The National Geographic Magazine 



DROUGHT-RESISTANT OLIVES 



With the opening up of territory in 

 the Southwest, demands are being made 

 upon the department for information re- 

 garding the best crops for this extensive 

 dry-land country. Southwestern Texas 

 is a promising field, especially in the mat- 

 ter of arborescent crops. Investigations 

 made in southern Tunis by the depart- 

 ment have revealed the existence of ex- 

 tensive olive orchards in that region car- 

 ried on where the annual rainfall is some- 

 times below lo inches for several con- 

 secutive years and where the annual 

 evaporation is over loo inches. The 

 olive grown under these extreme dry- 

 land conditions has been imported and 

 shows every promise of doing well in 

 some parts of Texas and Arizona. 



Studies made the past year in the 

 Southwest have revealed the existence of 

 a number of species closely allied to the 

 almond and peach of the Old World. 

 Several of these occur in very dry situa- 

 tions and one is distinctly of promise as 

 a stock upon which to graft almonds, 

 apricots, and other stone fruits for cul- 

 ture on unirrigated lands. Another 

 species growing in central Texas bears 

 a very early ripening fruit of fair size 

 which is said to be of delicious flavor. 

 Plants of this "wild peach" have been se- 

 cured and selections will be made with 

 the hope of obtaining a native drought- 

 resistant peach-like fruit which can be 

 grown in regions where peaches do not 

 now succeed. 



NEW WEALTH FOR THE SOUTH 



One of the most important forage 

 crops is the cowpea, which is to the 

 South what clover is to the North. Dur- 

 ing the year extensive investigations 

 have been made of this crop, the prin- 

 cipal object being to secure cheaper 

 and better seed so as to bring about a 

 great increase in cowpea culture. Spe- 

 cial machinery has now been developed 

 for harvesting the upright-growing 

 varieties. The need is for good varieties 



producing small, hard seeds that will not 

 crack and that retain their vitality for 

 more than one year. Many new varieties 

 have been secured from foreign coun- 

 tries and a large number of others de- 

 veloped by hybridization, some of which 

 show great promise. 



The rice-growers of the South, espe- 

 cially in Louisiana and Texas, have long 

 felt the need of a legume that might be 

 grown in rotation on their rice lands. 

 The department has been successful in 

 introducing a specially adapted variety 

 of soy bean used on the rice lands of 

 central China. These soy beans have 

 been tested and give every promise of 

 filling the need perfectly. Three varieties 

 have been secured, all very similar and 

 characterized by great leafiness, fine 

 stems, and large size, becoming 6 feet 

 high, so that they produce large crops of 

 excellent hay. Thus we have a combina- 

 tion of crops which will, we hope, do for 

 the rice-growers what clover does for 

 the wheat fields of the North, serving not 

 only as a valuable soil improver but as 

 an important forage crop as well. 



Numerous attempts have been made to 

 grow Egyptian cottons in this country. 

 During the year gratifying progress has 

 been made in this work, Egyptian cotton 

 of the Mit Afifi variety having been 

 grown quite successfully under irrigation 

 at Yuma, Arizona. One selection has 

 yielded at the rate of 500 pounds of lint 

 per acre, which is unusually high for 

 Egyptian cotton in this country. Some 

 of the improved upland strains have also 

 given equal and even superior yields in 

 this region. The upland varieties that 

 seem at present most promising for this 

 important agricultural section of the 

 Southwest are the Southern Hope, Sun- 

 flower, and Columbia, the latter being a 

 variety improved by the department in 

 South Carolina. 



As a result of the Department's ex- 

 periments the camphor industry has been 

 established on a firm basis. A large 

 acreage is being planted to camphor in 

 Florida, and interest in the growing of 



