BUEEAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 69 



weather conditions under which different seeds germinate when sown 

 in the open ground, and also under what artificial conditions the seed 

 should be tested for germination. During the year a considerable 

 part of the time of the force of the seed laboratory was devoted 

 to the devising of plans for the rearrangement of the Congressional 

 seed distribution. The testing of seed for this distribution also occu- 

 pied a considerable portion of the time of the various assistants in 

 the laboratory. 



FIBER INVESTIGATIONS. 



Fiber investigations have been carried on by Mr. L. H. Dewey, 

 under the direction of the Botanist. During the year investigations 

 have been conducted in regard to the hemp industry of the ITrrited 

 States, the flax-fiber industry', the sisal industry in the Bahamas, and 

 a preliminary list of the varieties of cotton manufactured in this 

 country has been made up. Information has also been collected and 

 recorded in available form in regard to numerous other fiber plants. 

 Investigations of hemp have been made in Kentucky and Nebraska 

 upon the methods of cultivating this crop and preparing the fiber. 

 Seeds of six varieties of Japanese hemp have been imported and tested 

 in the testing gardens of this Department and at the experiment sta- 

 tion at Lexington, Ky., and also at Gridley, Cal., Fremont, Nebr., and 

 Tottenville, N. Y. Two of these varieties promise to be of special value. 

 Some preliminary investigations have been inaugurated on flax to 

 obtain information on the methods of flax-fiber production in eastern 

 Michigan. The average annual importations of flax fiber amount to 

 about $1,500,000, and it is believed that much of this fiber can be 

 profitably produced in this country. There will be need, however, of 

 some improvement in the present rather crude and expensive methods 

 of harvesting, retting, and thrashing the flax, and preparing the fiber. 

 There is also opportunity for improvement by the introduction of 

 better varieties and the develoj)ment of a better grade of fiber by 

 careful selection of seed. During the past year the price of sisal fiber 

 has been higher than at any other time for fifteen years. The supply 

 has not been equal to the demand, and owing- to the increased use of 

 binder twine in harvesting our grain crops, and especially in harvest- 

 ing corn, the consumption seems likely to increase. An investigation 

 in regard to the methods of cultivating the sisal plant and preparing 

 the fiber in the Bahama Islands has been made, with a view to secur- 

 ing information that may aid. in the introduction of this industry into 

 Porto Rico and also aid the industry which is becoming established 

 in Hawaii. 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURE. 



This work is in charge of Mr. O. F. Cook, and during the year the 

 subjects which have received special attention are coffee culture and 

 the culture of the Central American rubber tree. The coffee-growing 

 regions of Porto Rico were visited in July, 1901, and those of Guate- 

 mala and southern Mexico in March, April, and May, 1902. The 

 results of these investigations are being embodied in three reports, 

 the first showing that the coffee industry is limited in extent and pro- 

 ductiveness by bad cultural methods, such as the use of too much 

 shade and the failure to raise seedlings in nurseries; the second 

 showing that coffee of the highest grade produced in America is grown 

 without shade, and that shade is being abandoned or the amount 



