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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY -BULLETIN NO. 38.

B. T. GALLoWAY, Chiifnj Bureau.

FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS IN EASTEI
WASHINGTON. EASTERN OREGON, NORTH-
EASTERN CALIFORNIA, AND NORTH-
WESTERN NEVADA.

TSY

DAVID GRIFFITHS,
Assistant in Charge <>f Range Investigations.

GRASS AND FORAGE PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.

Issued July 3> 1903.

WASHINGTON:

(JOYEUNMENT printing OFFH'F,

1 9 0#.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of riant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes Vege-
table Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Pomological Investigations, and
Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate divisions,
and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington Experimental
Farm, Tea Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of Bulle-
tins of the various divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as one
series of the Bureau. A list of the Bulletins issued in the present series follows.

Attention is directed to the fact that "the serial, scientific, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Department of Agriculture are not for general distribution.
All copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost." All applications for such
publications should, therefore, be made to the Superintendent of Documents, Union
Building, Washington, D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. I. Liming of Soils
from a Physiological Standpoint. II. Experimental Study of the Rela-
tion of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. 1901. Price, 10 cents.

2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

3. Macaroni Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

4. Range Improvement in Arizona. (Cooperative Experiments with the Ari-

zona Experiment Station. ) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

5. Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Introduc-

tion for Distribution in Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment
Stations. Inventory No. 9, Nos. 4351-5500. 1902.

6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Descriptions. 1902.

Price, 15 cents.

8. A Collection of Economic and Other Fungi Prepared for Distribution. 1902.

Price, 10 cents.
. 9. The North American Species of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with Grasses and

Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

11. Johnson Grass: Report of Investigations Made During the Season of 1901.

1902. Price, 10 cents.

12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California: Notes on the Grasses and Forage

Pknts and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

13. Experiments in Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1902. Price, 10

cents.

14. The Decay of Timber, and Methods of Preventing It. 1902. Price, 55 Cents.

15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin, Being a

Report upon Investigations Made During July and August, 1901, in the
Region Between Winnemucca, Nev.,and Ontario, Oreg. 1902. Price, 15
cents.

16. A Preliminary Study of the Germination of the Spores of Agaricus Canxpes-

tris and Other Basidioniycetous Fungi 1902. Price, 10 cents.

17. Some Diseases of the Cowpea. I. The Wilt Disease of thejgowpea and Its

Control. II. A Cowpea Resistant to Root Knot (tleterodera Radicicola).
1902. Price, 10 cents.

18. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1902. Price, L5 cent.-.

19. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Harvesting, Curing,:and Cleaning. 1902. Price,

10 cents.

20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902. PJ03.

Price, 35 (tents.

22. Injurious Effects of Premature Pollination, with General Notes on Artificial

Pollination and the Setting of Fruit Without Pollination. 1902. Price, 10
cents.

[Continued mi i>. 3 <>f cover.]

Bui. 33, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate I.

MAP OF
SH OWIMG ROUTE

3UTC TRAVELED-

124

jf> I

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY BULLETIN NO. 38.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau.

FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS IN EASTERN
WASHINGTON, EASTERN OREGON, NORTH-
EASTERN CALIFORNIA, AND NORTH-
WESTERN NEVADA.

BY

DAVID GRIFFITHS,
Assistant in Charge of Range Investigations.

GRASS AND FORAGE PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.

Issued July 3, 1903.

LII

NEW V

GA

WASHINGTON:
government printing office

1 9 3.

/m

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

Beverly T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.
GRASS AND FORAGE PLANT INVESTIGATIONS.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

W. J. Spillman, Agrostologist.

A. S. Hitchcock, Assistant Agrostologist in Charge of Cooperative Experiments.

C. R. Ball, Assistant Agrostologist.

David Griffiths, Assistant in Charge of Range Investigations.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,
Washington, I). C, March 17, 100- /.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a report upon "Forage
Conditions and Problems in Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon,
Northeastern California, and Northwestern Nevada," and respectfully
recommend that it be published as Bulletin No. 38 of the series of this
Bureau.

This paper was prepared by Dr. David Griffiths, Assistant in Charge

of Range Investigations, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, and

has been submitted by the Agrostologist with a view to publication.

Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Bureau.

Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

3

PREFACE.

This is the third paper in the series prepared by Dr. Griffiths bear-
ing on the general subject of range management, two previous reports
having been published as Bulletins of the Bureau of Plant Industry,
Nos. 4 and 15. The present report discusses existing conditions on
the ranges of eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northeastern Cali-
fornia, and northwestern Nevada, points out the causes which have
led to the present depleted condition of most of the range country, and
suggests needful changes in present methods of utilizing the scanty
feed to be found on most of the nonarable lands of the West.

It is noteworthy that the one factor which has contributed more
than any other to the depletion of the ranges is the development of hay
production on irrigated land in the range region. As long as stock
was compelled to subsist the year round on the range, the limited
supply of winter feed rendered it impossible to support enough stock
to make serious inroads on the more abundant summer growth. The
forage plants of the ranges were thus permitted to make seed. But
with the advent of hay for winter feed the amount of stock that could
be handled increased till in many places the summer growth on the
range was entirely consumed, leaving no chance for the production of
seed. As a result many thousands of acres of land that formerly fur-
nished abundant pasture are now devoid of any growth that stock will
eat, while plants of no value and which are not disturbed by the graz-
ing stock have spread rapidly over these areas.

It is clear that suggestions for the improvement of range conditions
to be of value must come from those who are not only familiar with
the condition of the ranges, but who also understand the conditions
under which stock must be handled on the range. In obtaining the
material used in preparing this paper, Dr. Griffiths has traveled 1,700
miles in the range country, mostly by wagon, but no small part of
this distance has been covered afoot. On this journey every stockman
on the route was interviewed, and in this way much valuable informa-
tion was collected.

5

6 PREFACE.

Acknowledgments are tendered to Mr. J. S. Cotton, of the Wash-
ington State Experiment Station, who accompanied Dr. Griffiths in
his travels over the ranges in that State, and to Prof. Byron Hunter,
of the Idaho State Normal School, who rendered similar service in

Oregon and Nevada.

W. J. Spillman,

Agrostologisi.

Office of the Agrostologist,

Washington, I). 6'., March 8, 1903.

C N T E N T S .

• Page.

Introduction 9

Itinerary 10

General aee< unit 11

( 'hanges in the handling of the Washington ranges 14

Conditii m and plants of the range , 15

Meadows and hay crops 27

Alfalfa 28

Timothy and redtop 29

Awnless brome 32

Grain hay 33

Cheat 34

Root crops 34

Native hay crops 35

Wild wheat 35

Bunch 1 (luegraas 35

Giant rye grass 35

Sprangle top 36

Miscellaneous forage plants .' 36

Reclamation of swamp lands 36

Needs of the region 38

Plants injurious to stock 41

Weeds of meadows and pastures 41

Diseases injurious to forage crops 43

Ustilago hypodiles 43

Ustilago scolochloa 43

TiMetiafusca - 43

Ustilago brom ivora 43

I Milago striseformis 44

Summary and suggestions 44

Needs of the region 44

Abuses 44

Native grasses worthy of cultivation 45

Wild wheat ( Elymus triticoides) 45

Bunch bluegrass (Poa Isevigata) 45

Short-awned brome (Bromus margiiudus) 45

Mountain rye grass (Elymus glaucus) 45

Bunch wheat grass (Agropyron spicatum inerme) 45

Giant rye grass ( Elymus condensatus) 45

Index of grasses and forage plants 47

Description of plates - 52

7

ILLUSTRATIONS,

Page.

Plate I. Map of Pacific Northwest, showing route traveled Frontispiece

II. Fig. 1. — A good summer sheep range in the Blue Mountains of Ore-
gon. Fig. 2. — A desert range in northwestern Nevada 52

III. Fig. 1.— -Good scab-land range near Trinidad, Wash. Fig. 2.— Desert

range near Mirage, Nev 52

IV. Fig. 1.— Typical range view in the Okanogan Hills, Washington.

Fig. 2. — Typical ranch in the Blue Mountains of Oregon 52

V. Fig. 1. — A sheep range on the north slope of the Blue Mountains.
Fig. 2. — A denuded mountain meadow on the north slope of the

Blue Mountains 52

VI. Fig. 1. — Corralino; ground in the AVarner Mountains of California.

Fig. 2. — Winter range in northwestern Nevada 52

VII. Fig. 1.— Timothy and redtop on uncultivated land, Warner Moun-
tains, California. Fig. 2.— Brown* inermis, irrigated, near the

mi >uth of the Okanogan River, Washington 52

VIII. Fig. 1. — A narrow valley along Silvies River, Blue Mountains, Ore-
gon. Fig. 2. — A horse round-up 52

IX. Fig. 1. — An overpastured highland meadow in the Washington
wheat region. Fig. 2. — An overpastured lowland meadow, Wenas
Valley, Washington 52

8

B. P. I. — 19. G. F. P. I.— 100

FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS IN EASTERN
WASHINGTON, EASTERN OREGON. NORTHEAST-
ERN CALIFORNIA, AND NORTHWESTERN NEVADA.

INTRODUCTION.

This report, based upon field work done in 1902, is in large part sup-
plementary to that of 1901. The investigations of this year have been
confined to the same general drainage regions, but the amount of travel
performed and the consequent opportunity for study have been much
more extensive. All the work covered in this report, as well as in that
of last year." was done in two of the great inland regions, namely, the
drainasre area of the Columbia River and that of the Great Basin.
Last year's report covered but little of the former area, being confined
mainly to that portion of the Great Basin region lying between Win-
nemucca, Nev., and the Blue Mountains of Oregon in the vicinity
of the upper portion of the Silvies River, while this report deals with
the Columbia drainage area and that portion of the Great Basin lying
to the westward of the region discussed in the report of last year.
The only place where the same area was covered both seasons is in the
vicinity of Burns, Oregon. This duplication of region traversed was
occasioned by the necessity of obtaining supplies and the desire of
visiting again certain portions of Harney Valley which it was impos-
sible to examine last year. Here, in the vicinity of the Dunder and
Blitzen River, on the west side of Steins Mountains, many substantial
and extensive improvements are being made, especially by the French-
Glenn Live Stock Company, in the handling of the native ranges, as
well as in the reclamation of the extensive swamp lands, producing
at the present time nothing but tules. but which are being converted
into hay and pasture lands.

Our traveling outfit consisted of a team, light spring wagon, and an
ordinary camping outfit. On the entire trip, wherever possible, we
endeavored to drive about 30 miles per day and to accomplish this in
the morning, taking the afternoon to make collections, for studies,
and for other work, while our horses, which were obliged to pick

« Bulletin No. 15, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1902.

9

10 FOEAGE CONDITIONS AND PEOBLEMS.

their roughage, were feeding. This, together with the work done
from the wagon and an occasional stop of a day or a week in certain
important localities, enabled ns to gain the desired information and at
the same time to cover a large amount of territory. Our plans, of
course, had to be modified very materially when crossing some of the
deserts in July and August on account of the scarcity of water. Here
it was necessary to drive from one watering place to another in the
shortest time possible.

Traveling a large part of the time over unfrequented roads, with
the exception of about 200 miles in range country, it was possible to
do a great deal of work from the wagon, making frequent stops as
occasion seemed to demand. This was especially true of our trip
through the Blue Mountains of Oregon and the Warner Mountains of
California, where we were without any well-defined roads for a good
part of the way.

ITINERARY.

After spending two days at Prosser, Wash., and taking a short trip
into the " Horse Heaven" country, we started northward (PI. I),
having as our destination the Okanogan region, in the northern part of
the State. This we reached by way of North Yakima, Ellensburg,
Wenatchee, Chelan, Conconully, and Loomis. On this portion of the
trip we were on the west side of the Columbia and Okanogan rivers,
in a region the greater part of which may be said to represent the
dividing line between the summer and the winter grazing grounds.
Frequent stops were made along this route, the longer ones in the Kit-
titas Valley, near Ellensburg, and at Wenatchee and Loomis. From
Chelan a four days' trip was taken to Stehekin, and from Wenatchee a
similar one into the Big Bend country at Trinidad. The northern
limit of the trip was at a point on the Okanogan River about 8 miles
from the British border.

On the return trip most of our time for the entire distance to Con-
den's Ferry was spent on the Colville Indian Reservation. From
Conden's Ferry, on the Columbia River, we crossed over the High
Plateau of the Big Bend to Steamboat Rock in the Grand Coulee,
which we followed as far as Coulee City; thence southward to the west
side of Moses Lake, and thence eastward to Ritzville, in the center of
the well-developed wheat region. From Ritzville we went southward
along Cow Creek, crossing Snake River at the mouth of the Palouse,
and thence via Prescott to Walla Walla.

On July 5 we started southward via Pendleton into the Blue Moun-
tains of Oregon. Here we traversed the forks of the John Day River,
passing en route through Camas Prairie, Long Creek, Fox Valley,
John Day. Canyon City, Izee, Bear Valley, and Silvies Valley, and
reaching Burns on July 17. From Burns our route passed between

GENERAL ACCOUNT. 11

Malheur and Harney lakes, and thence southward along the Dunder and
Blitzen River to the base of Steins Mountains. From this point we
went southwest across Catlow and Guano valleys and across the north-
western corner of Nevada into the Warner Mountains of California;
thence southward to Smoke Creek and eastward into Nevada again,
across the deserts of Smoke Creek and Black Rock, and thence south-
ward into the Humboldt Valley near Lovelock. Our next trip of 100
miles was in a general southwesterly direction to Reno, where the
work for the season in this region was discontinued.

GENERAL ACCOUNT.

The region indicated in the map (PI. I) is one of great diversity of
climate, elevation, and soil conditions, and a complete account of these
features is therefore obviously impossible in such a publication as this.
In brief it may be stated that the areas of greatest humidity are located
in the Okanogan region and in the Wenatchee, Blue, and Warner moun-
tains. The best grazing areas of the Okanogan region are at an altitude
of 1,500 to 3,500 feet; in the Big Bend of the Columbia, 1,000 to 1,500
feet; in the prairies of the Blue Mountains of Oregon and the Warner
mountains of California, 1,500 to 6,000 feet, and in the general desert
basins of Nevada and Oregon, about 4,000 feet. The annual precipi-
tation of the region in general may be accepted as 5 to 10 inches, but
of course there is -a great variation in the mountains and in the vicinity
of our route from Ellensburg to the British border. Accurate data
regarding higher and less accessible localities are, however, very scarce,
and it can only be said that in portions of the region the rainfall is
much greater than the above figures indicate.

The soils are, for the greater part, basaltic, i. e., derived from dis-
integrated volcanic rock, and are usually spoken of, especially in the
northern half of the region, as volcanic ash. This may be taken to
represent the entire Big Bend country, as well as the greater part of
the deserts of Oregon and Nevada visited. The Blue and the Warner
mountains, as well as portions of the Okanogan u Bunch-Grass Hills/ 1
are of still, heavy clays which support a different vegetation as well
as one which is less susceptible of injury from tramping of stock than
the looser ashy soils of the drier and usually losver regions repre-
sented by the desert plains and the fertile lands of the Big Bend. In
the lower portions of all the basins, as well as in the poorly drained
areas along the river bottoms, are situated intensely alkaline stretches;
these arc especially characteristic of the region traversed between the
Blue Mountains of Oregon and Reno, Nev. These areas in this region
support no vegetation whatever over extensive tracts and arc known
locally as "sleek deserts.' 1 They are the remains of old or temporary
lakes, which receive constant accretions of soluble salts from the

12 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

basins in which they are situated. The}- are of themselves of no
economic importance for, supporting- no vegetation and having- no
outlets in ordinary times, they can not be profitably drained and
deprived of the superabundance of soluble salts. They have an
immediate connection, however, with the lands in their drainage
basins which are being rapidly reclaimed, as will be shown later.

The topography of the Okanogan country differs from that of the
Big Bend mainly in being cut up into rolling grassy hills, which are
covered with forests of yellow pine on their shaded and higher slopes.
The level ground is comparatively small in extent, and when it occurs
on elevated regions, as is the case in large stretches on the Colville
Reservation north of Conden's Ferry, it is very likeh T to be too rocky
for cultivation; however, in mai places in the so-called "Bunch-
Grass Hills" there are areas of arable lands, and along all the water-
ways, especially the main Okanogan River, there are extensive tracts
of good hay land yet to be brought under control.

The Big Bend, although a much more level area, still presents a
great diversity of topographical features. It may be briefly described
as a table-land, 1,000 to 1,500 feet high, underlaid by basaltic rock.
This general plateau has been cut in various places by deep gorges,
such as the bed of the Columbia, Grand, Moses, and Black Rock cou-
lees, exposing blutfs of basaltic columns, which are a familiar and
attractive sight in all of this region. In many places, usually in close
proximity to these gorges and especially in the vicinity of such depres-
sions as Moses Lake, the rock is laid bare, or nearly so, over very
extensive areas. These must remain permanent grazing grounds.
They are known locally as " scab lands," and are usually cut into shallow
ravines, being generally much rougher than those areas where the soil is
deeper. The irregularity of the erosive action has resulted in the for-
mation of numerous basin-like depressions, where water accumulates
and remains for short periods, especially during the winter and spring,
thereby furnishing supplies for range stock at those seasons of the
year.

The Blue Mountains of Oregon and the Warner Mountains of Cal-
ifornia have much in common. They are generally forested, but
have at high elevations extensive areas of level or gently rolling lands,
either free from timber or only sparsel}" covered. In these areas.
usually designated as prairies or valleys, are found the nuclei of
prosperous communities. Among these may be mentioned Camas
Prairie, Long Creek. Bear Valley, and Silvies Valley in the Blue
Mountains, and Jess Valley in the Warner Mountains. These com-
munities are dependent almost entirely upon the stock industry for
their support. The lands in these regions are either fertile mountain
soils or rocky areas not susceptible of cultivation. The latter furnish
pasturage. The former are cropped, usually with hay crops.

GENERAL ACCOUNT. 13

The desert region, which occupies practically all of the urea between
the Blue Mountains and Reno, Nev., except the Warner Range and
the Humboldt and Truckee River bottoms, is, in popular parlance, a
huge sagebrush plain, broken by numerous low mountain ranges hav-
ing 1 little or no timber. Between these mountains are the desert sinks
and "sleek deserts'* previously mentioned. All except the ""sleek
deserts" are covered with a shrubby growth of sage, saltbushes, and
greasewood, which are often the only vegetation.

As compared with the ranges of the Plains, this region generally
presents many striking differences. Here there is never a sod except
in very favorable localities along streams, where the sedges and native
clovers abound. The grasses are truly bunch grasses, although of
many botanical species, and the bunches are invariably separated by
intervals of a few inches to several feet. With the exception of com-
paratively small areas of the more fertile regions of the Big Bend and
the high mountains, the entire region is covered with a shrubby growth,
which is popularly known as sagebrush. There is a great difference
here in the soil texture also, it being much looser and less subject to
the erosive action of torrential showers. The great difference from
the standpoint of the stockman is the entire absence here of the buf-
falo grass and the blue grama, which are such important factors in
the make-up of the Plains vegetation. When compared with the
desert regions of the Southwest, we find a greater similarity, espe-
cially in the possession of shrubby vegetation, although this shrub-
bery assumes in the latter more of a thorny and spiny nature and
belongs to a very different class of vegetation botanically. In the
Southwest is found a class of glasses resembling more closely those of
the Plains region, namely, the gramas, which are not only closely
related but often identical with the species which is of such impor-
tance on the Plains. In regard to the soil, the southwestern stock
rano-es resemble more nearly those of the Plains as far as the erosive
action of water is concerned, although their mechanical and chemical
constitution may be very different. As regards the sod, the region in
question closely resembles the Southwest, although the latter resem-
bles the Plains region in the species of grasses which it contains.
This fact is probably to be correlated with the meteorological con-
ditions mainly, the sparseness and the bunched character of the veg-
etation between the Rocky and the Sierra Nevada mountains being-
brought about more by the limited rainfall than by any other cause.
This view appears to be strengthened by the fact that many of the
grasses of this general region form a close and compact soil cover
when grown under the more humid conditions of the Eastern States.
The bunching of the grasses, therefore, is probably to be accounted
for by the scarcity of the water supply rather than the inherent char
acteristics of the grasses themselves.

14 FOEAGE CONDITIONS AND PKOBLEMS.

CHANGES IN THE HANDLING OF THE WASHINGTON RANGES.

During the past few years there has been great progress toward a
more systematic handling and at the same time a more stable and per-
manent adjustment of the stock industry in the region of the Big Bend
and the country adjacent to it. In many particulars the changes are
radical, and in some instances the industry has been remarkably cur-
tailed, though probably not permanently, for the reduced area devoted
to the raising of live stock will doubtless be made, when the new con-
ditions become adjusted, to support proportionally a much larger num-
ber of animals than it formerly did.

One of the greatest factors in the production of these changes has
been the extension of the wheat areas to include practically all of the
tillable land of the entire region, apparently regardless of the rainfall.
Large areas west of Ritzville, near Trinidad and Waterville, and in
the " Horse Heaven " country have in recent years been reclaimed for
wheat culture. Some of these areas may not be permanently occupied
by wheat, since the average annual rainfall on some of them is less
than 10 inches, and some of the more conservative farmers think they
will eventually revert to the range.

But the most important factor in these changes has been the agitation
brought about in recent years in favor of the passage of a lease law by .
the National Congress. This agitation, though it has not crystallized
into any definite action, has induced many of the nomadic sheepmen,
who heretofore owned no land, to invest in lands in anticipation of the
enactment of lease laws, which, in all bills thus far introduced, give
preference to the actual holders of landed interests. The presence of
large areas of railroad land in this region has enabled many to secure
from the transportation companies, by lease or purchase (usually the
latter), tracts of land suited to their needs. Of course much of this
purchase is purely speculative, but a very large proportion of the land
so acquired has been bought by those who are and have been for
years in the stock business on the public domain. As the railroad
land consists of alternate sections, the ownership of these tracts virtu-
ally gives the investor control of the adjacent sections of the public,
domain. As is well known, our homestead laws do not adequately
meet the necessities of the man who proposes to embark in the stock
business in the semiarid regions, particularly where the railroads own
alternate sections. Even a whole section of land is too small a unit
for range operations, so that a homestead can only be used as a base for
a .stock range in cases where all the surrounding lands are a part of the
public domain. Indeed, the farmer who raises wheat in this region
needs more land to obtain a reasonable compensation for his labor than
he can secure under our land laws. In recent years most of the land
within the railroad grant has been brought under individual control,

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE EANGE. 15

and the open-range question is here practically a thing of the past. The
greater part of this area is still unfeneed, and the boundaries of the
different possessions are only approximately maintained, but much of
the land is being fenced, section by section, which permits systematic
pasturing. This change has yielded results far beyond the expecta-
tions of the ranchers.

In one case which came under observation it was estimated by a
rancher that the land under his control had increased in grazing capac-
ity about 50 per cent during the past two years, with no decrease in
the number of cattle carried on the entire area. One section is pas-
tured at a time, and grass is allowed to attain considerable growth
before being pastured, instead of being grazed close to the ground all
the time.

In another instance in the same vicinity a year's rest of two and a
half sections of pasture land had yielded marvelous results. This
land had formerly been grazed by sheep, and the pasture had become
so short that the owner disposed of it* to the present occupant, who
proposed to embark in the cattle business. He allowed his land to
rest one year with practically no stock upon it; the gain in feed was
remarkable.

Much of this land is used as winter ranges for sheep, which are
either herded during the summer months in the mountains to the west-
ward or pastured on the fallow lands in the wheat-growing regions to
the east. This treatment will probably increase the capacity of these
ranges to a maximum in a few years, provided the summer season of
rest is sufficiently prolonged. It is very important in handling these
lands as winter pastures not to keep stock on them too late in the
spring. In this region the growth of vegetation occurs only in the
spring, and stock are sometimes unable, on account of snow, to get
into the mountains soon enough to allow much recuperation after the
season of grazing before the advent of the dry season, which begins
not later than June.

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE RANGE.

The best range seen on the entire trip, and indeed the best open
range the writer has seen since the early nineties (with the possible
exception of the Clear Creek region in the Big Horn Mountains of
Wyoming in 1898), was that of the Okanogan hills in northern AVash-
ington. The generally good condition of the feed in this region is due
to the fact that the country for various reasons has not been over-
stocked. A large part of this area is occupied hy the Colville Indian
Reservation, and some of the lands along the river are taken up by
Indian allotments which have not been improved to their full capacity
for hay production. The length of the winters, the heavy snowfall.

16 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

and the comparative inaccessibility of the region have all contributed
to its protection in the past. It is essentially a summer range, and all
stock wintered here must be fed for much longer periods than in the
warmer and drier regions to the southward. Up to a year ago sum-
mer grazing had been practically confined to stock owned by actual
settlers, who have not been able thus far to raise sufficient winter feed
to support enough cattle to overstock the summer pastures. Doubt-
less a very important factor in the preservation of the range has been
the persistency with which the settlers have prevented sheep from
entering the territory. The development of the river bottoms into
meadows which will furnish large quantities of hay and the advent of
large numbers of sheep during the past summer will no doubt change
the appearance of the native pastures very materially in the next few
years.

The main forage plants on the ranges in the Okanogan region do
not differ materially from those to the southward in the Big Bend
except in the relative quantity of feed produced by the different
species. The rolling hills are covered with a luxuriant growth of
sheep fescue {Festuca ovina), bunch wheat grass {Agropyron spicaturn),
Wheeler's bluegrass {Poa wheeled), and Sandberg's bluegrass {Poa
sandbergii) on the more rocky and gravelly soil. Nevada bluegrass
{Poa nevadensis) and prairie June grass {Koeleria cristata) are also
important factors everywhere above the river bottoms, while giant
rye grass (Elymus condensatus) occurs in large patches along the sides
of depressions on broad, level upland areas, as well as on the edges of
the more moist lands along the river bottoms. Along ravines and
sandy creeks and river bottoms, bunch wheat grass and giant rye grass
are prominent in the lower altitudes, but the bulk of the forage is
made up of the needle grasses {Stipa williamsii and S. columbiana),
with the introduced weedy brome grasses (Br<>mns tectorum) and chess
{Broinus secalirms) in the lower draws and benches, where the native
grasses have been injured by the trampling of stock on their way to
and from feeding grounds and water. On all of the lower sandy
benches just above the river bottoms, especially those of the Okano-
gan and Columbia rivers, the feed is naturally poor, as would be
inferred from the presence of the needle grasses and the bromes pre-
viously mentioned. Occasionally the stiffer soils are found on these
benches, and bunch wheat grass {Agropyron spicaturn) is always found
in such situations, adding very materially to the feed; but in general
these benches are taken up by species of rather inferior quality. Here
also are found large areas of plantain {Plantagopurshii), which closely
resembles the Indian wheat {P. fastigiata) of the Southwest, but is of
much, less value, probably owing to the fact that feed is more plenti-
ful here and stock are not forced to subsist upon it. Two other

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE KANGE. l7

annuals {Festuca microstcbchya and F. ociojlora) of less value are found
on these benches especially, but are also scattered more or less through-
out the region.

At the present time the forage plants other than grasses are of little
consequence. As sheep are introduced the shrubbery and weedy plants
will be utilized to a greater extent, as they are elsewhere in open-
range regions; even the clovers appear to be of little consequence here.
It must be stated, however, that the observations were made entirely too
early in the season to estimate the value of this class of vegetation.
Even in the Kittitas Valley and the Wenatchee Mountains, where these
plants are of considerable importance, both as hay and pasture, the
season was not far enough advanced to enable one to judge of their
value. The black sunflower ( Wyethia am^plexicaulis), balsam root
{BaZsa/iriorrhiza sagittata and B. careyana) are utilized for pasture to
some extent, especially by horses. These plants are of most impor-
tance, however, in the region lying to the southwest, especially the
Kittitas and Wenas valleys. On the range they are often grazed quite
closely by sheep, but all kinds of stock feed on the flower heads and
the fruit wherever they are found.

The Big Bend region naturally presents a great diversity of condi-
tions. Some of it is covered with an almost pure growth of bunch
wheat grass, while other areas have a mixture of fescues and blue-
grasses, and still others have but little grass and are covered with a
heavy growth of sagebrush. Part of the area is still open range,
while part is systematically handled; consequently this locality pre-
sents the greatest diversity in feed conditions. On all the unprotected
range visited the feed was very short. The greatest amount of unpro-
tected country seen was in the vicinity of the mouth of the Palouse
River, where there was practically no grass, and even plantain (/'/<///-
tago jmr.sjui) was extensively grazed in places. Along Cow Creek,
however, where the grazing lands are on '"scab" between two wheat
regions and for the most part are under private control, there was a
very evident difference between the open-range and the fenced areas.
In that part of the high plateau between the Columbia Hive/ and the
Grand Coulee which we visited there was excellent feed, owing to the
recent invasion of that portion of the country by the wheat grower
and the inaccessibility of the remaining range to the general rangre
herds. The grasses here are practically the same as those on the Col-
ville Reservation. Here, however, there is but little shrubbery, the
area being a rolling table-land, covered with a luxuriant growth of
bunch wheat grass, Nevada and AVheeler's bluegrasses, sheep fescue,
and prairie dune grass. In places there was some black sage {Arte-
misia tridentata) and rayless golden-rod ( Bigelovia <//-<tr, olt ns) scattered
over the lower areas and sides of ravines, but the sagebrush was not

2597i— No. 38—03 2

18 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

prominent on the high elevations. After reaching the Grand Coulee,
however, we were never out of sight of .sagebrush until the wheat
region west of Ritzville was reached. In many places on the lower,
well-drained slopes, there were large patches of giant rye grass (Ely-
mus condensatus), while bunch bluegrass (Poa laevigata) is of con-
siderable value on the lower portions of the depressions.

The Grand Coulee, which crosses the Big Bend country from north
to south, is a deep gorge. 1 to 3 miles wide, and was the bed of
the Columbia River during the glacial period. The portions of this
coulee visited are in most cases very alkaline. In places there is some
seepage from the bluff's which has washed the salt out of the soil
over limited areas, and these produce good crops of hay. In the
vicinity of the numerous ponds only salt-loving plants are found. In
one place was seen a large area, half a section or more, covered with
creeping spike rush {Eleocharis palustr is), which was practically the
only forage plant growing in this hay meadow. In the vicinity of
the numerous ponds salt grass (Distychlis spicata) abounds, and
grease wood is always found a little farther from the ponds, while on
the better-drained lands the common sagebrush is the most conspicu-
ous vegetation everywhere. The saltbushes (Atrvplex spp.) are of
little account here as compared with the Great Basin region to the
south. As would be expected in such a formation and with such
physical features, conditions are quite variable. One runs into unex-
pected areas of grass in pockets in the bluffs where the vegetation is
wholly different from anything found for miles around. As an exam-
ple, might be mentioned a shelf -like recess in the bluffs on the north
side of the coulee, where there was an excellent stand of water foxtail
(Alopecurus geniculatus) covering an area 2 or 3 acres in extent.
Usually this grass is not abundant enough to attract much attention
anywhere.

On nearly all of the ••scab" lands from here south along our route
to Trinidad, as well as at other points in the Kittitas and Wenas val-
leys west of the Columbia River, the black sage of the mountains
(Artemisia arbuscula) predominates over the common black sage of
the lower, more sandy soils. Here also there are large areas of the
valuable species of sage known to botanists as Artemisia rigida. This
differs from the other two closely related species in having finely
divided leaves and in being relished by stock, more especially by
horses and sheep. It was especially abundant at Trinidad, on the
western exposure of the Kittitas Valley, between Ephrata and Moses
lakes, and in the vicinity of Lyons Ferry. In all of th >se localities it
showed evidences of being grazed during the past winter.

As far as observed, the areas which have been opened up to wheat
culture are not particularly sagebrush lands. On the contrary, they
are what is commonly known as bunch grass (Agropyron spicatum)

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE KANGE. 19

lands, and the shrubbery, when there is any, is mainly the rayless
golden-rod (Bigelovia graveolens), which is also sometimes called sage.
This was the main shrub on nearly all of the wheat lands traversed,
especially in the Ritzville and Walla Walla regions. West of Ritz-
ville, however, at the present time wheat ranches are being opened up
very rapidly on the sandy sagebrush lands 8 or 10 miles east of Moses
Lake. We did not, however, see the establishment of wheat on these
sagebrush areas, and it remains to be proved whether the experiments
in wheat growing conducted there will be permanently successful.

From the standpoint of quantity, bunch wheat grass (Agropyron
spicatum) is without doubt the most important grass in the Big Bend
region, although the bluegrasses and sheep fescue heretofore men-
tioned are of much prominence on tin 1 higher elevations as well as on
the ""scab" lands. Owing to the rapid extension of the wheat area,
the localities where this grass grows pure are rapidly diminishing in
number. It may be said that the form of the grass which is so
important here is that designated by botanists as Agropyron spicatum
merme, which is so named from the fact that the chaff which incloses
the seed is without awns. As one proceeds southward even a short
distance into the Blue Mountains, the awned form appears and the
awnless one is almost, if not quite, absent.

Attention was called in last year's report" to the two forms of sheep
fescue in the mountains of Nevada, and it was stated there that they
often grow in nearly distinct areas, the glaucous form at higher eleva-
tions than the smooth variety. The two forms are found here also;
but, although well marked, they have not been observed in separate
areas as in the southern desert mountains. As far as forage value is
concerned, there is no apparent difference in the two forms.

Although several newly established wheat areas were passed through,
there were but two well-established ones on our route. The first
extended from about 20 miles west of Ritzville to the ''scab" along
Cow Creek; the second, from about 8 miles south of Lyons Ferry to
Pendleton, Oregon. The developing areas are located at Trinidad, on
the high table-land south of Conden's Ferry, and at Ephrata. All the
remainder of the territory traveled over in the State is devoted to
cattle raising, and all is pasture land except such regions as North
Yakima, Wenas, and Kittitas valleys, and small areas in the vicinity of
Conconully and Loomis and along creeks emptying into the Columbia
River, which are devoted mainly to the culture of hay crops under
irrigation.

The poorest "scab" land vegetation is well illustrated by a collec-
tion made south of Ephrata, near the Ferguson ranch. The shrubs
were by far the most abundant form of vegetation. They consisted

"Bulletin No. 15, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, L902, p. 52.

20 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

of the eriogonums {Eriogonum dichotonviwi, E. sphaerocephalum, and
^.ifAym(9^^ 1 s),tetradymia(2e^ra^77imc«7i^ce?w),audibertia(^^i6^4a
incana), gilia (Gilia pungens), black .sago (Artemisia arlmscula), and
a little A. rigida. Of the.se the eriogonums and Artemisia rigida are

of economic value. The former are especially useful as a browse for
sheep, as undoubtedly nearly all of the species of this genus are when
good feed is scarce. The herbaceous vegetation, aside from the grasses,
consisted entirely of a scattering growth of Gayophytum ramosissimum
and Lygodesmia juncea, both of which are of some importance as sheep
feed. The grasses were few, scattering bunch wheat grass (Agropyrcm
spicatum) being the most important, while there was an occasional
bunch of needle grass (Stipa tkurberiana) growing up through the
bunches of shrubs. Fescue (Eestuca microstachya) occurred in very
small quantities, and some of the root leaves of Sandberg's bluegrass
(Poa sandbergii) were in evidence where protected by rocks. It is to
be understood, of course, that the above represents the vegetation at
the time of observation (July). In the spring there are other short-
lived species which furnish some feed. On the better classes of
"scab" lands, along Cow Creek and south of Trinidad especially,
sheep fescue and the bluegrasses (P<><i n, r<i</< n.sls and P. wheeleri) are
more abundant.

The condition of the feed in the Blue Mountains of Oreo-on was
variable, even in areas where meteorological conditions as well as alti-
tude are very similar. This is due entirely to the method of handling
the ranges. In the vicinity of the mountain settlements where sheep
are excluded the condition of the grazing lands is much better than in
the open country. The "dead lines" established by the ranchers,
usually on the watershed of the valley, although not always rigidly
maintained, have done much to preserve the original vegetation, for
it is not as closely eaten oh 1 ' by cattle, a few of which are possessed by
every rancher, as by the immense flocks of sheep which are driven
into these mountains from all directions. The great stretches of des-
ert range almost surrounding these mountains furnish abundant winter
pasturage for sheep, but the summer supply for the growing lambs in
the mountains is comparatively limited. The Blue Mountains, there-
fore, have been the battle ground of conflicting stock interests which
have striven for the past twenty years for the major share of the free
grass. The homesteader, by protecting small tracts about him, has
improved conditions wonderfully in limited areas. But those areas
which are not subject to individual control have been so closely pas-
tured that there is no more feed in some localities than on the deserts
below. Plate V, figure 1, shows a moist meadow on the north slope
of the mountains where there should be, and where there was formerly.
a luxuriant growth of grasses, clovers, and sedges, but which is now
all but barren of vegetation. A complete collection of the plants

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE RANGE. 21

which grew here showed not a .single perennial and no annuals over 2
inches in height. These had apparently developed from seed during
the previous month, after the sheep had been moved to higher alti-
tudes. The reduction of a sedgy mountain meadow to an almost bare
surface, where nothing is to be found but stunted plants of Navarretia
breweri, TAnanihus harhnessii, knotweed {Polygonum douglasii), Eri-
i/nckium californicum, Matricaria discoidea, and burnet {Poterium
annuum), is a condition much to be deplored, and is certainly not con-
ducive to the best interests of the stock industry. In slice}) territory
it can be stated that there are few shrubs, aside from the snow brush
(Ceanothus veLuthius) and a few of the phloxes and gilias, in these
mountains which are not browsed; and the timber does not grow too
thick for sheep to graze in. Even the second growth of pine [Phi us
ponderosa) is browsed in many places.

The forage plants, especially the grasses, do not differ materially
from those of the higher elevations in eastern Washington prcyiously
discussed. The conditions are mostly such as would be recognized
only by the critical student of grasses. Bluegrasses (Poa nevadensis,
P. ir/irr/r/'/\ P. mnrfbergii, and P. buckleyana), sheep fescue {Festuca
ovina in both its forms), bunch wheat grass (Agropyron spicatmri),
prairie June grass (KoeleHa crisbatd), short-awned brome {Bromus
marginatum), orchard barley {Sitanion longifolium), giant rye grass
(Elymus condensatus), tussock grass (Descham/psia csespitosa), and
needle grass (Stipa viridula and S. thurberiana) are the main species
on the open areas, while in upland shady places and in brush and tim-
ber areas are to be found a form of Kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis),
downy oat grass {Trisetum subspicatum), oat grass (Danthonia cali-
jbrnica), melic grass (Melica subulata), and mountain rye grass (Ely-
ni us glaucus), together with pine grass ( ( urex geyt ri), which constitute
the main feed in these localities at an altitude of 4,r><M> to 6,000 feet.
On some of the bare, rocky slopes on the open range occurs some
clover (Trifolium pliimosum). This is seldom so abundant that seed
could be collected in quantity. Its strong root system and general
habit in barren soils would lead one to believe that it might be of some
value on the upland ranges if some method could he devised for its
propagation so that seed could be collected advantageously. Along all
the creeks and moist areas throughout the region fine feed is produced
by other species of native clovers (Trifolium beckwithii, T. cyathife-
rum, T. altissimum, and T. involucratum), while in the same localities
there are many species of sedges and rushes which are really of more
importance than the grasses in many situations. In these more moist
localities are also found mountain timothy {Phi cum alpinum) and
whitetop (Agrostis asperifolia).

