648 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 
put on at once, even so late that the buds had swollen some. The 
Waxing was done in the common way. 
Others think that cutting the cions in the fall, and keeping them 
lying on the ground with just enough covering of leaves or other 
loose material to prevent evaporation until late in the spring, is quite 
po ae thus retarding their growth until the sap svarts in the 
stocks. 
4 ee of experiments with all these methods are earnestly 
esired. 
REMARKS. 
In addition to the foregoing described varieties of fruits there have 
been received at this office hundreds of packages, varying in size and 
amount from one specimen to a barrelful containing many varieties. 
Twish to acknowledge the deep interest in the work of this division that 
has been manifested by thousands of fruit-growers of the country, who 
have sent specimens and information of a pomological nature. The 
above-mentioned packages contained fruits of almost every kind 
known to this country, from the banana, mango, sapodilla, date, 
and lemon of the most southern regions, to the crab-apple, the dwarf 
blueberry, and cranberry of the north. Alaska and several foreign 
countries have alsocontributed. Itis highly gratifying to have such 
hearty co-operation in my efforts to serve the cause of pomology. It 
is moreover a matter of extreme gratification to me to have had 
many official demonstrations of your own interest in this work, and 
I sincerely trust that whatever has been done or may yet be done 
by this division shall result in the advancement of the interests of 
those who are producing and consuming our fruits. 
Obediently yours, 
H. EK. Van DEMAN, 
Pomologist. 
Hon. NorMAn J. COLMAN, 
; Commissioner of Agriculture. 
PEACE CULTURE IN THE EXTREME SOUTHWEST. 
[Report of G. Onderdonk, special agent, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Pomology.] 
Str: In submitting my report concerning the pomological interests of the South- 
west it seems needful to present a preliminary statement of distinctions required in 
dealing with the fruit interests of not only the Southwest but of the extreme South 
enerally. 
i While the farmers of every section have recognized the fact that certain crops are 
adapted to certain zones, and even that certain varieties in each general class of 
products are inexorably confined to limits presenting the required special conditions, 
yet it is marvelous to behold to what extent the pomologists of the United States 
have practically ignored this principle in its application to their work, thus entailing 
upon themselves and those dependent upon them in various relations losses so ruinous 
in extent and multiplied in variety of character. It has been too largely assumed 
that in the planting and care of the different fruits it was only necessary to decide 
what variety was desired in order to suit the purpose of the planter, and then to 
plant that chosen variety, without reference to climatic conditions. This is a great 
mistake. 
Applying this thought to fruit culture, we observe that our people of every lati- 
tude have acted too much upon the supposition that they have only to determine 
the variety of peach desired and then plant that variety, regardless of the zone in 
which it is situated, and utterly ignoring the thought that there are different classes 
of the great peach family, each belonging by nature to its own isothermal zone, and 
refusing to remunerate the care bestowed upon it when subjected to the conditions 
of an unfriendly climate. And nowhere has this mistake proven more disastrous 
