THE PLANT WORLD 273 



testing in the Mississippi Valley and Upper Lake regions either for com- 

 mercial or amateur planting occupies one case front. It consists chiefly 

 of varieties that have been introduced by nurserymen since the World's 

 Columbian Exposition in 1893, although it includes also certain older 

 sorts that have not heretofore been known outside the localities of their 

 origin. 



3. General collection of fruits grown in the United States. — A general 

 collection of the fruits grown in the various portions of the United States 

 occupies fifteen case fronts. This comprises the more important varieties 

 of apples, crab apples, pears, quinces, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, 

 cherries, cranberries, strawberries, oranges, lemons, pomelos, limes, cit- 

 rons, kakis, loquats, avocados, mangoes, sapodillos, persimmons, and 

 miscellaneous tropical and subtropical fruits. Small maps in these cases 

 indicate the general regions within which each species is grown. 



4. Standard grades of apples. — The standard commercial grades of 

 winter apples, as adopted by the International Apple Shippers' Associa- 

 tion, are illustrated by models of certain leading commercial varieties dis- 

 played in sections of apple barrels of standard size in one exhibition case. 

 Both " No. 1 " and " No. 2 " grades of several varieties are shown, the 

 smallest specimens in each package representing the minimum size of fruit 

 of that variety which is permitted in that grade. 



5. Summer apples, pears, and peaches packed for export. — The methods 

 of packing and forwarding experimental export shipments of the perish- 

 able summer fruits by the Department of Agriculture are illustrated by 

 two exhibition cases of summer apples, pears, and peaches packed in the 

 kinds of packages that have been found best adapted to their particular 

 requirements. These shipments are made by the Department in cooper- 

 ation with fruit growers in different parts of the country for the purpose 

 of determining the best methods of packing these fruits for shipment to 

 foreign countries. Many radical changes in the methods of packing 

 practiced with these fruits in our domestic markets have been found 

 necessary to insure their delivery in sound and wholesome condition in 

 European markets. Certain varieties of delicate texture that were until 

 recently considered impossible of successful trans- Atlantic shipment have 

 been found exceedingly profitable to export when properly handled. 



Details regarding the shipments, packages, and methods of packing 

 recommended are shown on the display labels in the cases with these 

 exhibits. 



6. Studies in fruit storage. — The influence of the cultural and climatic 

 conditions that affect the growth of the tree and fruit and of the methods 

 of harvesting and storing to which the fruit is subjected upon its ultimate 

 keeping quality in cold storage is illustrated by four exhibition cases of 

 fac-simile models displayed in sections of commercial packages. 



7. Standard varieties of pecans. — A collection of samples of the ten 

 varieties of pecans that have been disseminated by budding and grafting 

 for a sufficient time to entitle them to recognition as standard varieties 

 occupies one exhibition table. Several samples of most of the varieties 

 in this collection are shown, thus illustrating the modification of the nuts 

 of varieties of this species by differing environmental conditions. 



8. Promising new varieties of pecans. — The remaining exhibition table 

 contains a collection of promising new varieties of pecans that have been 