The numerous pastures in the vicinity of the settlements are used almosl
entirely for winter grazing, the stock feeding upon the open ranges dur-

22 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

ing the summer season. When not pastured too Late in the spring,
these were in good condition. Very often they appear overstocked,
with the result that the weedy plants predominate to a remarkable
degree. A collection of plants made in one of these mountain pastures
in ( lamas Prairie will illustrate the effectof too close grazing, especially
when the frost is going out of the ground in the spring. This was an
open, rocky meadow, with stiff clay soil. There was here originally
a good pasture of Sandberg's bluegrass, hunch wheat grass, sheep
fescue. Wheeler's bluegrass, Nevada bluegrass, and prairie June grass.
These are now very thin and scattering, having been trampled out to
a large extent in late May and early June when no stock should have
been allowed in the fields on account of their soft, and miry condition.
The following species were the abundant and conspicuous plants in the
pasture: Yarrow {Achillea millefolium), black sunflower {Wyethia
(impli ,ri<-mi/!s), arnica {Arnica <il/>Imi) % engeron {Erigeron aphcmactus),
gaillardia {Gaillardm aristata), balsam root {Balsamorrhisa incana).
lupine {Lupinus sulphur eas), Clarkia pidc/iella, onion {Allium madi-
cktm), Navarretia ireweri, phlox {Phlox gracilis), gilia {Gilia aggre-
gata), eriogonum {Eriogonum heracloides), geum {Geum trifolium),
Pentstemon attenuatus, Scrophularia orihocarpus, Deschampsia <-<ih/-
cina, knot weed {Polygonum douglasii), Lomatium leptocarpum, calo-
chortus ( Calochortus nuttallii), and Sedum douglasii. Practically all
of these were in bloom when the collections were made, and the field
had the appearance of a, flower garden rather than a pasture.

A similar substitution of native plants of little or no forage value
for the true grasses is common in the region, as well as in similarly
treated areas in the more moist regions of Washington. Such substi
tutions are usually more noticeable in humid mountain areas than on
the lower deserts, for, in the latter, when the scattering bunches of
grasses are killed out, there is often nothing to take their place. One
of these overgrazed native pastures in the wheat region west of Ritz-
ville. Wash., is shown in Plate IX, figure 1. For a list of the shrubs
grazed by sheep the reader is referred to subsequent pages, which
discuss the conditions in the Warner Mountains of California, and to
Bulletin No. L5 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, l T . S. Department
of Agriculture. It may be stated that no black sage was seen in the
Blue Mountains, except small patches of Artemisia arbuscula on the
north slope, until Bear Valley, near tin 1 Great Basin drainage, was
reached.

As far as general vegetation is concerned the Warner Mountains of
( Jalifornia do not differ materially from the Blue Mountains of Oregon:
at least the main features are the same, and the general topographical
features are very similar. The water suppry, however, is much better
in the mountains lirst mentioned. Indeed, il would be difficult to find
an open range region where water is better distributed than in the

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE RANGE. 23

Warner Mountains to the east of .less Valley. These conditions have
been taken advantage of to a detrimental extent by the immense flocks
of sheep which winter on the deserts to the southward and eastward
in Nevada and Oregon. One characteristic feature of those portions
of these mountains is the abundance of browse plants, which make
them especially attractive to the sheep grower. Sheep need a change
of ration in order to thrive to the best advantage, even it' that change
be to weedy pastures, which are ordinarily considered of little value.
Often they appear to be benefited by such a change from a good grass
pasture. This testimony of the herder is substantiated by the fact
that when grass is abundant the sheep will feed on such bitter plants
as the willow, poplar, and some of the so-called sunflowers previously
mentioned. In this region such shrubby plants as the gooseberry
{Ribes laeustre, R. htteum, R. cereum, and R. aureum), snowberry
(Symphoricarpos oreopkikts), willow, poplar, mountain ash (Pynts
s((nil>ucif<>li(i), service berry (Amelanchier aUbifolia), and Purshia
iridentata are very abundant. At the time of this visit immense num-
bers of sheep were practically subsisting on these plants. There really
was no grass. Even the banks of the rivulets were chopped up by
the incessant tramping, and the steep hillsides, protected by jagged
rocks, were dusty. The writer has never seen a more deplorable con-
dition than existed here. The sheep region was visited about the 1st
of August, and sheep were supposed to remain there two months
longer. It is difficult to imagine what the animals could find to live
on. On an area shown in Plate VI, figure 2, the snowberries had been
cropped so that there was nothing left but short, barked stumps and old,
woody stems. This is in the vicinity of an old corral, but photographs
taken in the same region show that similar conditions exist over a
large part of the mountains.

The range regions traversed between the Blue Mountains, in Oregon,
and Reno, Nov., with the exception of the Warner Mountains, have
much in common. The mesa region does not differ greatly in appear-
ance, although the black sage of the northern part is almost entirely
replaced to the southward over large areas, especially in the vicinity
of the Black Rock and Smoke Creek deserts, as well as in the Hum-
boldt Valley, by the saltbushes, hop sage, bud sage, red sage, and
white sage. These sage plants are of much more value as winter teed
than the saltbushes. In this general region eight sinks were passed
over. Some of these had water in them in places, but for the most part
they were dry, the surface being smooth, showing level narrow fissures,
and having no vegetation. The main areas of this character seen were
in the Harney, Guano, and Catlow valleys, in Oregon; Surprise Valley,
in California; and Long Valley, Smoke Creek, Black Rock, Humboldt
Sink, and White Plains, in Nevada. All of these areas located in the
lower portion of their drainage basin have as a first distinct zone of

24 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

vegetation salt grass (Distichlis spicata) and bordering it grease wood
(Sarcobatus vermiculatus). These are in turn surrounded by the usual
shrubs of the desert. In places where the drainage waters empty into
the basins the vegetation is of course very much modi lied. It is here
that the ranches occur, and it is upon the impounding of the spring-
waters which reach these sinks that the reclamation of these deserts
depends. These areas, however, are now no part of the range, but
they serve for the culture of winter feed for stock and are in the
main patented holdings. The condition in the higher mountains whs
discussed in Bulletin 15of the Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, to which the leader is referred.

Surrounding many of these desert sinks a peculiar condition exists
as regards the distribution of vegetation. On the edges of the major-
ity of them there are sandy drifts of varying magnitude, in which all
of the desert shrubs may be found growing promiscuously. These
accumulations of earth are derived from the desert basins during the
dry, windy weather, and they are consequently very different from
the ordinary sand dune, inasmuch as they, as well as the desert basins
themselves, are very alkaline, the salts being blown out during the
dry season. The vegetation of one of these dunes in Long Valley,
Nevada, will serve as an illustration. There appeared in these mounds
grease wood (Sareobatus vermiculatus), black sage {Artemisia tri-
dcnt<it<(), bud sage (Artemisia, spinescens), hop sage (Grayia spinosa),
and saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia). On the "sleek desert" sides of
these mounds occurred a scattering growth of salt sfrass, sometimes
extending over the mounds, while on the edge of the more salty areas
were also scattering growths of suaeda (Dondia depressa erecta) and
iodine weed (Spirostachys occidentalis). None of these shrubs except
the first mentioned is to be considered a salt-loving plant, but all were
able to thrive here, doubtless because they became established before
the drifts. For the same reason (hey are not to be considered sand
binders, although they did serve that useful purpose here.

The feed on the desert mesas of Catlow Valley is furnished almost
entirely by needle grass (Sti/pa thurberiana), orchard barley (Sitanion
longifolium and S. villosum), prairie June grass (Koeleria cristata),
wheat grass (Agrojpyron sp." (J. & II. No. 306), Indian millet ( Ory-
zopsis cuspidata) , and giant rye grass (Kit/nuts conden-satus). To these
should be added Nuttall's saltbush (Atriplex ?iuttaUii), which grows
here, as is common with this species, almost pure in irregular areas,
usually of a few acres in extent, in the general sagebrush mesa. The
grasses, it must be understood, are in small scattering bunches, and it
would doubtless take more than 50 acres to support a steer for one
year on the general mesa. The conditions described in Steins and Pine

« This species, although quite abundant, was nut secured in proper condition for
determination.

CONDITION AND PLANTS OF THE RANGE. 25

Forest mountains in last year's report apply equally to the foothills
and mountains here and need not be repeated.

One hundred miles south of this region, in the vicinity of the
Black Rock desert in Nevada, the conditions arc very different
although the general appearance of the two regions is similar. In the
more southern locality the black sage is almost absent on the general
mesa, being confined to the higher elevations in the hills and moun-
tains, as is the case over large stretches on the gently sloping hillsides
surrounding the Black Rock desert, as well as in the vicinity of
Lovelock. Saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia) is the one desert shrub
and practically the only plant in evidence :it this time of the year
over very extensive areas. The vegetation in the vicinity of Boiling
Butte will serve as a representation of the flora. Quite a collection
was made here from the "sleek*" Black Rock desert to the top of the
butte. The first plants in the edge of the deserts are iodine weed
(jSpirostachys occidentalis) and pahute weed (I><>n<li<i depressa erecta)
in bunches alone- the edges of the desert. These are followed in turn
by a scattering growth of salt grass (Distichlis */>/<■<//</), grease wood
(Sarcobatus vermiculatus), and saltbush (Atriplex tovreyi). The latter
thrives on more alkaline areas than the grease wood. On the general
mesa are scattering growths of shrubbery such as saltbush {Atriplex
confertifolia), bud sage (Artemisia spinescens), tetradymia (Tetrady-
mia spinosa), red sage (Kochia americana), hop sage (Grayia spvnosa),
rayless golden-rod (Chrysothamnus viscidijlorus), and white sage
(Eurotia lanata). All of the mesa plants extend up the side of the
butte for a considerable distance and the red sage, hop sage, and white
sage, together with Tetradymia canescens extend to the very top,
where there are also found Eriogonum dichotwnum, /'. mic?'othecium,
and H. hermanii^ Gilia i>itn<j<ns. bed straw ( Galium midtiflorum), and
Lygodesmia spinosa. The black sage does not appear except at the
hiffher altitudes aboui 600 feet above the general mesa. On the
buttes there was a little Buckley's bluegrass (Poa huefdeyana), while
Indian millet (Oryzopsis cuspidata) was found on the sandy knolls on
the mesa. The shrubbery, however, is the most important I'vrA, and
all of the varieties mentioned are utilized, with the exception of the
ravless o-olden-rod and the gilia. On the higher Granite Mountains
to the northward there is a scattering growth of juniper and. oJ course.
more U'rd, consisting of species of clovers and sedges, together with
the bluegrasses and sheep fescue already mentioned for the region.
The feed in the vicinity of the hot spring was in striking contrast to
that of the mesa and desert. The most conspicuous plant in the water
is bulrush (Scirpus olneyi), which is found even in the middle of the
stream a short distance from the boiling spring. Farther along where
the water was cooler, beard grass (Polypogon m.on$peliensis\ S&.rpus
americamis, and prairie bulrush (Scirpus campesPris) throve, farther

26 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

removed from the hot water, and evidently in earth containing con-
siderable soluble salt, were small areas of giant rye grass (Elymm
condensatus), wild wheat (Ely mux triticoides), and squirrel tail (Hor-
deumjiihdhini). Everywhere there was a robust growth of salt grass,
which was very heavily covered with the secretion so characteristic of
it in this region. All these were, of course, grazed to a large extent.
Attention is called to the fact that our animals refused to feed on the
salt grass here for the first time, owing, no doubt, to this covering of
salt.

In places on the edges of the desert there is another salt-secreting
plant En nan us higelovU (?) (No. 535 Griffiths and Hunter), which the
writer has met with several times. It is always most abundant and is
most abundantly supplied with the secretion in the vicinity of borax
deposits. Last year it was found to be very common near Wild Horse
and again at this place. The salt secreted by this plant, however, is
very different from that of the salt grass, inasmuch as it assumes a
crystal ine structure when dry.

About 1 miles from the hot spring mentioned, we came across a
very peculiar cool spring in the middle of the Black Rock desert.
The area immediately surrounding this spring is interesting in show-
ing the plants that thrive to the best advantage in this strikingly alka-
line situation, especially since all those which grow here are of value
for grazing purposes. This spring was situated in a hillock about 12
feet high in the middle of the level salt desert. The water formerly
broke out at the top of the mound, but now comes from the side and
runs only a few feet, before it sinks into the ground. There was a
scattering growth of salt grass all around the hillock and on the shady
side a thick growth of grease wood. The seepage ran out on the
desert about 50 feet and sank into the ground. A patch of squirrel-
tail (Hordeinn jvbatum) and Scirpus a/mericanm was growing in the
seepage water. This was practically the only pasturage found for our
animals on the entire trip of 100 miles from Deep Hole to Lovelock.
The plants specified above formed the only vegetation aside from some
of the blue-green algae forming a scum over the entire surface of the
ground, which was kept moist. The water, although cool, was
intensely alkaline.

It is to be understood, of course, that the region which was traversed
between Smoke Creek and Lovelock is used mainly as a winter range
for sheep. There are in this region a few cattle camps, and the Deep
Hole Company has control of the Granite Mountain region, in which
there is, of course, better feed. In places between Rabbit Hole and
Lovelock, and especially eastward from Pyramid Lake, there are very
extensive areas of white sage {Eurotia lunata) on the mesas and foot-
hills and very often extending into the mountains. The finest areas
of this plant seen were located 20 miles or so north of Lovelock and

MEADOWS AND HAY CEOPS. 27

in the vicinity of Rye Patch. This, together with saltbush (Atriplex
confertifolia), hud sage, hop sage, and red sage, constituted the main
browse, while the grass feed is produced mainly by Indian millet
( Oryzopsis cuspidata) on the lower sandy areas and Buckley's bluegrass
\Poa buckleyana), Wheeler's bluegrass (Poa wheeleri), and a little
sheep fescue on the higher areas. Very little of the latter was seen
in this vicinity, but it was very abundant in the pine forest mountains
to the northeast of here last year.

The condition of the feed now as compared with former times is
very difficult to estimate. There has been so little attention paid to
the purely winter grazing grounds that there are but few data regard-
ing them. Water is so scarce here that pasturing is possible only
when there is a heavy fall of snow, and the character of the vegetation
is such that it is of but little value except for winter feed. Conse-
quently the thousands of sheep which winter in the region live on
browse of the desert during the winter months. If the snowfall is
copious they are able to get down to the mesa, but during dry winters
they feed around the summits of the mountains, within traveling dis-
tance of snow, which is often their only source of water for several
months of the year. It is to be understood, of course, that many
flocks of sheep congregate around such places as Lovelock and Carson
Sink for the purpose of obtaining hay for a portion of their winter
ration, and thousands are driven here to be fattened for the markets.
Consequently this desert, which to the ordinary observer has neither
feed nor water, is of great importance, for it supplies feed of a coarse
kind upon which thousands of sheep pass several months without other
expense than herding. As stated in last year's report, there is need
of close study of these ranges in the winter season, something which
has not yet been attempted.

Although the feed is mainly browse, there occurs somewhat of a
change of ration between late fall and spring. The white sage, red
sage, hop sage, and saltbush are mainly of value as early winter for-
age, while the bud sage becomes valuable in late winter, when the hud-
like twigs begin to develop, the young leaves and tender shoots being
relished by all stock. At this season there are also many winter
annuals, which are eaten by sheep especially.

MEADOWS AND HAY CROPS.

The main cultivated crops throughout the region described are four
in number -alfalfa, timothy, redtop, and grain. Throughout the
entire region alfalfa is the main irrigated crop, especially in the lower
areas, while along the higher courses of streams in poorly drained
areas timothy and redtop are extensively grown, drain for hay is
the common and prevalent crop in the wheat areas. In the North

28 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

Yakima region considerable clover, orchard grass, and Kentucky blue-
grass are raised, the latter usually for pasture. While bluegrass
thrives here, it is not considered a paying crop for hay, especially
when compared with timothy and alfalfa.

ALFALFA.

It is not necessary to go into details regarding alfalfa, as its growth
in this general regfion has recently been discussed at considerable length
by a member of the office staff. Some additional points with refer-
ence to it, however, are of sufficient importance for record at this time.

It is unusual, especially in the West, to attempt to grow alfalfa
without irrigation, but a few experiments observed appear to indicate
that production in this way may become of some importance in certain
favored localities. Two small areas with no irrigation whatever were
seen near Prescott, Wash., which bore much promise. The best of
these was on the farm of U. L. Malloy. about 7 miles from Prescott.
This had not been cut when seen, but it would yield, apparently, about
2 tons of dry feed per acre. Another area a short distance west of
Ritzville, in the same State, also showed considerable promise. Here
it was evidently intended to be used as a summer pasture for hogs.
The growing of alfalfa without irrigation deserves attention, for there
are probably many limited areas in this general region where it can be
grown successfully without the aid of an artificial water supply/'

The ability of this crop to withstand large amounts of soluble salts
in the soil was especially noted at Lovelock. It is truly remarkable
what has been done in the upper settlements here in the reclaiming of
alkaline desert lands. Much of the best alfalfa land above Lovelock,
where the finest crops are now grown, was recently what is popularly
known as "hillv srrease-wood land," which is always alkaline. This
land is characterized by having a rather heavy growth'of grease wood
and saltbush (Atriplex torreyana), with the bushes as a rule situated
on mounds 1 to 3 feet high, making of the generally level plain
a very rough and uneven surface. Before the land can be handled at
all the brush must be gotten rid of and the mounds must be leveled
off; then comes the task of getting an alfalfa crop established. To
one who is not an expert in alfalfa culture the task would appear hope-
less. A grain crop, usually wheat or barley, is raised for one or two
years, until the land is subdued, when alfalfa is sown, in the majority
of cases without a nurse crop. The surface salt in the heaviest deposits
is removed by Hooding and draining rapidly just before the seed is

»A. S. Hitchcock. Cultivated Forage Crops <>f the Northwestern states. Bulletin
No. 31, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, l'"»:;.

''Alfalfa is grown quite successfully without irrigation in the wheat-growing dis-
tricts of eastern Washington, yielding out- and sometimes two cuttings a year.—

W. J. s.

MEADOWS AND HAY CROPS. 29

sown, when this is possible. When once the plants have become estab-
lished and a soil cover is obtained the battle appears to be nearly won,
for with a very moderate amount of water these soils produce much
better crops than the lighter better drained nonalkaline areas. Con-
stant care is necessary, however, for the breaking of the soil cover
over a small area, due to imperfect seeding- or too great an accumula-
tion of salt in the surface layers, soon allows salt grass to get a foot-
hold, and this needs no encouragement in such soil to take possession
very rapidly. With such a limited supply of water as has been avail-
able during the past few years it has evidently been exceedingly dif-
ficult to get a crop established. Mr. A. F. Campbell showed some
areas in one of his tields where it took live years to establish the crop.
It is a common thing here, it is said, to see portions of a field which
raise line crops having a very noticeable accumulation of salt on the
surface in the earl}' spring. This disappears with the establishment
of a soil cover. Indeed, several such areas were pointed out, and in
one case unmistakable crusts of salt forming 1 after the cuttinc of the
second crop were seen. Of course the margin between success and
failure under such conditions is very narrow, but the successful cul
ture of alfalfa on such lands points to this legume as the leading and
most promising alkali-resisting forage crop.

The greater part of the alfalfa in the valley is raised for sale, although
there are many large holders who feed all and more than they can pro-
duce themselves. In August, when this region was visited, the crop
was selling at $5 per ton in the stack, or $7.^0 per ton baled, f. o. b.
at Lovelock. Information from several sources indicates an average
yield of -I tons per acre, and the cost of handling it is estimated at
about $6 per acre. This leaves a clear profit of about $14 per acre.
It is not surprising under the circumstances that alfalfa land com-
mands high prices, nor is it strange that more land is brought under
cultivation than the water- supply justifies.

TIMOTHY AND REDTOP.

The methods of handling timothy and redtop, especially along the
upper courses of streams and narrow bottoms, and the reasons for the
same, are of interest. A very large proportion of these two crops,
except in the Ellensburg region, in Washington, along our line of
travel from Wenatchee to the British border, in the Blue Mountains,
along the Blitzen River, and in the Warner Mountains of California,
is raised on uncultivated land. The small amount of labor involved
doubtless accounts for this method of handling the crops, but in many
localities it is rendered necessary by the difficulty of getting on the
land in the mountain regions until very late in the spring, because of
the excessively moist condition of the soil. Again, in many situations
where magnificent crops of timothy and redtop are raised it is rather

30 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

risky to plow the ground, for in narrow bottoms through which large
volumes of water now at certain seasons of the year the breaking of
the land would result in all loosened portions being carried away by the
first freshet. After this, gullying- would follow very rapidly. In a
state of nature the sedges ( ( 'art x spp.) and the native clovers form very
effective soil binders in these places, and to disturb them without at the
same time introducing other plants which serve the same purpose would
be hazardous. The feed produced by these sedges, however, is rather
small in quantity and often poor in quality, especially when hay is desired.
The rancher therefore introduces timothy and redtop and supplants
the native forage plants and soil binders without disturbing the soil.
There appears to be no established time for seeding. Often the seed
is scattered on the snow. Sometimes it is sown in the fall and at
other times in the spring, apparently with equally good results.
Along the Okanogan River and Cow Creek, in Washington, as well as
in the Warner Mountains, in California, many fields of timothy were
seen which were established in this way. (PI. VII, fig. 1.) Some
fields yield as much as two and a half tons per acre. Along the Okan-
ogan and other streams in north central Washington there is a great
deal of brush, especially willow, alder, and wild rose. The practice
is to cut and grub these out, burn the brush, and scatter timothy and
redtop seed at the first favorable opportunity. Of course much more
seed is required when the land is not plowed, and it usually takes
several years to secure a good stand. Along Cow Creek some meadows
established twenty years ago on sod are in reasonably good condition
to-day, although they have been cut for hay and pastured during the
winter every year. The Grundlach Live Stock Company, whose hold-
ings lie between Smoke Creek and the Black Rock deserts, in Nevada,
follows the practice of running a clod crusher over its meadows in the
spring after the cattle are taken off, in order to break up the manure
which would otherwise be raked into the hay the following season.
Alsike clover sown with redtop and timothy here seems to thrive
better than red clover, and timothy is in time run out by redtop.
Neglected and improperly drained meadows are injured very much by
the encroachment of sedges and rushes, with salt grass and small cord
grass {Sparti/na gracilis) appearing in the more alkaline portions.

The amount of timothy and redtop seed scattered on uncultivated
land in this region is very great, some large holders, such as the
French-Glenn Live Stock Company, on the Dunderand Blitzen River,
and Babcock & Benson and P. H. Schnebly, in the AVenatchee Moun-
tains, using seed in ton lots. The two last-named holders are just
inaugurating their experiments and have secured no results, but the
first has much hay land established in this way. and its operations in
draining swamp lands will result in a very large increase in its
meadows in the near future.

MEADOWS AND HAY CROPS. 31

Iii Jess Valley, in the Warner Mountains of California, timothy
especially is being introduced, even into the rocky soils surrounding
the bottom-land meadows, by diverting the waters from the melting
snows to these areas and seeding in the manner already described.
Much of this land could never be cultivated, and a large portion of it
is altogether too rocky to be mowed without a great deal of labor
expended in removing the rocks; but the amount of feed secured from
such areas is greatly increased by this treatment. These areas are
usually reserved until the hay is removed from the meadows, when
cattle or sheep are turned into them for fall and winter pasturing. It
is common here, as well as in the other hay regions visited, for hay to
be sold in the stack, together with the feed in the Held, to be pastured
and fed out during the fall and winter as the stockman may wish, or
as may be agreed upon.

The methods employed in the irrigation of timothy and redtop in
many of the narrow valleys, especially the Okanogan, Cow Creek,
Si Ivies River and its tributaries, and Jess Valley, are very interesting,
inasmuch as they show that these grasses under certain conditions are
able to withstand large quantities of water for long periods. The
method of irrigation is a combination of ditching and damming pro-
cesses. The flood water in the early summer, May to July, is diverted
to the meadows in such a way as to cover them for periods varying
from ten days to two or more weeks at a time. Ordinarily this would
result in the destruction of these crops and in their being entirely sup-
planted by the sedges and the rushes. However, there is a large
measure of success attained by this method of handling the waters.
Being cool at this season and the water being in motion (i. e., flowing
water), there is not the usual injurious effect. Neither is the method
wasteful of water, for in a narrow T valley there is but little loss to the
irrigated lands below from having the waters spread out in this way
in the upper stream courses. In many cases it is actually an advan-
tage, as the flood waters are checked and distributed over a longer
period. It would appear that timothy and redtop grown on meadows
wdiich are occupied to a large extent by sedges and native clovers, when
handled in the manner described would need much more irrigation
than when grown on cultivated land. One of these areas along Silvies
River is shown in Plate VII, fig. 2, where these two crops, together
with some alfalfa on the better-drained sagebrush areas, are grown.

The most extensive timothy and redtop region visited was that of
the Kittitas Valley, at Ellensburg, Wash., from which much hay is
shipped every year, mainly to Coast points. The alfalfa shipped from
here is sold at about $4.50 per ton, while timothy and redtop sell for
about &ti.

32 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

AWN LESS BROME.

As is well known, one of the greatest brorne-grass regions which
lias been developed in tins country since seed of Bromv&inermis was
introduced by the U. S. Department of Agriculture some years ago is
the Palouse region in eastern Washington, but the cultivation of this
glass docs not appear to have spread to the westward and northward to
such an extent as one would expect. Awnless brome is grown in a
limited way, however, in a few of the localities visited, and in all cases
appeared to be promising. From the observations made, there seems
little doubt that in the Pacific Northwest it will grow and make good
returns wherever wheat can be raised for hay. Near the mouth of
the Okanogan River a small area of this grass on irrigated land was
seen that would cut at least 3 tons of dry feed per acre. An experi-
ment conducted in the Okanogan hills, about 8 miles from the British
border, was of much interest. An attempt was there being made to
raise this grass on rather poor upland soil without irrigation. In the
more favored spots in the field it made some hay, and nowhere in the
inclosure did it fail to yield twice as much pasturage as could ever be
expected on the native range pastures of the vicinity. Small areas of
this grass were seen in several other places in this region, but they
were usually in pastures, and sometimes this grass was considered by
the ranchers of little value on account of its not being able to withstand
close grazing well. It appeared to the writer, however, that in many
cases the difficulty resulted from the fact that the stock preferred this
to the native grasses, and that the poor development was owing to its
not having sufficient chance to make a growth."

Nowhere in the Blue Mountains was any awnless brome grass seen
until Izee was reached. There Mr. C. W. Bonham was experimenting
in a small but very intelligent way, having about an acre of it grow-
ing in a corner of his garden, some with and some without irrigation.
The experiment appeared very promising. Mr. Bonham reports that
it is difficult to get the grass started, but he thinks that if sown at the
proper time in a favorable year, and if irrigation were practiced, less
difficulty would be experienced. He believes that it will make a good
crop without irrigation when once a stand is secured. Some persons
in Bear Valley are said to be preparing to put in large acreages of
this grass next season. There is little doubt that it will succeed in
many places in these mountains, where a much poorer quality of hay
is now raised/'

"At the experiment station at Pullman, Wash., awnless brome Lrrass was less
injured by close grazing than any other grass. — 11'. -/. S.

''This .irrass yields a large crop of hay the second year from seed, hut thereafter is
adapted only to pasture purposes. — IT. •/. S.

MEADOWS AND HAY CROPS. 33

GRAIN HAY.

By far the greatest quantity of roughage in all the country traversed

outside of the irrigated areas is produced by the cereals sown in the
ordinary way and cut when the grain is a little under the "dough"
stage. Wheat, barley, and rye are especially the grains handled in
this manner. In the Big Bend, in Washington, wheat furnishes
almost the only hay in many places, the common practice being for
the farmer to get his hay crop from the edges of his wheat fields.
The wheat fields are "trimmed up" ten days or two weeks before
harvesting begins. This trimming consists in cutting two or three
swaths around the held while the straw is still green. Many wheat
raisers secure their entire hay supply in this way. It is also a com-
mon practice when bearded barley is raised for the grain to sow a strip
of wheat on the outside of the held, this being cut for hay.

This method of producing hay was more general on the north slope
of the Blue Mountains than in any other section visited. Two factors
contributed to the importance of the grain hay crop here, this year at
least. In the first place, the past season was very dry, and the wheat
crop consequently was very poor. On this account many fields were
cut for hay instead of grain when it became evident that the yield
would be small and poor at best. In tin 1 second place, being on the
border of the area where a demand exists for winter feed for stock,
Avheat hay is nearly as paying a crop as the wheat itself.

Wheat straw is largely made use of here as a winter ration, espe-
cially for cattle. The stockman usually buys a field of straw and
stubble, and winters his cattle very often with no other feed. This is
better than the short range of the present daj T , but the stock usually
come out of the winter in very poor condition. This method is a
decided advantage to the wheat and hay grower, for, in addition to the
ready cash, the land is improved Irv having the cattle upon it during
the winter season.

Rye is a very important hay crop all through the region, and it is
especially good on the sandy and poor soils along the Columbia and
Snake River bottoms and portions of the Eureka fiats, as well as on
better soil. It is by far the most productive sandy-land crop, but is a
rather exhausting one when the grain is allowed to mature. It appears
to be the leading hay crop in all new communities, and is very exten-
sively grown m the Blue Mountains, where especially good crops were
seen in the vicinity of Ulkiah and Izee. At the latter place it was
estimated that more hay was derived from this source than from all
others combined.

Of the grain crops sown primarily for hay, the awnless form of
barley is probably the one that is considered best. This is grown
largely in the wheat regions of Washington and in the Blue and the

25974— No. 38— 03 3

34 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

Warner mountains, as well as in the Okanogan region and the irri-
gated communities of Ellensburg, North Yakima, and Lovelock. Nev.
It is a common practice in the irrigated localities, when alfalfa fields
have become thin owing to the length of their establishment, lack of
care, overirrigation, or accumulation of alkali, to sow barley or wheat,
cither in drills or broadcast, early in the spring. This answers sev-
eral beneficial purposes. The first crop of hay cut is greatly increased,
the fields are in much better tilth, and a more perfect soil cover is
secured early in the season, preventing a rapid evaporation from the
soil during the spring and consequently decreasing the soluble salt
content of the surface layers. It is said that this crop does not act
injuriously on the alfalfa. It is a common practice also to scatter
alfalfa seed in the meadows at the same time. This kind of a mixture
makes excellent hay. and nearly doubles the quantity secured at the
first cutting.

CHEAT.

Cheat" and grain (wheat, barley, and rye) are the main hay crops in
the Blue Mountains of Oregon. The majority of the ranchers spoken
with consider cheat superior to grain hay as feed for cattle and sheep.
A few fields were seen in Washington, but it is not by any means so
common there. It is not considered as good feed as timothy and red-
top, but it makes a better yield on higher and drier areas than these
crops. Nearly all ranchers in the Blue Mountains make a distinction
between cultivated cheat and what they call wild cheat, which is
described as the short-awned brome (Bromus inarginatus) in the
publications of the United States Department of Agriculture.

BOOT CROPS.

Some sheep men on the north slope of the Blue Mountains are
beginning to raise considerable quantities of mangel -wurzels, beets,
and carrots for the winter feeding of sheep. Messrs. J. E. Smith &
Sons, who have the largest sheep interests in this area, report good
success in their experiments in this direction. They are obliged at
the present time to feed their sheep thirty to fifty days, as compared
with ten days or two weeks years ago, when there was more open
range. Thus far they have produced crops of this nature for only a
limited number of their flocks, and these are fed mainly during 1 the
lambing season. The root-- are chopped with a machine and fed with
no further preparation. They consider these crops very profitable
for this purpose. It is quite probable that ruta-bagas could be profit-
ably added to this list.

'' The species grown here appears t<> belong to Bromus racemosus rather than Bro-
mus secalinus, under which name it is handled by seedsmen.

MEADOWS AND HAY CROPS. 35

NATIVE HAY CROPS.

Wild wheat (Elymvs triticoides). — This is without doubt the most
important native hay plant of the region. It is known locally as blue-
joint. Attention was called to this crop last year, but its importance
was still more impressed upon the writer this year. In early days this
was the main hay crop in the vicinity of Lovelock, and the name "Bib
Meadows" is said to have originated from the extensive ureas of hay
land along the lower course of the Humboldt River where this was
the principal species. Wild wheat was not met with on our route in
any great quantities until we approached the Great Basin slope of the
Blue Mountains, except in one locality on the Okanogan bottoms,
where there was a large area of the white, or densely glaucous, form,
which was so abundant at Quinn River Crossing, near Winnemucca,
last year. At Izee, on the South Fork of the John Day River, it
appeared to be of considerable importance in both hay and pasture
land. Its best development, however, appears to be in the stiff,
rather poorly drained, heavy, nonalkaline soils of the Great Basin bot-
toms. Here it grows out to the edges of the sagebrush areas, and
often occurs in small quantities scattered for some distance into these
areas, so that when they are irrigated, as is often the case, this grass
springs up and extends with surprising rapidity, being spread, doubt-
less, to some extent by seeds, but more especially by its creeping root-
stocks.

In the Lovelock region at the present time it is considered a weed,
on account of the persistence with which it remains and spreads in
cultivated fields. When lands are being brought under control it is
very common to hud areas of this grass scattered through the fields for
some time, and it is almost invariably found along the irrigation
ditches, where it serves the useful purpose of holding the embankments.
Bunch Uuegrass {Poa laevigata).— Next in importance to the wild
wheat is the bunch bluegrass, which is sometimes known as wild red-
top. In the desert basins thousands of tons of this hay are cut each
year. It grows in somewhat similar situations to the wild wheat,
though usually on higher ground, and it appears to be able to with-
stand a greater amount of drought. Its habit of early maturing renders
it of extreme importance in the Great Basin region. Often the only
moisture which meadows obtain is from spring flooding, and this plant
appears to be able to mature a fairly good crop of hay under these
conditions. The most extensive areas of this grass were seen in the
Catlow and Guano valleys and in the Deep Hole region on the edge of
the Smoke Creek desert.

Giant rye grass (Elymus condenx<it<i»).—ln all localities visited this
is an important forage grass, but it is in the Great Basin that it attains
its greatest importance as a hay crop. If cut when in bloom it makes

36 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

fairly good hay, but if left standing longer than this it becomes very
hard and woody.

Sprangle top {Scolochloa festucacea).— As stated in last year's report,
the importance of this plant as a forage crop is surprising. Its dis-
tribution appears to be very local. The only place in this region
where the writer has seen the plant is in Harney Valley, and there
only in the vicinity of Malheur Lake, where it was fully reported upon
last year, and along the Dunder and Blitzen River, where it was just
as important as on the islands of Silvies River. Large quantities of
hay were made of it this year on some of the " P" ranches.

Miscellaneous forage plants.— A very large part of the native hay
throughout this region is obtained from the sedges and rushes, mixed
with more or less of the native clovers, of which Trifolium involuera-
tum and T. microcephalia are the most important on the lower areas
and T. oechwithii in the mountains. Trifolium cyathiferum should
also be mentioned as being of much value. Of the sedges, Carex
utriciclata, C. lanuginosa, C. tenella, ('. nebraskmsis, and C. douglasii
provide the greatest quantity of feed and are of importance in the
order named. They produce hay of less value than the grasses and
clovers, but are much superior to the rushes, which are represented
mainly by Juncus balticus, Eleocharis palustris, Scirpus campestris,
S. americanus, and the tule (S. lacusiris). Mention has been made of
the extraordinary area of Eleocharis palustris in the Grand Coulee.
Another equally striking illustration of the development of the Juncus
balticus, also known as wire grass, came under observation along Crab
Creek in Washington. Here it has been the practice for } T ears to
flood the meadows for a month or two after the hay crop has been
removed for the purpose of attracting wild ducks, which are fed and
systematically hunted during the open season, with the result that the
meadows have grown up to almost \)\xre Juncus Initials. This species
almost invariably occurred in greater or less quantity in all meadows
where timothy and redtop have been established without cultivation,
more especially where the water is not under good control and is
allowed to remain on the ground for long periods.

RECLAMATION OF SWAMP LANDS.

There were two regions on the route followed where gigantic opera-
tions were in progress for the drainage of swamp lands along streams
which have a slight fall and are without any defined channels. The
undertaking which came under direct observation was that inaugurated
and carried on by the French-Glenn Live Stock Company along the
Dunder and Blitzen River in eastern Oregon. This stream receives the
drainage of a large portion of the western slope of Steins Mountains

EECLAMATION OF SWAMP LANDS. 37

and empties into Malheur Lake. Both the upper and lower courses
have well-defined channels, but the middle course is a swamp, where
the water spreads over the bottoms and covers an area 8 to 10 miles in
width by 12 to 15 miles in length. The region is now a huge tide
swamp, where there is much feed around the edges, and cattle even
work their way out into the swamp long distances; but it is during
winter, when the ice is able to bear the cattle up, that the greatest
amount of benetit is derived from it. At the present time the returns
from the swamp are small. Besides this feature of small returns, the
losses in the spring are very heavy. Cattle are usually so weak at this
time of the year that when the ice begins to give way, they mire in
large numbers and have not the strength to wade out.

The intention at present is first to cut a channel for the river, and
then construct laterals as occasion demands for the purpose of draining
the area. When this is accomplished it will be necessary to devise a
method of irrigating this drained land properly. The construction is
so planned that the channel cut for the river will unite with a large
irrigating ditch covering a sagebrush Hat. The water is simply turned
on this sagebrush land at present, and what may is allowed to develop.
Later this area will no doubt become a valuable alfalfa meadow and
be irrigated systematically from the drainage waters derived from the
swamp.

When this swamp, which is to a large extent a mass of peat, has
been placed under control, the best crops to grow there will have to be
selected. There is little doubt that the most profitable will be forage
crops. The behavior of timothy and redtop all through the region
under little or no cultivation makes it quite certain that these grasses
will find an important place in the crops grown here in the future.

Similar areas have already been successfully drained along Pitt
River, in Modoc County. Cal. Here the tide swamp lands are prov-
ing exceedingly well adapted to alfalfa growing. It is stated on good
authority that some of the best alfalfa lands in the county are situ-
ated on these tide swamps.

