EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN. 547 



REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT 



OF THE 



EXPERIMENTAL GARDEN. 



Sir: I have the honor of submitting a report of progress in the Experimental 

 G&rden attached to the Department of Agriculture. 



In my last report brief allusion was made to the necessity of the department 

 having at its disposal increased facilities for the cultivation of specimens of the 

 various cereals, vegetables, and fruits, in order to test their comparative merits. 

 The necessity for a series of such experiments is very great ; most of our cul- 

 tivated grains and vegetables have run into a vast number of varieties, many 

 of them comparatively worthless. 



In a sale catalogue of agricultural and garden seeds now before me, there are 

 enumerated 52 varieties of peas, 32 varieties of beans, 34 varieties of lettuce, 

 18 varieties of onions, 48 varieties of turnips, 42 varieties of cabbage, and 10 

 varieties of celery. No one desires, neither is it necessary, to cultivate all of 

 these ; it is, therefore, of much importance to know which are best and most 

 suitable for the purpose required — whether eai'ly or late, large or small; whether 

 productive, of good keeping qualities, or otherwise. Possessed of such infor- 

 mation the buyer could make his purchases understandingly, and the seller 

 would speedily drop unsalable sorts from his list, and both would be gainers. 

 Pomological authors have done much toward diffusing a discriminative knowl- 

 edge of fruits, and it certainly is of equal importance to procure and disseminate 

 the comparative merits of vegetables and grains, describe them properly, estab- 

 lish synonyms, and unhesitatingly condemn those that are useless or of inferior 

 merit. 



As a commencement toward carrying out the above suggestions, forty vari- 

 eties of potatoes were procured, but owing to the very limited extent of ground 

 in the garden, only a small quantity of each kind could be planted. The season 

 proved dry and unfavorable, consequently the result of the crops was not 

 deemed sufficient basis upon which to found an opinion as to their comparative 

 merits. Similar attempts were made with peas, turnips, and other rlants, with 

 like results. 



The utility of establishing orchards of the various fruit trees must be keenly 

 apparent to all who are conversant with the importance of this interest. Every 

 variety of fruit suited to the climate should here be represented, if for no other 

 purpose than that of assisting toward a correct nomenclature. But the advan- 

 tages of such a collection would not be confined to that alone. Every peculi- 

 arity connected with growth would be exhibited, and, if carefully noted, would 

 comprehend a fund of information of great value to the country. 



The garden embraces about six acres of ground, an area so limited as to pie- 

 clude the idea of even commencing the formation of orchards for the purposes 

 suggested. As a garden of examples in culture it is well suited, but for pur- 

 poses of comparative experiments in field and general garden crops it is alto- 

 gether inadequate. In view of the necessity of commencing a collection of 



