Page:The National Geographic Magazine Vol 16 1905.djvu/66

Rh selves adapted to the regions where at present hay grasses are wanting. It is believed that hay grasses can be found on the Western plains where the aver- age annual rainfall does not exceed 1 5 inches. It has been found that a num- ber of plants can be made to furnish sat- isfactory pasture throughout the winter months in the South, and cooperation is planned with Southern experiment sta- tions and farmers to test a number of such plants for winter-pasture purposes.

The agrostologists are studying the forage value of the velvet bean, beggar weed, Mexican clover, and cassava for for the region adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Plant Industry is seeking to provide suitable forage crops for southern Florida, and it is also searching for forage crops to grow alter- nately with wheat in the great wheat regions on the Pacific coast, so that the farmers may secure more than one crop every other year,

Much attention has been given to the development of the trans- Atlantic ex- port trade. Large and profitable ship- ments of Bartlett pears were made from eastern orchards to British markets. It is known that more than 75,000 pack- ages of this variety were exported, while the total shipments of eastern-grown summer and fall pears amounted to at least 165 carloads.

An encouraging beginning has been effected in commercial shipments of American apples to French markets. The most important experimental ex- port work has been done upon winter apples. The proportion exported has risen from less than 1 per cent of the estimated total in 1 899-1 900 to nearly 6fY per cent in 1903- 1904, a total of over 2,000,000 barrels, valued at nearly $5,500,000.

The cold storage of fruit has grown to large proportions, nearly 3,000,000 barrels having been cold-stored in the United States during the last winter as a result of investigations during the past year. It is found that the condition in which the fruit is grown and the man- ner of handling it determine to a large extent its keeping quality and ultimate value. Fruit intended for storage must be handled with the utmost care in pick- ing, packing, and shipping, and stored quickly after picking, in well- ventilated rooms with a temperature from 31 0 F. to 32 0 F.

Much important work has been done in plant breeding. Great advances have been made in securing new and desirable long-staple cottons. Important results have been obtained in the breeding and improvement of corn and of oats and potatoes. Some of the most important investigations in breeding and selection have been inaugurated in connection with the growing of tobacco. Extensive work has been carried on in Connecticut, and the work has shown unquestionably that the desirable characteristics in the leaf can be fixed in the first year's se- lection.

It is believed that a profitable system of agriculture can be developed for the semi-arid area of the United States by securing crops which will grow with a very small amount of water. Consider- able progress has been made in this di- rection.

The Secretary calls attention to the investigations carried on by the plant physiologist with a view to finding methods of destroying noxious algae in water supplies, the method consisting