The land in these swamps is. of course, exceedingly fertile, the
drainage slight, and the waters different from those usually found in
this region. They are not particularly alkaline, but are very highly
colored with dead herbage, as is the case in some of the swamp lands
in the Southern States.

The drainage of these areas, although a big undertaking, is only a
portion of the difficulty involved in their handling. The method of
managing them after they are drained and the crops best suited to
them are problems which will require much careful investigation.

38 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

NEEDS OF THE REGION.

On account of such diversity of conditions it will be necessary to con-
sider certain divisions of the territory more or less separately.

The greatest need of the Washington region, aside from the Okano-
gan River drainage area, is summer feed. As stated, this is principally
a sheep region, where the animals are pastured the greater part of the
year on the desert mesas of the Big Bend and contiguous regions in the
winter and in the mountains for about three and one-half months
during summer. The need of having animals in good condition in the
fall, both for market and for entering the winter, and the necessity of
an abundance of green feed for the best development of the lamb*
render these limited highland summer pastures of great importance to
the sheep grower. On the other hand, winter feed is more abundant;
for the deserts are extensive, and the irrigated hay lands, such as those
of the North Yakima and Ellensburg regions, are producing more hay
every } T ear. For 3 r ears past such communities have been shipping hay
in large quantities to Coast points; in other words, they produce more
hay than the}' can feed at home. For the greatest economy it is evi-
dent that the effort should lie to increase summer feed so that enough
stock can be summered in the region to consume the winter feed at
home, thus saving transportation on raw material.

It was considerations of this kind that led Messrs. Benson and Bab-'
cock to offer to cooperate with the Department of Agriculture for the
purpose of determining what could be done to increase the summer
feed in the Wenatchee Mountains, in which they are interested.

Messrs. F. E. Benson and W. H. Babcock have come into posses-
sion of a large body of railroad land in the Big Bend at Trinidad, and
a similar but smaller area in the Wenatchee Mountains southwest of
Wenatchee. Their purpose has been to organize a sheep ranch on a
sound basis, having definitely provided both summer and winter feed
on lands which they control either by title or rental, instead of depend-
ing upon the open range for the larger part of both seasons 1 feed and
being compelled to go out of business sooner or later, as is the case
with so many of the stockmen in the West. The recognition of their
need of more and better summer feed, which is the need of the region
in general, induced them to offer to cooperate with the Department of
Agriculture in experiments to improve the forage conditions of the
summer grazing grounds by donating the use of an entire section of
fenced land wherein experiments could be conducted. This offer has
been accepted by the Department, and experiments have been begun
under the direction of the Agrostologist. The objects of these investi-
gations will be the introduction of forage plants which will increase
the feed on highland pastures; a study of the effect of systematic
grazing as compared with present methods, and of seeding at different
seasons of the year, both with and without cultivation: a study of local

■-

NEEDS OF THE KEGION. 39

meteorological conditions as affecting the growth of forage plants; a
study of the native vegetation in its relation to the stock industry,
and such other problems as may present themselves during the prose-
cution of the investigations.

The land set aside for the experiments is well adapted to this pur-
pose. Being located in a typical grazing area and having been excess-
ively pastured for a number of years, any advantage gained by treat-
ment will point to methods of renovating denuded ranges. The land
is described in the Government surveys as Sec. 23, T. 20 N., R. 20 E,
and is locally known as the Babcock headquarters section, on account
of the corrals located there. It has an altitude of approximately 5,000
feet. The region was gone over rather hurriedly in June; At this
time there was no feed. Although the snow was still lying on the
ground in deep drifts, the tract had already been pastured this season,
for at that time none of the land was inclosed. Mr. J. S. Cotton, who
has been placed in immediate charge of the work, reports that grasses
have been nearly exterminated over a large part of the tract. The
section, being located on the line of travel to and from the high moun-
tains, has been grazed twice each season, in June and October, for a
number of years. The soil is badly packed and cut by the Hocks of
sheep which have tramped over the ground while it was still wet from
melting snows. In many places the soil has begun to wash badly.

While this is rather an extreme case of denudation, it nevertheless
represents the exact condition of much of the range country at the
present time, and shows what much more of it will become shortly
if present methods are pursued. Any success in reestablishing the
grass cover will be extremely important for all highland pasture
regions.

Mr. Benson most aptly expresses the necessity for this work, as well

as the needs of the region in general, in a letter to the Agrostologist,

as follows:

The shortening of summer pasture by forest reserve regulations ami the overgraz-
ing by sheep of the remaining pastures, coupled with the greatly increasing alfalfa
production in the irrigated valleys to supplement the winter ranges, make the sum-
mer range more and mure disproportionate to the winter range, until the important
question now is, " How much stock can you carry through the summer?" and not
what it has heretofore been in this country, "How are you fixed for hay? And how-
much stock can you winter?" Therefore it becomes very important to know what
grasses or forage plants will do the best and yield the greatest amount of good pasture.

In the Blue and the Warner mountains the main problem is one of
hay production. The winters here are more severe and stock must
be fed for longer periods each year. Of course, the summer feed is
also very short at times on account of the thousands of sheep which
summer in these mountains. But the communities established here have
managed in a measure to reserve some feed for themselves by estab-
lishing "dead lines*' against sheep and by maintaining them at times
with force.

40 FOKAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

Several of these communities are developing the dairy industry
quite rapidly, and already Camas Prairie butter is of some importance
in the local markets. The necessity of good pastures and hay crops
for the proper development of this industry is obvious.

While much has been done by the Department of Agriculture and
the State experiment stations in the development of the forage
resources of the West, very little attention has been given in this
country to experiments in this line in the mountains. The peculiar
conditions existing in these mountain settlements render the necessity
for new hay and pasture plants particularly pressing. In many local-
ities the ranchers and farmers are already experimenting on their own
account and will determine in time, by a laborious and expensive
process, what could very properly be determined at public expense.
The difficulties encountered by these farmers are enhanced by the
practice, common with certain seedsmen, of foisting upon the farmer,
under a new and frequently high-sounding name, some worthless
weed, or some plant of very limited usefulness. To illustrate: Some
people have invested considerable money in the seed of a supposedly
new forage crop under the name of '"Billion-dollar grass." and were
surprised when they were informed that it was an annual grass, and
much chagrined when they got no results on dry land without irriga-
tion, or when with irrigation on rich alluvial deposits they secured,
only a scattering growth of the common barnyard grass — a common
weed all over the United States.

As stated elsewhere, grain, hay. and cheat are the main hay crops
in these mountain settlements at present. These certainly can be
improved upon. Some timothy and red top are grown, and awnless
brome is being gradually introduced. It appears to the writer that
some work of an experimental nature would be very desirable in these
mountain communities. A series of experiments conducted here for
about three years with a carefully selected list of about fifty foraare
plants would demonstrate what forage crops could be grown to advan-
tage at these high altitudes and would be of inestimable benefit to the
pioneers who are building homes here.

In the numerous desert basins where water available for irrisration
can be secured for only a. short period, or, in other words, where the
meadows can be irrigated in late winter only and where now the sedges
and rushes are the main hay crops, the need of a perennial hay plant
that will mature early is evident. The native plant, bunch bluegrass
{Pod laevigata), seems the most promising for this purpose. As previ-
ously stated, this furnishes much hay at the present time and appears
well adapted to this form of treatment. The characteristics which make
this a valuable grass are discussed elsewhere and need not be repeated
here, it is possible that some annual crops might be found to be
profitable here, but it must be considered that the returns per acre,

INJURIOUS PLANTS AND WEEDS. 41

which are very small, make the profits from the cultivation of large
areas for annual crops rather problematical.

In practically all of the irrigated districts where alfalfa i- raised the
settlers were nearly all looking for some strain of alfalfa which will
thrive with less water than the common stock. The introduction of
Turkestan seed a few years ago having resulted indifferently, attention
has recently been attracted to "dry-land" alfalfa, concerning which
much has appeared in periodicals during the past year. The growing
tendency in all the irrigated districts to bring more land under culti-
vation than can be properly irrigated has emphasized the demand for
a crop that may be grown with little or no irrigation in arid climate-.
Correlated with a scarcity of water is the accumulation of alkali, which
calls for the development of strains resistant thereto.

The matters just mentioned, together with the determination of the
best method of handling the swamp lands and the best hay crops to
grow upon them, appear to be the most important forage problems
of the region.

PLANTS INJURIOUS TO STOCK.

But little can be added t<> what was said hist year regarding poison-
ous plants in pastures and meadows. In all swampy places, especially
in the vicinity of springs, there occur more or less wild parsnips
[Cictda vagans). This and larkspur {Delphinium scopulorum) are
dreaded by ranchers in the spring of the year, especially in the Great
Basin region.

The slender fescues (Festuca microstachya and F. octqfiora) arc said
to cause injury about the time that the seed is ripening. The injury
is done by the seed working its way into the walls of the animal's
stomach. This is reported on what is, without doubt, reliable testi-
mony from two observers, both of whom were in position to form
opinions from post-mortem examinations. Mechanical injuries of this
nature are not at all uncommon, the best-known examples being those
caused by squirrel-tail grass {Hordeum jubatwn), the awns of which
work their way into the lining membranes of the mouth, and needle
grass (Stipa spp.), the seed and awns of which work their way into
the wool and flesh of the sheep. To these might be added the triple-
awned grass (Aristida americana) and six weeks' grass {Bouteloua
aristoides) of the Southwest, which are dangerous to sheep at certain
seasons, the awned seeds in the first instance and the spikelets in the
second case acting in the same way as the seed of the needle grasses.

WEEDS OF MEADOWS AND PASTURES.

The ordinary annual weeds of the farm can not combat with alfalfa
as handled in the irrigated West. Wild lettuce, which is a serious
pest in parts of the wheat region, soon disappears from the field when

42 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

properly handled in alfalfa culture. The weeds which thrive in alfalfa
are those which propagate by running- rootstocks. Two such grasses,
salt grass and wild wheat {Ely mux triticoides), are at times quite con-
spicuous and much dreaded in the Lovelock district. It is a very
common thing here to see patches of these two grasses, but more espe-
cially the former, making their appearance in alfalfa meadows and
spreading with surprising rapidity. The salt grass is by far the most
troublesome, because it finds in these soils congenial conditions, which
at the same time are detrimental to the crop. Through cultivation,
application of manure, and reseeding with alfalfa, or even a temporary
grain-hay crop, which gives a soil cover, this weed can be kept in check.
Although the salt grass is looked upon here as a weed, it would seem
that the real trouble is with the soil and not so much with the weedy
tendency of the grass. If the soluble salt content of the soil is kept
down by the methods already enumerated, salt grass will not find
congenial conditions. The difficultv seems to be simply one of alkali
and not of weeds. The wild wheat, or blue joint, on the other hand,
does not thrive in particularly alkaline soil, and is really a plant that
can be handled as easily as the western wheat grass {Agropyron occi-
dental^) on the prairies of the Great Plains.

Blue flag {Iris mdssouriensis^ PI. X, fig. 2) is a very serious pest in
moist pastures. In portions of the Wen as Valley where pastures
were overstocked there was a complete soil cover of this weed in
many native meadows. In many places where it develops to this
extent it would be hazardous to break the soil, for fear that it might
be washed away. However, mowing would do much toward getting
rid of blue flag, and an attempt should be made at every favorable
opportunity to establish a more complete crop of timothy and redtop
in such localities.

The dandelion is also a very serious pest in native meadows and
pastures which have been in use a long time in northwestern Nevada
and northeastern California. It has spread very rapidly of late in
many sections of the West where little or no cultivation is practiced.
It has been introduced doubtless with timothy and redtop, which are
largely employed throughout the region to supplement and supplant
the native vegetation. It is all the more serious because it is intro-
duced in places where, on account of the location of the arable land in
narrow strips along rivulets, its destruction by cultivation, which is
the only known method of eradicating it, is impracticable or, in
certain localities, hazardous, on account of danger of erosion when
the sod is broken up.

The native plants which become weedy in the more humid localities
under conditions of overstocking have been discussed elsewhere.

DISEASES INJURIOUS TO FORAGE CROPS. 43

DISEASES INJURIOUS TO FORAGE CROPS.

All of the more important diseases of forage plants observed were
caused by various species of smuts. This class of parasitic fungi
injures more than one would suppose the development of native eco-
nomic plants. While this is true, so little is known of the life history
of these species that no-suggestion can be made regarding their control
further than to state that the spread of those species which attack hay
plants could probably be checked by careful mowing and the removal
of hay from affected fields before the grasses head out, The acreages
are so large and the returns from them so small, however, that it is
doubtful whether any method which would be successful would be
financially j ustiliable.

Ustilago hypodites. — In portions of the Great Basin, as well as in the
Okanogan region in Washington, a very large amount of damage is
done by this smut. It attacks both giant rye grass and salt grass,
transforming the undeveloped portions of the plants within the upper
leaf sheaths into a black powdery mass. It was especially destructive
in the Quinn River and Alvord regions in Nevada and Oregon last
year, and again this year in Surprise Valley, California, and at Love-
lock, Nev., on both hosts.

Ustilago scolochloa. — This smut attacks the valuable sprangle top
(Scolochloa festucacea). Its black, sooty spores break through the
epidermis on the upper side of the leaves, stunt the growth of all the
leaves, prevent the upper ones from opening, and entirely destroy the
seed. At the "sod house'' on the lower course of the Dunder and
Blitzen River some meadows, in which one-half to two-thirds of the
vegetation consisted of this grass, had fully one-half of the plants
smutted.

Tilletia fusca. — The hosts of this smut, the slender fescues (Fcs-
titca octoflora and F. microstachya), are annual plants, depending-
entirely upon seed for their reproduction. The fungus in this case
transforms the seed into a black horn-like structure, filled w^ith a com-
pact black mass of spores, entirely destroying it in practically the
same manner as the bunt destroys the kernel of wheat. Nothing 1 short
of the excellent seed habits possessed by these grasses would enable
them to thrive at all, for there are many localities in eastern Wash-
ington where upward of three-fourths of the plants had all their seed
destroyed. Reference is especially made to the region about 25 miles
north of Prosser, where the above statement would be no exaowra-
tion. At the same time another species of smut ( Ustilago mulfordina)
did some injury also.

Ustilago bromivora. — The seed production of the valuable short-
awned brome grass (Bromus ?narginatus), as well as that of the closely
related cheat, is very materially reduced by this smut. The injury to

44 FORAGE CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS.

the form of Bromus secalinus which has escaped from cultivation and
grows as a weed seems to be much more pronounced than that of the
cultivated form, which, as previously stated, corresponds more closely
to Brom/us racemosus.

Ustilago striseformis. — This common disease did more injury to
timothy in Jess Valley, California, than the writer has ever observed
elsewhere. It appeared to be confined here to well-drained areas,
which were abundantly supplied by seepage from ditches, rather than
to the more poorly drained or the drier portions of the meadows.

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS.
NEEDS OF THE KEGION.

The sheep industry is more in need of summer pasture than anything
else. This is accounted for by the settling up of mountain meadows,
the development of alfalfa regions, and the withdrawal of land from
the public domain for timber reserves.

The mountain communities of the Blue and the Warner mountains
need to have determined what hay and pasture crops can be grown in
these highland regions to best advantage.

In the desert basins, where Avater for irrigation can be obtained for
only a very short time, there is need of an early maturing perennial
grass.

The alfalfa growers call for tw T o new varieties of alfalfa — one which
will survive with less water than the common form, and one which
will resist the effect of soluble salts in the soil. The development of
these two strains can be secured only through careful experimentation.

ABUSES.

The whole subject of abuses can be summed up under the head of
overstocking, but there appear to lie two practices which need special
attention. At present stock are allowed on high mountain pastures
too late in the spring. They should be taken from these pastures as
soon as frost begins to disappear, so that the sod will not be injured.
Even the carefully handled tame pastures of the East will not stand
grazing at this period.

The second abuse of the range to which the writer wishes to call
attention is the "cayuse nuisance." With the decline in the price of
horses about 1894 these animals were allowed to run wild, with prac-
tically no attention, many herds not even being rounded up and
branded. Under these conditions, of course, the horses multiplied
and deteriorated rapidly on account of inbreeding, resulting in the
overstocking' of the ranges with animals which were all but worthless.
It was this condition which led the legislature of Nevada, in IS'.)", to

SUMMARY AND SUGGESTIONS. 45

enact a law providing- for the destruction of these "unbranded wild"
animals. During- the past three years thousands of these horses have
been shipped out of the country (PI. VIII, fig. 2), thereby relieving
the situation very much; but there are still altogether too many of
them on the ranges. The quantity of range feed consumed by a good
animal is no more than that eaten by one of these almost worthless

'• cayuses."

NATIVE GRASSES WORTHY OF CULTIVATION.

Wild wheat [Elymus triticoides). — It appears to the writer that wild
wheat is worthy of extended trial under cultivation. It is promising
in stiff soils where there is considerable moisture up to the middle of
June. It is also of some promise for holding clay banks which wash
badly in the more humid regions.

Bunch Uuegrass {Poa laevigata). — The large quantity of excellent
hay made of this grass all through the region traversed, as well as
its good seed habits, make it a promising plant for cultivation.

Short-awned brome (Bromus marginatus). — In the highland region
there is no native plant that gives more promise than this. At the
present time large quantities of it are common all through the moun-
tains in poorly cultivated fields. In Fox Valley several fields of cheat
were seen where one-half of the yield consisted of this native species.
When cut in season the quality is good, and its seed habits are excel
lent, resembling those of rescue grass more closely than any of the
cultivated species of this genus.

Mountain rye grass (Elym us glaucus). — Observations in mountainous
regions tend to indicate that this species is of some promise. Several
limited areas in the Blue and the Warner mountains suggest that it
might be made use of in cultivation. A careful examination into the
conditions in the Rocky Mountains, especially in the vicinity of Sum-
mit, Mont., strongly confirms this opinion.

Bunch wheat grass (Ag r< >py r< > n xptcatum inerme). — The importance
of this grass on the native ranges and the successful attempts which
have already been made to grow it leave little doubt as to its value for
cultivation, although the hay made from it is rather hard and wiry.
Its value as a pasture plant may be questioned on account of its ina-
bility to withstand trampling. Some ranchers stoutly maintain that
when once closely grazed it will not recover in a reasonable length of
time.

Giant rye </russ (Elymus cona\ nsatus). — The excellent seed habits of
giant rye grass, its large yield, and its ability to thrive on stilt', hard-
pan soil along with salt grass render it of considerable promise for
cultivation, especially in the Great Basin region.

INDEX OF GRASSES AND FORAGE PLANTS.

Page.

Achillea millefolium 22

Agfopyron sp 24

occidentah 42

spicatum 16, IS, 19, 20, 21

inerrne - 19, 45

Agrostis asperifolip. '. 21

Alfalfa 28, 31

Allium madid nm 22

Alopecurus geniculatus 18

Amelanchier alnifolia 23

Aristida amerieana 41

Arnica alpina 22

Artemesia arbusada 18, 20, 22

rigida 18, 20

spinesa ns 24, L 5

tridentata 1 7, 24

Atriple.c couferti folia 24, 25, 26

nuttallii 24

torreyi 25, 28

Audibertia ineana 20

Awnlesa 1 in >me grass 32

Balaam root 1 7, 22

Balsamorrhiza careyana 17

ineana 22

sagittata 17

Beard grass 25

Bed straw 25

Beets 34

Bigelovia gravi oh ns 17, 19

Billion-dollar grass 40

Black sage. 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 27

Black sunflower 17, 22

Blue flag 42

Bouteloua aristoidi s 41

Brom us 'menu is 32

marginatum '. . 21 , 34, 43, 45

racemosus 34, 43

secalinus 16, 34, 43

tectorum 16

Buckley's bluegrass 25, 27

Bud sage 24, 25, 27

Bulrush 25

Bunch bluegrass 18, 35, 40, 45

Bunch wheat grass 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 45

47

4S INDEX.

Page.

Burnet 21

Calochortus nuttallii 22

Carex spp 30

flduglasii 36

geyeri 21

lanuginosa 36

in brash nsis 36

t< nella 36

utriculata „ 36

( 'eanothus velutinus 21

Cheat 34

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus - 25

( icuta vagans 41

Clarkia pulchella 22

Clover 21

Creeping sj >ike rush 18

Danthonia californica 21

Dt schampsia esespitosa 21

calycina 22

Delphinium scopulorum 41

Distichlis spicata IS, 24, 25

Dondia depressa erecta 24, 25

Downy oat grass 21

Eleocharis palustris 18, 36

Elymus condi nsatus 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, 35, 45

glaucu8 21 , 45

triticoides 26, 35, 42, 45

Erigeron aplvxnactus 22

Eriogonums 20

Eriogonum dichotomum 20, 25

heracloides 22

In rmanii 25

microthecium 25

sphserocephalum 20'

thymoides 20

Eriotrichum californicum 21

En mi n us bigelovii (?) 26

Eurotia lanata 25, 26

Fi slum microstachya 17, 20, 41, 43

octoflora 17, 41, 43

ovina 21

Gaillardia aristata , 22

G nl in in multiftorum 25

Gayophytum ramosissimum 20

Geum triflorum t 22

Giant rye-grass 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, 35, 43, 45

( filia aggrt gala 22

jiiimji iis , 20, 25

Go< tsel terry 23

Grayia spinosa 24, 25

< Urease vvoocl 18, 24, 25

H'ji'Ii urn jubatum . 26, 41

INDEX. 49

Page.

Hop sage 24, 2o, 26

Indian millet 24. 25, 27

Indian wheat 16

Iodine weed 24, 25

Iris missouriensis 42

Juncus balticus ,:>,<1

Kentucky bine grass 21

Knotweed 21, 22

Kochia americana 2o

Km h rin cristata 1"> 21, 24

Larkspur 41

Lino nth US hnrl.ni ssii 21

I, nil n it in m leptocarpum --

Lupine --

Lupinus sulphureus 22

Lygodesmia juncea 20

spinosa 2a

Mangel-wurzels 34

Matricaria discoidt a -1

Melic grass -^

Mi Jim subulata ' 21

Mountain ash 23

Mountain rye grass 21, 45

Navarretia brt weri 21, 22

Needle grass 16, 20, 21, 24, 41

Nevada hlnegrass 16, 1*

Nuttall's saltbush 24

Oat grass 21

Onii hi 22

Orchard barley 21, 24

Oryzopsis cuspidxda 24. 25. i (

Pahute weed 2o

Phleum alpinum 21

Phloxes 21 . 22

Phlox gracilis 22

Pine 21

Pine grass 21

Pinas ponderosa 21

]'< nstemon atlenualua 22

Plantain 1 6. 1 7

Plantago fastigiaia ,.,.., 16

purshii 16, 1/

Poa buckleyana 21, 25, 2~i

Ik vigata 18, 35, 45

nevadensis 16, 20, 21

Pun pratensis 21

sandbergii 16, 20, 21

irln < leri v 16, 20, 27

Polygonum douglasii 21, 22

/ olypogon monspeliensis 2o

Poplar 2:;

Polerium annuum 21

Prairie bulrush 25

25974— No. 38—03 4

50 INDEX.

Page.

Prairie June grass 16, 17, 21, 24

Purshia iridentata 23

Pyrus sambucifolia 23

Kay less golden-rod 17, 19, 25

Red sage 25, 27

Red top 29, 31

Ribes aureum 23

cereum 23

lacustre 23

luteum ' 23

Ruta-baga 34

Sagebrush 17, 31

Saltbush : 18, 24, 25, 27

Salt grass 18, 24, 25, 30, 43

Sandl ierg's bluegrass -. 16, 20

Sarcobatus vermiculalus 24, 25

Scirpus american us 25, 26, 36

campestris 25, 36

lacustris 36

olneyi 25

Scolochloa festucacea 36, 43

Scrophularia orthocarpus 22

Sedum douglasii 22

Service berry 23

Sheep fescue 17, 20, 21, 27

Short-awned brome 21, 34,' 45

Six weeks' grass 41

Sitanion longifolium 21, 24

villosum 24

Slender fescue 41

Small cord grass 30

Snow berry 23

Snow brush 21

Spartina gracilis 30

Spirostachys occidentalis 24, 25

Sprangle top 36, 43

Squirrel-tail grass 26, 41

Stipa sp 41

columbiana 16

williamsii 16

thurberiana 20, 21, 24

viridula 21

Suseda 24

Symplxoriocarpus oreoph Uus 23

Tetradym ia canesa m 20, 25

spinosa 25

Till< tia fusca 43

Timothy 21, 28, 31, 43

Trifolium dttimmum 21

beckvAUui 21, 36

cyathiferum 21, 36

involucralum 21, 36

microcephalum 36

plumosum 21

INDEX. 51

>J -L

Page.

Triple-awned grass 41

Triselum mbapicatum 21

Tule 36

Tussock grass 21

I T stilogo bromivora 43

hypodites 43

mulfordiana 43

scolochloti 43

strixform is 44

Water foxtail 18

Weedy br< >me grasses 16

Western wheat-grass 42

Wheat-grass 24

Wheeler's bluegrass 16, 17, 27

White sage 25, 26

White top 21

Wild parsnip 41

Wild wheat 26, 35, 42, 45

Willow 23

Wi/etltiti amplexicaulis 17, 22

Yarrow 22

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. i Frontispiece, i Map of Pacific Northwest, showing route traveled.

II. Fig. 1. — A good summer sheep range in the Blue Mountains of Oregon. In
the foreground are willows, alders, and the service berry. On the hill-
side to the left is seen Piirshia tridenlata, with a liberal supply of the
common grasses. Fig. 2. — A desert range in northwestern Nevada. In
the foreground appears the "sleek" desert of Black Rock, with the
Granite Mountains in the hack-round. The white streak at the base of
the mountains is caused by a mirage, and is at least 2 miles distant.

III. Fig. 1. — Good scab-land range near Trinidad, Wash. Black sage, bunch

wheat grass, a little sheep fescue, and Sandberg's biuegrass constitute
the main vegetation. Fig. 2. — Desert range near Mirage, Nev. Vegeta-
tion almost pure Atriplex confertifolia.

IV. Fig. 1. — Typical range view in the Okanogan Hills, "Washington. Sheep

fescue, bunch wheat grass, Nevada biuegrass, Wheeler's biuegrass, and
giant rye grass are shown. Fig. 2. — Typical ranch in the Blue Mountains
of Oregon.
V. Fig. 1. — A sheep range on the north slope of the Blue Mountains. The
native vegetation here has been largely replaced by cheat. Fig. 2. — A
denuded mountain meadow on the north slope of the Blue Mountains.

VI. Fig. 1. — Corraling ground in the Warner Mountains of California. In the
center of the foreground is shown the condition of Indian currant
i Symphoricarpos oreophilus). Fig. 2. — Winter range in northwestern
Nevada. White sage appears on the lower area in foreground, while
Atriplex confertifolia and bud >a<_ r e are seen at the base of the hill and red
-aire on the higher slopes.

VII. Fig. 1. — Timothy and redtop on uncultivated land, Warner Mountains, Cal-
ifornia. Fig. 2. — Bromus inermis, irrrigated, near the mouth of the
Okanogan River, Washington.

VIII. Fig. 1. — A narrow valley along Silvies River, Blue Mountains, Oregon.
Timothy, redtop, native grasses, clovers, and sedges are cut here, usually
on uncultivated ground, with some alfalfa on the better drained areas.
Fig. 2. — A horse round-up. showing the cayuse, the menace of a large
part of the range country.

IN. Fig. 1. — An overpastured highland meadow in the Washington wheat
region. Yarrow is the most conspicuous plant. Fig. 2. — An overpas-
tured lowland meadow. Wenas Valley. Washington. Iris missouriensis
has taken possession.

52

O

Bui. 3S. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate II

Fig. 1.— A Good Summer Sheep Range in the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Fig. 2.— A Desert Range in Northwestern Nevada.

Bui. 38, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate III.

Fig. 1.— Good Scab Land Range Near Trinidad, Wash.

Fig. 2.— Desert Range Near Mirage, Nev.

Bui. 33, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IV.

Fig. 1.— Typical Range View in the Okanogan Hills, Washington.

Fig. 2.— Typical Ranch in the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Bui. 38, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate V.

• *

.-■id*

Fig. 1.— A Sheep Range on the North Slope of the Blue Mountains.

Fig. 2.— A Denuded Mountain Meadow on the North Slope of the Blue

Mountains.

Bui 38. Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VI

Fig. 1 .—Corralling Ground in the Warner Mountains of California.

Fig. 2.— Winter Range in Northwestern Nevada.

Bui. 38, Bureau of Plant Industry, U, S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VII.

Fig. 1.— Timothy and Redtop on Uncultivated Land, Warner Mountains,

California.

k3h>' ' .■'
wi ti * - >' J**"--*',. * * — '»

Fig. 2.— Bromus Inermis, Irrigated, Near the Mouth of the Okanogan River,

Washington.

Bui. 38, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VIII.

!- jS*"*-*--

£%£M&

Fig. 1.— A Narrow Valley Along Silvies River, Blue Mountains, Oregon.

Fig. 2.— A Horse Round-up, Showing the Cayuse, the Menace of a Large Part

of the Range Country.

Bui. 38, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IX.

^^

i*"\f^". l^-':":.-".--

^•, v j%;..v-: * . -

V"* _—

Fig. 1.— An Overpastured Highland Meadow in the Washington Wheat Region.

Fig. 2.— An Overpastured Lowland Meadow, Wenas Valley, Washington.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 39.

B. T. GALLOWAY, chirf ,,/ Bureau.

THE PROPAGATION OF THE EASTER
LILY FROM SEED.

BY

GEORGE W. OLIVER, Expert.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

Issued .Titne 24, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE,

190 3.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes
Vegetable, Pathological, and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations
and Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Ppmologieal Investiga-
tions, and Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate
Divisions, and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington
Experimental Farm, Tea Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of
bulletins of the various Divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as
one series of the Bureau. A list of the bulletins issued in the present series follows.

Attention is directed to the fact "that the serial, scientific, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Department of Agriculture are not for general distribution.
All copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost." All applications for such
publications should, therefore, be made to The Superintendent of Documents, Union
Building, Washington, D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. 1. — Liming of Soils
from a Physiological Standpoint. II. — Experimental Study of the Relation
of Lime and Magnesia to Plant .Growth. 1901. Price, 1 (J cents.

2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

3. Macaroni Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

4. Range Improvement in Arizona. ( ( ^operative Experiments with the Arizona

Experiment Station.) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

5. Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Introduc-

tion for Distribution in Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment Sta-
tions. Inventory No. 9, Numbers. 4351-5500. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Descriptions. 1902.

Price, 15 cents.

8. A Collection of Economic and < >t her Fungi Prepared for Distribution. 1902;

Price, 10 cents.

9. The North American Species of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with (trasses and

Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

11. Johnson Grass: Report of Investigations Made During the Season of 1901;

1902. Price, 10 cents.

12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California: Notes on the Grasses and Forage

Plants and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

13. Experiments in Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1902. Price, 10

cents.

14. The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It. 1902. Price, 55 cents.

15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the < lieat Basin, Being a Deport

upon Investigations Made During July and August, 1901, in the Region
Between Wmnemucca, Nevada, and Ontario, Oregon. 1902. Price, 15
cents.

16. A Preliminary Study of the < lerminalion of the Spores of Agaricus Campestris

and Other Basidiomycetous Fungi. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

[Continued on p. :-; of cover.]

BUREAU OF PIjANT INDUSTRY.

Beverly T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

A. J. Pieters, Botanist in Charge.

David G. Fairchild, Agricultural Explorer.

W. W. Tracy, m;., Special Agent.

s. A. Knapp, Special Agent.

John E. W. Tracy, Expt rt.

(teorge W. Oliver, Expert.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,

Washington, D. C. , May £, 1903.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled "The
Propagation of the Easter Lily from Seed/' and respectfully recom-
mend that it be published as No. 39 of the series of Bulletins of this
Bureau.

This paper was prepared by Mr. George W. Oliver, Expert, and
was submitted for publication by the Botanist in Charge of Seed and
Plant Introduction and Distribution.
Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

( 'hief of Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Seciu tary of Agricultun .

CONTENTS.

Page.

The Bermuda lily 7

Varieties of Lilium longiflorum from Japan 8

Deterioration of the Bermuda and Japan grown lilies 9

Recent efforts to cultivate the Easter lily in the United States 11

Lines of investigation carried on by the Department of Agriculture 13

Planting in the open ground 15

Reproduction from seed 16

Emasculating and pollinating the flowers 18

Sowing the seeds 19

Pricking off the seedlings 20

Description of plates 24

5

I L L 11 S T RATIONS.

Page

Plate I. Seedling lilies in bloom, six months and thirteen days after germi-
nating. A. — IAlium longiflorum X L. harrisii. B. — Lilium harrisii

X L. longiflorum Frontispiece.

II. Lilium longiflorum: Fig. 1.— Tall-growing variety from Japan.
Fig. 2. — Low-growing variety from Japan, with long, broad leaves.
Fig. 3.— Tall-growing variety from Japan, with long and broad
leaves along the entire length of the stem 24

III. Capsules and seeds of Lilium harrisii X L. longiflorum 24

IV. Lilium harrisii X L. longiflorum: Fig. 1.— Seedlings in 2-inch pots,

five weeks after germination. Fig. 2.— Seedlings in 2^-inch pots,

ten weeks after germination 24

V. Lilium harrisii X L. longiflorum: Fig. 1.— Bulb eighteen weeks after

germination. Fig. 2.— Seedling bulbs of Lilium harrisii X L. ,
longiflorum, grown from seed within ten months "24

VI. Diseased Bermuda lily bulbs: A.— Cross section of bulb that began

to grow, though the tissue was eaten by mites. B.— Cross section

of bulb, with bud eaten by mites, that failed to grow 24

VII. < termination of Lilium longiflorum 24

6

B. P. I.— 50. S. P. I. D.— 32

THE PROPAGATION OF THE EASTER LILY

FROM SEED.

THE BERMUDA LILY.

In the United States Lilium harrisii came into prominence nearly
twenty-five years ago, a few bulbs being- brought from the Bermudas
about that time. These were propagated and their superiority for
early forcing demonstrated. Elwes, in his monograph of the genus
Lilium, mentions the introduction of the same variety from Japan into
Great Britain at about the same period. He also states that the
Lilium longijlorum was introduced into Great Britain by the Royal
Horticultural Society in 1819. Lilium harrisii has the distinction of
coming into bloom much earlier than the true L. longijlorum with
similar treatment. It is probably the type of L. longijlorum which
is found farthest south in the region where that species is indigenous.
This region comprises southern and central China, the Kiu Kiu
Islands, and south Japan.

From small beginnings a little more than twenty years ago, the
Easter-lily industry has assumed vast proportions in recent years. In
Bermuda more than 3,000,000 bulbs are exported annually to the
United States. In Japan, at the present day. millions of bulbs are
grown from seed each year, the demand being so large that enough
can not be grown from vegetative reproduction. But, unfortunately,
up to the present time there has been no selection from the seedlings.
This is the reason why with each importation from Japan many bulbs
are found which, when the plants begin to bloom, lack uniformity in
size of stem, time of flowering, and other characteristics. It is
reported that the Japanese department of agriculture has taken the
matter in hand, with a view to inducing the growers to weed out infe-
rior seedlings and propagate only from the best. It is owing princi-
pally to the decadence of the Bermuda crop that the demand for bulbs,
chiefly of L. long/forum from Japan, has increased so very markedly
in recent years. In 1879 the value of the bulbs exported from that

7

8 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

country was $2,500; in 1895, $40,000. In 1899, however, the figures
jumped to $130,000, and the increase during the past three seasons
has doubtless made corresponding strides.

VARIETIES OF LILITJM LONGIFLORUM FROM JAPAN.

The bulbs imported from Japan are chiefly Z. longiflorum. Among
them are several distinct varieties which differ from each other
principally in the periods of blooming, but also in foliage, flowers, and
general habit. Some have the leaves close together on the stem, the
longest and broadest at the base, gradually shortening as the summit is
reached. (See PI. II, fig. 1.) Others have broad leaves, not so numerous
as in the case of the plant just mentioned and with less difference in
breadth and length between those at the base of the stem and those
near the apex (PI. II, figs. 2 and 3.) Some of the forms appear to be of a
fixed type so far as scarcity of blooms is concerned. This is attributed
to seedling stock raised from unselected parentage and the failure to
breed continuously from the most desirable of the seedling plants. If
this is the case, as there is good evidence to suppose, it is little wonder
that the imported stock lacks uniformity in many of the most desirable
characteristics.

Among the numerous forms there is one which shows great supe-
riority over the others. In every respect it may be regarded as an
ideal lily. It is said to have been found in a certain locality in Japan
and named after the place where it was discovered. It is offered by
two dealers under the names Z. longiflorum giganteum and Z. longi-
jlorum eximeum gigan teum.. It is said to be a difficult subject to propa-
gate vegetatively; consequently it is higher priced than any of the
others. Some years ago when first sent to this country it was thought
to be a natural hybrid between Z. longiflorum and Z. brownii. The
leaves of this variety are not as numerous as in some varieties of Z.
longiflorum ; they gradually taper from base to summit, but in this
respect are not as pronounced as in some other forms. The stem for
several inches above the base is of a blackish-brown color. The flowers
are graceful in shape, the tube is short, and the diameter across the
perianth is large. The texture of the flower is much firmer than that
of any other cultivated lily, and the color is of a dazzling clear white.
Either on the plant or in a cut state the flowers, by reason of their
thick texture, last longer than those of any other form of Z. longiflo-
rum. With regard to the time it takes to force, it occupies a position
in this respect midway between Z. longiflorum and Z. karrisii.
Unfortunately, however, disease is quite as prevalent in this form as
in others. Therefore, the propagation of the limited amount of stock
available by scales, offsets, or division, and under the same conditions

DETERIORATION OF LILIES. 9

as those existing in the Bermudas will be accompanied with no better
results than are found in the Z. harrisii product of the island. A
bright future for this plant is predicted, not only on its individual
merits but also as a parent, both male and female, from which to raise
new forms through crossing with other varieties of Z. longifiorum.

In the greenhouses of the Department of Agriculture there are at
present several combinations between this plant and the most approved
forms of Z. harrisii. The plants are still in the seedling stage, but
they will be watched with very great interest to determine the results
of careful cross fertilization with the other varieties. Although the
plants are so small that 100 could easily be put inside of a thimble,
they are expected to flower within seven months.

Some bulbs of this little-known variety which were planted out in
the open during the autumn of 1901 along with other Z. longiflorwm
and Z. harrWti plants, to test their hardiness and blooming periods
and also to learn of their adaptability to the soil of this section, showed
that they were not only hardy, but that the blooming period w r as ten
daj T s in advance of the earliest of the Z. longifiorum,. The bulbs
planted were small and when lifted, during the latter part of August,
were found to have increased considerably in size, besides making
several small bulbs at the bases of the stems. The soil used is com-
posed of friable loam, having been under cultivation a long time, but
no manure had been given within two years before planting. Two dry
spells occurred during the period of growth and this retarded their
development to some extent.

