8 SEEDS AM' PLANTS IMPORTED. 



experimenters. A new form of Malnsbaecata, from Nertchinsk, Sibe- 

 ria, introduced under No. 26681, is being used around St. Petersburg 

 for hybridizing with .1/. prunijnUa in an endeavor to obtain a hardier 

 race of apples, and a new crab apple (No. 26682) said to be a better 

 keeper ! ban I lie American crab, the result of a cross between M. baccata 

 and .1/. prunifolia, will attract the attention of the apple breeder. 



The introductions from Nos. 26689 to 26730, inclusive, comprise 

 42 selected varieties of avocados from seedlings grown in Florida 

 and imported from Cuba and Costa Rica. There are many fine 

 t ypes among these introductions that will be very valuable to growers 

 of this new fruit in Florida and probably in southern California. 

 Nine varieties of cherimoya (Nos. 26731 to 26739) have been selected 

 from a number of seedlings grown in Florida, for their superior quali- 

 t ies. An interesting relative of our wild rice is introduced under No. 

 26760, Zizania latifolia. This wild rice is a native of and is cultivated 

 extensively in China and Japan for its edible shoots and for a fungous 

 growth that develops on the inflorescence which is said to be edible 

 when in a young state. Pyrus salicifolia (No. 26763) is a wild pear 

 from the hills near Sebastopol, Russia, where it is subjected to 

 extremely dry conditions, and no doubt will prove valuable as a pear 

 stock in our semiarid regions. Another introduction that will be 

 valuable for the same regions, coming from the neighborhood of 

 Sebastopol, is Crataegus orientalis (No. 26765). This is recom- 

 mended as a stock for pears and for uses as an ornamental plant. 

 In Nos. 26801 to 26811 is a very hardy race of olives that has with- 

 stood a temperature of about — 2° F. without injury. These olives 

 may be valuable for sections of Texas and California where heavy 

 frosts prevail during the winter months. 



No. 27310, Amygdalus davidiana, is another importation of this 

 valuable plant that may mean much to the peach growers of the 

 colder and semiarid sections of our country. A report comes to us 

 from the Upper Mississippi Valley Plant Introduction Garden that 

 young trees of this peach passed through the winter of 1909-10 

 without the slightest injury, while such well-known varieties as 

 Chihli and Champion were more or less seriously injured. This wild 

 peach promises to be very valuable for breeding work. Nos. 27362 and 

 27363 are Ohanez grapes (Vitis vinifera), famed for the extraordinary 

 carrying and keeping qualities of their fruit. The fruits ripen late and 

 are therefore adapted only to the warmer grape-growing sections. 



Mr. W. F. Wight, Mr. H. C. Skeels, and Miss Mary A. Austin are 

 responsible for the preparation of this inventory. 



David Fairchild, 

 Agricultural Explorer in Charge 



Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, 



Washington, D. C, November 19, 1910. 



