BUEEAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 339 



production of oil and oil cake. In addition to continuing the work 

 on numerous varieties at Arlington Experimental Farm and in co- 

 operation with experiment stations, considerable attention has been 

 given to hybridization and selection. The most promising of the 

 many resultant new varieties are being grown for general testing. A 

 few new varieties have already been introduced into the Southern 

 States and have proved to be superior to those commonly grown. 



Legumes. — The work of testing legumes on root-rot infested land 

 is being continued more extensively than in the past, as the results 

 obtained last- season have warranted a more careful study of the 

 problem. Certain strains of cowpeas have shown marked resistance 

 to root-rot, among those deserving special mention being the Iron 

 variety and its hybrids. It seems probable that valuable species of 

 legumes will be found practically immune to the disease. 



Dry-land forage crops. — At Chillicothe, Tex., Chico, Cal., and 

 Pullman, Wash., the testing of dry-land forage crops and the study 

 of methods in connection with their culture has been continued along 

 the same lines as during last season; likewise the work at the dry- 

 land experiment farms in cooperation with the offices of Dry-Land 

 Agriculture, Western Agricultural Extension, and Grain Investiga- 

 tions. The work at the dry-land stations is under the direction of 

 Mr. H. N. Vinall. Interesting results are being obtained from varie- 

 ties of Canada field peas, sorghums, millets, sweet clover, soy beans, 

 and other legumes. Selections of Agrojyyron cristatum^ a species of 

 grass imported from Russia, have shown much promise, as have 

 also selections of our native species, Agropyron tenerum and Agropy- 

 ron occidentale. In the southern part of the Great Plains region 

 cowpeas in mixtures with sorghum have given very satisfactory 

 results. The Iron, Groit, and Brabham varieties of cowpeas have 

 proved to be of the most promise in this connection. 



Miscellaneous forage crops. — The bur clovers and vetches are 

 being extensively tested as forage and cover crops. Much of this 

 work is being done at Chico, Cal., and throughout the Pacific Coast 

 States, under the immediate direction of Mr. Roland McKee. The 

 production of seed on a commercial scale of the Tangier pea {Lathy - 

 I'us tingitanus), black bitter vetch {Vicia ervilia), black-purple 

 vetch {Vicia dasycarpa), and woolly-pod vetch {Vicia hiennis) is 

 being encouraged and will doubtless become an important industry 

 especially in the vetch seed producing sections of Oregon. 



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 FLO^\'ER seeds. — The contract for packeting, 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 $1.10.5 per thousand packets, including delivery of 

 the packeted seed in mail sacks direct from the seed warehouse in 

 Washington, D. C, to the Union Station, thereby obviating the 



