UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



INVENTORY No. 89 



Washington, D. C. ▼ Issued April, 1929 



PLANT MATERIAL INTRODUCED BY THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN PLANT 



INTRODUCTION, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, OCTOBER 1 



TO DECEMBER 31, 1928 (NOS. 68956 TO 70867) 



CONTENTS 



Paga 



Introductory statement 1 



Inventors'- 3 



Index of common and scientific names 54 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT 



During the period covered by this inventory P. H. Dorsett concluded his ex- 

 plorations in Manchuria. The great number of introductions of soy beans, 

 mung beans, barley, and wheat recorded here is due to the cooperation afforded 

 Mr. Dorsett toward the close of his work in that country. Through the courtesy 

 of D. McLorn, Postal Commissioner at Harbin, about 500 rural postmasters, 

 several of them in sectio'ns of the country never yet visited by white men, were 

 instructed to send in small seed samples of wheat, barley, soy beans, and mung 

 beans, and the majority of the postmasters were able to supply seed. The 

 nature of the country where these grew makes them of unusual promise for the 

 northern and northwestern United States. 



While continuing his work in southeastern China, F. A. McClure collected, 

 among other things, tubers of 6 cultivated varieties of yams from Kwangtung 

 (Dioscorea spp., Nos. 69072 to 69077), 55 local strains of rice, also from 

 Kwangtung {Oryza sativa, Nos. 69172 to 69226), and scions of 20 locally grown 

 varieties of kaki from Anhwei (Diospyros TcaM, Nos. 70256 to 70275). 



During his visit to the Stockholm Botanic Gardens, at Stockholm, Sweden, 

 David Fairchild obtained seeds of three species of rhubarb (Rheum spp., Nos. 

 69105 to 69107). These are not only of possible use to rhubarb growers for 

 breeding experiments but are also of ornamental value and are not now known 

 in this country. 



Five species of Cassia are recorded in this inventory (Nos. 69147 to 69151). 

 The showy flowers of this genus make them valuable as ornamentals, and they 

 should be a very interesting group for local collections in sections of the United 

 States where they are adapted. 



Agronomists engaged in wheat investigations will be interested in 51 locally 

 developed varieties (Triticum spp., Nos. 70689 to 70739) presented by the in- 

 spector general of agriculture of Iraq. Since Iraq is essentially a subtropical 

 country, these varieties should be of most promise in the southern portions of 

 the wheat-growing areas of the United States. 



Mimosa invisa (No. 69122) deserves mention from the fact that it has been 

 used successfully in the East Indies as a cover and green-manure plant. Its 

 spiny nature is objectionable from this standpoint and may make it less desir- 

 able than other good legumes that we are now using. However, it is a worthy 

 plant for experimentation in this connection and may also have value as an 

 ornamental. 



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