BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 6l 



tion experiments to improve the quality and yield when grown under 

 conditions prevailing in this country. In addition to the foregoing, 

 5-aere patclies of Egyptian cotton are being grown in Georgia and Mis- 

 sissippi from seed grown in the same localities last year. This work 

 is done in order to test production and furnish means of selection. 



Corn. — The experiments in corn improvement have been mainly of 

 a preliminary nature so far. The facts learned by the work in arti- 

 ficial pollination, selection, breeding of sorts, hybridization, and the 

 study of immediate effect of pollen, have proved very valuable both 

 from a scientific and economic point of view, and are of the greatest 

 assistance in furnishing data for intelligentl}' planning future work. 

 The work of hybridization has furnished a number of valual)le sorts, 

 which are being grown for selection and fixation. One hybrid lias 

 been produced which gives the largest percentage of shelled corn of 

 any sort which lias thus far been tested. The corn industry has 

 developed to such an extent that there is a growing demand for sorts 

 adapted for special purposes. Corn oil is the most vahiable of the 

 constituent elements furnished by the grain, and this product exists 

 mainly in the germ of the kernel. It would, therefore, seem desirable 

 to breed a corn that will have a larger germ. Last y%s,x nearly 

 5,000,000 gallons of corn oil were exported and the demand is rapidly 

 increasing; and a variety rich in this valuable product is becoming 

 a great desideratum. The matter of liandling seed corn is an 

 important question, and in order to obtain information on this point 

 10-acre patclies have been planted in five different localities, one- 

 half of whicli was fire-dried and one-half air-dried seed, for the pur- 

 pose of detei'inining the profitableness of the kiln-dried corn used for 

 seed purposes. Variety tests of field corns, table corns, and i)op corns 

 are in jirogress, and offer good oiiportuuities for selection and breed- 

 ing work. 



Other hreedinfj experiments. — A number of miscellaneous crops are 

 receiving attention in the plant-breeding laboratory. Important results 

 have been obtained in the matter of citrus improvement, and it is 

 believed that the hybrids secured as a result of former work will bear 

 fruit for the first time this season. It Avill then be jiossible to judge 

 more definitely in regard to their value. Work on pineapple breeding 

 has also been under way, and in addition thei'e has l)een considerable 

 attention given to the improvement of the guava, strawberry, and 

 other crops. Aside from the direct practical investigations outlined 

 above, the i)lant-breeding laboratory is endeavoring to make a 

 thorough study of the general laws of jilant breeding. It is higlily 

 important that v/e should know more about the methods of producing 

 variations, and in what way and how soon such variations can be 

 rendered hereditary. Experiments have been inaugurated in cooper- 

 ation with several State stations in testing the influence of environ- 

 ment on certain crops, and the length of time necessary to grow crops 

 under such environment to render the changed characters hereditary, 

 if this ever occurs. Many other features, such as the prepotencj^ of 

 species in hybridization, the general laws of combination of characters 

 in hybrids, and the immediate effect of pollen, etc., are being care- 

 fully studied. 



ALKALI INVESTIGATIONS. 



The office of Pathological and Phj^siological Investigations has taken 

 up work, in cooperation with the Bureau of Soils, in problems con- 



