130 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
Grossularia known to be carriers of this dangerous 
disease. 
On and after LI arch 13 1913. and until further notice, 
by virtue of said section 7 of the act of Congress approved 
August 20. 1912, the importation from the Dominion of 
Canada and Newfoundland of all five-leafed pines and 
all species and varieties of the genera Ribes and Gross¬ 
ularia, except for experimental or scientific purposes by 
the Department of Agriculture, is prohibited. 
Notice of Quarantine No. 7 is amended accordingly. 
Done at Washington ibis 29th day of February, 1916. 
Witness my hand and the seal of the United States De¬ 
partment of Agriculture. 
I). F. Houston, Secretary of Agriculture. 
PLANTS FROM CHINA 
The third expedition into China to discover new plants 
suitable for introduction into the United States has been 
completed by F. N. Meyer, plant explorer of the U. S. De¬ 
partment of Agriculture, who has just returned to Wash¬ 
ington after a three-year trip in the Far East. As a re¬ 
sult of this expedition through the center of China, and 
two previous explorations of similar duration covering 
extremely cold Manchurian regions and the arid regions 
of Chinese Turkestan, there have been sent to America 
for planting and testing for commercial adaptability, 
seeds, roots, or cuttings of some 3,000 food and forage 
plants, flowers, ornamental shrubs and vines, shade and 
timber trees. 
Of the many specimens forwarded to this country dur¬ 
ing the last expedition, the specialists regard as most sig¬ 
nificant the jujube, a fruit new to this country, which 
may be suitable for use in the Southwest; a wild peach 
resistant to alkali, cold, and drought, the root system of 
which offers great possibilities as a grafting host; cer¬ 
tain Chinese persimmons larger than any hitherto known 
in this country; a number of aquatic food roots and vege¬ 
tables which offer promising possibilities for the utiliza¬ 
tion of swamp land; some thirty varieties of vegetable 
and timber bamboos; and a number of Chinese vege¬ 
tables, bush and climber roses, shrubs and trees. 
Of scientific rather than commercial interest is the dis¬ 
covery on this expedition, near Hangchau, of a hickory 
tree, the first found in China. The existence of this 
tree, together with the facts that the sassafras and tulip 
trees are common in both countries and the Chinese tea 
box tree is closely related to the sweet gum of the South, 
confirms the fact that the flora of the southeastern United 
States and that of sections of China are closely related. 
Another discovery of botanical interest was the finding in 
a remote and hitherto unvisited valley in Tibet of a hazel 
tree 100 feet high—a surprising departure from the 
hazel bush. Elsewhere English walnuts were discov¬ 
ered in a wild state; and the discovery of the wild peach 
is regarded as significant because it seems to establish 
that the peach may have been a native of China rather 
than of Persia, to which its origin has been ascribed. The 
discoveries of native and hardy oranges and other citrus 
fruits, a number of which have been brought to this 
country for breeding work, give added evidence that 
China was the home of the orange, which was introduc¬ 
ed into other countries probably by early Portuguese 
travelers. Similarly many plants commonly ascribed to 
other countries, such as the wistaria, chrysanthemum, 
lilac, azalea, and certain peonies and rambler roses, have 
been developed by the Chinese, although, because they 
reach Caucasian use through other nearby nations, their 
Chinese origin often has been overlooked. 
In the last trip the explorer penetrated through the 
center of China 1,500 miles on foot to the borders of 
Tibet and returned to the coast by a different route. On 
this expedition he covered territory the agricultural con¬ 
ditions of which are very similar to those of the southern 
Rocky Mountain regions and portions of the Great Plains. 
In this territory, the most important discovery probab¬ 
ly was the jujube tree, which bears a heavy crop of a 
brownish fruit, which is delicious when fresh and when 
dried offers a confection very similar in taste to the Per¬ 
sian date. This tree is of particular interest to the De¬ 
partment because it can withstand the cold and drought 
and neglect. The section in which it is productive in 
China is a semiarid belt where winter temperatures do 
not go much below zero Fahrenheit. This indicates that 
it would be of particular value to Texas, California, New 
Mexico, Arizona, southern Utah, and perhaps even farth¬ 
er north. Already, several thousand seedlings have been 
grown at the Plant Introduction Garden at Chico, Cali¬ 
fornia, from the specimens sent to this country, and some 
of these have borne desirable fruit, which confirms the 
experimenters in their belief that this tree may contri¬ 
bute a new fruit industry to the sections indicated. 
The wild peach discovered in China, and now brought 
to this country for the first time, is considered of great 
interest, although its fruit is not desirable. Investiga¬ 
tion in its native habitat showed that the roots of this 
plant are not as susceptible as our native peach to alkali 
in the soil, while it will withstand cold and does not re¬ 
quire much moisture. Experiments are under way, 
therefore, to determine the usefulness of the rootstock of 
this peach for grafting with different hardy American 
varieties. If succsse is achieved, the specialists believe 
that they can develop peach trees which will make pos¬ 
sible the raising of peaches in the Southwestern or alka¬ 
line sections, and at the same time offer possibilities of 
peach cultivation in many droughty and cold regions, 
and possibly even into portions of Iowa beyond the north¬ 
ern edge of our present peach region. 
This and other explorations have given to this country 
a Chinese cherry, very successful in California because 
of its early maturity; and a number of varieties of wild 
pears and apples, wild almonds, and hardy citrus fruits 
which offer possibilities for hybridization with American 
varieties. 
The explorer also brought over specimens of the Chin¬ 
ese pistache tree, which it is hoped will give the United 
States a new and valuable tree for the adornment of city 
avenues in Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Florida, 
Texas, California, Arizona, and Oregon. Plantings were 
also secured on this trip of a Chinese white pine tree re¬ 
markable for its white bark. One of these specimens 
which Mr. Meyer brought has been planted on the grave 
of the late Minister to China, W. W. Rockhill. who once 
expressed in the explorer's hearing a wish that this be 
done. Because of its drought-resisting qualities, this 
strikingly ornamental tree offers possibilities for the 
