60 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



year over 700 lots of such material have been placed with aliout 125 

 experimenters, either official or private, in different ijarts of the conn- 

 try. More than 200 varieties, representing- 22 species, have been thus 

 distributed. The most important items in the distribution have been 

 European table grapes, of which about 100 varieties have been dis- 

 tributed. The improved facilities for handling large collections of 

 plants afforded by the new packing rooms of the Section of Seed and 

 Plant Introduction render the labor attendant upon such distribution 

 much less severe than heretofore, and also make it possible to forward 

 the plants in much better condition than formerly. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH EUROPEAN TABLE GRAPES IN THE SOUTH 



ATLANTIC STATES. 



The effort to give the culture of the choice European table grape a 

 thorough test in the South Atlantic States has been continued at 

 Southern Pines, N. C, and Earleton, Fla. Vines of such varieties of 

 the first importation (that of 1899) as failed to grow have been replaced 

 so far as possible, and as many additional sorts of supposed merit as 

 were obtainable on resistant stocks have been secured. The collec- 

 tion at Earleton is reported to have made a very thrifty growth, and 

 to have continued almost entirely free from leaf diseases during the 

 summer of 1899. It is also reported to be in thrifty condition at the 

 present time. The collection at Southern Pines, on the deep and 

 sterile sandy soil of the long-leaf pine belt, has made a less thrift}' 

 growth, and a larger number of vines failed to grow here than at 

 Earleton. More difficulty with leaf diseases has been experienced 

 here also. This is probably due in some measure to the close prox- 

 imity of large vineyards of American varieties, comjDOsed mainly of 

 Niagara and Delaware, in which black rot and mildew have been 

 prevalent for several years, and which continue to be a source of 

 infection to the more susceptible European varieties. A collection of 

 about 40 varieties grafted on Xiagara stocks at this place two years 

 before the Department experiments began suffered considerably from 

 black rot on both leaves and fruit during the summer of 1899, though 

 a number of varieties were apparently not more injured bj' it than 

 was Niagara in the same locality. It is gratifying to record that the 

 phenomenal cold weather of February, 1899, injured but fe\v of the 

 unprotected vines of these varieties seriously. Most of the varieties 

 have made a strong growth and several are now carrying a full crop 

 of fruit, which under ordinary climatic conditions should make pos- 

 sible an approximate determination of theii- qualit}' and a forecast of 

 their probable usefulness as market grapes in that region. 



CARD CATALOGUE. 



The illness of Mr. T. T. Lyon, of Michigan, for many years an expert 

 and capable special agent of the Division, resulted in his death during 

 the present fiscal year. The card catalogue, the preparation of which 

 had been intrusted to Mr. Lyon from the beginning, because of his spe- 

 cial fitness for the work, was left incomplete by his death, the apples, 

 pears, and peaches described in standard American i)omological 

 works having been completed as heretofore noted. The completion 

 oi this work has been placed in charge of Prof. W. H. Ragan, of 

 Indiana, who has been activeh* engaged upon it during the latter half 

 of the fiscal year. During this time the plums and grapes have been 



