UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



INVENTORY No. 76 



Washington, D. C. T Issued February, 1926 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED BY THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN SEED AND PUNT 

 INTRODUCTION, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, DURING THE PERIOD FROM 

 JULY 1 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1923 (S. P. I. NOS. 57680 TO 58023) 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introductory statement 1 



Inventory __ 5 



ndex of common and scientific names . 21 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 



AS WITH the preceding inventory (No. 75), the present number contains 

 l numerous locally developed strains of cereals and other crop plants. These 

 have been obtained either directly by representatives of the department traveling 

 abroad or through the ever-widening avenues of exchange with foreign agricul- 

 tural and botanical institutions. The explorations of H. V. Harlan in the Medi- 

 terranean region and India were discussed at some length by David Fairchild 

 in the introductory statement to Inventory No. 75. In May, 1923, Doctor 

 Harlan was in Egypt. From that country he sent a number of varieties of barley 

 (Hordeum vulgare pallidum; Nos. 57750 to 57755) and also an Abyssinian emmer 

 (Triticum dicoccum; No. 57756). By the end of the month he had reached India, 

 where he sent from Ppona a collection of seeds, including several legumes for trial 

 as cover crops, and eight local varieties of sorghum (Holcus sorghum; Nos. 57835 

 to 57842) . Early June found him in northern India and Kashmir, where several 

 barleys (Hordeum vulgare pallidum, Nos. 57892 to 57898) were collected, in addi- 

 tion to a number of varieties of wheat (Triticum spp.; Nos. 57901 to 57911) and 

 several leguminous plants. 



In addition to the cereals and forage crops which have been obtained through 

 this channel, the present inventory describes a collection of 14 varieties of rice 

 (Oryza sativa; Nos. 57868 to 57881) from the Philippines, sent through the cour- 

 tesy of Adrian Hernandez, Director of the Bureau of Agriculture; a species of 

 clover from high altitudes in Africa (Trifolium johnstoni; No. 57698), presented 

 by our valued correspondent, Dr. J. Burtt Davy; 25 varieties of alfalfa (Medicago 

 sativa; Nos. 57705 to 57729) developed by plant breeders at the Bathurst Experi- 

 ment Station in South Africa; a wild red clover (Trifolium pratense; No. 57939) 

 from Scotland; and seeds of several hardy crop plants from Ekaterinoslav, Russia. 



The urgent desirability of breeding disease-resistant varieties of sugar cane 

 (Saccharum ojjicinarum) has led to the introduction of many strains of this plant 

 from the Orient, the West Indies, and other regions; Nos. 57757 to 57769 repre- 

 sent a series of crosses which have been obtained from the Sugar Experiment 

 Station at Pasoeroean, Java; and Nos. 57781 to 57794 a number of standard 

 Javanese varieties, as well as crosses, from the same place. 



The tropical world, far from being explored horticulturally, still continues to 

 yield new species of fruits for cultivation in regions such as Florida, southern 

 California, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. From the temperate re- 



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