'll in the same way
\ few plants of udo. says the article
/ should be in every home garden.
[ NEW RESTAURANT.
I have inst ODpned "a Now res:au.