DETERIORATION OF THE BERMUDA AND JAPAN GROWN LILIES.

Owing to the frequent and constantly increasing number of com-
plaints relative to the diseased condition of the Bermuda and Japan-
grown Easter lilies, the growers of this country are confronted with
a condition to which considerable attention has already been given
with a view to mitigating the troubles with which they have to con-
tend in forcing the bulbs into bloom. When it is considered that
probably over 5,000,000 lily bulbs are forced into flower during the
winter and spring months, it will be seen that the crop is of great
value; but notwitstanding all that has been done, the experiences of
the principal greenhouse men indicate that the profits are very much
curtailed owing to the diseased condition of the plants.

This disease shows its presence by the leaves becoming more or less
discolored and the shape of the leaf altered so as to appear twisted.
The flowers also lack the usual form and substance and the whole
plant is dwarfed. When in bloom, if it ever reaches that stage, the
diseased plant does not bring one-fourth of the price obtainable for a

10 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

health} r plant. During the past year complaints have been received
from some of the largest growers that of their plants the bulbs of
which were obtained from Japan and Bermuda from 20 to 60 per cent
were diseased, and almost all of these were unsalable.

The causes of the diseased condition of the plants have been inves-
tigated by the best pathologists in this country and in Europe. Mr.
A. F. Woods, Pathologist and Physiologist of the Bureau of Plant
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, issued a bulletin in 1897
giving the result of his investigations of the lily disease/' In this
work the causes of the disease are discussed and remedies suggested.
The florists of this country, however, who force the lilies have not
the remedies in their own hands, as the disease is present in the bulbs
before they are imported. In a later paper Mr. Woods has discussed
the relation of nutrition to the health of plants, with special reference
to Lilium harr'ixiiJ'

Lily growing on the Bermuda Islands is an exceedingly profitable
industry. Practically all the land available for the production of bulbs
is utilized for this purpose, and while the rotation of crops, together
with the most approved methods of selection and cultivation, would
undoubtedly be eventually a good policy for the growers to pursue,
yet, except in the case of the more progressive growers, there is little
likelihood of this being done, as it would materially decrease the
revenue from lily farming for the time being. This will readily be
understood when it is stated that an acre of lilies will bring from
$1,000 to $2,0oo. Some growers on the islands who thoroughly appre-
ciate the importance of careful methods are using small bulbs in pref-
erence to scales, and are selecting and fertilizing carefully, but they
are heavily handicapped by the many small growers who cultivate
their crops according to old methods; and in these cases there is no
selection with a view to producing and perpetuating good types. Little
manure is given. The methods of propagation are very faulty and
they have not been changed since the beginning of the industry in
the islands. For instance, in the growing of the bulbs for American
markets the smaller sizes are planted in the fall and harvested in July,
or before the bulbs have thoroughly ripened. In the process of han-
dling, many of the immature scales drop from the bulbs. These are
not thrown away, as they ought to be, but are carefully saved and
planted with a view to raising small bulbs. These bulbs ultimately
form a large part of the general crop.

As a result of some investigations made by the LTnited States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, it has been shown that by the use of seeds instead

"Bulletin No. 14, Vegetable Physiology and Pathology, U. S. Department of
Agriculture, 1897.

& Yearbook U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1901, pp. 155-176.

CULTIVATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 11

of scales larger bulbs can be secured in a much shorter time than can
be produced by the scale method. If the general crop were raised
from seeds there would be a saving- of at least a } r ear in the production
of a marketable bulb. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that in
this way plants can be grown which are entirely free from disease, and,
most important of all, that the seedlings give an opportunity to select
better types than exist at the present time.

RECENT EFFORTS TO CULTIVATE THE EASTER LILY IN THE

UNITED STATES.

For some vears efforts have been made to cultivate successfully the
Easter lily in the Southeastern States. This work is of considerable
value in showing future growers what to avoid, hut it has so far not
been demonstrated that the lily, with the methods used, can be grown
to compete with the foreign product. Not only are the bulbs late in
ripening, but when harvested they seldom show any increase in size
over that at the time of planting. The cultivation of the lily in the
Southern States has evidently been conducted with a view to produc-
ing bulbs which would ripen in July, or early enough to compete with
the Bermuda-grown product. This result has not been accomplished,
and with a continuance of the same cultural methods it is not likely to
be. Furthermore, a practice which has undoubtedly contributed
somewhat to this lack of success consists in using the stock as received
from the Bermudas and Japan. It is admitted that in the Southeast-
ern States the climate is not as favorable for the bulbs as it is in the
countries mentioned; therefore, it follows that early planted bulbs
starting into growth during the warm days of autumn and weakened
by the cold spells of winter will fall an easy prey to the diseases present
in the imported bulbs when planted. If success is to be attained in the
future in producing bulbs of marketable size, it must be with different
methods and along entirely different lines from those followed in the

past.

It has been demonstrated by Mr. A. F. Woods, of the Bureau of
Plant Industry, that bulbs of the Easter lily can be carried over a sea-
son in cold storage. Not only is this operation a success in itself, but
it has resulted in showing that the bulbs are benefited very materially
by this treatment, as it subjects them to a condition to a certain extent
approaching that existing in Japan, the native country of the species,
where the bulbs are heavily covered with snow during the resting
period. This fact opens up new possibilities in the cultivation of the
lily. Heretofore, bulbs have been planted in some parts of the South
early in the fall, with the result that they sprouted considerably before
cool weather set in. In fact, the growth made at a certain period was

12 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

quite as far advanced as that in Bermuda at the same date; but the
climatic and soil conditions being so different in the South from those
prevailing in Bermuda, the results were more or less disastrous. The
growth above ground, where the plant was not killed outright, was
more or less injured by cold and other generally unfavorable conditions.
During the period before coming into bloom, the plants rendered sickly
durino- the winter often suffered severely from lack of moisture, result-
ing in poorly developed bulbs.

So far, practically nothing has been done in experimental work with
a view to giving the bulbs the most favorable conditions to develop,
leaving out of consideration altogether early ripening for forcing the
following fall. It is the intention of the Department of Agriculture
to work with this end in view, not only in the South but in the Middle
and Northern States and also in the West.

A knowledge of the proper time to plant the bulbs in the various
sections of the country in order to produce a bulb of maximum size in
as short a time as possible but in a thoroughly ripe condition before
being harvested is most important, and this knowledge is to be gained
only by carefully conducted trials. Every florist who is interested
should experiment in a small way to ascertain how the bulbs will suc-
ceed out of doors in his section of the country.

The soil problem does not present many difficulties beyond the selec-
tion of well-drained situations and a light, sandy loam, which can be kept
sufficiently moist during the growing season to prevent the plants from
receiving a cheek. Treatment should be accorded a portion of the
bulbs similar to that found to succeed with bulbs of the other species
of Lilium, such as L. auratum. This consists in placing in the vicin-
ity of the bulb, moss or other material which will retain more moisture
than the surrounding soil. During dry weather this is found to be an
excellent provision for supplying the growing roots with moisture
until a fresh supply is received from rains and until the roots pene-
trate deeply into the ground, so as to withstand dry spells. In trials
of this nature the bulbs should be allowed to stay as long as possible
in the ground after the tops decay. They should be harvested just
before there is danger of their beginning growth for the following-
season, because any interference that tends to cause premature shriv-
eling and decay of the thick roots near the base of the bulb, such
as harvesting before natural ripening occurs, invariably occasions a
shrinkage of the tissue of the outer scales and incidentally provides a
ready means of ingress for fungi and bacteria to the tissue of the bulb
through the ruptured tissue of the roots. This condition of premature
decay, while the bulbs of the field are subjected to moisture, even for
a short time, provides favorable harbors for mites, which, although
their purpose at first may be merely to feed on the decaying tissues

LINES OF INVESTIGATION. 13

and act as scavengers, will ultimately injure what remains of the bulb
by attacking the living tissues, rendering the bulb more susceptible to
other maladies. Thus by a system of vegetative reproduction, the
bulbs, even though they be in a health}" condition and free from dis-
ease of all kinds previous to lifting, ma}" afford by careless harvesting
a lodgment for various enemies and give opportunities favorable for
disease year after year.

LINES OF INVESTIGATION CARRIED ON BY THE DEPARTMENT

OF AGRICULTURE.

That the progress of the disease is accelerated through the present
methods of handling and cultivation is shown by the fact that in the
Bermudas there are private gardens in which the lily has been undis-
turbed for years where the plants grown show no trace of disease.
The recent investigations by Mr. A. F. Woods show that the disease
is due to several causes, and may be brought about by a weakened
condition through improper harvesting, resulting in the attacks of
mites, fungi, and bacteria. There is nothing to indicate just how
long it would take to rid the plants of the disease by giving proper
treatment in the Bermudas, but the easiest way out of the difficulty
appears to be in raising and selecting stock plants not from scales, but
from seeds, and in planting the bulbs within our own borders, where, if
given the care which the crop demands, there is every reason to
expect that the difficulty will be solved in the near future.

In a large number of seedlings at least 50 per cent can be counted
upon to possess desirable characteristics, which will lie shown the first
year following that in which the seed is sown by the plants coming
into flower. The remainder can, if it is thought necessary, be dis-
carded and the good ones grown on for forcing, the size necessary for
which will be attained the season following, or within two years from
the time the seeds are sown. The very best of these seedlings, some
of which will undoubtedly show superiority in several ways over the
parents, can be retained for seed, and by keeping up the system of
selection there will develop in a very few years strains from seed
which will be superior to most of the plants placed upon the market
at the present day.

In beginning the work of bulb growing in the United States along
entirely new lines there seemed little probability of securing stock
from the Bermudas or Japan for vegetative reproduction, which
could be relied upon as absolutely free from disease. There are locali-
ties in the Bermudas where lilies are growing which appear to be quite
healthy; there is, however, a danger of the bulbs being more or less
contaminated, owing to the close proximity of the districts where the

14 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

diseased bulbs are grown. Therefore recourse must be had to some
method other than vegetative reproduction from foreign-grown bulbs.

The beginning of the experimental work along this line has been
carried on with the utmost care. Several bulbs of the true L. longi-
florum and its principal forms were secured. These bulbs showed no
indications of the presence of the disease by the usual diagnosis. As
the growth above ground developed, those plants which in any way
showed signs of abnormal development were removed from the green-
house and destroyed. A rigid process of selection was carried on up
to the time the plants came into flower, with the result that at the
blooming period the various groups were made up of fine specimens
of the several types of L. longiflorum. These were L. I. eximeum.,
otherwise L. harrisii, L. I. latifolium, L. I. multiflorum and L. /.
eximeum giganteum. Each group was kept separate from the others
so that there should be no likelihood of accidental intercrossing.
Those plants which were selected as seed bearers were emasculated
while the anthers were still immature. In no case was a plant allowed
to have a flower fertilized by its own pollen or even from that of other
flowers on the same plant. In this way the chances are the greater
that the resulting seedlings will show more vigor than if each flower
had been self-pollinated, or if pollen had been transferred from one
flower to others on the same plant.

A series of crosses were effected between differing forms, which it
is hoped will result in securing types different from those now in cul-
tivation. The flowers of several plants of L. longiflorum were fecun-
dated with pollen taken from flowers of L. harrisii, and vice versa.
The seedlings from these crosses have already flowered, and the results
are very satisfactory. They are especially valuable in pointing out
future work along the same lines. The progress made by the seed-
lings as a result of these crosses is somewhat remarkable, in that the} 7
bore flowers in a comparatively short time after germinating. Plate
III shows the capsules and seeds of L. harrisii crossed with L. longi-
florum. Plate VII represents the different stages of germination.
In Plate IV, fig. 1, the seedlings are in 2-inch pots, about five weeks
after making their appearance above the soil. In three of the seed-
lings the seed coats are seen adhering to the ends of the seed leaves.
A later stage is indicated in Plate IV, fig. 2, where the seedlings are
more advanced, having made from two to four character leaves. This
represents the progress made in ten weeks after germinating. From
this stage onward the growth is quite rapid.

In Plate V, fig. 1, is seen a seedling with all the radical leaves showing,
but not fully developed. This is the stage just previous to the devel-
opment of the flower stem. The bulb at this period is nearly 3 inches

PLANTING IN THE OPEN GEOUND. 15

in circumference and is wholly formed of the bases of the leaves.
This particular bulb was in no way injured by the soil being washed
from the roots; it was repotted and formed a stem, which bore two
flowers.

Of the two seedlings in flower (PI. I) the one to the left, marked "A,"
is L. longiflorum, crossed with L. harrisii; that to the right, marked
" B,"' is the reciprocal cross. There is a very marked difference in the
size of the flowers, the one to the right being fully 2 inches longer
than the other. This difference was observable in nearly all of the
individuals of the L. harrisii X L. Ixmgiflorum batch.

The bulbs shown in Plate V, tig. 2, are the largest which were
formed. They belong to the L. harrisii X L. longijlorv/m batch and
were harvested on the 15th of August, ten months and fourteen days
after the seeds germinated. The bulb to the right measured 6 inches
in circumference. Each of the plants bore three average-sized flowers.
It will be seen that the bulb formed as in Plate V, fig. 1, has disap-
peared, and new bulbs with true scales have formed at the bases of
the stems.

PLANTING IN THE OPEN GROUND.

Batches of lilies for experimental work in ascertaining localities
favorable to the production of bulbs should be planted late or early
according to the particular section of the country in which the exper-
iment is to be conducted. In the North it ma} T be considered safe to
put them in the ground during the latter half of September. Farther
south the planting should be delayed so that there may be no danger
of the growth showing above ground previous to freezing weather.

In the North as hard freezing weather approaches the ground in
which the bulbs are planted should have a heavy mulch of such a
nature as to be easily removed in spring. This mulch will serve
several purposes; it will help to keep the soil around the bulb at an
equable temperature and prevent rapid thawing and freezing at and
near the surface of the soil. Throughout the South, especially in the
districts within the frost belt, the mulch need not be heavy, and should
consist of half -decayed leaves or very old manure, so that there will
exist no necessity for its removal when the growths are making their
wa} T through the soil. It should not be applied too soon, as there is
then a danger of the soil being kept too warm, thus encouraging the
shoots to push above the soil before the advent of cold weather. In all
cases a mulch should be spread over the soil during hot, diy weather.

So far as the requirements of the lilies are understood, correct con-
ditions would not be supplied by repeated cultivation between the
rows. Those conditions could be secured best by a system of mulching

16 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

to keep the sun from warming the soil too much near the surface or
else by the substitution of some kind of a shade crop to protect the
soil from the sun's rays. This crop would, of course, have to be of
such a nature as not to rob the soil of too much of the food and mois-
ture necessary for the growth of the lilies.

Again, the bulbs may be grown in beds, as in the Bermudas, and
close enough together to shade the ground to a certain extent. In any
event, the cool and fairly moist condition of the surface soil is a most
essential point to be observed in the cultivation of the lily. In plant-
ing, the depth to which the bulbs should be placed should range from
4 to 6 inches, according to the size of 1-year-old bulbs.

In this, as in every other crop, there are so many details essential
to successful cultivation, all differing with the localities, that the above
directions must be construed merely as suggestions. Lily farming in
the United States is so new that one must not be discouraged if at first
failure results from treatment which applied to most other crops
would mean success.

REPRODUCTION FROM SEED.

A point greatly in favor of raising L. longiflorum^ L. harri&ii, or
any of the other forms from seed, to constitute the crop of market-
able bulbs, is that from one to two years' time is saved in the opera-
tion over the scale method. This in itself will appeal to most people;
but it is by no means the best feature of the method, as will be shown
later on.

Plate V, fig. 2, shows bulbs which measured 6 inches in circum-
ference at a period only ten months after the seeds germinated.
These bulbs each produced three flowers above the average size. Much
poorer plants arc sometimes retailed at $1 each. So easy is it to raise
flowering plants from seed that the writer is inclined to believe that
should the time come when the disease is more rampant than at
present, growers will, when the subject is better understood, be able
to raise their own bulbs by a system of greenhouse treatment and have
the plants from seed flowering in pots ready to be sold within a year.

This would probably seem like a fairy tale to the participants of the
lily conference held in London in 1901. One of the papers read at
that time states that many species of Lillurn must have from ten to
twelve years to develop a flowering bulb from the seed. Elwes, in
his Monograph of the Genus Lilium, says of L. longiflonim: "In
three or four years at most flowering bulbs will be produced from
seed if the young plants are properly treated." This means that by
the English method of raising seedlings the plants in flower take five
years at most to reach that stage. . .

REPRODUCTION" FROM SEED. 17

There exists a widespread belief that in raising plants from seed a
long time elapses before the}- come into bloom, and it is urged against
the seed method that a certain percentage of the plants in a batch are
late in coming into flower. It should be remembered, however, that
this is more or less the case with all kinds of plants where the method
of vegetative reproduction is suddenly changed to that of reproduction
from seed. In all cases this irregularity of the blooming period lasts
only for a time.

There is a possibility of fixing types in seedling lilies as in all other
plants raised from seed, but just how long a time would elapse before
this desired result would be attained has not been determined. A few
generations would probably cover the period.

But even were there no possibilities of fixing types from seminal
reproduction, the supposition that this method of propagation is a
drawback because of late bloomers is very erroneous. This point has
been raised against the method chiefly because it has never been tried
systematically. A batch has been raised giving only about To per
cent of bulbs that can be depended upon to produce plants that will
open their flowers within, say, a period of ten days; but even so, with
the gain of increased* vigor and the saving of time required in the
production of a marketable bulb, it will pay handsomely, even if the
late bloomers are discarded while in the growing stage in the field and
only the early blooming bulbs are harvested. However, there is no
necessity for so radical a treatment. The early bloomers can be sepa-
rated from those which bloom late, and sold accordingly. There is a
demand for healthy bulbs at whatever time the}- bloom. Furthermore,
by judicious selection of seed parents — that is, those which come ear-
liest into bloom, having other desirable characteristics to recommend
them — and by careful cross-fertilization of these forms there is an
absolute Certainty of fixing types which wiri be satisfactory in every
respect.

Nearly every lily has been propagated asexual ly up to the present
time, and the system is, to a certain extent, answerable for the wretched
condition of the crops, which, even with intelligent care in our green-
houses, show from -10 to 60 per cent of diseased plants. Most growers
would greatly prefer to have only 25 per cent of late bloomers in a
batch of healthy bulbs from seed than that the present conditions
affecting the Bermuda and Japan bulbs should continue.

25973— No. 39—03 -2

18 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

EMASCULATING AND POLLINATING THE FLOWERS.

To raise seedlings of any desirable variety of Lilium lonqiflorum
which will reproduce as nearly as possible the same characters pos-
sessed by the parents, it is necessary to take precautions against the
possibility of pollen from less desirable forms being deposited upon
the stigmas of the flowers selected to bear seed. In the flower of the
Easter lily the anthers reach maturity a little in advance of the period
when the stigma is in a receptive condition. The early ripening of
the pollen and the large size of the anthers make it easy to remove the
stamens at quite an early stage in the life of the flower.

Emasculation can be performed with a certain degree of safety after
the perianth segments expand, but it is accomplished with greater
certainty while the flower is in the bud stage. When the operation is
performed early it seems to divert to the pistil the substance which
otherwise would be utilized in the development of the stamens. Thus,
if the stamens are allowed to remain and pollinate the same flower
with its own pollen, or that from the flower of another individual, the
resulting capsule of seed is smaller than that borne by an artificially
pollinated flower which had previously been emasculated. To remove
the stamens at an early stage it is necessary to ait ofl' one or two
divisions of the perianth for at least one-third of their length. The
stamens, being very large, are then easily removed with the aid of a
pair of forceps. The condition of the stigma most favorable for the
reception of the pollen is indicated by its having acquired full size and
by its color chanoino- from a greenish white to creamy white. This
period occurs just before the surface of the stigma is copiously cov-
ered with a viscid secretion. Before the secretion appears the pollen
takes immediate effect. Fecundation, when successful, is indicated
by the rapid withering of the perianth; also by the ovary, which, in a
few days, will assume a vertical position instead of remaining hori-
zontal. (PI. 11, figs. 1 and 2.) In this position it will continue, in the
absence of fertilization, until it falls off or withers.

It is of importance that the actual work of applying pollen from the
anthers of one flower to the stigma of another be performed during
the early part of the day, choosing a time when the sun is likely to tie
unobscured for several hours. The air should also be dry and warm.
It is not necessary to use a brush in transferring the pollen. With a
pair of forceps an anther may be removed by severing a filament at
about half an inch below the point of attachment. The pollen grains
on a single anther are sufficient to cover, thoroughly the surface
of the stigma. While held by the forceps the anther should be
rubbed against the stigma until the latter is covered with the pollen
grains. This condition is easily observed by the bright yellow color

SOWING THE SEEDS. 19

and copious supply of pollen. The pollinated flower .should not be
covered with paper bags. These, as u rule, serve well with other
kinds of flowers where artificial pollination is resorted to in keeping-
out insects and preventing pollen being brought by other agencies,
but in the flowers of Lilium they are usually hurtful, because the
atmosphere surrounding the stigma is to a certain extent stagnant on
account of the thick texture of the paper interfering with the free
admission of air. If this condition is present while the very copious
secretion is over the large stigma, some of the pollen grains decay,
and the result is that a moldy growth will occur over the entire pol-
linated surface. Light gauze or cheese-cloth bags will be found excel-
lent substitutes for paper bags. There is little probability of pollen
grains being carried about b}* a movement of the atmosphere or the
visitations of insects, but it is better to guard against the danger of
undesirable pollen gaining access to the stigma.

In all of the varieties the seed vessels take from eight to ten weeks
to reach maturity. This is indicated by a change of color from pea-
green to a light straw-colored hue. at first near the apex, then grad-
ually extending toward the base. When the basal part changes its
color the seeds are ripe. The seed vessel at this stage begins to
dehisce, starting at the apex and splitting into three parts, each part
containing two rows of seed closely arranged lengthwise. When the
vessels begin to open they should be gathered and kept in an uncov-
ered receptacle until most of the moisture in the walls of the seed ves-
sel has evaporated. In a day or two the seeds must be removed from
the capsules. The}^ are then damp to the touch and should not be
excluded from the air while in this state, as there is danger of their
becoming moldy. Thev should be spread out on trays for a day or so
to dry. Afterwards they can be kept in jars until wanted for sowing.

SOWING THE SEEDS.

In places having a similar winter climate to that of the Bermudas,
or where the minimum temperature does not fall below 45 : ¥., the
seedlings may be raised out of doors without the aid of greenhouse
structures but with the protection of sash throughout the germinating
period and until the plants have made the first three or four leaves.

The plants can be brought to this stage by the beginning of Septem-
ber and transferred to convenient distances apart in beds, where they
will make rapid growth. The seeds should be sown in beds in rows
from 5 to 6 feet wide. To have the soil in which the seed is to be
sown of sufficient warmth to promote a steady growth, there should
be at least 3 inches of stable litter and leaves placed in the bottom of
the bed. Loamy soil, mixed with one-third vegetable humus, should

20 PROPAGATION OF EASTER LILY FROM SEED.

be placed over the litter to a depth of at least 6 inches. This should
be well firmed and raked smooth. The seed should be sown quite
thickly, as the seedlings have small, narrow leaves and occupy but
little space until they are ready for pricking off. After the surface
of the seed bed has been raked quite smooth the seeds should be sown
evenly over the bed, from 6 to 10 to each square inch of surf arc,
according to the quality of the seed. The seeds can be pressed into
the soil with the back part of a spade or a smooth piece of board and
covered with one-half inch of sifted and sterilized soil composed of
loam and leaf soil in equal parts. The soil, if sterilized, will prevent
the disturbance of the surface in removing weeds. The surface
should be pressed moderately firm and watered with a fine sprinkler
only when the soil appears to be on the dry side. The surface of
the bed can be kept in excellent condition for successful germination
by covering it with an inch of sphagnum moss, which should be
sprinkled occasionally, and the soil should be examined frequently to
ascertain its condition.

The seeds require a considerable time in the ground before the first
leaf appears above the surface. Therefore, to provide seedling plants
for a large crop the seed beds will occupy a comparatively small
space. They will thus be easily tended, so far as watering, shading,
and weeding are concerned, until the seedlings have attained sufficient
size to warrant pricking off. If bulbs are planted and seeds sown
at the same time, the bulbs naturally can be flowered quicker than the
seedlinsrs, but only by a few weeks. Therefore, the seeds should be
sown early — say, during the month of June. When sown at this period
the seedlings will attain a fair size during warm weather, and will all
the better be able to withstand the lower temperature of the winter
months.

With regard to raising seedlings in the Middle and Northern States,
there is little probability of success unless the seed is sown, say, during
the month of January indoors and the seedlings are transplanted to
outdoor beds as soon as the weather permits. For experiments of this
nature the seeds would necessarily have to be of the previous season's
crop, and in order to have them ripen late, so that as short a time as
possible would elapse between ripening and sowing, the seed-bearing
plants should be grown outdoors.

PRICKING OFF THE SEEDLINGS.

The seedlings will bear pricking oil' as soon as the seed leaves reach
full size. Nothing is gained, however, by undertaking the operation
at this early stage. It is more easily accomplished after the plantlets
have made two or three leaves. Thev should be transferred to beds

PRICKING OFF THE SEEDLINGS. 21

similar in size to those in which the seeds were sown and at a distance
of from 2 to 3 inches apart. The work of pricking- off can be very
rapidly done, and wholly with the fingers or without the aid of a
dibble. The protection of shaded sash ma}' be given for the first few
days if found necessary. When the plants are supplied with leaves of
such size as to be in danger of crowding each other they should be
removed to the held beds. It may be stated that the plants, even in
their younger stages, are not at all impatient of removal. Plate V,
tig. 1, shows a plant which was grown in a 5-inch pot, the soil being
removed from the roots to show the size of bulb at a certain date
from germinating. This bull) was repotted and came into flower
seemingly none the worse for its experience.

PLATES.

23

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. Frontispiece. — Seedling lilies in bloom. A. — Lilium longiflorv/m X L. har-
risii. B. — Liliumharrisii X L. longiflorum, showing large flower. Photo-
graphed April 16, 1902, six months anil thirteen days after germinating.
II. Fig. 1. — Lilium longiflorum, tall-growing variety from Japan, showing the
vertical position assumed by the ovaries after fertilization. Fig. 2. — ■
Lilium longiflorum, low-growing variety from Japan, with long, broad
leaves. The capsules show the progress made at a period of three weeks
after pollination. Fig. 3. — Lilium longiflorum, tall-growing variety from
Japan, with long and broad leaves along the entire length of the stem.

III. Capsules and seeds of Lilium harrisii X L. longiflorum. Flowers polli-

nated April 3; seeds ripe June 14, 1901.

IV. Fig. 1. — Lilium harrisii X Lj. longiflorum seedlings in 2-inch pots. Seeds

sown June 26, 1901, germinated October 3, potted October 28, pho-
tographed November 9, 1901. Fig. 2. — Lilium harrisii X Lj. longiflorum
seedlings in 2J-inch pots ten weeks after germination.

V. Fig. 1. — Lilium harrisii X L. longiflorum, showing size of bulb February 16,
1902, eighteen weeks after germination. Fig. 2. — Seedling bulbs of L.
harrisii X L. longiflorum. The bulb to the right measured 6 inches in
circumference. These bulbs were grown from the seed within ten
months.

VI. Diseased Bermuda lily bulbs. A. — Cross section through a diseased bulb
that began to grow and then died. The tissue was eaten out by the
ludb mites. B. — Cross section through a bulb that failed to grow.
The bud was eaten out by mites.

VII. Germination of Lilium longiflorum. 1. Sprouting of the seed. 2. An older
stage, where the cotyledon shows the bending, while the apex remains
closed in the seed absorbing the endosperm. 3. Still older. 4. The
cotyledon has now unfolded itself, raising the attached seed high above
the level of the ground. 5. The first leaf V is developed while the
cotyledon is as above. 6. The seed has dropped and three leaves are
now developed; also two secondary roots. The roots show wrinklings
above, indicating their contractile power in drawing the bulblet deeper
and deeper into the soil.
24

o

Bui. 39, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate

Fig. 1.

Fig. '2.

Fig. 3.

LlLIUM LONGIFLORUM.

Figs. 1 and 3, Tall-growing variety from Japan; Fig. 2, Low-growing variety from Japan.

Bui. 39, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept of Agriculture.

Plate III.

Bui. 39, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture,

Plate IV,

Fig. 1.— Lilium harrisii ■ L. longiflorum Seedlings in 2-inch Pots, Five Weeks

After Germination.

Fig. 2.— Lilium harrisii

l. longiflorum seedlings in 2i-inch pots. ten weeks
After Germination.

Bui. 39, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate V.

Fig. 1 .— Lilium harrisii L. longiflorum, Showing
Bulb Eighteen Weeks After Germination.

Fig. 2.— Seedling Bulbs of Lilium harrisii L. longiflorum, Grown from Seed

Within Ten Months.

Bui. 39, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VI.

Diseased Bermuda Lily Bulbs.

A, Cross section of bulb that began to grow though the tissue was oaten by mites: II. Cross ?ection
of bulb, with bud eaten by mites, that failed to grow.

Bui. 33, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VII

Germination of Lilium longiflorum.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 40.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief nf Bureau.

COLD STORAGE, WITH SPECIAL REFER-
ENCE TO THE PEAR AND PEACH.

BY

G. HAROLD POWELL,
j Assistant Pomologist in Charge of Field Investigations,

AND

S. H. FULTON,
Assistant in Pomology.

POMOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS.

Issued September IS, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

government printing office.

1 9 3 .

-

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes Vege-
table, Pathological, and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Pomological Investigations,
and Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate Divi-
sions, and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington Experi-
mental Farm, Tea Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of bulle-
tins of the various Divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as one
series of the Bureau. A list of the bulletins issued in the present series follows.

Attention is directed to the fact that "the serial, scientific, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Department of Agriculture are not for general distribution.
All copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost." All applications for such
publications should, therefore, be made to The Superintendent of Documents, Unio:
Building, Washington, D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. I. Liming of Soils
from a Physiological Standpoint. II. Experimental Study of the Relation
of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. 1901. Price, 10 cents.

2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

3. Macaroni Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

4. Range Improvement in Arizona. (Cooperative Experiments with the Ari-

zona Experiment Station.) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

5. 'Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Intro

duction for Distribution in 'Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment
Stations. Inventory No. 9, Numbers 4351-5500. 1902.* Price, 10 cents.

6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Descriptions. 1902

Price, 15 cents.

8. A Collection of Economic and Other Fungi Prepared for Distribution. 1902.

Price, 10 cents.

9. The North American Species of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with Grasses and

Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

11. Johnson Grass: Report of Investigations Made During the Season of 1901.

1902. Price, 10 cents.

12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California: Notes on the Grasses and Forage

Plants and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

13. Experiments and Range Improvements iii Central Texas. 1902. Price, I

cents.

14. The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It, 1902. Price, 55 cente.

15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin, Being a

Report upon Investigations Made During July and August, 1901, in the
Region Between Winnemucca, Nevada, and Ontario, Oregon. 1902.
Price, 15 cents,
hi. A Preliminary Study of the Germination of the Spores of Agaricus Campes-
tris and Other Basidiomycetous Fungi. 11)02. Price, 10 cents.

17. Some Diseases of the Cowpea: I. The Wilt Disease of the Cowpea and Its

Control. II. A Cowpea Resistant to Root Knot (Heterodera Radicicola).
1902. Price, 10 cents.

18. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

19. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Harvesting, Curing, and Cleaning. 1902. Price,

10 cents.

20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902. 1903.

Price, 35 cents.

[Continued on p. 3 of cover.]

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate I.

Elberta peaches, stored for two weeks in a temperature of 36° F. (UPPER

FIGURE! AND 32° F. (LOWER FIGURE.) NATURAL SIZE.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 40.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau.

COLD STORAGE, WITH SPECIAL REFER-
ENCE TO THE PEAR AND PEACH.

BY

(J. HAROLD POWELL,
Assistant Pomologist in Charge of Field Investigations,

and
S. H. FULTON,

A S S I S T A N T IN P OMOLOGT.

POMOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS.

* LIBRARY

W YORK
BOTANICAL
GARDEN

Issued September 18, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1 9 3 .

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

B. T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.
POMOLOGICAL INVEST!* iATIONS.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

G. B. Brackett, Pomologist.

Wm. A. Taylor, Pomologist in Charge of Meld Investigations.
G. Harold Powell, Assistant Pomologist in Charge of Field Investigations.
H. P. Gould, Assistant Pomologist in Charge of Fruit District Investigations.
George C. Husmann, Expert in Charge of Viticultural Investigations.
S. H. Fulton, Assistant in Pomology.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,
Washington, 1). C, May 11, 1903.
Sir: 1 have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled "Cold
Storage, with Special Reference to the Pear and Peach," and respect-
fully recommend that it be published as Bulletin No. 40 of the series
of this Bureau.

This paper was prepared by Mr. G. Harold Powell, Assistant Pomo-
logist in Charge of Field Investigations, and Mr. S. H. Fulton, Assist-
ant in Pomology, and has been submitted b} T the Pomologist with a
view to publication.

The illustrations which accompany this report, comprising live col-
ored and two half-tone plates, are considered essential to a full under-
standing of the text.

Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

P R E F A C E .

The protection of fresh fruits, through the agency of low tempera-
tures in cold storage houses, against their normal deterioration and
decay has become in recent years one of the most important factors
affecting the prosperity of the commercial orchardists of the United
States. Practical experience has demonstrated the necessity for more
complete and accurate knowledge regarding the possibilities of pre-
serving fruit in wholesome condition in this way and the underlying 1
principles that govern the behavior of fruits thus stored, as well as
the effect of different cultural and climatic conditions upon the behavior
of stored fruit.

The investigation of different phases of this subject was begun in
the summer of 1901 and is still in progress. While the completion of
these important investigations, which involve repeated experiments
with different varieties of fruit grown under the varying climatic con-
ditions of different parts of the country and stored in different ware-
houses, will of necessity extend over a considerable period of time,
the important economic results thus far attained make the publication
of this preliminary report upon the subject advisable at this time.
In this report certain general principles are stated for the benefit of
fruit growers, dealers, and storage men, and such specific application
is made of these principles to the peach and pear in storage as experi-
ence thus far has proved desirable. Other phases of the work are in
progress and will be discussed in future publications.

This bulletin has been prepared by Mr. G. Harold Powell, Assistant
Pomologist in Charge of Field Investigations, and Mr. S. II. Fulton,
Assistant in Pomology, as the result of investigations made by them
under the direction of Mr. William A. Taylor. Pomologist in Charge
of Field Investigations. The work, in so far as these fruits are con-
cerned, has been closely associated with the experimental export ship-
ments of fruits, which will be reported upon in a future bulletin.

(I. B. Prackett,

Pomologist.
Office of 1'omological Investigations,

Washington, I). C, March JO, 1903.

CONTENTS

Page.

The function of cold storage . . 9

The purpi ises i if fruit storage 10

Influence of cold storage < in the pear industry 11

Practical difficulties in pear storage 11

( hitline of experiments in pear storage 12

The influence of the degree of maturity on keeping quality 13

The influence of delayed storage on keeping quality 14

The influence of different temperatures on keeping quality 15

The influence of the type of package on keeping quality 16

The influence of a wrapper on keeping quality 18

The influence of cold storage on the flavor and aroma of the fruit .... . 19

The behavior of the fruit when removed from storage 20

Summary .... 21

Influence of cold storage on the peach industry 23

Practical difficulties in peach storage 23

Outline of experiments in peach storage 24

General statement of results 24

I>( scription of plates 28

7

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page.
Plate I. Elberta peaches stored fortwo weeks in a temperature of 36° F. (upper

figure) and 32° F. (lower figure) Frontispiece.

II. Kieffer pear, March, 1902. Fruit picked October 21, 1901, and

placed in storage the following day at a temperature of .'!2° F 28

III. Kieffer pear, January, 1902. Fruit picked October 21, 1901, and

placed in storage ten days later at a temperature of 32° F 28

1 V. Wrapped Kieffer pears, removed from cold storage on March 3, 1902.
Fig. 1.— Fruit in both boxes picked October 21, 1901, that on the
right being placed in storage on the following day at a temperature
of 32° F., while that on the left was not stored for ten days. Fig. -
2. — Fruit in both boxes picked October 21, 1901, and stored on the
following day, that on the right at a temperature of 32° 1\. and that

on left at 36° F 28

V. Kieffer pears, March 3, 1902. Fruit picked October 21, 1901, and

stored on the following day at a temperature of 36° F 28

VI. Bartlett pears, one week after being placed in cold storage. The
upper figure shows the average condition of the fruit in center of

barrel; the lower figure, that near the outside of the barrel 28

VII. Kieffer pears removed from cold storage on January 20, 11)02. Fruit
picked October 21 , 1901, and placed in storage on the following day.
Nearly 50 per cent of the unwrapped fruit decayed, while that
wrapped in parchment and news paper kept in perfect condition.. 28

8

B. P. I.— 53. Pom. I.— 17.

COLD STORAGE, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE

PEAR A^D PEACH.

THE FUNCTION OF COLD STORAGE.

Fruit is placed in cold storage to retard the life processes which as
they progress cause it to ripen and decay. The ripening goes forward
more slowly in low temperatures, but still continues in the lowest tem-
peratures in which the fruit may be safely stored. Fruit is stored also
to prevent the rapid spread of fungous diseases which cause its prema-
ture decay.

A fruit is a living organism, with a life history extending from its
earliest growth to final decay, and the cold-storage treatment is
designed to retard development without injuring its usefulness in
other respects. The rapidity of ripening in the storage temperature
depends principally on the habit of the fruit, the degree of maturity
at which it enters the storage house, and the temperature and other
conditions in which it is stored. It is influenced also by other factors
during its growth and by the treatment it receives before it reaches
the storage house.

The warehouse is expected to supply a uniform temperature of the
desired degree of cold through the storage compartments during the
storage season. It is expected to be managed in other respects so that
an unusual loss in the aroma and flavor of the fruit, in texture or in
color, or through decay, may not be attributed to a poorly constructed
or installed plant, or to its negligent or improper management. If the
temperatures are maintained reasonably uniform at the point desired
by the fruit storer, if the rooms are kept pure and sweet and laden
with sufficient moisture, and if the fruit is handled properly within the
warehouse, the storage house fulfills its function in the preservation of
fruits. If, on the other hand, the temperatures fluctuate unduly and
the fruit freezes to the point of injury, or is made to ripen prematurely,
or the rooms are not properly managed, or if ordinary care is not exer-
cised in other respects in the management of the house or the handling
of the fruit, the storage house fails to fulfill its proper function.

