The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-09-25
u. s. GOVERNMENT COMBS
WORLD FOR NEW PLANTS

| at Bell, S1lldU place ABOUT ~ IillCS
| from Washington, D. {. 1t IS also
near the town of Glendale. Here 81
acres OF ground are devoted to gar
dens, greenhouses and grounds, The
garden is one of the newest ones used
by the department for this purpose,
having been established in 1919 and
the buildings put up the following
wear Fruits, decorative and garden
plants are grown here mostly, field
crops being tried out elsewhere. Last
year this new garden produced So
600 plants from stock sent in from
foreign countries. A large part OF these
were sent out to amateurs in many
states to be given further trial
Inventory Shows New Plants.
, Every few months the department
gets out an inventory containing lists
and descriptions OF plants and seeds
recently imported. Some OF these lists
are full of interest and possibilities.
One paragraph may take you to Ain
ca. the source OF a number OF crops
now important here or to China, a
country which has been a particularly
good source of valuable nuts, vege-
tables and flowers In another we may
be drawn to Mexico, where a traveller
has discovered a plant, related TO one
of our common weeds, the pigWeed,
whose seeds once filled great granaries
built by the Aztecs. There IS no tell
ing what country next may supply us
with a plant that in a few short years
will be common to us.
lust a few of the recent intrOduC-
tons will serve to show the nature OF
these introductions. Here is the neem
tree from India, with wood like ma
hogany, fruits that yield a medicinal
oil and sap that may be made into
a cooling drink; the giant lilies from
the Himalayas; from Colombia a
night-blooming cereus with bloodred
flowers like saucers; a wild rice from
West Africa that may be used for
marsh pastures; Australian elephant
grass, which is said to yield 80 tons
of hay to the acre; the mitsuba,
common vegetable of Japan that re-
sembles some of our native plants;
the New Zealand corkwood tree, with
wood only half the weight OF cork;
brilliant gourd from the Philippines
which may be grown in the south
and marketed as Christmas tree or
naments; a citrus fruit from India
with a concentrated peach flavor;
spekboom, a plant of South Africa
which furnishes a part of the forage
for the only herd of wild elephants in
that region, and also is relished by
cattle, sheep, ostriches and children.
These are only few picked at ran
dom. Every column in this paper,
might be filled with others, and each
one is possibly a plant that we some
day may find useful in field, garden
or orchard.
Success of Durum Wheat.
There are now figures to show what
success has been made with certain
of these aliens which have been here
a number of years and were found
particularly we'll suited to certain of
our conditions. Durum wheat, intro
duced in 1898, now yields an average
of 100000 bushels a year. The gov
eminent spent about 100000 alto
gether in introducing and developing
this wheat, which now annually brings
in something like 100 times that
amount. Peruvian alfalfa is another
valuable naturalized alien. This hairy
variety is now the most important in
California, a large alfalfa producer,
the yearly crop estimated to be worth
$5,000,000.
A new thing out of Egypt is the
pima cotton which our plant experts
developed from varieties brought from
that country. This valuable cotton has
given the Stat river valley of Arizona
a prosperous agriculture, the income
from this crop alone being about So,
5000, and in one of the high-priced
years it was $20,000,000.
Date Palm Money Maker.
About 1900 the date palm was prac-
ticaly unknown in this country, but
now the annual date crop, as a result
of the work of the explorers and bot
anists, is worth nearly 100000. SUI
dan grass, brought from Africa in
1909, has spread greatly and, although
most firmly established in the west,
it is also grown in Maryland and Nir-
ginia. The annual crop of this forage
is worth $10,000,000. The avocado,
fostered carefully for the last 10 years,
now is grown in California and Flori-
da, and already brings in $1,000,000
year. This fruit may duplicate the
spectacular rise of the orange and
grapefruit.
Here again names of plants well
might be increased, but these sam
Piles show that real substantial returns
are being obtained with these new
Corners The principal ones recently
introduced and now grown CONNER
cially bring in annually about $780,
100000