The Washington herald., 1920-05-30

other, feel the influence Of that extra pro-
duction. The railroads, the mills, the banks.
the retail stores are affected by it.
In the Southwest corn could not be
grown satisfactorily. Our trained plant
hunters searched the world for other crops
that might be produced to advantage in that
part Of the country. As a result, we had a
yield last year Of 125 ZOO, 900 bushels Of
grain sorghums. The cost of their intro
duction was a few thousand dollars.
The department has established rice
growing industry in California. 1t now
yields an annual crop worth $21 ,OOO,OOo
We used to import all our figs; now we are
producing them ourselves, of better varieties
and before long we shall grow all we require
. The introduction of the Smyrna fig in Cali
fornia, and of the insect that fertilizes It,
is in itself a wonderful story. Dates, too'
OF the finest kinds, we have brought from
Arabia and Egypt and are growing them
successfully.
I'VE are not content to find new and
valuable plants; our experts invent tnem'
As one example in this line, might mention
a new grapefruit, which, In the eating Oh IT,
does not stain the tablecloth or endansef
your tie. You do not have to dig; the seq
ments pull apart readily. This new fruit
about the size of medium sized grapefruit,
is milder and sweeter than an ordinary
grapefruit and better favored. 1t is cross
between the grapefruit and the tangerine
orange, and was obtained by fertilizing the
flower Of the former with the pollen of the
latter-the method adopted being simply to
apply the pollen with a camel's- hair brush
to the pistil of the grapefruit blossom. This
new product, which has a skin almost as
loose as that of q tangerine orange, is now
being planted on a considerable scale along
the east coast of Florida. Already it is
beginning to appear on the market, and is
much in demand by those who have made its
acquaintance.
The housewife does not realize to what
an extent she is safegparded hy' the
work of the Department of Agriculture. The
ham OF which her family partook at break
tast was sure to be wholesome because 1t
had been passed upon by one of our inspec-
tors. The same sort of inspection, guar
anteeing wholesomeness, is given to all meats
entering interstate or foreign commerce.
The wholesomeness OF many other foods
the housewife buys is guaranteed by mean.
which the department provides If she p--
ehases bottle labeled pure maple sirun
she has good reason for believing that Il
really is the pure article, inasmuch as other.
wise the manufacturer would be in danver
OF severe punishment, and he cannot asord
to take the risk! Likewise, she may be con.
d fdent that the red pepper on her table is No.
partly cedar sawdust and that her catsup
contains no injurious ingredients.
The department has done a great deal
to put stop to the adulterating and mis- !.
branding of foods. 1t has frightened the
short weight swindlers into giving up that
kind Of cheatery. The carton partly filed
with block Of wood. and the bottle with a
big outside and small inside, have been
driven out of trade fashion. These reforms,
obviously, are helpful not only to the ult
cSts consumer, but also and very impor
aaatly to the honest manufacturer, who
cannot be forced out Of business by the com.