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Guam. "This station has conducted variety tests with prac- 

 tically all the local varieties of sweet potatoes but although a 

 number of plants blossomed none of them produced seed." 

 j^ ■ — Joaquin Guerrero, Assistant in Horticulture, Guam Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



Philipfixe Islands. In The Philippine Agriculturist, \'ol. 

 ^ lo. No. 5 (Dec. 1921) Dr. N. B. Mendiola reports on "Two 

 Years of Sweet Potato Breeding." Seed was obtained from 9 

 varieties and 205 seedlings were grown. Artificial self-pol- 

 lination failed to force the i)roduction of seed. The seed wiiich 

 was obtained came from liowers subject to open pollination by 

 insects and there was opportunity for cross-pollination between 

 varieties. The liowers are reported to be hermaphroditic but 

 to var>' somewhat in the length of the stamens. 



In response to inquiry as to the conditions of seed production 

 of the seedling varieties thus obtained. Dr. IVIendiola has written 

 the following: "No test was made of self-compatibility in the 

 various seedlings obtained in the work. All that I can say at 

 present in regard to this point is that from the first generation 

 cuttings of various seedlings (7 are mentioned, including the 

 two new varieties of apparenth' superior merit) we have obtained 

 seeds without artificial pollination. I would add that the 

 seedlings that produced these seeds were grown on neighboring 

 Idiots in our plant breeding garden. We are now planting 

 multiplication plots of these seedlings and we expect to stud\' 

 the compatibility of the seedlings in this new planting. I ha^•e 

 a suspicion, however, that some of the seedlings I have are 

 self-compatible." 



Java. " If the planting of two sweet potato varieties are near 

 to each other, cross-fertilization In- insects takes place easily; 

 under similar circumstances we have found a percentage of 

 hybridization as high as 60. Autofecundation is quite possible. 

 If a large i)lanting is made of one sort, isolated from other 

 varieties, the fruiting is not lessened." — From translation of a 

 part of tiie Annual Report, Plant Breeding Station for Annual 

 Crops, 1913, kindly sui)i)lied b>' P. J. S. Oamer, Director, 

 General Experiment Station, Buitenzorg. This report also 

 cites observations by Vallct dc \'illeneu\e in 1837 to the effect 

 that varieties which bloomed profusely but set no seed j^rior 

 to the time of harv'est could be induced to set seed if kept for 

 several years on a poor soil. 



NiiW Zkalaistd. "A ver>^ general tradition states thai, not 

 finding the kumara on their first arrival in the coiiiUrN-, the 

 Maoris made an expedition back to their old hcmie among the 

 Pacific islands to secure a supjiK' for cidti\ation. 'i'hat I hex- 

 brought back a large and well-assorted stock is e\ itlenceil 1)\ the 

 number of varieties they possessed. Mr. Golenso stales that 