The warehouseman does not insure the fruit against natural deteriora-
tion. He holds it in storage as a trustee, and in that relation is hound
to use only that degree, of care in the management of the warehouse

9

10 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

that a man of ordinary prudence would exert under the circumstances
in protecting the goods if they were his private property.

It is frequently assumed that the cold-storage house in some mys-
terious way levels the differences that naturally exist in the fruits of
a given kind, causing all the apples of a variety, for example, to keep
alike. No assumption, however, could he more fallacious, and it is
probable that no one aspect of the storage business has led to more
misunderstandings between the men who store fruit and the ware-
housemen than this unfortunate impression. Cold storage can not
improve the physical condition of fruit, and is in no way responsible
for the deterioration that may arise from improper picking, grading,
packing, and handling before the storage house is reached.

Fruits of all kinds are profoundly modified by the climate, the soil,
the ace and health of the trees, and the conditions to which they are
subjected during their development, and these acquired differences
will manifest themselves in the storage rooms just as they do in nor-
mal storage ripening, except that they usually appear later.

THE PURPOSES OF FRUIT STORAGE.

In the consideration of any storage problem it is important to pay
due attention not only to the influences which affect the keeping
quality of fruits and to the function of the cold-storage plant, but also
to the purpose for which the fruit is stored. The fruit dealer may not
always desire to retard the development of the fruit to the greatest
possible extent. For the Holiday trade it may be advisable to have
certain varieties of apples or pears in condition for immediate con-
sumption during the Christmas season, though the same varieties might
be retarded until April if stored in a lower temperature. The
fruiterer who takes the fruit from the storage house to the fruit stand
from day to day may desire it to ripen and color considerably before
it leaves the storage house. The dealer, on the other hand, who stores
the same varieties in large quantities for export trade or for late
domestic markets has a different object in view, and the two distinct
purposes would influence the storage treatment of each.

It is equally important to consider the requirements of the market in
the storage of different fruits. The commercial use of a particular fruit
is limited principal^' to the season when people are in the habit of
buying it, and be} 7 ond that period the demand is restricted, unless
there is a failure in the supply of other fruits that normally till the
market at that time. It is possible to hold many varieties of pears till
late winter or early spring, but the usual demand for them at that time
would not warrant their storage in large quantities, as apples and
oranges are then at the height of their season. In fact, it is doubtful
whether it is advisable to store pears of any kind in large quantities

INFLUENCE OF COLD STORAGE ON PEAR INDUSTRY. 11

after the middle of November. For the same reason it is usually not a
good plan to hold apples in large quantities later than the 1st of May,
when fresh vegetables and the new crop of Southern fruits begin to
fill the markets. The general principles, therefore, which govern the
preservation of fruits and their relation to the markets can be under-
stood only when these various factors are considered together.

INFLUENCE OF COLD STORAGE ON THE PEAR INDUSTRY.

Before the advent of the cold-storage business the supply of summer

» pears frequently exceeded the demand. This condition of the markets,
which were demoralized in hot, humid seasons, pertained especially to
the early varieties, like the Bartlett, which ripen in hot weather and
need to be sold in a short time to prevent heavy losses from rapid
decay- The introduction of the refrigerator car and of the cold-storaere
warehouse, together with the rapid growth of the canning industry,
has done much to improve the pear situation by artificially establish-
ing a well-regulated and more uniform supply of fruit throughout a
longer period of time. The pear acreage of the country has more than
doubled within a decade, and is enlarging the relative importance of
cold storage to the pear-growing business, though a large part of the
increase, especially in California, along the Atlantic coast from New
Jersey southward, in Texas, and in the Central West, is primarily
related to the canning industry.

Pear storage has developed most largely in the East. In New York
and Jersey City from 60,000 to 100,000 bushels of summer pears,
30,(>(»<» to 60,000 bushels of later varieties, and many cars of California
pears are stored annually. In Boston, since 181)5 there have been
stored each year from 5,000 to 15,000 bushels of early pears, principally
Bartlett, and from 7,000 to 20,000 bushels of later varieties, such as
Anjou, Bosc, Angouleme (Jhtchess), Seckel, and Sheldon. In Buffalo
10,000 bushels are sometimes stored in a single season, and in Phila-
delphia from 30,000 to 35,000 bushels. While there are no accurate
statistics available and the quantity fluctuates from year to year, it is
probable that as many as 300,000 bushels are stored in a single year
throughout the country at large.

PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES IN PEAR STORAGE.

There are many practical difficulties in pear storage. The early-
ripening varieties which mature in hot weather, like the Bartlett,
often "slump"' before they reach the storage house, or are in soft
condition, especially if they have been delayed in ordinary freight
cars in transit. They may afterwards decay badly in storage, break
down quickly on removal, or lose their delicate flavor and aroma.
When stored in a large package like the barrel, the fruit, especially of

12 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

the early varieties, often softens in the center of the package, while
the outside layers remain firm and g-reen. Frequently no two ship-
ments from the same orchard act alike, even when stored in adjoining-
packages in the same room, and the warehouseman and the owner, not
always knowing the histoiy of the fruit, are at a loss to understand
the difficulty. It has been the aim in the fruit-storage investigations
of the Department of Agriculture to determine as far as possible the
reasons for some of the pear-storage troubles, and to point out the
relation of the results to a more rational storage business.

OUTLINE OF EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE.

The investigations in pear storage are of a preliminary nature
only. The experiments undertaken have been planned with a view to
determining the influence in the storage room of various temperatures,
of the character of the storage package, of a fruit wrapper, of the
degree of maturity of the fruit when picked, and of other factors in
relation to the ripening processes in the storage house, and also to
ascertain the behavior of the fruit and its value to the consumer when
placed on the market.

The Bartlett and the Kieffer pears principally were used in the experi-
ments, but several other kinds have been under limited observation.
The Bartlett represents the delicate-fleshed, tender pears, ripening in
hot weather, which are withdrawn from storage before the weather
becomes cool. The Kieffer, on the other hand, is a coarse, hard pear,
ripening later in the fall in cooler weather, and in which the normal
ripening processes are slower. It is a longer keeper, and like other
fall varieties is withdrawn in cool weather.

The Bartlett experiments extended through the season of 1902.
The fruit was grown bv Mr. F. L. Bradley, Barker, N. Y., in a twelve-
year-old orchard on a sand}- loam, with a clay subsoil. The orchard
is a half mile from Lake Ontario and is 5<> feet above the level of the
lake. The fruit, which was full grown, but green, was picked early in
September, and was packed in tight and ventilated barrels, in 40-pound
closed boxes, and in slat bushel crates. Part of the fruit in each lot
was wrapped in imprinted news paper, and an equal amount was left
unwrapped. Part was forwarded at once by trolley line to the ware-
house of the Buffalo Cold Storage Company at Buffalo, N. Y., and a
similar quantity was held four days before being stored. The fruit
reached the storage house within ten hours after leaving the orchard.

The Kieffer experiments have extended .over two years. In 1901
the fruit was grown by Mr. M. B. AVaite, Woodwardsville, Md.. in a
Norfolk sandy soil, on rapidly growing five-year-old trees, from which
the fruit was large, coarse, and of poor quality. It was stored in the cold-
storage department of the Center Market at Washington,!). C. In

EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE. 13

1902 the fruit with which the experiments were made was grown by
Mr. S. H. Derby, Woodside, Del., on heavy-bearing ten-year-old
trees on sandy soil with a clay subsoil. The fruit was smaller, of finer
texture, and of somewhat better quality than that used the previous
year. It was stored in the cold-storage department of the Readino-
Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pa.

The Kieffers were picked at three degrees of maturity: First, when
two-thirds grown, or before the fruit is usually picked; second, ten
days later, or about the time that Kieffers are commonly picked, and
third, ten days later, when the fruit was fully grown and still green,
but showing a yellowish tinge around the calyx. In each picking,
part of the fruit was shipped to storage and was placed in rooms with
a temperature of 36 and 32° F. within forty-eight hours. Equal quan-
tities stored in each temperature were wrapped in parchment paper, in
imprinted news paper, and were left unwrapped. A duplicate lot of
fruit remained in a common storage house ten days in open boxes,
when it was packed in a similar manner and sent to storage. This fruit
colored considerably during the interval, but was still hard and appar-
ently in good physical condition .on entering the storage house. The
pears were stored in -io-pound closed boxes and in five-eighths bushel
peach baskets. One hundred and fifty bushels were used in the
experiments.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE DEGREE OF MATURITY ON KEEPING QUALITY.

The experiments with the Kieffer pear show that under conditions
similar to those in Delaware and eastern Maryland this variety may
safe!}' be picked from the same orchard during a period of at least
three weeks, or when from two-thirds grown to full size, and that the
fruit in all cases may be stored successfully until the Holidays, or
much longer if there is still a demand for it. It is absolutely essential
that the fruit be handled with the greatest care, that it be sent at once
to storage after picking, that it be packed carefully to prevent bruis-
ing (preferably in small packages, like a bushel box), and that it be
stored in a temperature not above 32 F. if it is desired to hold it for
any length of time. If stored by the middle of October, the fruit,
by the latter part of December, will take on a rich, yellow color when
kept in a temperature of 32° F., and earlier if a higher temperature
is used. The fruit may be withdrawn during the Holida}^, and will
stand up, i. e., continue in good condition, for ten days or longer if the
weather is cool, and will retain its normal quality if the rooms have
been properly managed. While the later picked fully grown pears
keep well, they are already inferior in quality at the picking time, as
the flesh around the center is rilled with woody cells, making it of less
value either for eating in a fresh state or for culinary purposes. These
coarse cells in the Kieffer and some other late varieties do not develop

14 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

in the early-picked fruit to so largo an extent. Pears of all kinds need
to be picked before they reach maturity and to be ripened in a cool tem-
perature if the best texture and flavor arc to be developed. It is a mat-
ter of practical judgment to determine the proper picking season, but
for cold storage or other purposes the stem should at least cleave easily
from the tree before the fruit is ready to pick. Many trees bear fruit
differing widely in the degree of maturity at the same time, and in
such cases uniformity in the crop can be attained only when the orchard
is picked several times, the properly mature specimens being selected
in each successive picking. This practice not only secures more uni-
formity in ripeness, but the fruit is more even and the average size is
larger than when all the pears are picked at the same time.

THE INFLUENCE OF DELAYED STORAGE ON KEEPING QUALITY.

Pears ripen much more rapidly after they are picked than the} T do
in a similar temperature while hanging on the tree. The rapidity of
ripening varies with the character of the variety, the maturity of the
fruit when picked, the temperature in which it is placed, and the con-
ditions under which it has been grown. If the fruit is left in the
orchard in warm weather in piles or in packages, if it is delayed in
hot cars or on a railroad siding in transit, or if it is put in packages
which retain the heat for a long time, it continues to ripen and. is
considerably nearer the end of its life history when it reaches the
storage house than would otherwise be the case. The influence of.
delay in reaching the storage house will therefore vary with the
season, with the variety, and with the conditions surrounding the
fruit at this time. A delay of a few days with the quick ripening
Bartlett in sultry August weather might cause the fruit to soften or
even decay before it reached the storage house, though a similar
delay in clear, cooler weather would be less hurtful. A delay of a
like period in storing the slower-ripening Kieffer would be less in-
jurious in cool October weather, though the Kieffer pear, especially
from young trees, can sometimes be ruined commercially by not stor-
ing it at once after picking.

From the experiments with the Bartlett and the Kieffer pears, from
which these general introductory remarks are deduced, it was found
that the Bartlett, if properly packed, kept in prime condition in cold
storage for six weeks, provided it was stored within forty-eight hours
after picking in a temperature of 32° F. ; but that if the fruit did not
reach the storage room until four days after it was picked there was a
loss of 20 to 30 per cent from softening and decay under exactly simi-
lar storage conditions.

The Kietters stored within forty-eight hours in a temperature of
32° F. have kept in perfect condition until late winter, although there
is little commercial demand for them after the Holidays. The fruit

EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE. 15

grown by Mr. Waite on young- trees in 1901, which was still hard and
greenish-yellow when stored ten days after picking, began to discolor
and soften at the core in a few days after entering the storage room,
though the outside of the pears appeared perfectly normal. After
forty to fifty days the flesh was nearly all discolored and softened,
and the skin had turned brown. The fruit from the older trees on
the Derby farm in 11MJ2, which was smaller and finer in texture,
appeared to ripen as much as the Waite pears during the ten days*
delay. This fruit, however, did not discolor at the core and decay
from the inside outward, but continued to ripen and soften in the
storage house and was injured at least 50 per cent in its commercial
value by the delay. Plate II shows the condition of the Kieffer pears
stored in a temperature of 32- F. as soon as picked and withdrawn in
March. Plate 111 shows the condition of fruit picked at the same time
and stored in the same temperature ten days after picking, when with-
drawn in January. (See also PI. IV, tig. 1.)

The results of the experiments point out clearly the injury that may
occur by delaying the storage of the fruit after it is picked, and empha-
size the importance of a quick transfer from the orchard to the storage
house. If cars are not available for transportation and the fruit can
not be kept in a cool place, it is safer on the trees so far as its ulti-
mate keeping is concerned. It is advisable to forward to storage
the delicate quick-ripening varieties, like the Bartlett, in refrigerator
cars. The common closed freight car in warm weather soon becomes
a sweat box and ripens the fruit with unusual rapidity. The results
show clearly that the storage house may be responsible in no way for
the entire deterioration or even for a large part of the deterioration
that may take place while the fruit is in storage, and that the different
behavior of two lots from the same orchard may often be due to the
conditions that exist during the period that elapsed between the time
of picking and of storage.

THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES ON KEEPING QUAUTY.

There is no uniformity in practice in the temperatures in which
pears are stored. Formerly a temperature of 36° to 40° F. was con-
sidered most desirable, as a lower temperature was supposed to dis-
color the flesh and to injure the quality of the fruit. The pears were
also believed to deteriorate much more rapidly when removed to a
warmer air. In recent }^ears a number of storage houses have carried
the fruit at the standard apple temperatures, i. e., from 30° to 32° F.
Large quantities of Bartlett, Angouleme, and Kieffer pears have been
stored in 32° and 36 F. in the experiments of the Department. The
fruit of all varieties has kept longer in the lower temperature and the
flesh has retained its commercial qualities longer after removal from
the storage house. Bartlett pears were in prime commercial condition

16 COLD STORAGE OF THE TEAR AND PEACH.

four to five weeks longer, Angouleme two months longer, and Kieffer
three months longer in a temperature of 32 F. Plates II and V show
the condition of Kieffer pears in March, 1902, in 32° and 36° F., the
two lots having received similar treatment in all respects except in
storage temperatures. (See also PL IV, fig. 2.)

In the higher temperature the fruit ripens more rapidly, which
may he an advantage when it is desirable to color the fruit before it
leaves storage; but tin 1 fruit in that condition is nearer the end of its
life history and breaks down more quickly on removal to a warm
atmosphere.

There is a much wider variation in the behavior of pears that have
been delayed in storage or that are overripe when they enter the stor-
age room at 32° and 30 F. than in pears stored at once in these tem-
peratures. In the higher temperature the fruit that has been improp-
erly handled ripens and deteriorates more quickly. The lower
temperature not onty keeps the fruit longer when it is stored at once,
but it is even more essential in preventing rapid deterioration in fruit
that has been improperly handled.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE TYPE OE PACKAOE ON KEEPING QUALITY.

Pears are commercially stored in closed barrels, in ventilated barrels,
in tight boxes holding a bushel or less, and in various kinds of venti-
lated crates. The character of the package exerts an important influ-
ence on the ripening of the fruit and on its behavior in other respects,
both before it enters the storage house and after it is stored, though
this fact is not generally recognized by fruit handlers or by ware-
housemen. The influence of the package on the ripening processes
appears to be related primarily to the ease with which the heat is ra-
diated from its contents. The greater the bulk of fruit within a
package and the more the air of the storage room is excluded from it
the longer the heat is retained. Quick-ripening fruits, like the Bart-
lett pear, that enter the storage room in a hot condition in large,
closed packages, ma} T continue to ripen considerably before the fruit
cools down, and the ripening will be most pronounced in the center of
the package, where the heat is retained longest. The influence of the
package, therefore, will be most marked in the hottest weather and
on fruits that ripen most quickly.

In the experiments of the Department of Agriculture the Bartlett
pears were stored in tight and in ventilated barrels, in closed 4<>-pound
boxes, and in slat bushel crates. After three weeks in the storage
house the fruit that was stored in barrels soon after picking in a tem-
perature of 32 F. was yellow in the center of the package, while the
outside layers were firm and green. Plate VI shows the average condi-
tion of the fruit in these two positions one week after storing. After

EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE. 17

five weeks in storage the fruit in the center of the barrel was soft and
of no commercial value, while the outside layers were still in good
condition. The difference was still greater in a temperature of 36° F.,
and was more marked in both temperatures in fruit that was delayed
in reaching the storage house.

In both the closed 40-pound boxes and the slat crates the fruit was
even greener in average condition than the outside layers in the bar-
rels, and it was uniformly firm throughout the entire package.

There was apparently no difference between the fruit in the com-
mercial ventilated pear barrel and the common tight pear barrel.

With the Kieffer. which enters the storage room in a cooler condi-
tion and which ripens more slowly, a comparison has been made
(in 1902) between the closed 40-pound box and the barrel, and while
the difference has been less marked the fruit has kept distinctly bet-
ter in the smaller package. The fruit in barrels was the property
of Mr. M. B. Waite, and was under observation by the Department
through his courtesy.

There is a wide difference of opinion concerning the value of venti-
lated in comparison with tight packages for storage purposes. No
dogmatic statements can be made that will not be subject to many
exceptions. The chief advantage of a ventilated package for storage
appears to lie in the greater rapidity with which the fruit cools, and
the quickness with which this result is attained depends on the tem-
perature of the fruit, its bulk, the temperature of the room, and the
openness of the package. The open-slat bushel crate, often used for
storing Bartlett pears, with which rapid cooling is of fundamental
importance, may be of much less value in storing later fruits that
are cooler and which ripen more slowly, and it may be of even less
importance to Bartletts in cool seasons.

The ordinary ventilated pear barrel does not appear to have suffi-
cient ventilation to cool the large bulk of fruit quickly.

The open package has several disadvantages. If the fruit is to
remain in storage for any length of time its exposure to the air will
be followed by wilting, which, in fruits held until late winter or
spring, may cause serious commercial injury. The ventilated pack-
age, especially if made of slats, needs to be handled with the utmost
care to prevent the discoloration of the fruit due to bruising where it
conies in contact with the edges of the slats.

There was little difference in the behavior of the Bartletts in the
closed 40-pound boxes and the slat crates at the end of five weeks, and
it would appear that a package of this size, even though closed, radi-
ates the heat with sufficient rapidity to quickly cheek the. ripening.
Therefore the grower who uses the 40-pound or the bushel pear box
for commercial purposes can store the fruit safely in this package, but

26073— No. 40—03 -1

18 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

if the barrel is used as the selling- package, and the weather is hot, it
is a better plan to store the fruit in smaller packages, from which it
ma}' be repacked in barrels at the end of the storage season. While
this practice is followed in several storage houses, it is not to be
encouraged, as the rehandling of the fruit is a disadvantage. Rather
the use of the pear box should be encouraged as a more desirable pack-
age, both for storage and for commercial purposes.

The fruit-package question, as it relates to the storage house, may
be summed up by stating that fruits like the Bartlett pear and others
that ripen quickly and in hot weather may be expected to give best
results when stored in small packages. If the storage season does not
extend beyond early winter, an open package may be of additional
value, though not necessary if the package is small. But fruits like
the winter apples and late pears, which ripen in the fall in cool
weather and remain in storage for a long period, should be stored in
closed packages to prevent wilting. In such cases the disadvantages
of a large package, like a barrel, are not likely to be serious.

THE INFLUENCE OF A WRAPPER ON KEEPING QUALITY.

The life of a fruit in cold storage is prolonged by the use of a fruit
wrapper, and the advantage of the wrapper is more marked as the
season progresses. In Plate VII is shown the average quantity of
Kieffer pears in imprinted news paper and in parchment wrappers in
comparison with the quantity of commercial unwrapped pears in boxes
in January. Nearly 50 per cent of the unwrapped fruit had decayed at
that time. Early in the season the influence of the wrapper is not so
important, but if the fruit is to be stored until late spring the wrapper
keeps the fruit tinner and brighter. It prevents the spread of fungus
spores from one fruit to another and thereby reduces the amount of
decay. It checks the accumulation of mold on the stem and calyx in
long-term storage fruits, and in light-colored fruits it prevents bruis-
ing and the discoloration that usually follows.

Careful comparisons have been made of the efficiency of tissue,
parchment, imprinted news paper, and waxed papers, and but little
practical difference has been observed, except that a large amount of
mold has developed on the parchment wrappers in a temperature of
36° F. A double wrapper has proved more efficient for long keeping
than a single one, and a satisfactory combination consists of an absorb-
ent, imprinted news paper next to the fruit, with a more impervious
paraffin wrapper outside.

The chief advantage of the wrapper for the Bartlett pear, which is
usually stored for a short time only, lies in the mechanical protection
to the fruit rather than in its efficiency in prolonging its season. Its
use for this purpose is advisable if the fruit is of superior grade and

EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE. 19

designed for a first-class trade. For the late varieties the wrapper
presents the same advantages, and has an additional value in increas-
ing the commercial life of the fruit. It is especially efficient, if the
package is not tight, in lessening the wilting.

THE INFLUENCE OF COLD STORAGE ON THE FLAVOR AND AROMA OF

THE FRUIT.

There is a general impression that cold storage injures the delicate
aroma and characteristic flavors of fruits. In this publication the
most general statements only can be made concerning it, as the subject
is of a most complicated nature, not well understood, and involving a
consideration of the biological and chemical processes within the fruit
and of their relation to the changes in or to the development of the
aromatic oils, ethers, acids, or other products which give the fruit its
individuality of flavor.

It is not true that all cold-storage fruits are poor in quality. On the
contrary, if the storage house is properly managed the most delicate
aromas and flavors of many fruits are developed and retained for a
long time. The quality of the late fall and winter apples ripened in
the cold-storage house is equal to that of the same varieties ripened
out of storage, and the late pears usually surpass in quality the same
varieties ripened in common storage.

The summer fruits, like the peach, the Bartlett pear, and the early
apples, lose their quality very easily, and in an improperly managed
storage house may have their flavors wholly destroyed. Even in a
room in which the air is kept pure the flavor of the peach seems to
be lost after two weeks or more, while the fruit is still firm, much as
the violet and some other flowers exhale most of their aromatic proper-
ties before the flowers begin to wilt.

It is probable that much of the loss in quality may be attributed to
overmaturity, brought about by holding the fruit in storage beyond
its maximum time; but it should be remembered that the same change
takes place in fruits that are not ripened in cold storage, the aroma
and fine flavor often disappearing before the fruit begins to deteriorate
materially in texture or appearance.

On the other hand, it is certain that the quality of stored fruits may
be injuriously affected by improper handling or by the faulty manage-
ment of the storage rooms. Respiration goes on rapidly when the
fruit is warm. If placed in an improperly ventilated storage room,
in which odors are arising from other products stored in the same
compartment or in the same cycle of refrigeration, the warm fruit
may absorb these gases and become tainted by them, while the same
fruit, if cool when it enters the storage room, will breathe much less
actively, and there will be less danger of injury to the quality, even

20 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

though the air is not perfectly sweet. The atmosphere of the rooms,
in which citrus fruits or vegetables of various kinds such as cabbage,
onions, and celery — are stored, is often charged with the odors arising
from these products, if the ventilation is not thorough. In small
houses, in which a single room can not be used for each product,
fruits are often stored together during the summer months, and at
this period the storage air is in greater danger of vitiation, since it
is more difficult to provide proper ventilation.

The summer fruits, therefore, being generally hot when placed in
the storage room, are in condition to absorb the odors which are likely
to affect the rooms during the warm season, and as the biological and
chemical processes are normally more active in the case of such fruit
than in fruits maturing later, the flavors deteriorate more quickly,
even in well-ventilated rooms. The fruits that are picked in cool
weather and enter the storage rooms in a cooler and less active condi-
tion are not in the same danger of contamination.

From the practical standpoint it may be pointed out that summer
fruits should be stored in rooms in which the air is sweet and pure.
They should not be stored with products which exhale strong aromas,
and the dano-er of contamination is lessened if the fruit can be cooled
down in a pure room before it is placed with other products in the
permanent compartment provided for it. For the same reason the
winter fruits should be stored in rooms in which the air is kept pure,
and preferably in compartments assigned to a single fruit.

The experiments furnish no evidence that the quality deteriorates
more rapidly as the temperature is lowered. On the contrary, all of
the experience so far indicates that the delicate flavors of the pear,
apple, and peach are retained longer in a temperature that approaches
the freezing point than in any higher temperature.

THE BEHAVIOR OF THE FRUIT WHEN REMOVED FROM STORAGE.

There is a general impression that cold-storage fruit deteriorates
quickly after removal from the warehouse. This opinion is based on
the experience of the fruit handler and the consumer, and in many
cases is w 7 ell founded, but this rule is not applicable to all fruits in
all seasons. The rapidity of deterioration depends principally on the
nature of the fruit, on its degree of maturity when it leaves the
warehouse, and on the temperature into which it is taken. A Bartlett
pear, which normally ripens quickly, will ripen and break down in a
few days after removal. If ripe or overmature when removed, it will
decay much more quickly, and in either condition its deterioration
will be hastened if the weather is unusually hot and humid. In the
practical management of this variety it is fundamentally important
that it be taken from storage while it is still firm and that it be kept

EXPERIMENTS IN PEAR STORAGE. 21

as cool as possible after withdrawal. It is probably true that all
fruits from storage that are handled in hot weather will deteriorate
quickly, but it appears to be equally true that similar fruits that have
not been in storage break down with nearly the same rapidity if the} r
are equally ripe. The late pears, which ripen more slowly, if with
drawn in cool weather will remain firm for weeks when held in a cool
room after withdrawal. If overripe they break down much sooner,
and a hot room hastens decay in either case. The same principles
hold equally true with apples. The winter varieties, if firm, may be
taken to a cool room and will remain in good condition for weeks or
months and retain their most delicate qualities, but in the spring,
when the fruit is more mature and the weather warmer, they naturally
break down more rapidly.

In commercial practice fruits of all kinds are often left in the stor-
age house until they are overripe. The dealer holds the fruit for a
rise in price, and removes it, not because the price is more satisfac-
tory, but because a longer storage would result in serious deterioration.
If considerable of the fruit is decayed when withdrawn, the evidence
is conclusive that it has been stored too long. Fruit in this condition
normally decays in a short time, but the root of the trouble lies not in
the storage treatment, but rather in not having ottered it for sale
while it was still firm. In the purchase of cold-storage fruit, if the
consumer will exercise good judgment in the selection of sound stock
that is neither fully mature nor overripe, he will have little cause to
complain of its rapid deterioration.

SUMMARY.

A cold-storage warehouse is expected to furnish a uniform temper-
ature in all parts of the storage compartments throughout the season,
and to be managed in other respects so that an unusual loss in the
quality, color, or texture of the fruit may not reasonably be attributed
to improper handling or neglect.

An unusual loss in storage fruit ma}^ be caused by improper matur-
ity, by delaying the storage after picking, b} T storing in an improper
temperature, or by the use of an unsuitable package. The keeping
quality is influenced by the various conditions in which the fruit is
grown.

Pears should be picked before they are mature, either for storage
or for other purposes. The fruit should attain nearly full size, and
the stem should cleave easily from the tree when picked.

The fruit should be stored at the earliest possible time after picking.
A delay in storage may cause the fruit to ripen or to decay in the
storage house. The effect of the delay is most serious in hot weather
and with varieties that ripen quickly. (See Pis. II, III, and IV, tig. 1.)

22 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

The fruit .should be stored in a temperature of about 32° F., unless
the dealer desires to ripen the fruit slowly in storage, when a temper-
ature of 36° or 40° F., or even higher, may be advisable. The fruit
keeps longest and retains its color and flavor better in the low tem-
perature. It also stands up longer when removed. (See Pis. II, IV,
fig. 2, and V.)

The fruit should be stored in a package from which the heat will be
quickly radiated. This is especially necessary in hot weather and with
quick- ripening varieties like the Bartlett pear. For the late pears that
are harvested and stored in cool weather it is not so important. Bart-
letts may ripen in the center of a barrel before the fruit is cooled down.
A box holding not more than 50 pounds is a desirable storage package,
and it is not necessary to have it ventilated. The chief value of a
ventilated package lies in the rapidity with which the contents are
cooled, but long exposure to the air of the storage room causes the
fruit to wilt, (See PI. VI.)

Ventilation is essential for large packages, especially if the fruit is
hot when stored and ripens quickly.

A wrapper prolongs the life of the fruit. It protects it from bruis-
ing, lessens the wilting and decay, and keeps it bright in color. A
double wrapper is more efficient than a single one, and a good combi-
nation consists of absorptive imprinted news paper next to the fruit,
with a more impervious paraffin wrapper outside. (See PL VII,)

The quality of a pear normally deteriorates as it passes maturity,
whether the fruit is in storage or not, or it is never fully developed if
the fruit is ripened on the tree. The quality of the quick-ripening
summer varieties deteriorates more rapidly than that of the later kinds.
Much of the loss in quality in the storage of pears may be attributed
to their overripeness. The quality is also injured by impure air in the
storage rooms, and the warm summer pears will absorb more of the
odors than the late winter varieties. The fruit will absorb less if cool
when it enters the storage room. The air of the storage room should
be kept sweet by proper ventilation.

The rapidity with which the fruit breaks down after removal depends
on the nature of the variety, the degree of maturity when withdrawn,
and the temperature into which it is taken. Summer varieties break
down normally more quickly than later kinds. The more mature the
fruit when withdrawn the quicker deterioration begins, and a high
temperature hastens deterioration. If taken from the storage house
in a firm condition to a cool temperature, the fruit will stand up as
long as other pears in a similar degree of maturity that have not been
in storage.

It pays to store the best grades of fruit only. Fruit that is imper-
fect or bruised, or that has been handled badly in any respect, docs not
keep well.

COLD STORAGE OE^ THE PEACH. 23

INFLUENCE OF COLD STORAGE ON THE PEACH INDUSTRY.

Cold .storage has not materially influenced the development of the
American peach business, and it is not likely to do so to any extent in
the future. In the early days of peach growing the industry was
localized in sections like the Chesapeake Peninsula, New Jersey, and
Michigan. The use of the fruit in considerable quantities was then
limited to a few near-by markets and to a short time in July, August,
and September. Now peach growing is rapidly extending to all parts
of the country where the climatic conditions and the facilities for
transportation are favorable. The refrigerator-car service has brought
the peach belts and the distant markets close together, and whenever
the crop is general the New York or the Chicago trade may be sup-
plied almost continuously from May till late October with fruit from
Florida, Texas. Georgia, the Chesapeake Peninsula, New Jersey, the
Ozark Mountain region, Michigan, New England, California. West
Virginia, western Maryland, and other peach-growing sections.

The chief value of cold storage to the peach industry will probably
lie in the temporary storage of the fruit during an overstocked mar-
ket, when, however, there is a reasonable prospect of a better market
withimtwo or three weeks. It might be useful also in rilling the gaps
between the crops of different regions, especially when there are local
failures which prevent a continuous supply. It is not now proritable
to store the fruit for any length of time, nor under any circumstances
unless the condition of the fruit and the storage conditions are most
favorable. The life processes in the peach and the weather conditions
in which it is handled make it even more critical as a storage product
than the delicate Bartlett pear. In normal ripening it passes from
maturity to decay in a few hours in hot, humid weather. The aroma
and flavor are most delicate in character and are easily injured or lost,
and the influence of any mismanagement of the fruit in the orchard,
in transit, or in the storage house is quickly detected by the consumer.

PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES IN PEACH STORAGE.

Under the most favorable conditions known at present, peach stor-
age is a hazardous business. Before the fruit is taken from the storage
house the flesh often turns brown in color, while the skin remains
bright and normal. If the flesh is natural in color and texture it fre-
quently discolors within a day or two after removal. There is a rapid
.deterioration in the quality of stored peaches when the fruit is held
for any length of time, the delicate aroma and flavor giving way to an
insipid or even bitter taste. Sometimes the flesh dries out, or under
other conditions it may become "pasty." Dealers in storage peaches
frequently sell them in a bright, firm condition, and shortly after-
wards the purchasers complain of the dark and worthless quality of

2-1 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

the flesh. It has often been noticed that fruit in the various packages
in the same room does not keep equally well, some of it ripening and
even softening while the fruit in other packages is still firm. In fact,
the difficulties are so numerous that few houses attempt to store the
fruit.

It has been the aim in the cold-storage investigations of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture to determine, as far as possible, the cause of the
peach-storage troubles and to indicate the conditions under which the
business may be more successfully developed.

OUTLINE OF EXPERIMENTS IN PEACH STORAGE.

The investigations have been conducted in the cold-storage depart-
ment of the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pa., with
Elberta peaches from the Hale Orchard Company, Fort Valley, Ga.,
and in the warehouse of the Hartford Cold Storage Company, Hart-
ford, Conn., with Elberta and several other varieties grown by J. H.
Hale at South Glastonbury, Conn.

In Georgia the fruit was packed in the Georgia peach carriers, left
unwrapped, and divided into two lots, one representing fruit that was
nearly full grown, well colored, and hard; the other, highly colored
fruit, closely approaching but not yet mellow. Three duplicate ship-
ments were forwarded at different times in the two bottom la} T ers-of
refrigerator cars, and in each shipment part of the fruit was placed in
the car within three or four hours after it was picked, and an equal
quantity delayed in a packing shed from ten to fifteen hours during
the day before it was loaded. Equal quantities of each series were
stored in temperatures of 32°, 30 , and 40 F. The transfer from the
refrigerator car to the storage house was made by wagon at night, the
interval between the car and storage varying from two to five hours.

In Connecticut the fruit represented two degrees of maturity, simi-
lar to the Georgia shipments, except that the most mature fruit was
mellow when stored. This fruit was grown at an elevation of 450 feet
on trees six years old. It was medium in size, firm, highly colored,
and of excellent shipping quality. Equal quantities were wrapped in
California fruit paper and left unwrapped, and packed in the Connec-
ticut half-bushel basket, in Georgia carriers, and in Hat, 20-pound
boxes, holding two layers of fruit. The peaches were forwarded by
trolley to the storage house, which was reached in two hours after the
fruit left the packing shed. Duplicate lots of all the series were stored
in temperatures of 32 . 36 . and 40 F.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESULTS.

The general outcome of the experiments, both with the Georgia and
the Connecticut fruit, is similar and may be summed up as follows:

The fruit that was highly colored and firm when it entered the stor-
age house kept in prime commercial condition for two to three weeks

EXPERIMENTS IN PEACH STORAGE. 25

in a temperature of 32° F. The quality was retained and the fruit
stood up two or three days after removal from the storage house, the
length of its durability depending- on the condition of the weather
when it was removed. After three weeks in storage the quality of
the fruit deteriorated, though the peaches continued firm and bright-
in appearance for a month, and retained the normal color of the flesh
two or three da} T s after removal. If the fruit was mellow when it
entered the storage house it deteriorated more quickly, both while in
storage and after withdrawal. If unripe it shriveled considerably.

In a temperature of 40 c F. the ripening processes progressed rap-
idly, and the flesh began to turn brown in color after a week or ten
days in storage. The fruit also deteriorated much more quickly after
removal, as it was already nearer the end of its life history. It began
to lose in quality at the end of a week.

In a temperature of 3<> : F. the fruit ripened more rapidly than in
32~ , and more slowiy than in 40 c F. It reached its profitable commer-
cial limit in ten days to two weeks, when the quality began to dete-
riorate, and after this period the flesh began to discolor. (See PI. I,
frontispiece.

The fruit kept well in all of the packages in a temperature of 32 c F.
for about two weeks, after which that in the open baskets and in the
Georgia carriers began to show wilting. In the 20-pound boxes, in
which the circulation of air is restricted, the fruit remained firm
throughout the storage season.

It is necessary that the fruit be packed firmly to prevent bruising
in transit, but if the peaches pressed against each other unduly it was
found that the compressed parts of the flesh discolored after a week in
storage. A wrapper proved a great protection against this trouble,
especially in the baskets of the Georgia peach carrier, and in all of the
packages the wrapped fruit retained its firmness and brightness for a
longer time than that left without wrappers.

The fruit should be removed from storage while it is still linn
and bright. The peach normally deteriorates quickly after it reaches
maturity, and the rapidity of deterioration is influenced by the nature
of the variety, by the degree of ripeness when removed, and by the
temperature into which it is taken. A quick ripening sort, like
Champion, is more active biologically and chemically than the Elberta
variety, and the wanner the temperature in which either is placed
th<> sooner decomposition is accomplished. It is advisable therefore
to remove the fiv.it while firm and keep it in the coolest possible
temperature.

The peaches in the top of a refrigerator ear that has been several

days in transit in hot weather are sometimes overripe and need to be

sold as soon as the market is reached, while at the same time the fruit

in the bottom layers may still be firm. The rapidity with which the

26073— No. 40—03 3

26 COLD STORAGE OF THE PEAR AND PEACH.

fruit cools down in the car depends on the care with which the car is
iced, and on the temperature at which the fruit enters the car. Fruit
that is loaded in the middle of a hot day and that has been picked in a
heated condition may be 20 or more degrees warmer than fruit picked
and loaded in the cool of the morning. Such warm fruit ripens much
more rapidly, consumes more ice in cooling down, and takes longer
to reach a low temperature. When the temperature in the top of the
car is higher than that of the lower part the ripening of the upper
layers of fruit will be hastened. If the fruit is destined for cold
storage, these upper layers, if more mature, should be piled sepa-
rately, and sold as soon as their condition warrants it. Under these
conditions if the fruit from this position is mixed in with the rest
of the load it may begin to deteriorate before the remainder of the
fruit shows mellowing.

The general principles outlined in former pages for the handling of
the Bartlett pear apply to the storage of the peach, except that the latter
fruit is more delicate and the ripening processes are even more rapid.
Every condition, therefore, surrounding the peach in the orchard, in
transit, in the storage house, and at withdrawal must be most favor-
able. The fruit must be well-grown and well-colored but firm when
picked. The packing must be done with care to prevent bruising.
If the fruit is to be transported in refrigerator cars, it should be
loaded soon after picking, and preferably before it loses the cool night
temperature. The peaches should be transferred from the cars to
the storage house, or from the orchard to the storage house if the
latter is near the orchard, in the quickest possible time. The air of
the storage room should be kept sweet and pure. The fruit should
always be removed to the coolest possible temperature, usually at the
end of two weeks, while it is still firm, and it should be placed in the
consumer's hands at once.

If the fruit is overripe when picked, or becomes mellow from
unfavorable handling before it enters the storage house, it is already
in a critical condition and may be expected to deteriorate quickly.

