14 



DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDS AND PLANTS. 



handling only one kind of seed. When the envelopes reach the end 

 of the belt they pass through machines which automatically seal 

 them at the rate of 30.000 a day. The seed warehouse is equipped 

 with four of these belts and four sealing machines, and the daily out- 

 put of 120,000 packages is mailed to the addresses furnished by Sena- 

 tors and Members of Congress at the rate of about 250 a minute. 

 (See fig. 8.) In the old days, before the automatic packeting ma- 

 chines were developed, the seed was put into the packets with spoons 

 bv a large force of girls employed each winter. 



Fig. 8. — Machines lor automatically sealing envelopes containing seed packets. 

 MISCELLANEOUS SEEDS AND PLANTS. 



About 90,000 strawberry plants of standard varieties are also dis- 

 tributed annually upon congressional requests. 



Of grapevines about 0,000 are distributed in the Southern States, 

 and about 18,000 are sent into the INIiddle and Xorthern States. 



For the Southern States also from 3,000 to 4,000 citrange plants 

 are provided annually. The citrange is a hybrid propagated from 

 a cross between the Florida sweet orange and the Japanese Citrus 

 tnfollata, wdiich was effected by plant breeders of this Bureau several 

 years ago with a view to originating a variety that would prove 

 iiardy and resistant to cold north of Florida. The Japanese tii- 

 foliata is a true orange and is hardy as far north as NeAv York, but 



[Cir. 100] 



