322 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



POMOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 



The work in connection with the pomolo<i^ical collections has been 

 continued under the direction of Col. G. B. Brackett. 



The great impetus given to commercial orcharding and the rapid 

 extension of orchard areas throughout the country have given rise to 

 an extensive correspondence on orchard management, as well as upon 

 the hitherto unsolved problems connected with fruit growing. This 

 correspondence has covered almost every subject pertaining to the 

 fruit industry. 



The demand for information has never been greater in the history 

 of the office. Data on the best methods of orchard management have 

 been collected and disseminated, while various fruit-growing organi- 

 zations have been visited and lectures on pomological subjects 

 delivered. 



Fruit identification. — A greater number of specimen fruits were 

 received during the year than ever before. The work of identifica- 

 tion of varieties occupied much of the time of the nomologist and 

 his assistants, fruits of 3,874 varieties being examined and identified. 

 This work alone saves nurserymen and fruit growers many thou- 

 sands of dollars annually by identifying for them the varieties of 

 fruits they desire to grow for both commercial and domestic use. 



Many new and hitherto unknown varieties of fruits of economic 

 value have been examined, 561 descriptions, 417 paintings, and 27 

 models having been made in order to place the varieties on record, 

 while 372 specimens have been added to the pomological herbarium. 



Simplification of fruit nomenclature, — Investigations looking 

 toward the simplification of the nomenclature of fruits have been 

 pushed with vigor, though, in order to meet the urgent public de- 

 mand for special information on the walnut industry, it has covered 

 the subject in a general way rather than being chiefly concerned 

 with completing the data relating to the peach. Several thousand 

 cards covering the nomenclature, origin, history, distribution, de- 

 scription, and value of fruits have been entered in the files. In the 

 collection of these data considerable labor has been given to research 

 covering the more important cases of confusion as to the origin, his- 

 tory, and synonymy of old varieties, while giving precedence to data 

 pertaining to new varieties. The status of the work in nomenclature 

 is as follows: Peach, almost completed; plum and cherry, about 20 

 per cent of the data collected ; small fruits, 10 per cent collected ; 

 nuts, citrus, and miscellaneous fruits, fairly started. 



Special pomological investigations. — This office is continually 

 adding varieties of fruits to the already extensive collection of trees 

 now grown at the Arlington Experimental Farm. The test plat fur- 

 nishes admirable opportunities for obtaining data at first hand con- 

 cerning the relative merit and value of varieties. It enables the 

 office to obtain copious notes for peach classification and has fur- 

 nished valuable material for forthcoming bulletins on peach culture. 

 The orchard also serves as a varietal check list and has enabled the 

 office to furnish exact varietal data to specialists who arc carefullj 

 studying the cultural conditions of the peach industry. With addi- 

 tional assistants it is hoped to make the investigations at Arlington 

 a most helpful feature of the work on the classification and nomen- 

 clature of fruits. 



