THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AT CHICO. 



Arrangements have already been made with a company in Seattle who can and 

 will doubtless give the plants a fair trial. One of the largest vegetable and fruit ship- 

 pers of Washington State is interested in the plant and in exploiting it, and believes 

 he can grow it successfully. 



Udo is a Chinese winter vegetable, its season is October to May. It is of recent 

 introduction, Mr. Fairchild speaks of it thus in Bulletin No. 42: "The slices of Udo 

 are crisper than slices of celery and have none of the objectionable stringy fibers of 

 the latter. They have a fresh taste, like the midrib of a lettuce leaf, with slight but 

 most agreeable suggestion of pine flavor. The tenderest young shoots of celery could 

 not be more brittle than these blanched stems of udo." On account of its adapta- 

 bility to winter culture and its excellent quality it should become as popular as celery 

 or asparagus. It would appear from the description of this plant and the methods of 

 culture, as outlined in Bulletin No. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, that this vegetable 

 might prove a valuable acquisition for the reclaimed lands of the Sacramento and 

 San Joaquin. 



JAPANESE PAPER PLANT (EDGWORTHIA PAPYRIFERA.) 

 For a description of this plant, the variety, extent and value of paper made from 

 it in Japan, I refer you to Bulletin No. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry. We have a 

 quantity of seed of this plant at the garden, which will be propagated for testing, 

 possibly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, the Colorado Desert, Florida and 

 Louisiana. 



MISCELLANEOUS FODDER PLANTS. 

 It is proposed to propagate and test miscellaneous fodder plants from all parts of 

 the world. Live stock husbandry is, and will continue to be, one of the leading in- 

 dustries of the country and it is important that we And and introduce or produce, if 

 possible, forage plants suited to the varied climatic and soil conditions of our country. 



PISTACHE. 

 We have a quantity of seed and from four to six thousand young plants of this 

 excellent nut at the Plant Introduction Garden, which are being propagated for ex- 

 perimental work. There is every reason to believe that, in this, a new industry of con- 

 siderable importance will be established in the State. It has been said' that it is 

 possible that the cultivation of the pistache may supplant that of the almond, in as 

 much as it is believed to be a surer cropper and thrives equally well on soils ao dry, 

 if not dryer, than those utilized for almond culture. It is believed by those who have 

 given attention and a vast amount of study to this subject that the Sacramento 

 Valley presents conditions especially adapted to the cultivation of the pistache. 



FIG CULTURE. 



The garden is in possession of one of, if not the, finest and most extensive col- 

 lection of figs in the country, to which additions will be made whenever it is possible 

 to find new varieties. Permanent plantings of the varieties will be commenced this 

 spring and in a reasonable length of time the experiments in connection with selec- 

 tion, breeding and testing of varieties can be taken up; much is yet to be accomplished 

 in connection with this industry. 



GRAPES. 



Co-operative experimental work is being arranged for that, when completed, will 

 eventually result in assembling at the garden for experimental investigation, breed- 

 ing and selection work, possibly every known variety. It has been estimated that 

 there are possibly 1500 to 20C0 varieties in various parts of the world. As the viticul- 

 turai interest of the State represent possibly $100,000,000, this work will, no doubt, 

 be of great interest and it is hoped and expected will result in immense value to an 

 industry already menaced by diseases and other pests. 



I might continue this discussion indefinitely, including as it does plant growth of 

 all kinds, having or likely to have economic value to this country. But trust the above 

 is sufficient to indicate the importance of the location and establishment of the Plant 

 Introduction Garden in California. 



I desire to call your attention to the fact that from the very nature of the work 

 important results in too short a space of time must not be expected. Some problems 

 may and no doubt will be easy of solution, others, however, will require the patience, 

 perseverance and work of a life time or even longer for demonstration. 



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