336 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the propagation work demanded by the great increase in distribu- 

 tions. This garden has justly attracted wide attention, having the 

 most extensive collection of new introductions in the country. 



The denmnd from experimenters for material of an agricultural 

 nature with which to work and the inadequacy of the propagating 

 facilities at the gardens on the department grounds in Washington 

 have made it imperative to establish a propagating garden where 

 suitable nursery soil and other conditions could be obtained. Such 

 conditions were found at Yarrow, Md., and 40 acres have been put 

 under good tillage and thousands of new introductions planted. 



The South Texas Garden. — Progress at the South Texas Plant- 

 Introduction Garden has been hindered by the appearance of alkali 

 in the upper strata of soil as a result of irrigation, and until a system 

 of underdrainage has been installed there is little hope of making the 

 work of plant propagation a success. The presence of the root-rot 

 has also complicated the situation. These various factors may make 

 necessary a change in the policy of the work in southern Texas. 



The Upper Mississippi Valley Garden. — The Upper Mississippi 

 Valley Plant-Introduction Garden at Ames, Iowa, has been main- 

 tained in cooperation with the State experiment station, and already 

 the new material that has been sent there has attracted attention to 

 the desirability of the establishment of an arboretum in which such 

 material as the hardy wild forms of apple, pear, peach, and apricot 

 now growing in nursery rows can be fruited and the trees become 

 available for the work of the plant breeders of the region. 



The Plant-Introduction Garden at Miami. — The progress of 

 the work at the Plant-Introduction Garden at Miami, Fla., especially 

 in connection with the propagation of the mango, avocado, and 

 anonaceous fruits, has been extremely satisfactory, and on this ac- 

 count it is the intention to increase the facilities there by erecting a 

 modern greenhouse. 



FOBAGE-CEOP INVESTIGATIONS. 



The forage-crop work, as continued under the general direction 

 of Prof. C. V. Piper essentially along the same lines as heretofore, 

 includes the investigation, extension, and demonstration of such 

 forage crops as are of value or that may become valuable in this 

 country. Some very interesting results have been obtained from 

 the testing of new forage crops and also from strictly agronomic 

 investigations. Certain general lines of work which have received 

 the most attention are here mentioned. 



Alfalfa. — The testing and extension of alfalfa in the East and 

 the development and testing of hardy strains are the most important 

 phases of alfalfa investigation. This work is under the immediate 

 direction of Prof. C. V. Piper, who is assisted by various field men. 



Tests of the alfalfas introduced by Prof. N. E. Hansen from 

 Europe and Asia are being continued, and it is hoped that it will 

 soon be possible to make some definite statements regarding the 

 value of the new alfalfas on the open range and in comparison with 

 the most hardy varieties of common alfalfa under cultivation. The 

 hybrids which have been made between the yellow-flowered alfal- 

 fas from Siberia and the common alfalfas are still beins: tested. 