If the conditions outlined are observed in the handling of the peach,
it is possible to store it temporarily with favorable results.

PLATES.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. (Frontispiece. ) Average condition of Georgia Elberta peaches two weeks
in storage after forty-eight hours' withdrawal to a warm room. The upper
specimen represents the average condition of fruit stored in a temperature of
36° F. The lower specimen represents the average condition of the fruit stored
in 32° F. The lower temperature gave better results in every respect. (Natural
size. )

Plate II. Average condition of Maryland Kieffer pears, March, 1902. This fruit
was picked from young trees on October 21, 1901, ami was stored the following
day in a temperature of 32° F. Under these conditions the fruit kept well until
late in the spring. ( Reduced one-fifth. )

Plate III. Average condition of Maryland Kieffer pears on January 15, 1902. This
fruit was picked from young trees October 21, 1901, and stored in a firm condi-
tion ten days later in a temperature of 32° F. The delay in the storage caused
the fruit to decay from the core outward. (Reduced one-fifth.)

Plate IV. Fig. 1 shows the influence of immediate and delayed storage on Mary-
land Kieffer pears. The fruit in the box at the right represents the average con-
dition of pears picked October 21, 1901, stored October 22, and withdrawn March
3, 1902. Storage temperature 32° F. The fruit was wrapped in parchment
paper. It was in prime commercial condition when withdrawn from storage.
The fruit in the box at the left represents the average condition of pears picked
from the same trees at the same time. It was stored in the same temperature
ten days later and withdrawn March 3, 1902. All of the fruit had decayed.
Fig. 2 shows the influence of 36° and 32° F. storage temperature on the keeping
of Kieffer pears. The fruit in both packages was picked October 21, 1901, and
stored October 22, 1901. The package at the left represents the average con-
dition of the fruit when withdrawn March 3, 1902, from a temperature of 36° F.
Ail of the pears were soft and discolored, and some of them decayed. The fruit
in the package at the right, kept in a temperature of 32° F., was bright yellow,
linn, and in prime commercial condition.

Plate V. Average condition of Maryland Kieffer pears March 3, 1902. Picked
October 21, 1901; stored October 22, 1901. Temperature 36° F. In this tem-
perature the fruit did not keep well after December 1. (Reduced one-fifth.)

Plate VI. The upper figure shows the average condition of western New York Bart-
lett pears in the center of a barrel one week after being placed in storage. In
this position the fruit cools more slowly than that near the staves or ends and
it therefore ripens considerably before the temperature is reduced. The lower
figure shows the average condition of the pears one week after storing at top and
bottom and next to the staves of the same barrel. In these positions the fruit
cools quickly and the ripening processes are retarded. For quick ripening fruits
that are handled in hot weather small packages are preferable. (Natural size.)

Plate VII. Illustration of the influence of wrappers on the keeping of the Kieffer
pear. This fruit was picked October 21, 1901, stored October 22, 1901, in a tem-
perature of 32° F., and withdrawn January 20, 1902. Nearly 50 per cent of the
unwrapped fruit was decayed, while there was no loss in the fruit wrapped in
news paper or in parchment paper (lowest figure).
28

o

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Oept. of Agriculture.

Plate II

KlEFFER PEAR, MARCH, 1902. ( FRUIT PICKED OCTOBER 21, 1901, AND PLACED IN

Storage the following day at a temperature of 32° F.) reduced one-fifth.

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate III.

KlEFFER PEAR, JANUARY, 1902. (FRUIT PICKED OCTOBER 21, 1901, AND PLACED IN
STORAGE TEN DAYS LATER AT A TEMPERATURE OF 32° F. 1 REDUCED ONE-FIFTH.

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IV.

Fig. 1.— Wrapped Kieffer Pears, Removed from Cold Storage (32° F.) on

March 3, 1902

Fruit in both boxes picked October 21, 1901, that on the right being placed in storage on the
following day, while that on the left was not stored for ten days.

Fig. 2.— Wrapped Kieffer Pears, Removed from Cold Storage (36° and 32° F.)

on March 3, 1902.

Fruit in both boxes picked October 21, 1901, and stored on the following day that on the right
at a temperature of 32° and that on the left at 36° F.

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S Dept i1 Ag iculture,

Plate V.

KlEFFER PEARS, MARCH, 1902. (FRUIT PICKED OCTOBER 21, 1901, AND STORED
ON THE FOLLOWING DAY AT A TEMPERATURE OF 36° F.) REDUCED ONE-FIFTH.

Bui. 40, Bureau of F ! int Industry. U. S. Di pt. of Agriculture.

Plate vi

Bartlett pears, one week after being placed in cold storage. (The upper

figure shows the average condition of the fruit in center of barrel; the

lower figure that near the outside of the barrel. i natural size

Bui. 40, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. nf Agriculture.

Plate VII.

Kieffer Pears, Removed from Cold Storage on January 20, 1902.

Fruit picked October 21, 1901, and placed in storage on the following day. Nearly ">o per cent
of the unwrapped fruit decayed, while that in parchment wrappers (lowest figure) and in
unprinted newspaper kept in perfect condition.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN No. 41.

B. T. GALliOWAY, C'Wfoj Htnxiii.

ERCIiL GRADING

BY

CARL S. SCOFIELD,
Expert, Grain Investigations.

BOTANICAL. INVESTIGATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS

Issued June 13, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1 9 3.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes Vege-
table Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Pomological Investigations, anil
Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate Divisions,
and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington Experimental
Farm, Tea Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of Bulle-
tins of the various Divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as one
series of the Bureau. A list of the Bulletins issued in the present series follows.

Attention is directed to the fact that "the serial, scientific, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Department of Agriculture are not for general distribution.
AH copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost. ' ' All applicati< >ns for such pub-
lications should, therefore, be made to the Superintendent of Documents, "Union
Building, Washington; D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. I. Liming of Soils
from a Physiological Standpoint, II. Experimental Study of the Relation of Lime
and Magnesia to Plant .Growth. 1901. Price, 10 cents.

No. 2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

No. 3. Macaroni Wheats. li»01. Price, 20 cents.

No. 4. Range Improvement in Arizona. ( Cooperative Experiments with the
Arizona Experiment Station.) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 5. Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Intro-
duction for Distribution in Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment Stations.
Inventory No. 9, Numbers 4351-5500. L§02. Price, 10 cents.

No. 6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Descriptions. 1902.
Price, 15 cents.

No. 8. A Collection of Economic and Other Fungi Prepared for Distribution.
1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 9. The North. American Species of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with Grasses
and Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 11. Johnson Grass: Report of Investigations Made During fl » e Season of 1901.
1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California. Notes on the Grasses and Forage
Plants and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 13. Experiments in Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1902. Price, 10
cents.

No. 14. The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It. 1902. Price, 55
cents.

No. 15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin, Being a
Report upon Investigations Made During July and August, 1901, in the Region
Between YVinnemucca, Nevada, and Ontario, Oregon. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 1 *'■>. A Preliminary Study of the Germination of the Spores of Agaricus Campes-
tris and Other Basidionivcetous Fungi. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 17. Some Diseases of the Cowpea: I. The Wilt Disease of the Cowpea and Its
Control. II. A Cowpea Resistant to Root Knot (Heterodera Radicicola) . 1902.
Price, 10 cents.

No. 18. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 19. Kentucky Bluegrasa Seed: Harvesting, Curing, and Cleaning. 1902.
Price, 10 cents.

No. 20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902. 1903.
Price, 35 cents.

[Continue! mi ]>. 3 of rover.]

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY-BULLETIN No. 41.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief qf Bureau.

AL GRADING OF UN.

BY

RARY
CARL 8. SCOFIELD,
Expert, Grain Investigations.

BOTANICAL. INVESTIGATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS.

Issued June 13, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

B. T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.
BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

Frederick V. Coville, Botanist.

O. F. Cook, Botanist in Charge of Tropical Agriculture.

Rodney H. True, Physiologist, Drug and Medicinal Plant Investigations.

Lyster H. Dewey, Botanist in Charge of Investigations of Fiber Plants.

V. K. Chesnut, Assistant Botanist in Charge of Investigations of Poisonous Plants.

Edgar Brown, Botanist in Charge of Seed Laboratory.

Carl S. Scofield, Expert, drain Investigations.

<!. N. Collins, Assistant Botanist, Tropical Agriculture.

William E. Safford, Assistant Curator, Tropical Agriculture.

F. Ff. Hillman, Assistant Botanist, Seed Herbarium.

Joseph W. T. Duvel, Assistant in Seed Laboratory.

W. R. Beattie, Assistant, Testing Garden.

W. W. Tracy, Jr., Assistant, Variety Trials.

AY. F. Wight, Assistant, Geographic Botany.

W. O. Richtmann, Pharmacognosticcd Expert.

2

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

LT. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief.
Washington, D. C, May 11, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith, and to recommend for
publication as Bulletin No. 41 of the series of this Bureau, the accom-
panying paper entitled "The Commercial Grading of Corn." This
paper was prepared by Mr. Carl S. Scofield. an expert of this Bureau,
and has been submitted by the Botanist with a view to publication.

The four half-tone illustrations are essential for the purposes of this
bulletin.

Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

3

PREFACE

For the past two years the Department of Agriculture has been
investigating-, in cooperation with the chief grain inspectors of the
country, the systems of grain inspection in use in the various grain
markets of the United States, in order to ascertain how these systems
might be improved and made more useful to agricultural and commer-
cial interests. The investigation has been prosecuted by Mr. C. S.
Scofield under the direction of the Botanist, and the present report,
covering the subject of corn, is the first to be presented for publication.

A difference of 2 per cent in the moisture of a shipload of corn may
determine whether it will arrive at its destination in a sound condi-
tion or be seriously damaged. At present the only moans which an
inspector uses to determine this difference in moisture is his sense of
touch, never aided or corrected by any actual measurement of the
moisture.

Upon the request of the Botanist, the Chief of the Bureau of Chem-
istry conducted a series of moisture-determination experiments upon
samples of corn furnished him, and fixed upon a form of apparatus
suitable for measuring the moisture content of grain. With this
apparatus a large series of moisture determinations has been made in
the Botanical Laboratory on samples of corn secured from various
markets. Based upon the results of these experiments, this report is
now published in order to show to the commercial organizations how
their inspection may be made more nearly uniform and how both the
buyer and the seller may be benefited through the possession of a
more exact description of their goods than can be secured by existing
methods.

Frederick V. Covili.k.

Bota/riist.

Office of the Botanist,

Washington, D. C. May 7, 1903.

5

C N T E N T S ,

Page.

Introduction

Inspection departments

Grain grading '

Corn -■ n

Definite grade standards - -

Grade uniformity

Essential elements in grading corn 1 ;1

Apparatus required

Methods ( if determination *'

Moist urt

I

Color

Damaged grains

Broken grains and dirt

Classes and grades of corn

Inspection certificates ^

The cause of deterioration zu

Local and special grades ^

Description of plates

7

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Pajre.

Plate I. Air-bath used for determining the amount of moisture in a sample

of corn 24

II. Fig. 1. — Mill for grinding corn samples. Fig. 2. — Balance used for.

weighing corn samples 24

III. Kernels of corn shown in longitudinal and cross section 24

IV. Kernels of corn showing various kinds < if damage 24

8

B. P. I.— 54. B. I. E.— 50.

THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

INTRODUCTION.

The business of buying and selling- grain is one of enormous impor-
tance in this country. The production of breadstuff's is not the only
thing to be considered in supplying the world with food. It is neces-
sary that the raw material be moved to the points where it is needed
and in most cases it must be milled before it is consumed.

The business of moving this grain from producer to manufacturer
or consumer has been developed to a high degree. There are in
nearly all our larger cities, particularly in those through which grain
passes on its way to the consumer, either domestic or foreign, trade
organizations whose members deal either wholly or partly in grain.
These organizations are important to the producer as well as to the con-
sumer, since they furnish the means for easy communication between
the two and tend to prevent acute conditions of scarcity or congestion
of material.

These organizations have adopted certain rules of trade which aim
to permit their members to transact the largest amount of business
with the least expense and friction. They have among 1 other things
established rules governing the classification and grading of the grain
which they handle and the inspection of it. and providing for its
weighing and registration.

These classes and grades of grain have been established to facilitate
trade and as far as possible to dispense with the cumbersome method
of dealing by sample. In some markets the inspection and grading
have been developed to such a degree and work so satisfactorily that
grain which is deliverable on contract is never shown by sample.
The dealers depend wholly upon the honesty and efficiency of their
inspection departments. In other markets this is not the case. The
purchases, at least those made for consumption or manufacture in the
latter markets, are made on the basis of sample and frequently regard-
less of the grade assigned by the inspection department.

It is customary for the trade organization in each market to estab-
lish for each kind of grain what is known as the "contract grade."

!»

10 THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

This grade is usually, though not always, the one of which there is the
largest quantity handled at that market. Practically all deals made on
contract or for future delivery are on the basis of this contract grade,
and it is the price of this grade that is given in the market quotations.
The determination of what may or may not be delivered as contract
grade or any other grade is left to the inspection department, which
acts as arbiter, guided by the general rules or customs of the market.

INSPECTION DEPARTMENTS.

Inspection departments are in most cases managed by the trade
organization, independent of any outside control either on the part of
the consumer on the one hand or of the producer on the other. How-
ever, in five States the grain-inspection departments operating therein
are under the control of the State, either through a board of railway
and warehouse commissioners or through a special commission.

The question as to how these inspection departments should be con-
trolled is a local one and of relatively small importance. As a rule
they are supported b} 7 fees for services rendered, and are presumably
composed of efficient and disinterested men. What these departments
need more than a change in or uniformity of control is a greater uni-
formity in methods of work and in results. To attain this they must
have more adequate equipment. They must have available such appa-
ratus as is necessary to educate the judgment of the inspectors for
general work and to determine accurately all cases of doubt or appeal.

The cost of maintaining grain inspection is a small item when the
interests involved are considered. The charge varies in different mar-
kets from about 25 cents to 75 cents per carload or per 1,000 bushels, or
from less than one-quarter of a mill to three-quarters of a mill per
bushel. A slight error in judgment on the part of an inspector ma} T
make a difference of a grade in any cargo, which, under normal con-
ditions, means a difference of 2 or 3 cents a bushel, while at other
times, as in case of a ; ' corner,"' 1 the difference may be much greater.
Thus, while the inspection costs, say, 50 cents, a wrong grading might
mean a difference of $25 on a carload. Relatively, therefore, the cost
of grain inspection is an inconsiderable item.

GRAIN GRADING.

Reduced to its simplest terms, the inspection and grading of grain
consists in the examination of the various lots or cargoes to determine
the unif ormit} 7 of each and the assigning of them to the grades to which
they belong. This would obviously be simple enough were the elements
considered in grading all easily measured and defined, or were they
reasonably distinct; but they are neither. The variations on different
lots are frequently so slight that if a line is drawn which is to mark a

GRAIN GRADING. 11

limit of a srrade it is difficult to determine in cases close to this line
whether they may be admitted or not. More than this, the qualities
considered do not vary uniformly; for example, one lot of grain may
be of very high quality in all respects but one, while another may be
good in all but some other one point, and still another may be mediocre
in all respects. For some purposes the first lot might be worth quite
as much as if it had no defect, while for other purposes it would be
worth less than the other lots merely on this account. It has therefore
been difficult to make rules governing grades or to state grade require-
ments in a way that is definite and satisfactory. The men who have
made these rules and definitions for grades have met this difficulty by
resorting to the use of indefinite terms and obscure phrases, leaving
the responsibility for their interpretation almost entirely with the
inspector.

Following are the rules for grading corn recently recommended by
the Chief Grain Inspectors 1 National Association for adoption by the
trade organizations and commissions which control the inspection
departments represented by these chiefs:

CORN.

No. 1 Yellow Corn shall be pure yellow corn, sound, plump, dry, sweet, and clean.

No. 2 Yellow Com shall be 95 per cent yellow corn, dry, sweet, and reasonably clean,
but not sufficiently sound or plump for No. 1 Yellow.

No. 3 Yellow Cum shall be 95 per cent yellow corn, reasonably dry, reasonably clean,
but not sufficiently sound anil dry for No. 2 Yellow.

No. 4 Yellow Corn shall be 95 per cent yellow corn, not fit for a higher grade in
consequence of being of poor quality, damp, musty, or dirty.

No Grade Yellow Corn. (See general rule.)

No. 1 Mixed Corn shall be mixed corn, sound, plump, dry, sweet, and clean.

No. -J Mixed Com shall be mixed corn, dry, sweet, and reasonably clean, but not
sufficiently sound and plump for No. 1 Mixed.

No. 3 Mixed Corn shall be mixed corn, reasonably dry, reasonably clean, but not
sufficiently sound and dry for No. 2 Mixed.

No. 4 Mixed Corn shall be mixed corn not fit for a higher grade, in consequence of
being of poor quality, damp, musty, or dirty.

No Grade Mixed Corn. (See general rule.)

No. 1 White Com shall be pure white corn, sound, dry, plump, sweet, and clean.

No. 2 White Com shall be 98 per cent white corn, dry, sweet, reasonably clean,
but not sufficiently sound and plump for No. 1 "White.

No. 3 White Com shall be 98 per cent white corn, reasonably dry, reasonably clean,
but not sufficiently sound and dry for No. 2 White.

No. 4 White Corn shall be 98 per cent white corn, not fit for a higher grade in con-
sequence of being of poor quality, damp, musty, or dirty.

No Grade White Corn. (See general rule.)

No Grade — Genera! Hide. — All grain of any kind and variety that is wet, hot, or in
a heating condition, burned or smoky, contains weevil, or is for any reason unfit for
warehousing, shall be classed and graded "No Grade."

These rules are considered as representing the latest commercial
ideas on rule making for the grading of corn, and were proposed for

12 THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

the purpose of securing uniformity of work by the various inspection
departments.

Except for the percentage of color permissible in each of two of the
classes, there is scarcely a term used in stating these grade require-
ments which does not give great latitude for personal interpretation.
The terms "reasonably dry" and " reasonably clean" are too indefinite
to stand alone as a basis for accurate work. The clause in grade No.
3 "but not sufficiently sound and dry for No. 2" is not especially lucid
when investigation shows that the corresponding clause of grade No.
2 reads "but not sufficiently sound and plump for No. 1," while No.
1 requires that the corn shall be "sound," "dry," and "plump."

Having such indefinite standards to work to and being buffeted
about by opposing interests vitally concerned in the decisions which
he makes, it does not seem strange that the inspector should .sometimes
do inconsistent work, nor is it to be wondered at that the grading of
similar lots of grain differs in different markets.

It is customary in most markets at the present time for the actual
work of grading to be done on the railroad track or at the delivery
spout of an elevator by a deputy inspector. This deputy must work
rapidly, through all kinds of weather and light, in many cases without
supervision, and nearly always without apparatus for deciding doubt-
ful cases or means of having his judgment corrected in case of error.
If his decision is not satisfactory to the interested parties, appeal may
be taken or reinspection called for; but the deputy seldom knows
directly the results of such appeal or reinspection, and still more
rarely does he know the reason for the change, if one is made.

In some cases shipments from a market are sampled and the samples
kept for a time at the main office of the inspection department, partic-
ularly in case of cargoes for export; but these samples are taken and
kept more for purposes of identification and certification than to edu-
cate or correct the judgment of the deputy inspectors.

The movement of grain from one market to another in this country
and from the various interior points to the coast ports for export
involves, in the regular course of business, unless it is shipped directly
through with its identity preserved, from three to six inspections on
any given lot of grain. Where grain is handled wholly in bulk and
where it must be transferred from cars to elevators, from elevators to
boats, from boats to elevators, and again to cars, and possibly again
to elevators before being finally delivered for manufacture or export,
preserving its identity involves so much additional trouble and expense
that it is not ordinarily done; nor would this be necessary were it
possible to maintain a .system of inspection and grading by which
commercial grain could be accurately graded according to its com-
mercial value.

Millers and other manufacturers of cereal products, as well as large

DEFINITE GKADE STAND AKDS. 13

consumers of raw cereals, are forced by competition to learn the rela-
tive values of the various lots of grain offered for sale. Science has
aided these men in determining the best kinds of grain for their vari-
ous purposes and how they may be distinguished. These manufac-
turers and consumers are the men who actually and finally determine
relative values in cereals, and the discriminations which they make
and the elements which they consider in selecting their material should
be the basis used by the grain inspectors in their work.

All grain is intended ultimately for consumption, and the number of
times it may be bought and sold between the time of its production
and consumption makes no change in this fact. The apprehension that
uniform or accurate grading of grain may in any way interfere with
extensive grain dealing, either actual or speculative, is entirely with-
out foundation. On the other hand, such grading should help the trade
by eliminating in a great measure one of the largest sources of mis-
understanding and consequent loss, and would give to those who main-
tain such a s} T stem a decided advantage in the world's markets over
those who do not.

DEFINITE GRADE STANDARDS.

One of the first needs of the grain trade in this country is to have
the grade requirements accurately stated and the grade limits accu-
rately defined. Grain grades, if they mean anything; mean definite
relative values.

The chief trouble at present with this grading work is that the
inspectors who have to pass upon and accept or reject the grain deliv-
ered for a certain grade have no definite standard for guidance — no
means of knowing what the grade requirements really are. They have
in most cases only their unaided judgment. An appeal from this judg-
ment must go to a board of appeals or to the grain committee con-
trolling the inspection department, In either case the deputy inspector
has insufficient opportunity for checking up his work.

In view of the difficulties under which it is done, it is remarkable
that the work of the various inspection departments in the commercial
grading of grain is not even less successful and satisfactory than is
now the case. Without favorable opportunities for educating their
judgment, inspectors have nevertheless developed marked ability for
determining both quality and condition of grain by actual commercial
experience. As the inspector has almost no definite guide for his
work, but must use his own unaided judgment, he should not be too
severely criticized if the character of his work fluctuates from time to
time, particularly since, as has already been stated, he is often called
upon to pass his judgment very hurriedly and under adverse conditions
of weather and light. In cases where grain is inspected and graded
into elevators or for sale on track, an inspector, even one having

14 THE COMMEKCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

definitely in mind the .supposed grade requirements, is often tempted
to let a poor car into a grade if he knows there are some very good
cars of that grade going in with it to even matters up. This, of
course, works an injustice to the original shippers of the good cars,
since the purchaser of the mixed lot can pay no more than the mixture
is worth.

GRADE UNIFORMITY.

Our interstate or intermarket trade, as well as our foreign trade,
urgently demands a system of grading which shall be uniform through-
out the country, or at least for those markets handling the same kinds
of grain. In fact, uniformity is at present of more commercial
importance than any other one thing connected with grain inspection.
This much-desired uniformity can not be attained until there is in use
-some definite understanding as to what essential qualities shall be con-
sidered in the grading of grain, and some definite rules adopted for
measuring these qualities.

It is the purpose of this publication, in discussing the commercial
grading of corn, to show what some of these essential elements are,
something of their relative importance, how they may be measured
simply, accurately, and speedily, and how the results may be stated
in a way to show exact conditions. These results are expressed in
figures, and the promulgation of satisfactory grade limitations is all
that remains to secure uniform work, so far as the elements measured
are concerned.

The late Mr. S. H. Stevens, the veteran flax inspector of the Chicago
Board of Trade, developed such a method for his work, which is prob-
ably at the present time the most nearly satisfactory system of com-
mercial grain inspection in existence.

In a report to the Chicago Board of Trade, under date of September
1, 1900, Mr. Stevens published the grade standards for flax adopted
by the Board of Trade a year previous, with the statements that during
the year of the operation of the definite rules "no suggestion of weak-
ness or desired change has reached this office from any source,'" and
"the flaxseed inspection committee, although in close touch with the
department, has not been officially called for the correction of error
during the vear."

Following is the rule for the grade of No. 1 Northwestern flaxseed
published by Mr. Stevens September 1, 1900:

No. 1 Northwestern flaxseed. — Flaxseed to grade Number One Northwestern shall
be mature, sound, dry, and sweet. It shall be northern grown or have the usual
characteristics thereof. The maximum quantity of field, stack, storage, or other damaged
seed intermixed shall not exceed twelve ami one-half per cent. The minimum weight
shall be fifty-one (51) pounds to the measured bushel. a

a The italics in the above rule do not occur in the original.

GRADE UNIFORMITY. 15

In this connection it is interesting to look at the rules in force under
the Minnesota system of grain inspection just before and just after the
publication of Mr. Stevens's report.

From Minnesota Grades, August 22, 1900:

No. 1 Northwestern flaxseed. — Flaxseed that is choice or prime, as also the same
moderately intermixed with field damaged seed, dry, sweet, and free from mustiness, and
having weight of not less than fifty pounds to the measured bushel of commercially
pure seed, shall be No. 1 Northwestern flaxseed. «

From Minnesota Grades, August 31, 1901:

No. 1 Northwestern, flaxseed.— Flaxseed to grade No. 1 Northwestern shall be ma-
ture, sound, dry, and sweet. It shall be northern grown. The maximum quantity of
field, stack, storage, or other damaged seeil intermixed shall not exceed twelve and one-half
(12^) per cent. The minimum weight shall be fifty-one (51) pounds to the measured
bushel of commercially pure seed. a

The investigations which have been made by the Department of
Agriculture during the year past give good reason for believing that
what has been found possible in flax is also possible for the cereal
grains — corn, wheat, oats, barley, and rye.

It must be distinctly understood that the methods here outlined are
not intended to be applied to every car or cargo of grain inspected.
The rapidity with whicb the grain business is conducted makes it im-
practicable to use any method that requires any considerable time for
each lot of grain. These methods, however, ma} T be used as a check
upon the work of the deputy inspectors, to educate their judgment, to
prevent carelessness or dishonesty, and to give inspection departments
a means of justifying the decisions which they make.

ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS IN GRADING CORN.

In grading commercial corn there are two classes of elements to be
considered. First, those which indicate condition — moif-ture, percent-
age of moldy, rotten, or otherwise damaged kernels, and percentage
of broken grains, dirt, and other foreign material; and pecond, those
which indicate quality — color, plumpness, relative proportion of
starchy to hard material, and relative size of germ. For present pur-
poses there are four elements which are essential in determining the
grade of a cargo of corn and which may, when necessary, be measured
with reasonable accuracy and speed. These are (1) the moisture, (2)
the percentage of colors in mixtures, (3) the percentage of damaged
grains, and (1) the percentage of broken grains and dirt.

The relative importance of these elements varies under different
conditions and with the different demands which the grain is used to
supply. It is not to be understood that the four elements mentioned
are all that should be considered in grading corn, but they are at least
important and of such a nature that they may be accurately measured;

"The italics in the above rules do not occur in the originals.

16 THE COMMEECIAL GRADING OF CORN.

and having the.se four generally understood there is available a basis
for uniformity which has not up to this time been offered to the trade.

APPARATUS REQUIRED.

The apparatus required for measuring the elements mentioned

above is as follows, the prices given being approximate:

One balance, with weights $33. 00

One copper oven, or air-bath 12. 00

One centigrade thermometer 1. 25

One gas heater " 1-00

One metal sieve, with top and bottom 2. 35

One coffee or spice mill 1. 75

One set of aluminum pans, at 40 cents each, about 4. 80

Miscellaneous apparatus 1-00

Total estimated cost 57.15

The balance should be as accurate as possible, since the most impor-
tant part of the work depends upon results obtained by its use. It
should be sensitive to 10 milligrams or less. A very compact and
satisfactory balance is shown in PI. II, fig. 2.

The oven or air-bath (PI. I) is simply a copper box covered with
asbestos, having a large door and with two holes in the top, through
one of which the thermometer is suspended. The bath contains a shelf
upon which the pans of material may be placed during the drying
operation. When an electric heater is used it may be placed inside,
under the shelf. "When gas is used the heater must be placed under-
neath the bath, where it is protected by the galvanized-iron box upon
which the bath rests.

The thermometer is suspended through one of the holes in the top
of the bath by means of a perforated cork in such a way that it may
be read without opening the door. The temperature of the bath
should be kept at about 102° to 105° C. (215° to 221° F.). This tem-
perature may be readily controlled without any automatic device, as
the operator is usually working near the apparatus and can give it his
attention at any time.

When only electricity is conveniently available, a small electric
heater may be used. The amount of heat may be controlled by means
of an adjustable resistance coil outside of the air-bath. This electric
heater has proved very satisfactory, and of course claims the advan-
tage of less danger of fire. Wherever gas is available, however, it
may be desirable to use it, as the heat thus obtained is rather cheaper
and is somewhat more easily regulated.

The sieve used for determining the amount of broken material, dirt,
and other foreign matter is a plain metal sieve having 5 strands to
the inch. In other words, it is a wire screen having 25 square holes
per square inch.

«An electric heater, with resistance coil, would cost about $11, bringing the total
estimated cost up to $67.15.

GRADE DETERMINATION. 17

The mill for grinding (PL II, fig. 1) should be simple and strong
and easily taken apart for cleaning. An extra set of burrs is also
desirable, so that in case several samples need to be ground in close
succession the burrs may be changed before they have warmed enough
to heat the corn passing through.

The aluminum pans are 4 inches in diameter and about 1 inch deep
and are used for holding the samples during the drying and weighing
process.

In addition to the apparatus mentioned, there are also required some
few additional articles, such as a brush, forceps, and a smooth spoon
or spatula.

METHODS OF DETERMINATION.

The methods of determining the four elements mentioned may be
briefly described.

MOISTURE.

For determining the moisture a small sample of corn should be
ground into a coarse meal. If the corn is ground too line it becomes
heated during the operation and there is a consequent and irregular
loss of moisture. After grinding a definite quantity of the sample, it
should be weighed out in one of the aluminum pans. The larger this
quantity the less the percentage of error in weighing is likely to be.
However, for quick work the sample must not be too large. Twenty
or thirty grams has been found a convenient amount to use. This
weighed quantit} r , which for convenience in reckoning- should be an
even weight, either 20 or 30 grams, is then placed in the air-bath,
which has been previously heated to about 102° C. (215° F.). This
temperature is slightly above the boiling point of water and will
quickly evaporate the moisture, and after subsequent weighing the
percentage of loss ma}^ be determined. Theoreticall}' the sample
should be dried until repeated weighings would show no further
decrease in weight, but for practical purposes, where the element of
time required for making these determinations is important, a shorter
time will suffice. It has been found by numerous experiments that
the amount of moisture which a sample of coarsely ground meal will
give up during two hours' drying at 102° to 105° C. (215° to 221° F.)
is about 1£ per cent less than the total amount of moisture contained,
so that for commercial purposes two hours 1 drying at the above tem-
perature will yield results from which the total moisture can be esti-
mated with sufficient accuracy for general work. It is necessary,
however, to extend this time to three hours on days when the atmos-
phere is especially damp. Whenever immediate results are not abso-
lute^ necessary, it is much safer and more satisfactory to dry the
sample completely; that is, to dry it until repeated weighings show no
further loss. This commonly requires twelve to sixteen hours. After

26159— No. 41—03 2

18 THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

the samples have been dried they should be weighed again with all
possible speed, as the meal readily absorbs moisture from the atmos-
phere upon being removed from the air-bath. It is best in all cases
to make duplicate moisture determinations, as errors are likely to be
made by even the most careful workman. These duplicates should be
made from separate grindings of different portions of the sample.
Where the results of the two determinations in the short-time drying
differ b} T more than about 1 per cent a third determination should be
made.

COLOR.

The percentage of color may be determined by simply counting out
the number of kernels of each color in a fair average sample. At
least 500 kernels should be used as a basis of reckoning.

DAMAGED GRAINS.

The percentage of damaged grains is determined by counting out
the number in a fair average sample of at least 500 grains and reckon-
ing the percentage of the number present. The damaged grain is
considered to include all cob-rotten, bin-burnt, moldy, or otherwise
unsound kernels.

BROKEN GRAINS AND DIRT.

This determination should be made on the basis of weights; that

is, by weighing out a definite quantity of corn and separating b} 7

means of the sieve mentioned above and by subsequent hand picking,

all broken grains, meal, dirt, chaff, and foreign material of whatever

nature. This determination should be made on a reasonably large

sample of corn — at least a kilogram ('2.2 pounds). Where large

scales are not at hand it is sometimes convenient to use the ordinary

chondrometer or brass bucket employed in making the test weight per

bushel of wheat, and the siftings and pickings may be weighed on the

small balance used for the moisture work, and the percentage reckoned.

The 5^-inch chondrometer holds about 1,800 grams (or 4 pounds) of

corn.

CLASSES AND GRADES OF CORN.

The bulk of the corn crop of the United States is of the kind known
as dent corn. The grain trade recognizes three distinct classes of this
kind of corn, based on color. There are, of course, other colors of dent
corn, but practically all commercial corn may be classified into "} T el-
low corn/' ''white corn," and "mixed corn. 11 . There is not at present
any great degree of uniformit} T as to what shall constitute the color
limits of these classes, but the general opinion seems to be that the
following would be satisfactory:

1. Yellow corn; at least 95 per cent yellow.

2. White corn; at least 98 per cent white.

3. Mixed corn; all corn not included above.

CLASSIFICATION OB 1 GRADES.

19

Of each of these three classes of corn there are generally made four
grade divisions, numbered one, two, three, and four, with the addi-
tion of a grade known as "Rejected," or "No grade/ 1 These grades
are theoretically made on the basis of considering No. 1 as perfectly
sound, perfectly clean, and dry enough to carry or store for an indefi-
nite time. As a matter of fact, the grade No. 1 is seldom or never used
as a commercial grade of corn. The grade No. 2 is generally allowed
to contain a small amount of broken grains and foreign material and a
few damaged grains. No. 3 a slightly increased amount. No. -t a still
larger amount, and the name " rejected "" or " no grade" is applied to
such corn as is unfit by reason of excessive moisture, dirt, or damage,
to be admitted into the numbered grades.

The indetiniteness of the rules governing grades has made it difficult
to compare grade requirements of different markets, and any changes
found desirable from year to year for different conditions of weather
and general quality have been made by different interpretations of the
rules rather than by definite changes in the rules themselves. If,
however, the methods outlined herewith are put into practice it
would be possible to so state the grade requirements that they may be
comprehended at a glance. For this purpose it is convenient to use
a tabular (statement bke the following for showing the grade limits.
This tabular statement is merely a way of showing in a condensed form
the grade rules of a certain market for a certain year, that they may
be readily comprehended and market standards compared. Assuming
that the trade organization of a market adopts fixed limits for the
grades recognized by it and publishes these limits in the ordinary rules
for grades, these rules could be shown in a tabular statement something
like the following:

DENT CORN.

Three classes:

1. Yellow corn; at least 95 per cent yellow.

2. White corn; at least 98 per cent white.

3. Mixed corn; all corn not included above.

YELLOW CORN.

Grade No.

Maximum limits of —

Per cent of moisture.

Per cent
damaged.

Per cent of
dirt and
broken
grains.

Nov.-Mar.

Apr.-Oct.

1

13

15
17
19

12

11
16

18

1
3
6

2

3
5

2

3

4

A similar table might be made for each of the other classes of corn,
providing different percentages were used.

20 THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

It should be distinctly understood that the grade limits in the above
table are given merely for the purpose of illustrating its use. Just
what these standards should be must be determined to suit local con-
ditions or to suit the requirements of each market or series of markets
handling- the same sort of grain, and they could be changed from year
to year as occasion required.

INSPECTION CERTIFICATES.

It is difficult to fix the grade limitations in a way to do full justice
to all cargoes graded. Were it possible to assign definite relative
values to each measured element a score card could bo made by which
the cargoes could be rated, but the variety of uses to which any grain
is put. results in a sliding scale of relative values, which renders the
use of a general score card impossible. Definite grade limitations are
absolutely necessary to secure uniform results. To compensate to
some extent the injustice sometimes done by drawing sharp grade
lines, it would seem desirable to have the inspection certificates show
something more than the grade actually given to any cargo of grain.

Such a certificate could show, in addition to the class and grade
number of the cargo, its approximate condition as to moisture, dam-
aged grain, broken grains, and. in case of mixture, the proportion of
the colors present. A certificate of this kind would enable the pros-
pective purchaser to select, in buying cargoes of grain, those which he
could mix to advantage to secure certain results, or a seller might use
such a certificate in placing his grain to advantage with customers
having particular needs or special facilities for remedying certain
defects. These certificates would in no way interfere with the main-
tenance of the present contract grades and might be of considerable
assistance in dispensing with sample dealing.

THE CAUSE OF DETERIORATION.

With the exception of the rather infrequent cases of insect damage
of one sort or another, the one cause of the deterioration of corn in
transit and storage in this country is excessive moisture.

Corn matures so late in the season over most of the area that pro-
duces a surplus, that there is not sufficient warm, dry weather to prop-
erly cure it. and the bulk of the crop usually goes into the crib damp
and cold.

If it is shelled in this condition and put into store in large bins the
grain has almost no opportunity to dry out properly. As long as the
cold weather lasts the damage is slight, unless fermentation is acci-
dentally started or the grain is unusually damp, but with the warm
weather of spring the trouble begins. In the commercial world this
trying time is known as the " germinating season." As a matter of
fact, there is little or no actual germination of the stored corn at this

THE DETERIORATION OF CORN. 21

time. It rarely develops as far as that. Some fermentative action
takes place, equivalent to the preliminary stages of germination, but
this usually results in stored grain in the development of sufficient
heat to kill the germ.

Under ordinary conditions corn containing not more than 12 to 13
per cent of moisture at the beginning of the warm weather following
its maturity will carry or store safely, but new corn, that is, corn soon
after maturity, frequently contains 20 to 22 per cent of moisture, and
if not given opportunity to dry out during the winter, trouble will
result when warm weather comes and induces fermentation.

When corn is left on the cob until the late winter or spring follow-
ing its maturity, and is stored meanwhile in well-ventilated cribs, it
will in most cases dry out sufficiently. But where earlier marketing
is necessary other wa}-s of curing must be had if the corn is to be
carried safely through the spring season.

There are three things essential to germination or the fermentation
which precedes it — air, warmth, and moisture. Without all of these
it can not go on.

The moisture is the one of these easiest to control or to remove when
it is present in dangerous excess. Therefore when the temperature is
nearino- the line where the other two elements may result in damage
the moisture must be removed. Modern grain storehouses arc so con-
structed that grain may be moved from one bin to another by means of
transfer belts and elevators and given a chance to air dry during the
moving process. This process is called "running," and is frequently
used to keep grain from going out of condition.

In the case of corn, however, this treatment if used too frequently
results in breaking many of the kernels and, therefore, damaging the
lot to some extent; and the operation is also somewhat expensive
where large quantities must be so treated. Within recent years com-
mercial driers of one sort or another have been installed in some of
the large warehouses. These driers all depend on the same principle —
that is, that an increase in temperature increases the water-holding
capacity of the air. In all of them heated air is passed through the
corn until the superfluous moisture is removed. This process is
known as kiln drying. It is in disfavor with some persons in the
trade, who claim that the heat injures the corn for manufacturing pur-
poses, and, further, that the damage by cracking and breaking in
subsequent handling of kiln-dried corn is considerable.

