SEEDS \M> PLANTS [MPOB I ED. 



Perhaps the most remarkable <>l' all of Mr. Meyer's finds are the 

 Chinese dates, which, by the way, are not dates at all, I »ut delicious 

 t*i- 1 1 i t — borne <>n deciduous trees (Zizypkus sativa) which will stand 

 drought remarkably well. In the Shantung Province there appear 

 to be as many kinds of these fruits as there are of plums in America. 

 Large orchards of 1 1 1< ' plant- are grown there, and the specimens of 

 fruits which Mr. Meyer has sent in encourage us to think that they 

 n;a\ vie with the real date a- an orchard culture in the dry Wesl 

 where they can be grown. Good judges of fruit have not hesitated 

 to pronounce the samples sent in a- equal in delicacy to. though 

 entirely different from, the finest dates. The Office of Plant Life 

 History Investigations has the development of this new industry on 

 it- programme for the coming year. 



An interesting dry-land naked oat. some new buckwheats, a new 

 stock \'rv the peach (Amygddlus davidiana), new and most interest- 

 ing sorghums, more forms of the Chinese hardy persimmon, a hoi-'' 

 chestnut that i- evidently new to the country and may he a superior 

 shade tree, new drought-resistant cherries, and one or perhaps two 

 new yellow roses, for which the rose breeders are already clamoring, 

 are others of Mr. Meyer's finds. 



Among the importations which have come in through our foreign 

 correspondents^ the following may be especially emphasized: A ship- 

 ment of cork-oak acorns from Spain; a collection of Rheums from 

 Russia for the rhubarb breeders; seeds of the Chilgoza pine, a re- 

 markable nut-bearing pine from Baluchistan; the Grano Marzuolo, a 

 variety of dwarf wheat used in Italy for the plaiting industry; the 

 Amov pomelo; the wild emmer, a remarkable new grain from 

 Palestine: large collections of cowpeas and sorghums from the 

 Orient; the Guayaquil pineapple from Ecuador ; the nut oak (Quercus 

 cornea) from Hongkong; an African asparagus for the asparagus 

 breeders; the wild licorice of Greece; a collection of taros from 

 Hawaii: a collection of "215 varieties of tobacco, the most generous 

 gift of the noted tobacco expert. Prof. Dr. O. Comes, of the Agricul- 

 tural School of Portici, Italy (doubtless the largest collection of 

 tobaccos ever gotten together) ; wild olives and pistaches from Balu- 

 chistan; and a collection of Japanese radishes. 



Botanists will note that an attempt is made in this inventory to 

 name each introduction and give the botanical authority for the 

 name. Anyone familiar with such work will realize that it is not pos- 

 sible to do this with absolute accuracy, as often only seeds or cuttings 

 are at the disposal of the determining botanist. -Mr. W. F. Wight 

 and, under his direction, Mr. H. C. Skeels have been given charge of 

 this feature of the inventory, and with Miss Mary A. Austin responsi- 

 ble for the preparation of the inventory cards it is believed that in the 



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