276 DEPAETMENTAL KEPORTS. 



which to work out problems that will be of value to the whole coun- 

 try. They should also be made to show the possibilities of beautify- 

 ing the home, not by elaborate and intricate landscape effects, but 

 by the use of simple plans and the full utilization of the many plants 

 within easy reach of all. Hundreds of our own beautiful trees, 

 shrubs, and hardy herbaceous plants can be obtained nowadays at 

 comparatively little expense, and if properly utilized would add 

 greatly to the attractiveness of our homes and tend to bind us to 

 them*more and more in a way that could not but result in good to the 

 family, to the State, and to the nation. 



COOPERATION AVITH THE DIVISION OF POMOLOGY. 



Another line of cooperative work has been arranged for with the 

 acting pomologist, Mr. William A. Taylor, its object being a study of 

 our native nuts, with a view of making their cultivation profitable in 

 regions to which they are adapted. There are hundreds of acres of 

 idle land in this country, which in a few years could be made to yield 

 fair returns if jilanted to nut trees. It is planned to collect, propa- 

 gate, and disseminate some of our more promising nuts, and at the 

 same time to make a thorough study of the conditions best suited to 

 their growth, the methods of propagation, and the handling of the 

 product. It seems proper that the dissemination of the nut seedlings 

 and such plants as may be generally propagated should be made under 

 the direction of the Secretary of Agriculture tlirough the Senators, 

 Representatives, and Delegates in Congress. To this end, the districts 

 where the different i>roductions are likelj^ to succeed should be care- 

 fully studied, and full instructions, based on the knowledge thus 

 gained, should be given, so as to insure proper jilanting and handling. 



In addition to nuts, there are many fruits, trees, and other plants 

 in this country which have local value and which are not yet in the 

 trade lists. It is jilanned to bring these together as rapidlj^ as the 

 work will permit, and to distribute them in the same way as the nut 

 trees. The primarj^ object of this work is educational, and if prop- 

 erly conducted will in no way interfere with established trade. On 

 the contrary, it will be of benefit to the trade, for it will arouse an 

 interest in lines of work which will act as a direct stimulus to busi- 

 ness enterprises. The Department's duty is done when it shows the 

 practicability of the work, and how, in its judgment, this work can be 

 best carried on in the future. 



COOPERATION W^ITH THE SECTION OF SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION. 



Full cooperation has been arranged with the Section of Seed and 

 Plant Introduction, which is in charge of Mr. Jared G. Smith. This 

 Section has for its object the introduction of new seeds and plants 

 from foreign countries into the United States. Many of the most 

 promising introductions have necessarily been obtained in small 

 quantities, and it will l)e of great value to propagate them here with 

 a view of giving them wider dissemination. This is esiJecially true of 

 tropical and suljtropical plants, which are likely to become an impor- 

 tant factor in the near future in the development of the agricultural 

 and horticultural interests of Porto Rico, Hawaii, and other troj)- 

 ical countries. It is planned to make the gardens the center from 

 which a distribution of some of the more important tropical and sub- 



