162 ANNUAL REPORTS OP DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



five years, so that most of the hemp now grown in this country con- 

 sists of these improved strains. 



One of the most promising recent introductions is the Tochigi 

 variety from Japan. A plat of this variety grown at St. Joseph, 

 Mo., in 1917 gave an excellent yield of seed, especially on loess soil, 

 and this seed was of good quality and high germination, notwith- 

 standing three severe frosts before the plants were harvested. This 

 season about 100 acres of hemp seed are being cultivated in Missouri. 



Early-maturing varieties, chiefly of Italian origin, are being grown 

 at Madison, Wis., in cooperation with the Wisconsin Agricultural Ex- 

 periment Station. This is the third year of selection for some varie- 

 ties, and the results give promise of the successful production in 

 that State of seed of hemp fully equal to the Ferrara of northern 

 Italy. Several acres of broadcast hemp for fiber are being grown by 

 Wisconsin hemp farmers from seed of the Ferrara selection produced 

 at Madison last fall. 



The hemp growers of Wisconsin, organized and encouraged by the 

 cooperation of the experiment station, increased their planting this 

 year to 7,500 acres, compared with 7,000 acres last year, although 

 the unfavorable market which was maintained by dealers and con- 

 sumers until after the close of the planting season resulted in a 

 total decrease throughout the country of about 10,000 acres from the 

 record crop of 41,000 acres last year. Even this reduced acreage is 

 more than double the average of the last 30 years, and it is all nefeded, 

 for, with supplies from Eussia and Italy cut off, the hemp mills not 

 only of the United States but of the allies also must depend upon 

 the hemp produced in this country. Foreign inquiries are being re- 

 ceived, and it is reported that some American hemp has been sold 

 for export, the first instance of this kind in half a century. 



PASTURE INVESTIGATIONS 



Cooperative investigations of permanent pastures are being con- 

 ducted in Virginia and Tennessee. Seedings for permanent pas- 

 tures have been made in a number of sections of Tennessee. On the 

 Cumberland Plateau and in the section known as the Highland Eim 

 orchard grass and redtop make very good grazing provided the land 

 is limed and acid phosphate is added. Similar work is being 

 planned for the Coastal Plains region around Williamsburg, Va. 

 The utilization of cut-over pine lands in the South continues to be a 

 very important problem, and studies are being conducted with a view 

 to determining the possibilities of these lands for live-stock produc- 

 tion. Tests of a large number of grasses are being conducted with a 

 view to finding species that will produce satisfactory pasturage for 

 a considerable period of the year. 



RHODES GRASS FOR SALT LANDS. 



In the Imperial Valley of southern California Ehodes grass has 

 been found to grow on soils too salty for alfalfa. The conditions 

 there under irrigation are somewhat similar to the conditions where 

 it is extensively grown in Texas. 



NAPIER GRASS FOR FORAGE. 



Eeports from southern California indicate that Napier grass is 

 proving a valuable forage there. In the fall of 1917 cuttings of 



