100 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS. 



REPORT. 



Report of the Botanist for 1899, hy Frederick V. Coville, issued 

 January, 1900. The regular administrative report of tlie work of the 

 Division of Botanj^ 



INVENTORIES OF SEEDS AND PLANTS. 



No. 2, Foreign Seeds and Plants Imported by the Section of Seed 

 and Plant Introduction, Nos. 1001 to 1900. This includes a part of 

 the importations brought by Prof. N. E. Hansen from Russia and 

 central Asia, and some material secured by Mr. Walter T. Swingle in 

 various parts of Europe. 



No. 5, Foreign Seeds and Plants Imported by the Department of 

 Agriculture and for Distribution by the Section of Seed and Plant 

 Introduction, Nos. 1901 to 2700. This is chieflj^ a continuation of the 

 list of vegetables, fruits, forage plants, and ornamentals procured by 

 Mr. Walter T. Swingle in France, Italy, and Algeria. 



No. 6, Foreign Seeds and Plants Collected in Austria, Italy, and 

 Egypt b}' Hon. Barbour Lathrop and Mr. David G. Fairchild for the 

 Section of Seed and Plant Introduction. This contains several impoi-- 

 tant vegetables and cottons, a seedless raisin grape, and several other 

 plants chiefly useful for forage or green fertilizer. 



PAPER PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT YEARBOOK FOR 1899. 



Seed Selling, Seed Growing, and Seed Testing, by A. J. Pieters. 

 An account of the history and development of the seed industry in 

 the United States, with a special portion devoted to the modern meth- 

 ods of testing seeds. 



CONTRIBUTIOXS FROM THE U. S. NATIONAL HERBARIUM, VOL. V, NO. 4. 



Studies of Mexican and Central American Plants — No. 2, by J. N. 

 Rose; Two New Species of Plants from the Northwestern United 

 States, by L. F. Henderson; Hesperogenia, a New Genus of Umbel- 

 liferse from Mount Rainier, by J. M. Coulter and J. N. Rose; Three 

 New Species of Tradescantia from the United States, by J. N. Rose; 

 Treleasea, a New Genus of Commelinacea', by J. N. Rose; Notes on 

 Useful Plants of Mexico, by J. N. Rose. The last article was issued 

 also as a separate. 



PLANS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1901. 

 INVESTIGATIONS IN TROPICAL BOTANY. 



The question of investing money in agricultural enterprises in our 

 tropical dependencies is attracting a great deal of attention, and we 

 are deluged with requests for information on the subject. Investiga- 

 tions in the field are necessaiy to obtain reliable information as to the 

 possibilities of the cultivation in Porto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands 

 of vanilla, cacao, India rubber, and other tropical jDroducts that we 

 now import from other countries. It is also desirable to inquire into 

 the possibility of extending and improving the cultivation of coffee, 

 bananas, and other suitable x)roduets. The special agent for tropical 

 agriculture will be engaged in comi^iling the scattered information on 

 the cultivation of tropical plants, selecting that which is most authen- 



