THE LOQUAT. 



15 



they arrive in the United States in an unsatisfactory condition. With 

 the purpose of ascertaining- the most favorable methods of packing, 

 Messrs. Lathrop and Fairchild, the agricultural explorers, recently 

 sent several tin cases of scions of the Jaffna mango to the Department 

 and the results obtained are of considerable importance for the 

 guidance of intending importers. The batch of scions forwarded from 

 Colombo. Ceylon, on April 6, 1902, and received at the Department 

 May 5. consisted of four cylindrical tin tubes. One case contained 

 bud sticks each less than three-quarters of an inch in diameter, the 

 ends of all being covered with collodion. The bud sticks were after- 

 wards dipped in clay mud, which formed a very tenacious covering. 

 These scions were packed with a small amount of moist coir, and 

 arrived in fairly good condition, although they were comparatively 

 young growths. The same method of forwarding could probably 1 >e 

 successfully applied to older wood, which has been proved to be of 

 much greater service in budding operations. 



Another case contained scions, half of which were wrapped in tin 

 foil and the other half without wrapping. All were coated with col- 

 lodion on the cut surfaces and packed in pure, fresh, moist sawdust. 

 The contents of this box were almost dead when opened, those scions 

 which were wrapped in tin foil showing more signs of life than the 

 others. The scions in the third case were treated similarly to those in 

 the second box, except that the packing material was moist coir instead 

 of moist sawdust, plenty of air space being provided. These scions 

 were in an advanced stage of decomposition. In the fourth lot the 

 scions were wrapped in tin foil and packed in moist sawdust mixed 

 with powdered charcoal. In this instance all were dead. 



THE LOQUAT. 



REGIONS WHERE THE LOQUAT MAY BE GROWN. 



The loquat {Eriobotrya japonica) is a native of Japan and China. 

 Its possibilities as a fruit tree have long been known in the South, 

 where it is capable of being grown to perfection in several States. 

 Young plants have proved hardy during mild winters at Washington, 

 D. C. but when the temperature falls to zero and remains so for any 

 length of time the plants are injured permanently. As the flowers of 

 the loquat are produced during the autumn months, both flowers 

 and fruit are likely to be injured by cold; for this reason there is 

 little probability of the loquat being grown for fruiting purposes in 

 regions where severe frosts are frequent. 



However, there is a large tract of territory where the fruit may be 

 successfully produced in this country. From Charleston south along 

 the coast belt, in the Gulf States, and in California south of the 

 thirty-eighth parallel it is quite hardy, and in some parts of New 