There is apparently good reason for some of the disfavor in which
the general practice is held, because there has been a tendency on the
part of the managers of these driers to work on badly damaged lots
of grain and mix the product with better grades.

So far as may be determined at present, the drying of corn at
a moderate temperature can be only a beneficial operation. If for

22 THE COMMERCIAL GRADING OF CORN.

certain purposes of manufacture the high temperatures ordinarily used
have harmful results, it is quite practicable to use lower temperatures
for longer periods or to carry the principle already used still farther
and cool the air used for drying to a low temperature to precipitate
the excess of moisture it contains and subsequently warm it up enough
to make it absorb the excess moisture of the corn.

However it may be done, it is evident that artificial drying of some
kind will inevitably be more generally used to prevent the enormous
losses now resulting from the excess moisture in corn.

LOCAL AND SPECIAL GRADES.

The development of commercial driers for corn and the specialization
in manufacturing cereal products suggests the advisability of keeping
in view the possible establishment of additional grades for local and
special purposes as needs for them arise. This is particularly impor-
tant in view of the remarkable work which has been done in improv-
ing varieties of corn, not only in increasing the yield per acre, but also
in improving the quality; in other words, increasing the percentage of
certain desirable constituents. The work that has been done in breed-
ing varieties of corn which have ;i high percentage of oil and others
with a low percentage of oil, and varieties with a high percentage of
protein, and others with a high percentage of starch, which means a
low percentage of protein, calls attention to the fact that it should be
possible for the growers of these improved varieties to get them to
those consumers who are willing to pay prices above the ordinary for
these extraordinary qualities. It should be the function of the grain
inspector to be able to recognize these special classes and to grade the
grain accordingly.

It has been shown by Professor Hopkins, of the University of Illi-
nois, that it is possible to judge by observation with reasonable accu-
racy the merits of different lots of corn as to the amount of protein and
oil which they contain. He has shown that, since the oil of corn is
found almost entirely in the germ, the relative size of the germ gives
a fair indication of the oil content of the grain. Likewise in the mat-
ter of protein content, the hard portion of the corn kernel, that is, the
somewhat translucent portion outside the germ, contains practically all
the protein except the small amount in the germ. Therefore, the
larger the proportion of this hard part of the corn kernel the larger
the percentage of protein and consequently the smaller the percentage
of starch. Manufacturers of corn grits and meal, where a granular
product is desired, find that there is considerable variation in the relative
yields of these products from different sorts of corn.

In PI. Ill is shown the striking difference that may be saen in dif-
ferent kernels of corn as to the proportion of the hard and starch} T

LOCAL AND SPECIAL GRADES. 23

portions of the grain. Other things being- equal, the yield of grits or
granular meal is larger from corn having the larger proportion of this
hard material.

Corn breeders and progressive farmers are rapidly appreciating the
importance of breeding special varieties of corn for special purposes,
and it is probable that in the near future certain varieties of corn from
certain localities will be quite as distinctly recognized as being rich in
specific merchantable qualities as is now the case in such varieties of
wheat as the Fife, the Little May. or the Mediterranean. This will
naturally lead to a more logical classification of commercial corn on
the basis of varieties or groups of similar varieties, and these classes
may then be divided into grades, as at present. Such a classification
would in no way conflict with the present methods of commercial deal-
ing, since the trade organization of a market could determine what
grades could be delivered on contract just as is done at present,

The greatest need of the grain trade now, however, is thp installa-
tion of an accurate method of determining grades in all cases of doubt
and for the education of the judgment of the grain inspectors and the
consequent uniformity of the work of inspection departments.

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. Air-bath used for determining the amount of moisture in a sample of corn,
with aluminum pans and electric heater inside. A piece of asbestos is placed
over the heater to distribute the heat more evenly to the pans. The forceps
shown below are for transferring the pans to and from the bath to avoid the
possible error consequent on touching them with moist hands.

Plate II. Fig. 1. — Mill for grinding corn samples, with extra set of burrs and brush
for cleaning mill after each grinding. This mill may be clamped to the edge of
a table and is simple and strong. It may be easily taken apart for cleaning or
changing the burrs. Fig. 2. — Balance used for weighing corn samples. This
1 lalance is surrounded by a metal frame set with plate glass, and is provided
with a sliding weight on a fixed scale, so that the weighing may be done rapidly.

Plate III. Kernels of corn shown in longitudinal and cross section. Magnified six
times. These kernels show rather extreme variations in texture. The two ker-
nels ut the left of the picture show a high proportion of the hard or translucent
substance of the kernel outside the germ, which has been shown by Professor
Hopkins, of the Illinois State Experiment Station, to be directly correlated with
high protein content. The kernels on the right show a relatively small amount
of this hard substance, and are consequently of the type which is low in protein
and therefore rich in starch. For processes of manufacture of corn where a
granular product is desired the type of corn shown on the left is much preferred,
while for starch manufacture the type shown on the right of the picture is more
desirable. In the same way the relative size of the germ of the corn kernel
indicates the percentage of oil contained, since practically all the oil of the corn
kernel is found in the germ.

Plate IV. Kernels of corn showing various kinds of damage, and sound kernels
shown for comparison. Twice natural size. The upper three rows are of ker-
nels showing the various mold growths commonly found on damaged corn.
These molds develop only on excessively moist corn and are much more likely
to occur when there is a deposit of fine meal or dirt in the germ indentation.
This deposit offers a good culture medium for the development of the molds,
and in a majority of cases the damage starts at that point. Perfectly clean corn
will carry or store much more safely than dirty corn having the same amount of
moisture.
24

Bui. 41 , Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate I.

Air-Bath Used for Determining the Amount of Moisture in a Sample of Corn.

Bui. 41 , Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate II.

Fig. 1.— Mill for Grinding Corn Samples.

Fig. 2.— Balance Used for Weighing Corn Samples.

Bui. 41 . Bureau of Plant Industiy, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture,

Plate

•Ji . . iltiffr- " ii f '

Kernels of Corn. Shown in Longitudinal and Cross Sections.

Bui. 41, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IV.

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Kernels of Corn, Showing Various Kinds of Damage.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY—BULLETIN NO. 42.

K. T. i;.U,l,n\VAY, Chirfnj Hiirmii.

THREE NEW PL

BY

DAVID <r. EAIRCIITLD, Agimculturat, Explorer.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

Issued June 24, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVRRNJIKNT PRINTING OFFICE,

19 3.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes Vege-
table Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Pomologieal Investigations,
and Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate Divi-
sions, and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington Exper-
imental Farm, Tea-Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of bulle-
tins of the various Divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as one
series of the Bureau. A list of the bulletins issued in the present series follows.

Attention is directed to the fact that "the serial, scientific, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Depart merit of Agriculture are not for general distribution.
All copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost." All applications for such
publications should, therefore, be made to the Superintendent of Documents, Union
Building, Washington, D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. I. Liming of Soils
from a Physjological Standpoint. II. Experimental Study of the Relation of Lime
and Magnesia to Plant Growth. 1901. Price, 10 cents.

No. 2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

No. 3. Macaroni Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

No. 4. Range Improvement in Arizona. (Cooperative Experiments with the Ari-
zona Experiment Station. ) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 5. Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Intro-
duction for Distribution in Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment Stations.
Inventory No. 9, Numbers 4351-5500. 1902. Price; 10 cents.

No. 6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price. 10 cents.

No. 7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Descriptions. 1902.
Price, 15 cents.

No. 8. A Collection of Econondc and <>f her Fungi Prepared for Distribution. 1902.
Price, 10 cents.

No. 9. The North American Species of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with Grasses
and Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 11. Johnson Grass: Report of Investigations Made During the Season of 1901.

1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California. Notes on the ( irasses and Fixrage
Plants and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 13. Experiments in Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1902. Price, 10
cents.

No. 14. The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It, 1902. Price, 55
cents.

No. 15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin, Being a
Report upon Investigations Made During July and August, 1901, in the Region
Between Winnemucea, Nevada, and Ontario, Oregon. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

No. 16. A Preliminary Study of the (termination of the Spores of Agaricus Cam-
pestris and Other Basidioinycetous Fungi. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

No. 17. Some Diseases of the Cowpea: I. The Wilt Disease of the Cow-pea and Its
Control. II. A Cowpea Resistant to Root Knot (Ileterodera RadieicoJa). 1902.
Price, 10 cents.

No. 18. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1902. Trice, 15 cents,

No. 19. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Harvesting, Curing, and Cleaning. 1902. Price,
10 cents.

No. 20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price. 15 cents.

No. 21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years L901 and 1902.

1903. Price, 35 cents.

[Continued on p. :! of cover.]

Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate I.

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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN NO. 42.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau.

nu

('

N.

BY

DAVID G. FAIRCHILD, Agricultural Explorer.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

Issued June 24, 1903.

IRA

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

Lit 3.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

Beverly T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

A. J. Pietees, Botanist in Charge.

David G. Fairchild, Agricultural Explorer.

W. W. Tracy, sr., Special Agent.

S. A. Knapp, Special Agent.

John E. W. Tracy, Expert.

George W. Oliver, Expert.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,
Washington, D. C, May 13, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled "Three
New Plant Introductions from Japan, " and respectfully recommend
that it be published as Bulletin No. 42 of this Bureau.

This paper was prepared by Mr. D. G. Fairchild, Agricultural
Explorer, who has been detailed by you to accompany Mr. Barbour
Lathrop on his expeditions in search of valuable seeds and plants, and
it has been submitted by the Botanist in Charge of Seed and Plant
Introduction and Distribution, with a view to publication.

The six full-page half-tone illustrations are an essential part of the
paper.

Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

PREFACE.

As a result of his observations on the agriculture of Japan, Mr.
D. G. Fairchild has contributed several papers designed to interest
American cultivators in new crops. Three of these papers are pub-
lished in this Bulletin. One on a Japanese paper plant calls the atten-
tion of farmers in the mild and humid regions of the United States to
a possible new industry, while those on the udo and on the Japanese
horse-radish will doubtless prove of interest both to market gardeners
and amateurs who take pleasure in cultivating the best vegetables.

The plants and seeds received from Mr. Lathrop, through Mr. Fair-
child, have been placed for trial with reliable horticulturists, and the
results of these tests will enable us in the course of time to report
more fully regarding the adaptability of these plants to our conditions.

A. J. PlETERS,

Bota/n !st in Charge.
Office of Botanist in Charge of Seed

and Plant Introduction and Distribution,

Washington, I). C, May 8, 1903.

5

CONTENTS.

Page.
Miteumata, a Japanese paper plant.

Introduction •. 9

Species of paper plants in Japan 11

The miteumata plant 11

The cultivation of miteumata 12

The manufacture of miteumata paper 14

The manufacture of leather paper 15

Udo, a new winter salad.

Introduction 17

The cultivation of kan udo 18

The cultivation of moyashi udo 19

Wa^abi, the horse-radish of the Japanese.

Introduction 20

The cultivation of wasabi 21

Description of plates 24

7

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page.
Plate I. A hillside covered with mitsumata, the Japanese paper plant. Frontispiece.

II. Fig. 1. — Mitsumata plant two years after transplanting from nursery
row. Fig. 2. — Three-year-old shoots from an old mitsumata
stump 24

III. Fig. 1. — A bundle of peeled stems of mitsumata. Fig. 2. — Boards

covered with drying sheets i >f mitsumata paper 24

IV. The udo plant in the field - 24

V. Fig. 1. — Young root cutting of udo planted in the spring, showing
new shoot. Fig. 2. — Old root of udo planted in the spring, on
which a young shoot has formed. Fig. 3. — Blanched young shoot
of udo more than 2 feet long, taken from the forcing bed in May. - 24

VI. Fig. 1. — Young wasabi plants ready to set out. Fig. 2. — A patch of

wasabi on a hillside 24

8.

3. P. I.— 55. S. P. I. D.— 32.

THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS FROM JAPAN.

MITSTJMATA, A JAPANESE PAPER PLANT.
INTRODUCTION.

The facts for this paper were collected during- a four months' stay
in Japan, and represent work accomplished b} r Mr. Barbour Lathrop's
third expedition in search of valuable seeds and plants.

It is hoped that the introduction of this new Japanese paper plant
and its ultimate culture in the warmer parts of the United States will
be encouraged by this brief account of its cultivation in Japan, for
the production of an} r of the Japanese bark papers, which are for
many purposes much superior to our own, will be a material addition
to the wealth of the country and give the cultivators of the South a
new crop of value.

Japanese napkins, umbrellas, and lanterns have taught the Occi-
dentals new uses of paper, though the lesson has been but half
learned.

The papers employed by the common people of Japan are immeas-
urably more varied than with us. Thej^ form one of the important
economies in the life of the peasant, and it is such ingenious uses of
plant material as this employment of the bark of a shrub that makes
it possible for 42,000,000 Japanese to live on the productions of a cul-
tivated area about one-third the size of the State of Illinois.

The walls of the Japanese houses are wooden frames covered with
thin paper which keeps out the wind but lets in the light, and when
one compares these paper-walled "doll houses "with the gloomy bam-
boo cabins of the inhabitants of the island of Java, or the small-
windowed huts of our forefathers, he realizes that, without glass and
in a rainy climate, these ingenious people have solved in a remarkable
way the problem of lighting their dwellings and, at least in a meas-
ure, of keeping out the cold.

Their oiled papers are another important element in the peasant life
of the Japanese, and are astonishingly cheap and durable. As a cover
for his load of tea when a rain storm overtakes him, the Japanese
farmer spreads over it a tough, pliable cover of oiled paper, which is
almost as impervious as tarpaulin and as light as gossamer. He has

9

10 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

doubtless carried this cover for years, neatly packed away somewhere
about his cart. The "rikisha " coolies in the large cities wear rain
mantles of this oiled paper which cost less than 18 cents and last for
a year or more with constant use.

An oiled tissue paper, which is as tough as writing paper, can be
had at the stationers for wrapping up delicate articles. Every farm-
house has its stock of wrapping paper which has been in use for several
years and seems as strong and flexible as ever. It has been tanned
with the fermented juice of green persimmons and made into "shibu
garni," which is more impervious to moisture than ordinary paper and
much tougher.

In the tea factories, the piles of paper sacks filled with tea are made
of shibu garni, and 8-year-old sacks covered with paper patches are a
common sight. It is said that these tanned sacks keep the tea in better
condition than any other sort, and that they last with careful use for
man} r years. Grain and meal sacks are almost alwaj-s made of this
same paper in Japan, for it is not easil} r penetrated by weevils and
other insects.

But perhaps the most remarkable of all the papers which find a
common use in the Japanese household are the leather papers of which
the tobacco pouches and pipe cases are made. They are almost as
tough as French kid, so translucent that one can nearly see through
them, and as pliable and soft as calfskin. These tobacco pouches quite
change one's notions of the characteristics of paper, for the material of
which they are made is as thick as cardboard, but as flexible as kid.
Even woven fabrics of which the warp is paper and the woof cotton
are manufactured, and these find a place in the Japanese household,
while the use of paper napkins and handkerchiefs, umbrellas, and
lanterns is as much a part of home life in Japan as the use of cheap tin
articles is in America. The country is rich in the possession of these
conveniences, any one of which would be an addition to the comfort of
a European peasant or an American farmer. But the reason for this
remarkable use of paper articles does not lie wholly in the absence of
cheap skins, though it is true that few domesticated leather-producing
animals exist in Japan. The quality of the papers themselves makes
them suitable, as ours are not, to these various purposes.

In strong contrast with those of the Occident, these are bast papers,
made from the inner bark of shrubs or small trees, while the papers
of Europe and America are either from wood pulp, the macerated
stems of wild grasses, or the cotton and linen rags of the ash barrels.
It is not a pleasant thought that the brilliant white note paper which
your hand rests upon may have in it the fibers from the filth}' garment
of some Egyptian fellah after it has passed through all the stages of
decay until it is saved by a ragpicker from the gutter of an Egyptian
town; and yet it is a fact that hundreds of tons of Egyptian rags are

PAPER PLANTS IN JAPAN. 11

exported every year into America to supply our paper mills. At
Mannheim on- the Rhine the American importers have their rag-
picking houses, where the rags are collected from all over Europe, the
disease-infected Levant not excepted, and where women and children,
too poor to earn a better living, work day after day, with wet sponges
tied over their mouths, sorting these hlthy scraps for shipment to New
York. Our best papers are made of these rags and our common ones
of wood pulp, which is obtained by grinding and macerating huge
blocks from some of our soft-wooded forest trees. The bast papers,
therefore, are a creation of the Orient and are more nearly related to
the South Sea Island tapa than to any of our products.

To the fact that they are made from bark they owe their peculiar
character. They are as a rule softer, silkier, tougher, and lighter than
our papers. If wet, they lose their strength, like tissue paper, but
on drying regain it. They are usually absorbent, and for this rea-
son were considered in the olden days as very valuable in surgery.
Whether or not the methods employed in their manufacture are
responsible for the yellow tinge which they always have is a question
for investigation. As writing papers they are designed for brush
work, and as a rule are not suited without treatment for pen work,
because the fibers in them are so long that they are continually getting
caught in the nibs. This difficulty, however, is obviated by a dressing
of alum.

SPECIES OF PAPER PLANTS IN JAPAN.

According to the Japanese writers, there are at least nine plants
from which papers are made in Japan, each species furnishing a
different variety of product. Two are species of the paper mulberry
(J3rou8Sonetia), one the white mulberry (Moms alba), another a species
of Daphne (D. pseuoZo-mezereum Gray), three are wild forms of a
small tree ( Wickstrcemia), and one, the Edgeworthia papyri/era, fur-
nishes the pulp for the mitsumata paper, of which we import large
quantities every year, especially for use as legal documents, diplomas,
deeds, bonds, etc.

The main object of the writer is to give a description of the mitsu-
mata plant and its culture, with the purpose of interesting Americans
in the question of its cultivation and the manufacture of the extremely
useful papers which can be produced from its bark and which deserve
to be widely known throughout America.

THE MITSUMATA PLANT.

Edgeworthia papyrifera S. & Z. is the botanical name of the mitsu-
mata paper plant, and the systematists place it, along with the Daphne,
anions' a number of forms with lace-like bark, in the order Thymel&eae.

•

It is a pretty, decorative shrub, with characteristically branching

12 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

stems, broad, light-green leaves, and delicate yellow flowers which are
borne in heads. Its forks are always composed of three branches
instead of two, as is common with other shrubs, and this character
alone distinguishes it from an} r common shrub in cultivation. It is
sometimes grown in Japan for its decorative } T ellow flowers alone.
The Marquis Matsudaira, formerly one of the feudal lords of the
country, has it planted inside his castle walls at Fukuias an ornamental
plant. Scarcely over 5 feet high, it has, as a result of its peculiar
branching habit, a characteristic vase form. (Pis. I and II, fig. 2.)
Owing to the fact that in the cultivation of the plant it is continually
pollarded near the surface of the ground, it is difficult to say what the
plant would grow into if left to itself. The light, brownish-gray
bark is thick and lace-like as a piece of tapa. and one can easily spread
a bit of it out with the fingers into a web-like, rough fabric. The
small fruits are borne in clusters and are about a quarter of an inch
long. Each fruit contains, inside the thin layer of flesh, a shiny black,
sharp-pointed seed, with a thin shell and milk-white contents.

In the provinces of Shizuoka, Nogano, and Fattori are quite exten-
sive plantations of mitsumata, and it is said that the areas under
cultivation are steadily increasing. As a rule, the plantations occiqyy
land w T hich is not fit for rice growing, such as hillsides too steep for
terracing and valleys too narrow to make rice culture practicable.

Red or yellow clay of volcanic origin, mixed often with rocks and
coarse gravel, seems to suit the plant admirably. The hillside planta-
tions sometimes reach to the line of newly cut ciyptomeria forest, and
even cover the tops of the hills from which, many years before, the
timber had all been cut. Good drainage seems to be one necessary
requisite to the growth of the plant in the wet climate of Japan, but its
culture between the rice fields proves that it can stand heavy irrigation,
though a plant not well suited to withstand drought.

THE CULTIVATION OF MITSUMATA.

Early in June, in Japan, children not over 8 or 9 years old are sent
through the plantations with baskets to pick the ripe fruits of the
mitsumata. The plants produce seed sparingly, it is said, so that the
work of collection is much like picking wild blackberries or straw-
berries in America, but it is far more irksome for the children, for
instead of being palatable the thin-shelled seeds contain an exceedingly
acrid endosperm.

The seeds, with their thin, green flesh, are spread out to weather
until the latter has rotted away, leaving the black seeds, which are
packed in a sack made from the double sheath of the native palm.
The meshes of this natural sack are fine enough to prevent the seeds
from falling out and still allow the air and moisture to enter. In this
form they are buried in a hole in the ground under the shelter of an

CULTIVATION OF MITSUMATA. 13

overhanging roof or are stored in some outbuilding- and kept until
planting time the following February. The price of this seed varies
greatly; from 30 cents to $1.50 a gallon was the range quoted the
writer by the peasants.

In the middle or toward the last of February the seed bed is pre-
pared and the seeds are planted in rows a foot or so apart, where they
are given the usual care of weeding and cultivation which all seedlings
require, and where they remain for one year, or until 8 or 9 inches
high. These young plants are then set out on the hillsides, after the
ground has been prepared for their reception by working it over with
a mattock or fork. They are put in at the rate of 20,000 to 21,000 to
the acre, or about a foot and a half apart each way. On the hillside
plantations shelter trees of a species of alder (Alnus maritima var.
japonicd) are planted 20 to 30 feet apart. The roots of these trees are
said to help bind the loose soil, the dead leaves form a mulch, and the
branches form a wind-break, preventing the winds from whipping the
young shoots of the mitsumata plants. Two or three cultivations a
year are given to keep down the weeds and loosen the soil, and by the
end of the first year after transplanting the harvest of bark is ready.

The harvesting is done any time in the winter and consists merely in
cutting the plants down to the ground by means of a heavy knife,
binding them into bundles, and transporting them to the farmhouse.
Though the tops are cut down every other winter, the roots of the
mitsumata plants remain alive for many years — roots a hundred years
old are known, it is said — but for commercial purposes the stumps of
the plant cease to produce profitable crops of new shoots after ten or
twelve years, when they are dug out and young plants are set in their
places. It requires two years for an old stump to produce a market-
able bush, and many of the plants are evidently allowed three or four
years to grow before being cut down again.

The crop would naturally be a biennial instead of an annual one, but
owing to the fact that some plants have to be replaced earlier than
others a field of mitsumata soon has growing on it plants in various
stages of maturity, and the cutting can be done every winter.

From 600 to 2,000 pounds of raw bark per acre are produced by
this plant, according to a statement made by a paper manufacturer,
and when made into pulp it is worth in Japan 15 to 16 cents gold per
pound, or four times what the imported wood pulp from America
sells for in Yokohama.

The bark is removed from the cut shoots by the peasants, who soak
them in hot water and strip off the bark by hand. From the clean
appearance of the bundles of peeled branches it seems probable that
the bark slips off easily (see PI. Ill, fig. 1), leaving light, porous
faggots, suitable for kindling wood. Whether or not the bark could
be removed by machinery has yet to be investigated, but the soft

14 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

nature of the wood makes it seem an eas3 T matter to crush the stems
and separate the wood from the bark after the crushing. The fact
that in Japan these, as well as the other processes, are done by hand sig-
nifies little as regards the possibility of the application of machinery,
when it is remembered that until two years ago such simple operations
as tea firing and sifting were done there — and are } 7 et to a large extent —
by hand.

THE MANUFACTURE OF MITSUMATA PAPER.

Small paper factories are scattered along the banks of the picturesque
mountain streams in central Japan, and the broad drying boards cov-
ered with sheets of fresh paper are common sights in many of the
mountain villages. (See PL III, fig. 2.)

The freshly stripped hark is macerated in vats of warm water
and the thin outer bark is removed by scraping with a dull knife.
The purity of the paper depends in large measure upon how thoroughly
this dark part is removed, for any small particles that are overlooked in
the cleaning make dark flecks in the paper. After cleaning, these soft,
spongy strings of bark are thrown into a vat filled with caustic soda, and
are left to macerate thoroughly until the fibers can be easily separated
from each other. The macerated bark is then pounded, either in a
stone mortar with a heavy wooden mallet or by means of a stamping
mill run by water power until it is a homogeneous pulp. It is then
mixed with water, bleached with chlorid of lime, and put into a large
vat, from which small quantities are taken by the hand screens which
the operator uses in making the sheets of paper. A mucilage made
by macerating the root of a species of hibiscus (71. man that) is added
in small quantities to the pulp to make the fibers stick together. The
amount of this mucilage used seems to be a matter of experience.
One woman can make, by means of her bamboo hand sieve, 600 sheets
of paper a day, and, according to the prices given me through an
interpreter, this medium quality of paper sells for about 94 cents a
hundred sheets. It is very interesting to watch how skillfully the
operator lifts from the vat a screen half full of thin pulp, poises it
and shakes it for a second or two, allows the water to drain out for a
few moments, then quickly lifts the screen and, inverting it, lays it
face down on the pile of previously made sheets. She then gently
and slowly lifts the sieve and leaves a thin layer of wet pulp upon
the continually thickening pile. With a hand press the water is
squeezed out of this pile of wet papers, the individual sheets are
stripped off one by one, brushed out on smooth boards with brushes
just like those used by the paper hanger to spread the paste on wall
paper, and are then put out in the sun to dry, after which simple proc-
ess the papers are packed in bundles and taken by pony or bull pack
animals to the nearest market. In at least one town in Japan paper-

MANUFACTURE OF PAPER. 15

making machinery is being emplo} T ed in the manufacture of the finer
grades of mitsumata paper for export to America. These machines
are rotary, steam-heated drums for macerating the pulp with caustic
soda, and the regular pulping tanks for separating the fibers and in
which the blanching process is carried on. In the mill which the
writer visited the same bamboo hand sieves were employed by the
operators in making the sheets from vats of the pulp, so that the
papers made by this mill should still be classed as handmade papers.

The laborers at work in separating the inner from the outer bark
were getting only 9 to 10 cents gold a day, and it seemed as if the
work was so mechanical in nature that it could easily be done by
machines; but this question could only be decided by an investigation
made by experts in such matters. The question also whether the
hand sieves could be done away with and continuous-process machines
substituted for them must be settled by repeated trials. Problems
which appear much more complicated have been solved by American
mechanics.

THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER PAPER.

"Tsuboya" paper is a most peculiar looking substance. It resem-
bles oilcloth, but has a texture more nearly resembling that of fine
leather, except that it is more or less translucent, like oiled pigskin.
In the province of Ise, Japan, are noted manufacturers of tobacco
pouches who use only this leather paper in their manufacture, and the
variety of styles in which they make their papers is remarkable.

Yamada, where Seibei Ikebe (who is probably the most noted maker)
has his shop, is a favorite place for pilgrims, and for several genera-
tions Ikebe and others have sold them their paper tobacco pouches
until it has become the fashion for every pilgrim to bring back from
his pilgrimage to Yamada a paper pouch as a souvenir.

Some of these leather papers are smooth and almost transparent;
others are rough and stamped with pretty patterns, a host of different
colors being used in their printing. They are in character a kind of
wrinkled oiled cardboard and the process of their manufacture is a
tedious though comparatively simple one.

A thick, weak cardboard called '•onagashr'' paper, which is manu-
factured of bark fiber in one of the interior towns near Gifu, is
imported into Yamada in large quantities. Before processing it is soft
and tough, but will break like any thin cardboard. To transform it
the sheets are moistened and then wrapped about a small round stick
the size of a broom handle. Several sheets are wrapped at a time,
separated from each other by special dry papers which have been
painted with persimmon juice to tan them, and the roll of these papers
is finally wrapped with a cloth and tied. This roll, out of both ends
of which the stick protrudes, is put under a long lever, one end of the

16 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

stick being stuck through a hole in the lever and the other lodged in a
hole through the floor. The workman then sits on the long end of the
lever and teeters until the roll of papers, which was originally about 18
inches long, is reduced to not more than 12 inches. He then removes
the roll, undoes it, spreads out the papers, again arranges his dry sheets,
and prepares another roll for the lever, inserting the same papers in a
different position. Eight times he subjects the papers to this wrinkling
process, and each time they become smaller, thicker, and more pliable
until, after the last wrinkling, the cardboard is as soft and limp as a
bit of muslin.

Once through the wrinkler. the paper is given a coating of oil made
from the seed of a labiate {Perilla ocy moides) and hung out to dry.
For over a hundred days it is hung in the open air to allow the oil to
harden, and even two hundred days are sometimes required to finish
this part of the process. After being once dried out the piece of
wrinkled oil paper can be treated in almost any way — shaved or scraped
with a sharp knife, stamped or beaten with dies or patterns, or given a
coat of lacquer varnish. If colored papers are required, the pigments
are applied before the oiling process.

Although these remarkable papers are used now almost exclusively
for tobacco and other pouches, there are other uses to which the
inventive American mind can put them, such as book covers, port-
folios, table covers, etc.. and the writer is of opinion that, should they
once be available to the common people, many new and important
applications for them would be found.

A similar form of these leather papers is the Japanese handmade
wall paper, which is already becoming fashionable in America. Large
factories arc running near Tokyo which turn out the most beautiful
designs for wall and ceiling decoration. These wall papers are
wrinkled in the way previously described, though evidently not so
finely, and are then stamped and modeled by hand into the most
artistic designs imaginable.

The extent of the leather-paper industry is not great, but, as it is,
over 200,000 paper pouches are made annually by one firm alone in
Yamada and about $15,000 worth of business yearly is claimed to be
done by the same firm.

Any plant from which can be produced a set of papers widely dif-
ferent from those we already have is worthy of consideration by the
cultivators of the country, and if the processes of manufacture can
make out of it better, stronger envelopes, finer and lighter wrapping-
paper, more suitable toilet papers, or a cheap and useful substitute
for leather, the cultivation of the plant in America may prove de-
cidedly profitable.

As the species of mitsumata is not one which will withstand much
cold, it is useless to try to grow it in any regions where the

A NEW WINTER SALAD. 17

thermometer sinks below 10 c F., and as it requires moisture there
would be no reason for testing it on the dry plains. The irrigated
rice fields of Texas, with their unoccupied dikes and narrow strips of
land between the fields, would form excellent trial places for the plant,
and the Colorado Desert, with its rich soil and abundant water supply,
might prove well adapted to its cultivation. The moister portions of
Florida and Louisiana could be used for experimental cultivation, and
the irrigated regions of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers would
probably be suitable for the growth of this Japanese paper plant.

TJDO, A NEW WINTER SALAD.
INTRODUCTION.

Nothing has yet been found which competes with lettuce for the
first place as a winter salad, but for a change there are so few salad
plants which can be had in the winter that a new and eligible one is
surely worthy the serious attention of the public.

Udo is a plant which has been in cultivation for many years in
Japan, and was probably introduced from China, where it is known
as a vegetable under the name of t'u-tang-kuei, according to Dr.
Augustine Henry in his notes on the Economic Botany of China.

In the tea houses all over Japan its crisp, blanched stems are served
fresh with salt or boiled with a soy sauce. Eaten as served by the
Japanese, it would not be likely to attract the attention even of one in
search of such things except as being the best of the collection of
those characteristic dishes which form the menu of a Japanese meal.

To Miss Fanny Eldredge, of Yokohama, belongs the credit of having
first adapted this udo to the requirements of the Western table, and it
was at the home of Mrs. Stuart Eldredge that the attention of Mr.
Lathrop was first called to this novelty in winter salads. Even old
residents in Japan are unfamiliar with this truly delicious vegetable.

As served in Western style, udo is a mass of thick white shavings, i! to
3 inches long by a half inch wide, with a brilliant, .silky luster. Miss
Eldredge has found that the best dressing is a French one of oil, vine-
gar, salt, and pepper, and her method of preparation is to cut the
shoots into long, thin shavings and allow these to stand in ice water
for several hours before putting them into the salad bowl and pouring
over them the French dressing prepared in the usual way/'

These slices of udo are crisper than slices of celery and have none
of the objectionable stringy fibers of the latter. They have a fresh

« The recipe for the dressing is as follows: For one salad bowl of udo, take one
tablespoonful of vinegar, one teaspoonful of salt, a liberal sprinkling of bla^k pepper,
with a drop or two of tabasco sauce; stir thoroughly until the salt is dissolved and
then add five tablespoonfuls of olive oil.

2<;6-23— No. 42— 03 2

18 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

taste, like the midrib of a lettuce leaf, with a slight but most agree-
able suggestion of pine flavor. The tenderest young shoots of celeiy
could not be more brittle than these blanched stems of udo.

From the 1st of October until the middle of May this vegetable is
for sale in the markets of Japan, and in this winter character, aside
from its being an excellent salad, lies its great value. It is compar-
ative^ cheap and is eaten by the poor Japanese as well as by the rich.

From its adaptability to winter culture and its excellent quality, this
plant deserves to become as well known as asparagus or celery.

Botanically the plant is known as Aralia cordata Thunb. It has been
recognized as an ornamental plant in Europe and America, where its
large, sharply lobed. regular leaves have been highly prized for their
decorative effects. (See PI. IV.) The edible portions of the plant are
its young shoots, which are blanched by being covered with earth.

There are two varieties of udo, called respectively "kan udo'''' and
"moyashi udo." and these, though of similar appearance as they are
placed on the market, are quite differently cultivated.

Through the assistance of Mr. H. Suzuki, of the Yokohama Nut-
sery Company. I was able to learn from the growers of this vegetable
how it should be cultivated. Its cultivation is not difficult and will be
easil3 T understood by anyone acquainted with the ordinary methods of
forcing asparagus.

THE CULTIVATION OF KAN UDO.

The seeds of this variety are sown broadcast in seed beds, prepared
of rich garden earth, in the month of March or April, and are allowed
to grow there for one year. The following spring the individual
seedlings are transplanted from this seed bed, after the tops, which
have died during the winter, have been removed, and they are then set
in rows 2 feet apart and 10 inches from each other in the rows. In
these rows they are cultivated all summer, or until September, when
the leaves begin to turn brown. The stems are then cut back close
to the rootstocks and the earth is piled up in a mound 2 feet high
above the latter. In forty days the new shoots, which begin to form
as soon as the old ones have been cut back, appear above the surface
of the mound. They are then ready for cutting, and the mound is
opened and the marketable shoots cut. Each rootstock produces
about five of these blanched shoots, three of which are probably tit
for the market at the first cutting, early in October. The remaining
small shoots are covered up again and allowed to grow for a second
cuttino- a week or so later. In removing these shoots for market
care is taken to cut close to their bases, so as not to leave stubs, as the
presence of the latter is said to prevent the rapid growth of the
remaining young shoots.

Generallv only two crops of shoots are secured of the kan udo, but

CULTIVATION OF UDO. 19

occasionally there are three. After the removal of the last crop the
rootstocks are buried and allowed to remain over winter. In the
spring- the mounds are opened and rich manure is applied in trenches
running on both sides of the plants. Throughout the summer the
plants are allowed to grow and are again cut down in autumn and
treated in a similar way to that just described. The life of the kan
udo rootstock is more than ten years, but beyond that age its use ceases
to be profitable.

Although o-enerallv grown from seed, this variety can be repro-
duced from root cuttings, though the latter method is considered less
practicable, owing to the fact that the large root cuttings take up
more space in the field.

The season for kan udo is October and November, and being the
earliest variety and occupying the tields to the exclusion of other
crops it is also the dearest, sometimes selling for as much as 25 cents
for. a bundle of 1G shoots. It is not otherwise preferable in any way
to the other variety, which first appears in the market toward the end
of November.

THE CULTIVATION OF MOYASHI UDO.

The moyashi or forcing udo is grown from root cuttings, which are
purchased by the growers from special cultivators who have their
seed beds on the slopes of Fujiyama. These young sets, which have
been grown from seed the year before, are dug in November and kept
all winter packed in straw. They are bought in early spring by the
cultivators and kept ready for planting, which is done during March
and April.

The root cuttings are laid lengthwise in a shallow trench about 4
inches apart, and in the space between them a small quantity of rich
manure is placed. They are then covered with -2 inches of soil. As
the leaves appear, the trench is gradually filled about their bases, and,
with the usual cultivation to keep down the weeds, the plants are
allowed to grow until the end of October, or until frost. These two-
year-old plants are then dug, the dead stems are removed, and the
plants packed away in a dry place until wanted for the forcing bed.
They may be kept for several months in this dry condition without

injury.

The forcing bed is made by digging a trench 3 feet wide and 2 feet
deep and putting on the bottom a thin layer of barley husks or a
sprinkling of bone dust, over which is spread an inch of rich, light
garden soil, mixed with about 1<> per cent of leaf mold.

The dry udo sets, which are kept in stock, are packed as closely
top-ether as thev can stand in the bottom of the trench, which is tilled
in and heaped up with the same light soil. In about fifty days the first

20 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

shoots appear above the mound and are cut, like asparagus, by digging
down to the base or by inserting a long knife into the mound.

By preparing a series of forcing trenches and planting them at dif-
ferent times, fresh shoots of the movashi udo can be had all winter
long, from November until the beginning of May.

At the close of the forcing season the rootstocks are taken from the
trench, planted out in rows, manured heavily, allowed to grow all
summer, and forced again the following winter. These same roots
are used for several years. (See PI. V, tigs. 1, 2, and 3.)

Although cheaper than the kan udo. this forcing variety will prob-
ably be better suited to our American conditions, for it yields shoots
throughout the winter, while the other sort produces them only in
October and November. The mild winters in Japan make these forc-
ing beds in the open ground possible, and it is probable that as far
north as Norfolk, Ya., the culture of udo in a similar way could be car-
ried on; if not, certainly Florida and California truck growers could
cultivate the plant. The kan udo might be grown even farther north
where the ground does not freeze until after the last of November.

WASABI, THE HORSE-RADISH OF THE JAPANESE.

INTRODUCTION.

There is a fresh sharpness about Japanese wasabi that not even the
finest Austrian sorts -of horse-radisb possess. The color, too, is not
generally white, but a delicate shade of green, and although served
much in the same way that horse-radish is served in America, it is
quite a different thing.

The roots, which are grated up to prepare this Japanese appetizer,
are produced by a plant of the same family as the true horse-radish
and the mustard, and botanists give it the name of Eutrerna wasabi.
(PI. VI., tigs, land 2.)

To anyone fond of such things this Japanese horse-radish will prove
an acceptable novelty, and it is with the object of acclimatizing wasabi
in America that a few young plants have been secured and will be
propagated and tested in the trial gardens of the Department of
Agriculture.

