GUAM AGKICULTUEAL EXPEKIMENT STATION. 17 



to make sjiecial preparation by digging holes in the " cascajo " hill., 

 a formation of limestone gravel, and filling these with suitable soil. 

 These holes were dug 6 feet square and from 4^ to 5 feet in depth. 

 This plan insures perfect drainage, which is an absolutely essential 

 factor in a climate of more than 100 inches of rainfall per annum. 

 The trees under discussion were planted late in March and have 

 made a growth of 3 feet in as many months, and at the close of the 

 year they seemed quite jiromising. 



GRAPES. 



A few vines of James, Meisch, and Scuppernong, all varieties of 

 the southern or Muscadine grape, Vitis rotundifoUa, have been intro- 

 duced from Florida, and at the close of the fiscal year these vines 

 are in a thrifty and growing condition. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



A perfect-flowered variety of the strawberry, which has given 

 greatest promise among a number of varieties tested in Manila, was 

 introduced during the past year, and at the close of the fiscal year 

 covered by this report a comparatively large number of plants were 

 available for planting. The original introduction consisted of only 

 six plants, and one of these produced a few fruits during the year; 

 but the object being the propagation of plants, fruiting was not 

 encouraged. Seeds from these berr4es were planted and a number 

 of thrifty young seedlings have been obtained. The resulting plants, 

 all of which sprang from a single parent, the only flowering plant 

 of the species on the island, are watched with considerable interest. 



BANANAS. 



The bananas introduced from Manila during the fiscal year 1910 

 have made good growth and have multiplied, making the distribu- 

 tion of a limited number of plants possible. A further introduction 

 from Manila, this time of the Philippine varieties, Saba, Musa para- 

 disiaca compressa^ and IMatavia, M. paradisiaca maxima^ has recently 

 been made. 



OTHER FRUIT INTRODUCTIONS. 



A comparatively large number of miscellaneous fruits, a majority 

 of which are of purely tropical habits of growth, have been intro- 

 duced during the year ended June 30, 1911. Included in this num- 

 ber are the following important acquisitions: The Kai-apple, Aheria 

 caffra, and the allied species, A. gardneri; the Bignay of the Phil- 

 ippines, Antidesma humus; the Jak fruit, Artocarpus integnfolia; 

 the white Sapota of Mexico, Casimiroa edidis: the Sea-grape, Coc- 

 coloha uvifera; the Mabolo of the Philippines, Diospyros discolor^ 

 55005°— 12 3 



