BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 87 



to a minimum. Dr. Shepard has very generously arranged to patent 

 this machine in the name of the Government, and will offer it through 

 the Department to future American tea makers without royalty or 

 restriction. 



During the year the experiments in irrigation were continued, with 

 encouraging results, although an accident to the main supply of water 

 temporarily interfered with the extension of the work on a large scale. 

 The experiments in sheltering tea from the direct sunlight have shown 

 that the product obtained in this way is of a very much higher 

 quality, but that the production was slightly decreased. Further 

 work along this line is necessary to prove the profitable features of 

 the investigation. 



The expense of the work conducted by Dr. Shepard has been, in 

 large part, borne by himself, and as a result of his efforts he has now 

 at "Pinehurst" about 100 acres in tea, a well-equipped factory capable 

 of turning out about 150 pounds of dry tea daily, and a disciplined 

 force of tea pickers and factory hands. This well-conducted estab- 

 lishment, to the building of which Dr. Shepard has given some of the 

 best years of his life, is now in position to serve as a model and school 

 of instruction in the industry to which it is devoted. 



PLANS FOE THE FUTURE. 



In order to extend the work of tea production in the United States 

 it will become necessary to establish seed-bearing groves in different 

 parts of the Southern States. This is essential from the fact that 

 better seed can be obtained from such groves than from the much- 

 pruned and leaf -plucked commercial tea gardens. By means of a few 

 acres of widely separated tea groves an abundance of tea seed of 

 distinct character might be raised for the supply of future American 

 gardens. As rapidly as the means will permit, it is planned to train 

 young men (graduates of agricultural colleges) in the matter of tea 

 production and to extend the work to different parts of the South 

 where climate, soil, and labor give promise of success. There is much 

 yet to be done in determining the best methods of handling tea, and 

 for this reason it is believed advisable to secure, if possible, the serv- 

 ices of a competent tea expert. Steps are being taken to this end, 

 and it is hoped to have such an assistant at an early day. 



SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION. 

 WORK OF THE YEAR. 



On March 1, 1901, Mr. Jared G. Smith, who for a year past had been 

 conducting the work, was appointed special agent in charge of the 

 Hawaiian experiment station, at Honolulu, and Ernst A. Bessey was 

 transferred from the Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology 

 as assistant in charge. This report has been prepared by Mr. Bessey. 



During the year 1900-1901 the number of importations of seeds and 

 plants by the Office of Seed and Plant Introduction was about 1,614. 

 The actual number of varieties is less than this, for many varieties 

 were imported a number of times and from several different localities. 

 A large part of these importations has been distributed to experiment 

 stations and to a few private experimenters. As far as possible, seeds 

 of the more important tropical and subtropical plants, especially those 

 received in small quantities and those whose value is still problemat- 



