3G0 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



kafir, red kafir, sumac and orang:e sororos, and in introducing various 

 new varieties, among them pink kafir, feterita, and red amber sorgo. 

 Large quantities of seed have been distributed, principally through 

 Members of Congress. A number of seed growers have been en- 

 couraged to specialize in the growing of one or more of these varieties, 

 so as to insure permanent sources of supply for pure seed. 



CowPEA INVESTIGATIONS. — The vcry large number of cowpeas ob- 

 tained from many sources, together with numerous hybrids of the 

 more valuable ones made by Mr. G. W. Oliver, Expert, has made pos- 

 sible an intensive study of this crop, which has cleared up many 

 points about the origin of the varieties heretofore in doubt. Four of 

 the new varieties are manifestly so superior to all others in certain 

 respects that seed is being grown in quantity. It is believed that the 

 results of the work will limit the commercial varieties to only five or 

 six at most. 



Soy-bean investigations. — The work on the numerous varieties of 

 soy beans imported from Asia has been continued both at the Arling- 

 ton Experimental Farm and in cooperation with twelve of the state 

 experiment stations. Interest in this crop is greater than ever before. 

 Out of the 350 varieties under test about 20 have finally been selected 

 whose records indicate them to be the best of each type represented. 

 Several of them are being grown in quantity for general introduction. 



Legumes resistant to root-rot. — The importance of legumes in 

 rotations makes it exceedingly desirable to obtain if possible species 

 or varieties of forage value that are resistant to Texas root-rot. Nu- 

 merous species and varieties are being tested on root-rot infested land 

 in the hope of finding some that are resistant or immune. 



Dry-land forage crops. — Work is being continued at Chillicothe, 

 Tex., Chico, Cal., and Pullman, Wash., in the testing of various 

 drought-resistant forage crops and methods of culture. Similar 

 work is being conducted at most of the dry-land experimental farms 

 in cooperation with the offices of Dry-Land Agriculture, Western 

 Agricultural Extension, and Grain Investigations. In general the 

 most satisfactory results are being obtained from annuals and from 

 perennials in cultivated rows. The results demonstrate that alfalfa 

 thus cultivated is a profitable crop, especially for seed, and indicate 

 that the same is true for the more drought-resistant perennial grasses. 



CONGRESSIONAL SEED DISTRIBUTION. 



The Congressional distribution of seeds and plants during the past 

 year included standard and selected varieties of vegetable, flower, 

 cotton, tobacco, and lawn-grass seeds, bulbs, grapevines, strawberry 

 plants, and hybrid citrus trees. 



Vegetable and flower seeds. — The contract for packing, as- 

 sembling, and mailing the vegetable and flower seeds was awarded 

 to the Brown Bag-Filling Machine Co., of Fitchburg, Mass., the 

 lowest bidder, at $1.10 per thousand packets. This contract was 

 later modified to provide for delivering packeted seed in mail sacks 

 direct from the seed warehouse in AVashington, D. C, to the Union 

 Station at an expense of one-half cent additional per thousand 



