PORTO RICO. 175 



such US nmngoos, iillioiitor poars, and the niamiuoo apple. On other 

 parts of the farm an experimental banana phuitation and a cacao gi-ove 

 have been started. Arrangements have l)een made by whieh phmts of 

 economic vahie are obtained for the station from Jamaica through the 

 Botanic Garden at Kingston and from other portions of the West 

 Indies througii the British Commissioner of Ag-riculture for the West 

 Indies. Througii these different sources a considerable number of 

 tropical ])roducts have alread}^ l)een collected, among them a large 

 number of varieties of cassava, vams, yautia, and the malanga. Fil)er 

 plants are also being tested. Experiments have been continued with 

 vejjctables from northern-grown seeds, but as vet with indifferent 

 success. 



Experiments with coffee have been carried on during- the year and 

 the results of the application of fertilizers have been marked. Bat 

 guano secured from caves on the island has given better results than 

 any of the commercial fertilizers. A large number of coffee seedlings 

 are ready to transplant, and arrangements have been made with a 

 number of planters to set out a half acre of each of these and care for 

 them according to directions prescribed b}' the station. Many trees 

 will also be planted on the coffee-experiment plats at La Carmelita, 

 where 10 acres have been turned over to the station for experimental 

 purposes. 



During the early part of the fiscal 3'ear the l)otanist of the station 

 made a visit to the northeastern part of the island and reported on the 

 boundariesof publiclandsin the Lucjuillo district. This region embraces 

 practically all the native forest remaining on the island, and the survey 

 was made to esta))lisli the boundaries for a forest reservation of 25,000 

 acres, which was proclaimed ])y the President in Januar}^ 1903. Later 

 in the j'ear Prof. F. 8. Earle, of the New York Botanic Gardens, visited 

 the island as a temporary agent of this Office, to make a study of some 

 of its horticultural possil)ilities and to make observations upon some of 

 the diseases of economic plants. He has prepared a report on this 

 trip which is given in full on page 454. 



Numerous additions, both of bound publications and pamphlets, have 

 been made to the library and exchanges have been effected with a num- 

 ber of publications. A mailing list of about 800 addresses, mostly in 

 Porto Rico, has l)een prepared. It is planned to contiiuie the soil survey 

 of thi' island as funds will permit; to continue and extend the coffee 

 experiments, partlv in cooperation with representative planters in dif- 

 ferent parts of the island, and to develop horticultural investigations. 

 There is great demand for information along horticultural lines, and it 

 is exceedingh' important that a man well trained in the principles and 

 practices of tropical horticulture be secured by the station. Stock 

 growing is another important industry on the island, and there is con- 

 siderable demand for investigation in animal industry, for which the 



