BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 335 



The hardiness of the large-fruited Chinese jujubes is indicated as 

 far north as Washington and a very wide area of adaptability seems 

 open to this new dry-land crop, whose preserved fruits compare quite 

 favorably with the true date in quality. 



The carob is an important fodder and shade tree for the dry hill- 

 sides and roadsides in California; a successful introduction of the 

 Matalafera variety from Valencia has been made through the Ameri- 

 can consul and hundreds of seedling carobs are now being grown to 

 be budded with this variety, which is considered the most abiuidant 

 and constant fruiter of all the Valencia carobs. 



The Tamopan seedless and nonastringent persimmon promises to 

 be a valuable acquisition from China and so far as possible the thou- 

 sands of experimenters who are interested in testing it will be sup- 

 plied with young trees this year. Its introduction, together with the 

 worlring out in cooperation with the Bureau of Chemistry of the 

 method of processing the Chinese and Japanese persimmon to remove 

 the tannin and the assembling of various tropical species in Florida 

 for breeding purposes have resulted in the increased development of 

 this important fruit industry. 



The bamboo garden at Brooksville, Fla., has been materially en- 

 larged by the citizens of the place and the growth of the bamboos 

 there has been so satisfactory that arrangements have been made for 

 a permanent caretaker and propagator and for the propagation there 

 of other plant introductions. 



The collection of alfalfa species, upon which hybridizers are at 

 work, has been augmented by forms from the Caucasus, from which 

 promising crosses have been already obtained, and reports have been 

 received from Siberia which confirm the belief that Medicago falcata 

 is so valuable a species for the ranges that a special order has been 

 sent to Mr. Meyer for the collection of quantities sufficiently large to 

 make a thorough trial on the ranges of the Northwest. 



During the past year the Japanese salad plant udo has been sub- 

 mitted to the public and pronounced a vegetable worth exploiting, 

 one of the largest asparagus growers in America, after a prelimi- 

 nary trial, having set out a substantial area on reclaimed land near 

 Stockton, Cal. 



At least one of the aroid root crops, the dasheen, has been submitted 

 to the public and pronounced a table delicacy, being used both as a 

 vegetable and when made into flour. This crop can be successfully 

 grown on lands that are too moist for practically any other commer- 

 cial crops in the South. 



Cooperative orchards of the mango and avocado pear have been 

 established in Florida for the purpose of testing the various varieties 

 which have been imported by the department. The work in these 

 orchards will be extended during the coming season in order to assist 

 the prospective mango and avocado planters to decide which varieties 

 of these important fruits to plant. The increasing interest in avocado 

 growing in California has made it advisable to supply cooperators 

 there with collections of all the best varieties obtainable for experi- 

 mental tests. 



The Plant-Introduction Garden at Chico. — The facilities of the 

 Plant-Introduction Garden at Chico, Cal., have been taxed to their 

 limit in order to take care of the increasing number of new introduc- 

 tions, and it will be necessary to enlarge the garden to provide for 



