ECONOMIC BIOLOGY 37 I 



troduction of the Bureau of Plant Industry are manifold but one of them 

 is to go into "the uttermost parts of the earth" and bring back to us its 

 treasures. From the Asian steppes to the jungles of the tropics its explorers 

 have gone, and from the fertile isles of Japan to the deserts of Arabia, in 

 their search for the useful and the beautiful, to enrich our fields and adorn 

 our dwellings. 



We are accustomed to think of the bamboo in terms of wicker work or 

 fishing rods, but how many of us realize that the young bamboo shoots, 

 which grow at the rate of a foot a day, are succulent and may be eaten hke 

 asparagus tips. How often do we think of the bamboo as serving such varied 

 uses as pulp for paper, masts for vessels, pipes for water and timber for 

 buildings? There is no plant in the world which is put to so many uses as 

 the bamboo, and in the regions where it grows it is apparently the most 

 indispensable of all plants. Strange as it may seem, the bamboo is not a tree 

 in the ordinary sense of the word, but a grass. Several species of bamboo 

 have been introduced into California, while in Florida and other southern 

 states are bamboo groves planted by the bureau. 



The tung oil tree of the orient, from the seeds of which is obtained one 

 of the best drying oils known, has been introduced into California and the 

 Gulf States, where it appears to be thriving; while the pistache tree is doing 

 nicely in California. 



The date palm, that wonderful tree of the oasis in the scorching deserts 

 of Arabia and Africa, is now domesticated in Arizona and Southern Cali- 

 fornia and has taken kindly to its new home. With some trees bearing more 

 than 100 pounds of dates an average profit of $100 to $150 per acre is a fair 

 estimate. 



Many are our natural resources unused as yet, while many another fast 

 disappearing can be restored in part at least to its former abundance, not 

 only by negative measures of conservation, but by the active ones of propa- 

 gation as well. 



In the days of the pioneer the United States was teeming with game. To- 

 day the flocks of wild pigeons, the herds of buffalo, elk and antelope are 

 but memories of the past. Of the wild pigeon not one wild bird remains 

 today to bear testimony to their departed glory. To save others from a 

 like fate the Biological Survey in cooperation with our National Park 

 Service and the Audubon Society has established havens of refuge through- 

 out the country, where the remaining herds of large game are safe from 

 the depredations of man, and others where our wild fowl may breed in 

 safety and replenish their fast thinning ranks. 



The rapid diminution of our fur-bearing hosts, with the consequent 

 rise in the price of furs, has led to experiments in breeding these animals 

 for market. That enormous profits are possible in successful fox farming is 

 shown by the value of the best animals for breeding, as high as $25,000 

 having been paid for a single pair of silver foxes for this purpose. Not alone 



