
30 
Investigations 
Plant Breeding—Investigations of heredity and variation in 
peas, castor beans, and corn have been carried on in 1918 as i 
preceding years, by and under the direction of the curator of 
plant breeding. Cooperative experiments with the department 
of plant pathology, of the Virginia Experiment Station, on the 
inheritance of bean rust were begun. This is a very serious cis- 
— 
~ 
ease of beans in some sections of the country, and resistant 
varieties of the best commercial types are very much desired. 
The studies on peas, castor beans, and corn have continued to 
yield a large amount of data concerning inheritance in plants 
and by extension, heredity in general. Part of these data have 
been made available to those especially interested and to the gen- 
eral public, through public talks, and through the publication and 
reading of the papers mentioned in Appendices 3 and 4 of this 
report. Various reviews in such publications as the Experiment 
Station Record, Botanical Gazette, Monthly Bulletin of Agri- 
cultural Intelligence and Plant Diseases, of the International 
Institute of Agriculture at Rome, Italy, and in various textbooks 
on breeding have further facilitated the distribution of this 
information. 
Data on castor beans have had a very practical aspect in rela- 
tion to growing sufficient quantities of these beans in 1918 for 
lubricating the rotary motors of the scout type of aeroplane. 
From about August 1 until November 16, the curator of plant 
breeding was on leave of absence as castor bean specialist for 
the United States Department of Agriculture. In this capacity 
he acted as a field advisor to the officers of the Castor Bean Sec- 
tion, Aircraft Production, War Department, and in company 
with the various field officers of this section, traveled over Flor: 
ida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, 
Kansas, Arkansas, and parts of Tennessee and Missouri, inves- 
tigating conditions for commercially growing castor beans and 
giving advice to the 1918 U. S. contractors and their growers on 
seed selection, harvesting, and growing castor beans. During 
his absence, Mrs. White and Mrs. Burdick had charge of the 
taking of data on his cultures. 
At present the plant breeding and heredity work is especially 
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