EEPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 119 



of the durum wheat throughout the northwest territory and the dis- 

 tribution and extension of the Swedish select oats throughout several 

 of the Northwestern States. 



The whole alfalfa question in the United States has been put on 

 a new basis by the introduction of the Turkestan, Siberian, Arabian, 

 and Peruvian alfalfas and the development of the hardy hybrid 

 strains which grow in the Southwest throughout the winter. The 

 introduced Swedish barleys have created a new situation in the 

 barley-growing industry of Montana, Idaho, and California. 



NEW FRUITS AND OTHER CROPS INTRODUCED. 



The seedless grapes of Italy and Greece have begun to have their 

 effect on the table-grape and raisin industries of the Pacific coast. 

 The Bohemian horse-radish has supplanted the old variety in New 

 Jersey as a better 5aelder and a better flavored sort. 



The date palm has ceased to be a curiosity in the desert regions of 

 the Southwest, and its cultivation is becoming an important plant 

 industry. The dasheen, a root crop for the South, has proved its 

 possibilities as a food producer and will probably rival the potato 

 in the South for lands too moist for this staple crop. 



The Chinese wood-oil tree, from the nuts of which the best varnish 

 oil in the trade is produced, has fruited successfully in the Gulf 

 States and promises a new crop for cheap lands which can be har- 

 vested during the slack-labor season. 



The Chinese wild-peach stock has proved to be hardy in the Middle 

 "West in sections where the hardiest varieties heretofore known have 

 been killed to the gi-ound, and it also promises to be the earliest 

 stock in California. Groves of the timber bamboo are now estab- 

 lished in Florida and Louisiana. 



Groves of the superior-flavored oriental mango, first encouraged by 

 the department, are now fruiting in I'lorida, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, 

 and this fruit tree is beginning to attract attention in southern Cali- 

 fornia. 



The Guatemalan and Mexican avocados and selected seedlings of 

 West Indian and Florida origin are creating a new fruit situation in 

 California and Florida. 



The Smyrna fig industry of the Pacific coast is now established, 

 and the introduction by the department of the insect-carr^'ing capri- 

 fig has become a matter of history. Over 1,000 tons of this choice fig 

 were produced last year. 



The pistache nut of the Orient, together with its relatives from 

 China and the Mediterranean region, have been introduced and 

 proved valuable for Pacific coast conditions. 



