6 



SEEDS AND PLANTS iMPORTEt). 



two principal rice varieties of Tarragona, Spain (Nos. 37696 and 

 37697) ; a collection of South African wheats (Nos. 38618 to 

 3S631), including the best Boer sorts adapted to the poor, unmanured 

 ]p.nds of that region; 11 varieties of wheat (Nos. 38343 to 38353) 

 wliich have been developed by the wheat breeders of the Department 

 of Agriculture of New South Wales and are considered worthy of 

 trial in our own Southwest; a selected Danish 2-rowed barley (No. 

 37706) and a 6-rowed variety (No. 37707), showing peculiar resist- 

 ance to smut and leaf -spot, and a yellow spring oat of good quality 

 (No. 37708), the results of selections carried on by breeders of the 

 Ro3^al Danish Agricultural Society of Copenhagen ; the dwarf Black 

 Grushevsk sorghum (No. 37733) from the farm of the Grand Duke 

 Nicholas in the Ekaterinoslav Province of Russia, which is distin- 

 guished by early maturity, even in very cold summers, and is the 

 best yielder of 20 sorts tested there; and a variety of maize (No. 

 S8544) which is grown by the Panetes Indians of the upper Gy 

 Parana (Machabo) River of Brazil, secured by Mr. Leo Miller, of 

 the Roosevelt expedition, the first white man to visit the tribe. 



FORAGE CROPS. 



Of forage crops the most remarkable included in this inventory 

 is that reported by Mr. J. B. Thompson, of the island of Guam, 

 Merremia hederacea (Burm.) Hallier (No. 38647), a creeping plant 

 of the morning-glory family, which appears to be more palatable 

 to stock than any of the other forage plants on the island and is 

 capable of being used continuously as pasturage. The Brazilian 

 expedition of the office, composed of Messrs. Dorsett, Shame! , and 

 Popenoe, during its stay in southern Brazil secured seeds or plants 

 of 59 wild or cultivated forage grasses (Nos. 37983 to 38041). 

 These will probably be of special interest to southern agriculturists. 

 The Apitrefle, or bee clover (No. 37937), a variety of red clover 

 so named because the honeybees are able to collect nectar from its 

 much shortened, more open flowers, sent by Prof. G. Martinet, of 

 Lausanne, Switzerland, will interest bee men as well as agricultur- 

 ists. Two annual species of clover from Budapest, Trifolium angu- 

 latum Waldst. and Kit. and T. parviflorum Ehrh. (Nos. 37681 and 

 37682), which remain dwarf in dry years, serving as pasturage, 

 but grow high enough for hay on w^et spots or in wet years, may 

 possibly fit in with American requirements; and a wild type of 

 Kentish white clover (No. 38579), which experiments at Armstrong 

 College, Cockle Park, England, have shown is better than Dutch 

 clover, may prove suitable for acclimatization here. Mr. Meyer 

 found several hardy varieties of Chinese sugar cane (Nos. 38257 

 and 38332) at Chengchow and Kaifeng, in Honan Province, 



