Evening star., 1924-10-26

explorations, h o m n e
grounds of political in
trigue-a city which is now the rank
ing capital of all creation-is the
headquarters of the most extraor-
dinary horticultural and foreign plant
research known to man.
Agricultural explorers of the United
States Department Of Agriculture
trek the unbeaten paths and venture
the viciSsitudes of the worlds wilder
nesses in search of strange foreign
crops, fruits and ornamental plants
which may be tried out under Ameri-
can conditions and, if satisfactory. re-
cruited as potential naturalized plants
for use in our annual cropping
calendar.
These Columbuses of horticulture
have braved the sand storms OF the
Sahara: have penetrated to the bandit
ridden recesseS of China; have with
stood the pests ard pestilences OF
India: have risked life, limb and fu-
ture happiness 10 secure satisfactory
specimens and to irtroduce to the
United States more than $4,000 grains.
rruits yrgatatieS. forage crops ana
ornamental plants during the last
quarter century.
American prodigauty has wasted
many Of our natura! assets. Oncle
Sans plant hunters, IN no small de-
canoes. for they are bringing to the
,looryards, farms and ranches or
american agriculture all the fruits
and crops Of the earth.
Foreign plants ard fruits which
they have discovered and introduced
to the United states now increase our
farming turnoNers by more thah
500 600 600 q. year. The possibilities
of the work are just beginning to at
tain commercial Significance. WHAT
has been done and indeXed III the ar
chives of recollection is but meager
reflection of what will be accom-
ulished in the future.
This country has been a melting
rot for alien plants just as IT mas
been the refuge of millions or op-
pressed people from abroad. Only
Few of the economic and ornamental
plants now grown III the United
states are pure bred Americans. The
ninety and nine of them have been
imported from abroad, acciimated as
desirable aliens interbred with
native varieties for their improve
ment and otherwise established as
permanent residents il cur fields,
orchards and gardens.
MANY farmers in the United
ANI States owe their prosperity to
agricultural import ations made by
David Faircftld and his assistants
in the Office CT Foreign Seed and
Plant Introduction. Such is true of
those in the date cases of California
and Arizona the durum wheat area
of the Great Plains belt; the feterita,
Sudan grass and fatir fields OF the
West; the dasheen patches of Dixie
land and the rice fields Of California
and Texas.
Every season brings forth new
cropping prospects which have come
TO our shores as welcome guests.
qualified under the tests of agricul-
rural science as profita bic citizens
and are now available for the use of
farmer. in regions TO which such
plant life Is best adapted.
There are thousands of varieties
and specimens which have never yet
crossed our shores. The difficulty
which impedes the development of
the industry Is the lack of enough
experimenters to work with the vast
multiplicity Of food products and
10 adapt them TO the wide uses of
mankind. A dozen thousand inde-
pendent eNperimenters i'll all parts
of this country could spend their
lives working on the material already
imported without eXhausting all it's
posi- bilities.
Strange to say, the Federal office of
Foreign Seed anl plant Introduction
is a child of the seven seas. The
unique enterprise is the outgrowth
of a chance meeting between David
F,airChild and Barbour Lathrop on
a transoceanic liner bound for
Europe &c years ago. Mr.. Fairchlld
was on his way to Naples. where
he was to engage in pathological
research for one year. Mr.. Lath-
rop. wealthy Oh 'cagoan. interested
the Washington scientist in scheme
TO introduce plant life from all parts
of the world to America. He ar
ranged to travel with Mr.. Fairchild
in search of strange economic plants
after the latter completed his studies
at Naples.
Subsequently, the pair Travelled
throughout Java, where they found
and identified many new and useful
plants, specimens of which they sent
10 the Department of Agriculture at
Washington for test under American
conditions. Messrs. Lathrop and
E'airchild travelled together for the
next seven years. They formed USE
full contacts in all parts OF the world
which have since proved invaluable.
David Fairchild was finally sue
cessful in demonstrating the great
Importance of the seed and plant in
PRODUCTION to Uncle Same. with the
consequence that the United States
Department of Agriculture finally
formed a special division to handle
that work with Mr. Fairchild as it's
chief. Since it's inception. this Gov
ernment office has introduced $4,000
different lots Of plant and seed mate
rial from overseas.
There are now five national test
gardens in different sections of
the country where the new crops.