PLANT INTRODUCTIONS 



Experimenters will please read carefully this introductory- 

 note before sending in their requests for plant material. 



This, the Twenty-seventh Annual List of Plant Introductions, contains descrip- 

 tions of many new and rare plants, not yet widely tested in this country. The avail- 

 able information concerning some of them is meager, and it is therefore impossible to 

 speak with assurance regarding their value, their cultural requirements, and their 

 adaptability to the various climates and soils of the United States. 



These plants have been imported because it is believed some direct or indirect 

 use can be made of them. They are first placed at the disposal of the experts en- 

 gaged in plant breeding, crop acclimatization, and horticultural investigations gen- 

 erally in the United States Department of Agriculture and the State Experiment Sta- 

 tions. Some of them have been grown in sufficient quantity, however, so that they 

 can be distributed to some private experimenters who have the facilities to test them 

 carefully. The List is therefore sent to those who have qualified as experimenters 

 with the Division of Plant Exploration and Introduction, and who have indicated a willing- 

 ness to care for material sent them. 



Accompanying this Annual List are complete Check Lists showing all plants avail- 

 able for distribution at the several Plant Introduction Gardens during the season 1938-9 

 and the Garden from which available. Applicants for material should fill out all blanks 

 at the top of the Check List of each garden from which they request plants, place a 

 mark to the left of the P. I. (Plant Introduction) number of each plant desired, and 

 return the lists promptly to this Division. Items marked with an asterisk (*) are 

 available in somewhat larger numbers, for propagating purposes, to interested nurserymen 

 having exceptional facilities. 



It should be distinctly understood that the Division does not agree to supply 

 all the plants requested. It reserves the right to limit the number or to withhold 

 the entire request of any experimenter in order that it may place the material ac- 

 cording to its best judgment. 



The shipping season extends, as a rule, from December 1 to April 1, or not later 

 than April 15. While it may not always be practicable to ship plants at the time pre- 

 ferred by experimenters, it is much desired that when such preference exists it be in- 

 dicated in the space provided for it at the head of the Check List. 



These plants are placed in the hands of experimenters with the understanding 

 that reports on their behavior will be sent to this Division from time to time, par- 

 ticularly noting their flowering, fruiting, hardiness, utilization, and any other in- 

 teresting features. Reports should be prepared (preferably, but not necessarily, on 

 regular forms) and sent, without special request , whenever in the judgment of the ex- 

 perimenter the plant has reached a stage that makes a report worth while; usually, 

 however, unless the plant has flowered or died, reports need not be made within the 

 first year or two. Regular report forms v/ill be furnished by this Division, upon re- 

 quest. When all the plants of any P. I. number have died, this should be reported 

 promptly by letter, with the cause of death indicated when known. It is expected that 

 experimenters will keep t heir plants labeled at all times , and keep accurate charts 

 showing the location and P. I . n umbe r of each one . Failure to c ompl y with these direc - 

 tions will be considered sufficient reason for a discontinuance of the cooperative 

 relation. 



