B. P. I.— 62.5. 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED DURING THE 

 PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBER 

 31, 1909: INVENTORY NO. 21; NOS. 26048 TO 

 26470. 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 



Although our agricultural explorer Mr. Frank N. Meyer has been 

 in the field during the period covered by this inventory, the material 

 received from him which is herein recorded is but a small part of the 

 work performed by him. He has been investigating the prevalence 

 of the crown-gall disease of the apple in France for the purpose of 

 ascertaining whether the French have resistant stocks; making studies 

 in the English, -French, German, and Russian arboreta for the purpose 

 of familiarizing himself with the important plants and plant cultures 

 of Chinese Turkestan, which region it is expected he will explore this 

 summer; and he has been unexpectedly delayed for six weeks in St. 

 Petersburg. This office is negotiating by correspondence for the 

 valuable material he has reported in the different arboreta. 



To the fruit growers the question of better stock plants is of great 

 importance and is being emphasized more strongly now than ever 

 before. To such as are working on the problem, the introduction 

 from Palestine, through Mr. Aaron Aaronsohn, of a large red-fruited 

 variety of haw, Crataegus azarolus (Nos. 26116 and 26354), will be 

 interesting. It has been used successfully both in Tunis and Pales- 

 tine and is considered by Mr. Aaronsohn to be an ideal stock for 

 dwarf early pears in our arid irrigated regions of the Southwest, 

 where the question of growing early pears is attracting attention. A 

 species of Photinia (No. 26133) from western China is sent in by Mr. 

 Meyer, who suggests its use as a possible stock for the loquat. 



The possibility of using the Chinese brambles for the production 

 of new types of raspberries has been pointed out as promising. 

 For those interested in this field, nine species of Rubus from the 

 Yangtze Valley (Nos. 26270 to 26278), collected by Mr. E. H. Wilson, 

 of the Arnold Arboretum, are likely to prove of very considerable 

 interest. 



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