96 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



of tlie iniportanee of assisting tlie people of the United States to an earlj^ 

 knowledge of the conditions in Porto Rico, it was decided to send an 

 economic botanist to the island to secure the data of which the people 

 of the United States were in search. Mr. O. F. Cook, assisted by Mr. 

 G. N. Collins, spent most of the months of November and December, 

 1899, in Porto Rico, and secured a large amount of valuable informa- 

 tion wiiich, together with other information published in places not 

 accessible to the American public, has been elaborated into a compre- 

 hensive and Avell-illustrated report. This report was completed at the 

 end of the fiscal year and has since been submitted for publication. 



FIBER INVESTIGATIONS. 



In September and October, 1899, a trip was taken through the 

 Southern States to investigate the merits of the African Limb- 

 less cotton, which had been f)lanted at different localities under the 

 suiJervision of the Department of Agriculture. Egyptian cotton 

 grown in Texas from seed originally imported by the Department was 

 also made the subject of special investigation, and, incidental!}", sev- 

 eral leading upland varieties received some attention. Circular No. 

 26, entitled "Egyptian cotton in the United States," was prepared 

 chiefly from data obtained in this investigation. The value of the 

 African Limbless cotton, which is a varietj^ of fair merit, Avas found 

 to have been extravagantlj" overstated by its promoters. In the 

 spring of 1900 experiments Avere instituted at several points in the Car- 

 olinas and also on the ti-ial grounds on the Potomac Flats in the culti- 

 vation of hemp. These experiments are under the immediate direc- 

 tion of Mr. S. S. Boyce, and are designed to indicate the relative 

 merits of different varieties, different soils and locations, and different 

 fertilizers. 



TESTING THE SEEDS OF THE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRIBUTION. 



The Division of Botany has been charged with the duty of testing 

 each year the seeds purchased by the Department for Congressional 

 distribution. These tests are for the purpose of ascertaining whether 

 the seeds come up to the contract requirements. The tests are for 

 purity, germination, and trueness to name. The tests for puritj^ con- 

 sist in separating from the good seeds all dirt, sticks, stones, dust, 

 chaff, insects, weed seeds, broken seeds, and other foreign matter. 

 The impurities are weighed, and a comparison of their weight with 

 the weight of the whole sample gives the percentage of purity. The 

 weed seeds contained in the samiile are identified, and if any seeds of 

 certain objectionable weeds named in the contract are found, the 

 sample is rejected. The Department reserves the right to reject any 

 seed falling below the lirescribed standards in jiuril^y, or, if it falls 

 slightly below the standards and the impurities are not objectionable, 

 the seed may be accepted, the Department deducting in payment 

 therefor a sum proportionate to the difference between the standard 

 and the purity of the sample. The average of the standards of purity 

 named in the last contract is 98.-3 per cent. The average of the purity 

 of all the seeds distributed last year Avas 97.3. This is considered a 

 liighly creditable shoAving. 



The test for germination is conducted by counting out several sets 

 of 100 or 200 plump seeds from a sample and germinating them both 

 iu a germinating apparatus and in soil. On the basis of the percentage 



