76 



IMPORTANCE OF PLANT INTRODUCTION 





Fig. 100. The Ashmunl EeyptUn 

 cotton used by Dr. Webber In 

 bis bybndizing experiments. 

 Tt has a long staple. 



the work of the Office of Plant Introduction is 

 planned to cease as soon as experiments have shown 

 the money-making value of a crop — as soon, in 

 other words, as the seed firms decide that it is to 

 their advantage to take it up. 



There is another great reason why the plant in- 

 troduction of a country should be in the hands of 

 the government. This lies in the danger of the 



introduction of noxi- 

 ous weeds, insect 

 pests and fungous 

 parasites. This idea 

 is quite distinct from 

 that of a quarantine 

 affecting all private 

 introductions. The 

 damage wrought by 

 fungous and insect 

 pests in Europe has 

 been so great that 

 practically prohibi- 

 tive quarantines have 

 been placed against 

 the introduction of 

 foreign plants in 

 Italy and Greece ; and 

 in this respect these 

 countries have been 

 followed by the Ar- 

 gentine. The result 

 has been that the 

 potato-growers of 

 Greece have seen 

 their potato varieties 

 deteriorate without 

 being able to get a 

 change of seed, and 

 in Argentine the pres- 

 sure to get new 

 things was so great 

 that seeds were im- 

 ported clandestinely 

 in large quantities, 

 and the law has had 

 to be repealed. The 

 doors had been shut 

 to private introduc- 

 tion and yet no pro- 

 vision was made for 

 the government to 

 meet the legitimate demand of the people for 

 foreign plants. 



In bringing a new plant into a country, with all 

 we now know of plant diseases, it would be a calam- 

 ity to introduce its particular disease with it, yet, 

 unless done with the greatest care and under the 

 supervision of experts who know how to inspect, 

 disinfect and fumigate, this is almost sure to occur. 

 Two important plant industries which the Depart- 

 ment is now at work on, the mango and the 

 pistachio, could be seriously injured by injudicious 

 private introductions that would almost surely 

 bring in the destructive mango weevil of Java and 

 a dangerous pistachio bud-borer from Sicily, pests 

 that are now unknown here. 



Fig. 101. The common upland cot 

 ton of America. 



The possibilities of plant introduction. 



The possibilities of organized plant introduction 

 are almost unlimited. Enough has already been 

 done in this country to attract the attention of 

 other nations which had not hitherto realized its 

 importance ; and the time is not far off when 

 the interchange of plants between countries will 

 assume proportions that are now not dreamed of 

 even by the most enthusiastic believer in the work, 

 and the building up of new plant industries in a 

 country will one day rank with the greatest of 

 national duties. 



The rate at which new plants arrive today is 

 such that the inventory of accessions in the Office 

 in the last two years comprises over 7,000 entries, 

 while in the three years preceding, only 4,000 new 

 things were brought in by the Office ; altogether, 

 since 1898, over 19,000 selected seeds or plants 

 have entered. 



It is not intended to give here even a partial list 

 of the introductions of the Office of Seed and Plant 

 Introduction and Distribution, but only to mention 

 some of the species whose names do not appear 

 in former cyclopedias of horticulture or agri- 

 culture. 



Agropyron cridatum, J. Gaert. GraminesB. From 

 Walnjka Experiment Station (in the dry steppes about 50 

 miles east of Eovnaya, south of Saratof on Volga river), 

 Russia. Received through Prof. N. E. Hansen, May 25, 

 1898. Native dry steppe grass. Seed from plants culti- 

 vated one year. Director Bogdan, of the Walujka Station, 

 regards this species promising for cultivation. 



Andropogon rufus, Kunth. Jaragua. Gramineae. From 

 Matto Grosso Province, Brazil. Presented by the Brazilian 

 minister, Hon. J. F. de Assis-Brasil, December 1, 1900. 

 A native fodder grass called by the Portuguese provi- 

 sorio. Described by Mr. Assis-Brasil in his book on Bra- 

 zilian agriculture. 



Angelica sylvegtris, Linn. Umbelliferse. From Naples, 

 Italy. Received through Mr. W. T. Swingle, May, 1899. 

 Said to have a much more fleshy leaf and stalk than the 

 ordinary Angelica (Archangelica officinalis). Of this lat- 

 ter plant Vilmorin says: The stems and leaf-stalks are 

 eaten preserved with sugar. The leaves are also used as a 

 vegetable in some parts of Europer The root, which is 

 splendidly shaped, is employed in medicine. It is some- 

 times called 'The Root of the Holy Ghost.' The seeds 

 enter into the composition of various liquors.'* By some, 

 the candied angelica is preferred to citron. 



Arracachia esculenta, D. C. (A. xanthorrhiza Bancr.). 

 Arracacha. Umbelliferse. From Jamaica. Received through 

 Messrs. Lathrop and Fairchild from the Hope Botanical 

 Gardens, Kingston. A carrot-like vegetable much used in 

 tropical and subtropical South America, especially in 

 Venezuela, where it is called apio. The roots are propa- 

 gated by subdivision, and the culture is much like that 

 given to celery, though no blanching is necessary. Suc- 

 cessfully introduced into Porto Rico. In South America 

 generally eaten in soups, but said to be best when fried. 



Astragalus falcatus. Lam. Leguminosse. From Prance. 

 Received through Mr. W. T. Swingle, December, 1898. A 

 species native to the Caucasus. It should be tried as a 

 forage plant in the Rocky mountain region. 



Astrebla pectinata, F. Muell. Mitchell grass. Gram- 

 ineae. From Coolabah, New South Wales. Presented by 

 Mr. R. W. Peacock, August 3, 1900. This is one of the 

 famous Mitchell grasses and is regarded by some as the 

 best of all native grasses, both for its drought-enduring 

 qualities and for its fattening properties. 



