2 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



sururner temperature. A large series of promising types was obtained from the cool 

 highlands of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru (Zea mays, Nos. 59934 to 60167). 



As in the past, many valuable introductions have been made through the 

 courtesy of the numerous foreign correspondents of the office. Dr. N. I. Vavilov, 

 director of the Bureau of Applied Botany and Plant Breeding, Leningrad, 

 Russia, has sent in a large collection of seeds (Nos. 60744 to 60956) of native 

 grasses and other forage plants and local strains of cereals, vegetables, and fiber 

 plants. Since these come from regions where extreme conditions of cold and 

 drought prevail, the collection should be of special value for the Great Plains 

 area of the United States. 



The shipment of seeds (Nos. 60335 to 60352) presented by Professor Mura- 

 shinsky, of the Siberian Agricultural Academy, Omsk, Siberia, also promises to be 

 of special interest for trial in the Great Plains area. 



The 150 soy-bean samples from China and Japan will be of special interest to 

 soy-bean specialists and others interested in this crop. When it is considered 

 that the soy bean is a comparatively new crop in the United States, that new 

 and better varieties have been displacing older varieties in rapid succession, and 

 that this is due directly to new introductions or indirectly to selections from 

 former introductions, the possibilities of the present collection are readily realized. 

 Of the 34 leading commercial varieties of the United States, 27 are either direct 

 introductions or selections from introductions. In 35 out of 38 States growing 

 soy beans, introduced varieties lead all others in acreage and production. 



Included in this inventory are several introductions of Meibomia, Sesban, and 

 Crotalaria; these wiD be particularly interesting for testing in the Southern States 

 for soil improvement and forage purposes. The recent favorable results in 

 Florida with Crotalaria striata and the general satisfactory adaptation of species of 

 Meibomia to the Southern States make these genera worthy of further attention. 



New grasses of special interest are Axonopus scoparius (No. 58966), collected 

 at Guayaquil, Ecuador, which is cultivated not only in that region but also in 

 other parts of the high Andes; Danthonia semiannularis (No. 59361), the wallaby 

 grass of Tasmania, where it provides good pasturage; and Br achy podium mexi- 

 cartum (No. 59295), an annual Mexican grass with succulent leaves, which may 

 prove of value in the southern United States. 



The botanical determinations of introductions have been made and the nomen- 

 clature determined by H. C. Skeels, and the descriptive matter has been pre- 

 pared under the direction of Paul Russell, who has had general supervision of 

 this inventory. 



Roland McKee, 

 Acting Senior Agricultural Explorer in Charge. 



Office of Foreign Plaxt Introduction, 



Washington, D. C, June 9, 1926. 



