BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 75 



preparation of an exhibit of grasses and forage plants in the north 

 wing of the Government building assigned to the Department of Agri- 

 culture. This exhibit consists of a large series of photographs illus- 

 trating the grasses and forage plants and general features of various 

 parts of the country where forage problems are being discussed. A 

 series of 60 transparencies, 11 by 14 inches, contained in a specially 

 constructed cabinet, illustrates similar subjects. In three double 

 pavilions are exhibited a number of forage plants and grasses on pan- 

 els similar to those exhibited in Paris last year. There are 18 of these 

 panels, and the plants exhibited include range grasses, pasture grasses, 

 grasses used as sand binders, saltbushes, and various leguminous 

 plants used for forage. In the same case are exhibited a set of seeds 

 of native grasses and forage plants numbering some 90 varieties. 



The outside exhibit on the grounds, or the grass garden, is located 

 just east of the Government building and south of the live stock pavil- 

 ions. It is the first attempt of the kind to exhibit so large a series of 

 agricultural grasses and fodder plants, and in spite of some difficul- 

 ties in the way of inferior soil, lack of proper drainage, and lateness 

 of the season, due to protracted spring rains, the exhibit is a very 

 creditable one. A unique feature in this exhibit is a sand dune, arti- 

 ficially prepared, upon which are growing grasses native to the sands 

 along the Pacific coast, along the Atlantic seaboard, the shores of the 

 Great Lakes, and the sandy deserts of Wyoming and Idaho. 



REPORT OF THE P0M0L0GIST, G. B. BRACKETT, ON WORK OF THE YEAR. 



ROUTINE WORK. 



In consequence of the responsibility laid upon this office in direct- 

 ing the horticultural exhibit of the United States at the Paris Expo- 

 sition of 1900, the routine work of the year has been especially heavy. 

 This was particularly true with regard to correspondence, that relating 

 to exposition work having continued heavy until after the middle of 

 the fiscal year. At the same time the correspondence relating to the 

 regular work has shown the usual increase. The number of letters 

 written was more than 25 per cent larger than in the previous year, 

 while a large volume of routine correspondence was conducted by 

 means of circulars. 



As in former years, the examination and reporting upon the large 

 number of specimen fruits received by mail for various purposes 

 occupied the time and attention of several persons during the ripen- 

 ing season. About 1,800 lots of fruit have been thus passed upon, 

 nearly 700 lots having been sent by growers for identification. It is 

 gratifying to note that, notwithstanding the wide geographical range 

 represented by these specimens, more than two-thirds of them were 

 satisfactorily identified and the senders duly informed concerning 

 the correct names of the fruits grown by them. This is of much 

 importance to those who desire to extend their plantings of varieties 

 that have been found adapted to their localities but are of unknown 

 identity, as well as to those who have found that certain varieties in 

 their orchards are worthless there and should be avoided in new 

 plantings. 



The increasing number of persons who consult the office in this 

 way indicates the importance of the work to the practical fruitgrower. 

 The receipts of the past year include practically the entire range of 