In Japan grated wasabi is a constant accompaniment to the raw
fish which forms such a prominent part of a Japanese meal. Without
it the fish would taste as unnatural to a diner as blue-point oysters on
the half-shell without horse-radish would taste to the average Amer-
ican. Wasabi is, in fact, universally used in the inns and tea houses
of the country.

The wasabi plant is a peculiar one to cultivate, and there are certain
localities in Japan where it is grown, notably in the region about
Hiroshima. It is popularly believed that the culture must be carried

CULTIVATION OF WASABI. 21

on in running water, but this is not absolutely correct, for near Nara,
in the little village of Kiriyama, there are patches of wasabi which
have been grown for many generations by the same family in a loca-
tion not flooded with water.

With Mr. K. Yendo of the Tokyo Botanic Gardens as interpreter,
the writer visited, in June, 1902, one of the cultivators of wasabi and
gleaned from him a number of facts about the culture of the vege-
table. Mr. Kawakita, whose father and grandfather before him had
grown wasabi, carried on its cultivation — as the growers of Fourche
Maline do the horse-radish — only as a secondary crop. His patches
of the plant were in a narrow valley, shaded by persimmon trees,
where the soil was wet by underground springs, just such a place as
one would expect to find ferns in were the ground not cultivated. (See
PI. VI, tig. 2.)

Owing to the ravages of a small caterpillar which had riddled the
leaves with holes, the plants presented a sorry enough appearance, and
the owner took no pride in showing them. The general appearance of
the slopes of the little valley was as if the}' had been covered with a
coarse, broad-leaved dock like the Petasites, which is common in parks
in Europe.

THE CULTIVATION OF WASABI.

The method of culture practiced by Mr. Kawakita is a simple one
enough, the chief point being the selection of a suitable location for
the patch. Moisture is essential, and the borders of a mountain brook
or a bit of "springy""' meadow in the hills would form a suitable situ-
ation. Shade is likewise looked upon by this gardener as necessary,
and that cast by the kaki or Japanese persimmon trees is preferred.
The soil is a stiff clay, mixed with gravel, which retains moisture for
a long time.

In the month of June, when the 2-year-old plants which are ready
for market are dug, the young suckers are carefully removed from the
marketable roots and are planted out in the field. They are set in
rows that are 1£ feet apart and are put only 10 inches from each other
in the rows. Weeding is done as found necessarv, and in February
or March the plants are hilled' up to make them produce longer and
larger roots for the market.

Liquid manure and rape-seed cake are two of the principal fertilizers
of the country, and these are applied judiciously in November and
March in quantities varying according to the soil conditions.

For two years the young wasabi plants are cared for in the held, at
the end of which time their roots are large enough to be dug. Over
2 tons of these roots are said to be harvested from an acre.

The roots are prepared for market by washing off the dirt, cutting
back the tops, and binding into bundles. They keep for some time,

22 THREE NEW PLANT INTRODUCTIONS.

just as horse-radish does. There is said to be a difference between
the wasabi which is grown directly in the running water and that
cultivated in wet locations in the mountains, the former having a
oreener color. Hoots that are grown in the mountains have a liner
flavor than those which are cultivated on the plains, it is said.

The roots are generally grated and served as horse-radish is served
in America, but the}' are sometimes pickled with sake vinegar, the
residue from the rice wine of the country, or are used to give a snap
to certain kinds of confectionery. The fresh leaves are also employed
in the manufacture of a pepper sauce by putting them in a bottle,
pouring hot water over them, and allowing them to stand for several
hours.

A vegetable which has become to the Japanese what horse-radish
is to the Occidentals can hardly fail to attract the attention of those
Americans who are seeking new and appetizing relishes.

PLATES.

23

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. Frontispiece. A hillside covered with mitsnuiata paper plants, near Shizu-
oka, Japan.

Plate II. Fig. 1. — Mitsumata plant two years after transplanting from nursery row.
Fig. 2. — Three-year-old shoots rising from an old mitsumata stump, near
Shizuoka.

Plate III. Fig. 1. — A bundle of stems of mitsumata after the paper-producing bark
has been removed. Fig. 2. — Boards covered with drying sheets of mitsumata
paper.

Plate IV. Plants of the kan or summer udo growing in the field. From a photo-
graph taken en the experiment station grounds of Marquis Matsudaira at Fukui,
Japan, by Yendo.

Plate V. Fig. 1. — Young root cutting of the forcing udo after it has been planted for
a week or two in the spring, showing the way the new shoot springs from the
horizontally laid cutting. Farsari, photographer, Yokohama. Fig. 2. — Old'root
of the forcing udo after it has been long enough in the soil in spring to start well
into growth. Farsari, photographer, Yokohama. Fig. 3. — Blanched young
shoot of forcing udo, more than 2 feet in length, as taken from the forcing bed
in May. The white portion only is edible, the dark part being the old root,
which produces, one after the other, several such edible shoots. Farsari, pho-
tographer, Yokohama.

Plate VI. Fig. 1. — Young wasabi plants ready to set out. The marketable roots
look much like these. Fig. 2. — A patch of wasabi growing on a shady hillside.

24

O

Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Indust y, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate II.

Fig. 1.— Mitsumata Plant Two Years After Transplanting from Nursery Row.

Fig. 2.— Three-year-old Shoots from an Old Mitsumata Stump.

Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate III

Fig. 1 .— A Bundle of Peeled Stems of Mitsumata.

Fig. 2.— Boards Covered with Drying Sheets of Mitsumata Paper.

Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IV.

.

[•fT&y*

SRH ^

The Udo Plant in the Field.

Bui. 42, E FPlarf - : - - - ■ -

Plate v.

Fig. 1.— Young Root Cutting of Udo Planted in the Spring. Showing New Shoot.

- I.— Old Root of Udo Planted in
the Spring, on which a Young Shoot
has Formed.

r J. — Blanchec fouNG Shoot of Udo

more than Two Feet Long. Taken
from the F< Bed in

Bui. 42, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VI.

Fig. 1.— Young Wasabi Plants Ready to Set Out.

Fig. 2.— A Patch of Wasabi on a Shady Hillside.

V. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY— BULLETIN No. 43.

P. T. GALLOWAY. Chief of Bureau.

,] APANESE BAMBOOS

AM) THEIR INTRODUCTION INTO AMERICA.

BY

DAVID G. FAIRCHILD, Agricultural Explorer.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

Issued July 3, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1 no:;.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry-; which waslOrganized July 1, 19.01, includes Veger
tahle Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
Experiments, Grass and Forage Plant Investigations, Pomplogical Investigations,
and Experimental Gardens and Grounds, all of which were formerly separate Divi-
sions, and also Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution, the Arlington Experi-
mental Farm, Tea Culture Investigations, and Domestic Sugar Investigations.

Beginning with the date of organization of the Bureau, the several series of bulle-
tins of the various Divisions were discontinued, and all are now published as one
series of the Bureau. A list, of the bulletins issued in the present series follows,

Attention is directed to the fact that "the serial, scientilic, and technical publica-
tions of the United States Department of Agriculture are notior general distribution.
All copies not required for official use are by law turned over to the Superintendent
of Documents, who is empowered to sell them at cost." $11 appliqations for such
publications should, therefore, be made to The Superintendent of Documents,
Union Building, Washington, D. C.

No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. 1. Liming Of Soils
from a Physiological Standpoint. II. Experimental Study of the Relation
of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Orowth. 19,01. Price, 10 cents.

2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation i >f Zamia. 11)01. Price, 20 cents.

o. Macaroni "Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

4. Range Improvement in Arizona. (Cooperative Experiments with the Ari-

zona Experiment Station. ) 1902. Price, 10 cents.

5. Seeds and Plants Imported Through the Section of Seed and Plant Intro-

duction for Distribution in Cooperation with the Agricultural Experiment
Stations. Inventory No. 9, Nos. 435 ! -5.300. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cent-.

7. The Algerian Durum Wheats: A Classified List, with Description* 1"02.

Price, 15 cents.

8. A Collection of Economic and Other Fungi Prepared for Distribution. 1002.

Price, 10 cents.
0. The North American Si iccies of Spartina. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

10. Records of Seed Distribution and Cooperative Experiments with < irassc and

Forage Plants. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

11. Johnson Orass: Report of Investigations Made During the Season of 1001.

1902. Price, 10 cents.

12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California: Notes on the < basses ami Forage
, Plants and Range Conditions. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

I.'!. Experiments and Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1002. Price', 10
cents.

14. The Decay of Timber anil Methods of Preventing It. 1902. Price, 55 cents.

15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the (beat Basin, Being a

Report upon Investigations made during July and August, 1001. in the

Region between Winnemucca, Nevada, and Ontario, Oregon. 1902.

Price, 15 cents. ,

Hi. A Preliminary Study of the (lerminatioh of the Spores of Agarieus Campes-

tris and Other Pasidiomycetous Fungi. 1001'. Price, 10 cents.
17. Some Diseases of the Cowpea: I. The Wilt Disease of the Cow pea and Its

Control. 11. A Cowpea Resistant to Root Knot ( Ileterodera Radicicola).

1902. Price, 10 cents.
is f Miservations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1002. Price, 15 cents.

19. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: 1 larvesting, Curing, and Cleaning. 1002. Price.

10 cents.

20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902. 1903.

Price, 85 cents.

[Continued on p. $ of cover.]

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.
Beverly T. Galloway, Chief of Bureau.

SEED AND PLANT INTRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

A. J. Pieteks, Botanist in charge.

\Y. W. Tracy, sr., Special Agent.

S. A. Knapp, Special Agent.

David G. Fairchild, Agricultural Explorer.

John E. W. Tracy, Expert.

George W. Oliver, Expert.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,

Bureau of Plant Industry,

Office of the Chief,
Washington, D. C, May 16, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper entitled ''Jap-
anese Bamboos and Their Introduction into America," and respectfully
recommend that it be published as Bulletin No. 43 of the series of this
Bureau.

This paper was prepared by Mr. David G. Fairchild, Agricultural
Explorer, who has been detailed by you to accompany Mr. Barbour
Lathrop on his expeditions in search of valuable seeds and plants, and
it has been submitted by the Botanist in Charge of Seed and Plant
Introduction and Distribution with a view to publication.

The illustrations which accompany this paper, consisting of eight
half-tone plates, are considered essential to a full understanding of the
text.

Respectfully, B. T. Gallowav,

( 'hiefqf Bureau.
Hon. James Wilson,

Secrt tary of Agrieultun .

PREFACE

The bamboo has Long been known as one of the best of ornamentals
wherever the climate is sufficiently mild to permit of its cultivation,
but besides its value as an ornamental the bamboo has in its native
home a multitude of uses which make it one of the most important
plants in the economy of Japanese life.

Both Mr. Barbour Lathrop and Mr. Fairchild are convinced that
the bamboo may be adapted to main' uses in America, and the present
bulletin is intended to call attention to the possibilities in this direction
and to describe some of the most important species.

A. J. PlETERS,

Botanist in ( 'harge.

Office of Botanist in Charoe of

Seed and Plant Introduction and Distribution.

Washington, I>. C, May 8, 1903.

C N T E N T S

Page.

Introduction 9

General considerations 10

General characters of the Japanese bamboos 14

Propagation of Japanese bamboos 16

Suitable location and soil conditions for bamboos l'.t

Japanese management of bamboo groves 21

Profits of bamboo culture in Japan 23

Culture of the edible bamboo 24

Different species of bamboos 2o

Phyllostachys mitis 27

Phyllostachys quilioi 27

Phyllostachys henonis 28

"Madaradake" or " Ummi >n-chiku " 28

Phyllostachys nigra 29

Pbylh tstachys castillonis • 29

Phyllostachys aurea 30

Phyllostachys bambusoides 30

Phyllostachys marliacea 31

Arundinaria japonica 31

Arundinaria simoni 32

Arundinaria hindsii 32

Arundinaria hindsii, var. graminea 33

Bambusa veitchii 33

Bambusa palmata 33

Bambusa quadrangularis 33

Bambusa vulgaris 34

' ' Shakutan" 34

Description of plates 36

7

ILLUSTRATIONS

I 'age.

Plate I. ( lommercial grove of black bamboo ( Phyllostachys nigra ), near Kyoto,

Japan Frontispiece.

II. A well-kept forest of timber bamboo i Phyllostachys quilioi) on good

soil ' 36

III. Fig. 1. — A well-kept forest of timber bamboo {Phyllostachys quilioi)

on poorsoil. Fig. 2. — A badly kept forest of timber bamboo ( Phyl-
lostachys quilioi ) on good soil :><>

IV. Bamboo groves in Japan. Fig. 1. — A hillside forest of edible bam-

boo, 20 years old. Fig. 2.— A grove of edible bamboo more than
100 yearsold. Fig. .">. — Twelve-day-old shootof Phyllostachys quilioi

in forest of same timber species 36

V. Bamboo groves in Japan. Fig. 1. — Chimp of Arundinaria simoni,
showing persistent sheaths. Fig. 2. — (i rove of Phyllostachys quilioi, -
age unknown. Fig. 3. — Plat of a species of bamboo called "Han-

chiku" 36

VI. Fig. 1. — Black bamboo plant, showing the effect of the death of the
rhizome. Fig. 2. — Properly dug young plant of black bamboo.
Fig. 3. — Rhizome of bamboo, with young shoots and roots spring-
ing from nodes :>,,i

VII. Fig. 1. — A few dwarf bamboos. Fig. 2. — Embankment of Bambusa
r, itchii in Tokyo. Fig. 3. — Sawdust on surface of shoot, indicating
presence of culm-boring larva. Fig. 4. — Longitudinal section of

shoot, showing culm-boring larva 36

VIII. bamboos in California. Figs. 1 and 3. — Phyllostachys quilioi (?) on
the grounds of a nursery company at Niles. Fig. 2. — Clump of
Phyllostachys quilioi, the second year after transplanting at Niles . 36

8

B. P. I.— 56. S. P. I I>.— 33.

JAPANESE BAMBOOS AND THEIR INTRODUCTION

INTO AMERICA.

INTRODUCTION.

This bulletin represents a small part of the work accomplished by
Mr. Barbour Lathrop's third expedition in search of valuable seeds
and plants, and comprises material gathered during a four months''
stay in Japan.

Its object is to call the attention of American cultivators to a group
of the most beautiful and useful of all plants which has hitherto been
neglected by them, either because they believe it adapted only to a
tropical climate or to be of only ornamental value, and to point out
how far both of these views are fallacious.

Anyone who has attempted to collect data in an Oriental country
will appreciate the difficulties which are encountered in working-
through an interpreter, and will understand that some of the state-
ments in this bulletin must depend upon the accuracy of the trans-
lations. Mr. K. Yendo, of the botanic gardens in Tokyo, was.
however, particularly well fitted to interpret on botanical matters,
and it is hoped few errors have been made.

The writer wishes to express his indebtedness and gratitude for
assistance to Mr. T. Makino, of the Tokyo Botanic Gardens, who is
the Japanese authority on bamboos; Mr. Isuke Tsuboi, of Kusafuka,
near Ogaki, who is one of the best amateur cultivators of these
plants; and especially to Mr. II. Suzuki, of Yokohama, for most
valuable advice and assistance regarding transplanting and shipping.

The valuable work of Sir Ernest Satow T on "The Cultivation of
Bamboos in Japan," in Volume XXVII of the Transactions of the
Asiatic Society of Japan (1899), and above all, "The Bamboo Gar-
den,'' by Air. Freeman Mitford (1896), which is the most attractive and
useful book ever written on this group of plants, have been drawn
upon largely, especially in the preparation of the descriptions of the
various species.

9

10 Japanese bamboos.

general, considerations.

The bamboo groves of Japan are not only one of the most striking-
features of its landscapes but one of its most profitable plant cultures.

The largest well-kept groves in the world, except perhaps those of
Burma, are growing in the central provinces, and some of these are
several square miles in area. In the Tropics generally the bamboo is
cultivated in .small clumps, but in Japan it is grown with almost the
same care that is given to the field crops.

No other nation has found so many artistic uses for the plant as
the Japanese, and in no other country, except it be China, is such a
variety of forms employed by the common people.

The plant is a necessity to the Japanese peasant; it forms one of the
favorite themes of the Japanese artist, and out of it are manufactured
some of the most delicate works of Japanese art, The bamboo is in
fact one of the greatest cultivated plants of this plant-loving race.

It is a popular misconception that bamboos grow only in the Tropics.
Japan is a land of bamboos, and yet where these plants grow it is not
so warm in winter as it is in California. In regions where the snows
are so heavy that they often break down the young stems and where
the thermometer drops to 15 - (F.) below the freezing point, the largest
of the Japanese species grows and forms large groves.

For many years the gardens of France and England have been
beautified by clumps of these Japanese bamboos, and even in America
occasional plants can be found growing in the open air, which prove
the possibility of acclimatizing these representatives of this most use-
ful family of plants. A temperature of 6° F. has not proved fatal to
a large number of the hardy kinds in England.

Although nearly every description of those regions where bamboos
grow gives some account of their uses, there is still in the minds of
many Americans a doubt as to the value of these plants for growth in
the United States.

Bamboos are not like new grains or fodders which will yield prompt
returns in money, but they are essentially wood-producing plants,
whose timber is unlike that of any temperate-zone forest trees, and is
suitable for the manufacture of a multitude of articles for which our
own woods are not well adapted. They are the most convenient plants
in the world for cultivation about a farmhouse, and in those regions
where they can grow would, if introduced, prove themselves in time
one of the greatest additions imaginable to the plants of the common

people.

The Japanese and Chinese, who are the most practical agriculturists
in the world, have for centuries depended upon the bamboo as one of
their most useful cultures, and the natives of tropical India and the
Malay Archipelago would be much more at a loss without it than the

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 11

American farmer without the white pine, for they are not only depend-
ent upon it for their building material, but make their ropes, mats,
kitchen utensils, and innumerable other articles out of it, and at the
same time consider it among the most nutritious of their vegetables.
To enumerate the uses of such a family of plants as this would be like
giving a list of the articles made from American pine, and it would
not serve the purpose of this bulletin so well as to simply point out
the fact that the wood of this bamboo is suited to the manufacture of
a different class of articles and tills a different want from that of any
of our American woods. Every country schoolboy is aware of the
superiority of a bamboo' fishing pole over any other. Its flexibility,
lightness, and strength distinguish it sharply from any American poles,
and make it better suited for a fishing rod than one made from any
wood srrown in this country. It is because the American schoolboys
are so firmly convinced that the bamboo fishing poles are the best that
the importers are warranted in shipping into the United States from
Japan every year several millions of them."

The thin, flexible ribs of the imported Japanese 4 fan are made from
the wood of the same plant, and no one can fail to recognize the pecul-
iar fitness of the material for this particular use.

These are two uses of bamboo wood which illustrate its character,
and must be familiar to nearly everyone. When one realizes, how-
ever, that they are selected from over a hundred, which would be just-
as familiar to the Chinese or Japanese, it seems highly probable that
this wood must be applicable to many other needs among Americans,
which a closer acquaintance with it would reveal. Santos Dumont
has employed bamboo extensively in the framework of his dirigible
balloons, and Edison once used it in his incandescent lamps.

Americans sec in America only the imported poles or manufactured
articles as a rule, and from these it is very difficult to imagine the
multitude of uses to which the green, uncured stems are put. It is
for just such things as can lie made quickly from the green shoots that
the plant is peculiarly fitted, and this suitability for making all sorts
of handy contrivances is one of the principal reasons why it should be
made a common plant among the farmers of those parts of our coun-
try where it will grow.

The bamboos belong to the family of the grasses, and if this fact is
kept in mind many peculiarities of their habits and characters will be
easily understood. They should be distinguished, however, from the
reeds, of which we have a number in America, especially such as are.
called "bamboo reed" or "Arundo" (Arundo donax), a rank-growing
grass, with stems bearing long broad leaves to their very bases.

"The writer was informed by a large grower near Kyoto that 10,000,000 are
exported from Japan every year, and that the largest share of them ijoes to America.

12 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

These reeds, although useful, have very soft stems, which are entirely
different in texture from those of the true bamboo. The canebrakes
of the South are made up of a species of bamboo, but unfortunately
the wood of this species is of very little value. The tall, plume-like
stem of the bamboo, which sometimes reaches a height of 100 feet, has
many of the characteristics of a giant grass (PI. I). It is composed
of joints, is hollow (PL VIII, fig. 1), and grows to its full height from
a creeping underground stem in a few days, quite as does a shoot of
quack grass. The rapidity with which a now culm grows is one of the
most remarkable facts about it, and often bewilders the layman, who
is accustomed to judge the age of a tree by its size (PL VII). Over
a foot a day is not an unusual rate during the most rapid growth — a
rate of 3 feet per day has been recorded — and a shoot more than 20
feet high may be less than fifty days above the ground. Its develop-
ment may be compared in a rough way to that of a shoot of asparagus,
and anyone who has seen how easily a young stem of bamboo can be
snapped off by merely shaking it will appreciate this comparison.

In common with the stems of grasses, those of the bamboo have a
hard, siliceous exterior, which makes them more impervious to mois-
ture and more durable than ordinary wood of the same weight. The
presence of partitions at short intervals, which cut up the hollow stem
into natural receptacles, is another valuable characteristic. These
partitions can, however, be easily removed, and the hollow stem used
as a pipe, or the pipe can be split open from end to end to form two
semicylindrical troughs. The ease with which the green stems can be
split into slender pieces, which range in size from half that of the
stem itself to the fineness of a horsehair, is one of the most remarkable
qualities of the wood, and makes it adapted to innumerable kinds of
basket, sieve, screen, and mat making. The fact that no long process
of euriner is necessary before stems which have been cut fresh from
the forest can be used is one of the qualities that makes the plant of
such great convenience in the peasant homes of the Orient. Many of
the articles of bamboo manufacture could be replaced by metal ones,
but it is the convenience of having always at hand a stock of material
which can be easily made into a host of improvised things that makes
the plant so valuable. This latter is a point which should appeal espe-
cially to Americans, who are called the handiest people in the world.

The employment of the young sprouts as a vegetable is alone worthy
of the serious attention of our cultivators, for the fondness which
many American residents show for bamboo shoots indicates the possi-
bility of creating a demand for them in America.

But in addition to the uses of the bamboos as timber and food plants
their value from an aesthetic standpoint is incontestable. They are
among the most graceful forms of vegetable life that exist, and add
an indescribable charm to any landscape (PL I). No one who has

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 13

ever seen them in China or Japan can fail to have been impressed
with their beauty or convinced of the great charm which they lend to
the otherwise often monotonous character of the scenery. They are
waving- plumes of delicate green foliage, which, whether seen against
the sky line or backed by a darker mass of forest, always give a pecul-
iar softness to the scene.

Nearly every farmhouse has growing near it a clump of some one
of the useful species, and the graceful mass of culms transforms what
would be an uninteresting plaster and tile house into a pretty, pictur-
esque home.

It is, however, the introduction of the hardy representatives of this
remarkable family of plants into the United States that should attract
the attention of Americans, and the object of this bulletin is to show
how tin 1 various kinds of bamboo are cultivated in Japan, and to
suggest how these methods of cultivation can be applied to American
conditions.

As might be expected, in a group of plants containing hundreds of
species, there is a great range of hardiness among them. Some of the
Japanese forms are able to thrive in the coldest regions of Hokkaido,
the North Island, while others are too tender to be grown successfully
even in the comparatively mild climate of the central provinces.

There is also a great range in the size of the di tie rent species. Some
are so small that they creep over the ground, forming a reed-like, rank-
growing greensward (PI. VII, tig. 2), while others g-row to a height
of 4<» feet or more and produce steins which are »'> and 7 inches in
diameter (PI. IV). Certain forms are suited only for potting purposes
and are chosen by the Japanese gardeners as objects upon which to
practice their dwarfing art (PI. VII, tig. 1), while others are grown in
forests which are many acres in extent.

While the introduction into America of some of tin- smaller forms
is a desirable matter, the main interest attaches to securing and estab-
lishing the hardy forest species.

As previously remarked, there are many plants of Japanese bam-
boos already growing in America. Clumps of the very hardy kinds
may be seen occasionally in private gardens or public parks in the
South, even as far north as Washington; but owing either to the diffi-
culty of getting the plants or a failure to understand their manage-
ment these have never become popular farm plants. Potted specimens
of the small species are to be met with in many florists 1 collections, and
some are used as lawn plants, but the employment of even these is
very limited.

In California, where the Japanese and Chinese species thrive very
well, there are many large specimens, and even one small forest, while
a number of Californians are enthusiastic bamboo fanciers. Dr. H.
Tevis, of San Francisco, has probably the largest collection on the

14 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

Pacific coast, and his brother has a grove at Bakersfield in which
stems over 40 feet high are said to be growing-. The Golden Gate
Park has several clumps which are very promising, and Mr. McLaren,
the superintendent, was most enthusiastic over an offer by Mr. Lathrop
to present several thousand to the park, with which to start a grove or
two of more than a half acre in extent. In the grounds of a nursery
company at Niles, Cal., there are several rows (PI. VIII) of the tim-
ber bamboo, individuals of which are certainly 25 feet in height; and
a beautiful little grove, probably of Phyllostachys quiUoi, in the town
of Berkeley, was destroyed a few years ago to make way for a street.
In Florida the well-known nursery firms have already imported many
different species.

Mr. Lathrop is assisting the Department of Agriculture in an attempt
to introduce on a large scale the best of the Japanese timber sorts
and arouse the interest of a large class of cultivators in those regions
where the plants are likely to succeed, and it is to be hoped that the
time is not far off when many thousands of young plants will be set
out through these sections of the United States.

GENERAL CHARACTERS OF THE JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

Bamboos are not trees, although their stems or culms are sometimes
as large as tree trunks, and it is essential that their character as grasses
be kept in mind.

They have the power of producing seeds, which resemble (in Japa-
nese species, at least) kernels of rice or barley, but they flower as a
rule only at intervals of many years, and very few of the flowers ever
form seed. The formation of mature seed is so uncommon in Japan
that Mr. Makino, of the Tokyo Botanic Gardens, who is writing a
monograph on the family, says he has never seen the seed of certain
of the common species.

In the almost total absence of the method of reproduction by seed
the bamboos have developed their rhizomes, or underground stems,
and it is upon these that the spread and multiplication of the individ-
uals depends. Unlike an ordinary tree, therefore, a clump of bamboos
has underground stems in addition to its root system. A mass of these
creeping rhizomes, which grow out in various directions from the base
of the clump, give rise every year to the new shoots which increase
the diameter of the clump. A single rhizome, according to Dr. Shiga,
chief of the bureau of forest management in Tokyo, continues grow-
ing for four seasons and then ceases, but from the bases of the shoots
it produces new rhizomes grow out which have a similar period of
growth. If these underground stems or rhizomes are injured or
checked in any way from spreading freely through the soil, the clump
of aerial shoots will remain small; but if given rich soil and abundance

GENERAL CHARACTERS. 15

of moisture a few plants will spread gradually until they cover a con-
siderable area.

The new shoots of bamboo are produced by different species at
different seasons of the year. The majority of Japanese species send
up their new steins in the spring-, beginning- in April and May, and
it is these sorts that stand the best chance of succeeding in America,
because our cold winters will kill back any 3 r oung- growth produced
late in the summer.

This growing period is the most critical one in the life of the plant,
as the shoots during development are easily injured by winds, frosts,
or droughts, and it is upon the growth of these young stems that the
beauty of the clump during the summer depends.

If one examine a rhizome of bamboo (PI. VI, rig. 3) it will he seen
to have at short intervals partitions or nodes, above each of which is
situated a small pointed bud, and from each bud arises a number of
fibrous roots. It is by the elongation and thickening of these buds
that the new shoots are formed, and if it is injured, though the rhizome
may remain alive for many years, it will not produce any new buds or
shoots from these nodes.

When a bud at the node of one of the underground steins has
swollen until it is much larger in diameter than the rhizome which
supports it and has sent down a number of good, strong roots, it
begins to elongate and push its way up through the soil. Tough,
overlapping sheaths protect the tender tip from injury, as well as the
undeveloped branches on the sides of the elongating shoot. These
sheaths are borne on alternate sides of the stein by each internode or
joint (PI. IV, rig. 1), and are, according to Sir Ernest Satow, char-
acteristic of each species." They are tough and board-like, many of
them, often covered outside with line bristles and characteristically
marked; and the tip of each is provided with a leaf-like appendage
called pseuchphyll, which varies in shape with each species. These
protecting organs remain closely attached to the stem until it has
nearly finished its growth, when they stand out from the stem, allow
the young branches hidden beneath to develop, and finally drop off.
In some species the sheaths remain attached longer than in others,
and in certain species they never drop off, but gradually dry up and
break to pieces.

Until the young stem has attained its full height it is quite branch-
less, like a shoot of asparagus. On reaching maturity, however, the
sheaths fall back and the young branches elongate and unfold their
leaves. Most large forest bamboos have no branches near the ground,
the first four or six nodes failing to produce them. When grown in

"The Cultivation of Bamboos ffl Japan. Trans. Asiat. Soe. Japan, Vol. XXVII,
Part HI, 1809, Price, 5 yen.

16 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

dense masses even the first twenty or more are often devoid of
branches. The smaller the shoot the more likely it is to branch from
the lower nodes.

The leaves of bamboo vary greatly in size, but have one general
lanceolate form, some being nearly a foot long by 6 inches wide, and
suitable for wrapping material; but the majority of forest forms at
least have leaves from 2 to 6 inches long. Mr. Mitford points out
in his most interesting book, "The Bamboo Garden," that the leaves
of all hardy species in England have not only the parallel longitudinal
nerves which are common to all bamboos, but delicate cross nerves
which give a leaf the appearance, when held up to the light, of being-
covered with a network of veins. All species tested by him which
did not have these "tesselated" leaves, as he calls those leaves with
cross as well as longitudinal veins, proved tender in England.

Little use is made of the foliage of most species of bamboo, a few
only being used for fodder where better food in not obtainable. One
species in Hokkaido is said to be browsed over by the few cattle
which are there. When first produced the young foliage is often of a
dark-green color, but as it becomes older it changes to a lighter shade
of green, and on very old culms it often has a yellowish tinge. These
differences in the color of the foliage are what give such a variable
appearance to a bamboo forest.

Although produced in a few weeks, a stem requires three or four
years to harden and become tit for use, and if left standingim the
forest too long, or until it becomes yellow, it loses much of its
elasticity. Culms that are twenty years old have lost much of their
beauty, the foliage becoming scant and the stems yellow and scarred.

The roots of the bamboo resemble those of Indian corn. They are
brittle and easily broken and are never of any great size, but are
formed in large masses from the nodes of the underground stems.

PROPAGATION OF JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

If Japanese bamboos produced seed, the cheapest and safest way to
propagate them would be by importing large quantities of the latter
and growing them in seed beds; but as none of (he useful species bears
fruit, except at very long intervals, it is necessary to propagate the
plants by other means. Two methods have been practiced, one of
which, however, is only used to a limited extent.

The safest way is the simple one of digging up young plants,
separating them from the mother clumps, and transplanting them
to the desired situation. This method seems very simple, but there
are several essential points regarding it which must be attended to if
the transplanting is to prove a success. If the transplanting is only
from a forest to a location near by, it may be done at any time during

PROPAGATION. 17

the growing season. In ./apan this period extends from April until
July, inclusive. If, however, the plants are desired for planting in
a foreign country, America, for example, they should be dug early in
April, set out in nursery rows, and allowed to grow until the middle
of July. Those which in July show a new growth from the rhizome
should then be transplanted again into the same kind of soil, and in
October fchey will be in condition for digging and shipment. Mr.
Tsuboi, of Kusafuka, cuts back the culms on his young plants to one or
two nodes when he first digs them in April, at which time they form
a rosette of leaves near the ground (PI. VI, tig. 1). When treated in
this way they produce small plants which would be very economical
for shipping, as they require little box space.

Much depends upon the selection of the young plants whether or
not a vigorous clump results from its planting in a few years. The
mother plant should be inspected to see if it is in good health. If the
branches are affected by what is known as "witches' broom," which
makes gnarled, irregular tangles of the small branches, young plants
should not be taken from them. A species of smut (Ustilago) some-
times affects the young branches and produces an appearance similar
to that of the witches' broom, but this is less abundant than the former
disease. The larva of a species of beetle, whose habits are not yet fully
known so far as could be ascertained, sometimes causes considerable
damage by boring into the young shoots and penetrating through seg-
ment after segment of the young growth, stunting the culm and com-
pletely ruining it for timber purposes (PI. VII, tigs. 3 and -1). A young
plant in bloom is considered worthless for transplanting, as it seldom
gives rise to new shoots.

The proper way is to select a young plant with branches near the
ground and cut down with a spade or other cutting tool on all sides of
the base at a distance of not less than 8 inches, severing the rhizomes
which connect the plant with-the mother clump. Dig out a good-sized
ball of earth with the roots inclosed in it, shake off the superfluous
earth, cut back the stem to two branch-bearing nodes, and transfer to
a nursery row (PI. VI, lig. 2)./' If no rhizome is dug up with the plant,
or if the rhizome, is dead, the plant may live on for several years, a
rosette of leaves forming at the top of the stem, without the formation
of any new shoots (PI. VI, tig. 2). Mr. Tsuboi is of the opinion that
plants with dead rhizomes will live for seven or eight years and appear
perfectly healthy. The plant is kept alive by the fibrous roots, but
has no power to form a new rhizome. In the purchasing of plants
from nursery companies the principal point to ascertain is whether
the rhizome is alive and in vigorous condition. The part above ground
may be to all appearances in good health, while the rhizome is dead,
making the plant worthless.

If these properly dug plants which have been set in nursery rows
2 T038— No. 43—03 2

18 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

in April are inspected in July some of them will have begun the for-
mation of new shoots from their active rhizomes. Plants of which
the rhizomes show no signs of activity, it should be emphasized, are
probably weak and should not be chosen for the second transplanting,
especially if designed for a long ocean voyage. In October the
twice-transplanted bamboos, hardened by this transplanting process,
are dug and their roots, together with a ball of earth, are wrapped
with coarse straw twine, surrounded with a layer of moist sphagnum,
and packed carefully in well-aired boxes. All holes in such boxes
should be carefully closed with wire netting to keep out rats during
the vo} r age. Very little foliage should be left on the plants when
they are shipped in this way (see PI. VI, fig. 2). October is the
best month for shipping from Japan, because the plants have by that
time gone into a dormant condition and travel safer, and the extreme
cold weather will not have begun before they reach their destination
in America.

Even with these precautions, the plants on arrival after a sea voyage
require special attention. According to Mitford, who has had much
experience with their importation, they should not be planted out in
their permanent places before they have recovered from the effects of
the journey. Tbe balls of earth should be first thoroughly soaked in
water and the plants then potted and placed in a cool house for the
winter. The leaves, or bare culms, if the leaves are lost, should be
copiously syringed twice a day, but the roots should not be kept too
moist. Early in May the plants should be hardened oil' as one hardens
off geraniums for bedding out, and at the end of May or beginning of
June they will be ready to plant in their permanent places.

This should be in soil which has been especially prepared the pre-
vious autumn by double digging to a depth of IS inches. In setting
out, great care should be taken not to trample down the soil too
roughly about the roots, as there is great danger of injuring the brittle
buds on the rhizomes or the tender fibrous roots. It is best, Mr.
Mitford says, to consolidate the plants by watering freely. After
planting, the ground should be thickly covered with a mulch of dried
leaves (PI. II), under which is a layer of cow manure; and this mulch
should be kept on during the summer months to allow the plants to
form a good strong system of underground stems and fibrous roots.

The above method, which embodies the experience of such students
of the bamboo as Mr. Mitford, Mr. Tsuboi, and Mr. II. Suzuki, is
probably the safest one and in the end most economical.

It has teen found unnecessary hy such cultivators as Mr. J. McLaren
and Mr. John Rock, of California, to pot the plants on arrival in such
a marm climate as California. The// are merely heeled m, gi/oen plenty
of water, and set out the following spring.

The other method of propagation is to dig up, in the winter, lengths

LOCATION AND SOIL CONDITIONS. 19

of 1-year-old rhizome 3 feet or so long, rub the cut ends with wet
ashes, allow these wet ashes to dry, and pack carefully in a tight box
in fine, almost dry soil (PI. VI, tig. 3). Upon arrival these rhizomes
are set out in properly prepared ground. The shipment should be
timed to arrive at its destination in the early spring, so that the cut-
tings can be set out at once. This method is recommended by Mr.
Mitford for the commercial nursery propagation of the bamboo, but
he does not advise its employment if the plants are to be shipped long
distances, and the author has failed to find that it has been successfully
tried. Mr. John Rock, of Niles, Cal., thinks bamboos could be
propagated quickly in this way.

Even with the best of care in transplanting by the first described
method the Japanese bamboo growers count on losing at least 10 per
cent of their young plants, and it' the conditions are not altogether
favorable, as high as 20 per cent of failures may be expected.

SUITABLE LOCATION AND SOIL CONDITIONS FOR BAMBOOS.

In Japan some of the best groves are surrounded by paddy fields,
and the soil is a rich, stiff loam, lightened with a mixture of sand.
Those visited by the writer are on the open plain and stretch up and
down a small brook for 5 miles or more. Whatever winds blow over
this small plain must strike the forests, but it is safe to say that such
winds are not strong ones. A favorite site for a bamboo grove is the
base of some range of hills or a broad valley where some mountain
stream has brought down and deposited a mass of alluvium. These
situations have the double advantage of Suitable soil and shelter from
strong winds. This latter point is said by every grower to be an impor-
tant one, for the young shoot, as soon as it is tall enough to come in
contact with the branches of the older ones, is thrashed about by the
winds and its growing tip is injured. This injury stops its growth at
once and the resulting culm is imperfect. Wind-breaks of conifers
are sometimes planted to protect a grove which is in an exposed posi-
tion. In America, where the prevailing winds are probably as a rule
stronger than they are in Japan, special attention will have to be given
to this matter of wind-breaks.

The quality of the soil on which a bamboo stem is grown influences
materially the texture of its wood. So fully is this realized by the
Japanese that there is one particular mountain side which has the
reputation of producing the hardest, flintiest bamboo in the country.
The culms grown at Togeppo are cut up and made into the cylindrical
ash boxes, or "haiiuki," upon the edge of which the smokers strike
their metal-trimmed pipes in order to knock out the ashes. After
years of use the edge of the Togeppo ash box remains smooth, while
that made from a stem grown in the lowlands is splintered to pieces.

20 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

Potash and phosphoric acid are, very important elements in the for-
mation of a strong-, tough wood, and although their use in fertilizers
does not make so much difference in the rapid growth of the culm as
that of nitrogen they are quite as important.

A well-drained soil is just as necessary for bamboos as for man}*-
trees, for although these plants require much moisture they are not
swamp plants, like canes or reeds. Land which is occasionally over-
flowed can be planted to advantage with bamboos, according to Mr.
Tsuboi, if they are set on low mounds or ridges; but stagnant pools of
water will kill the rhizomes if allowed to stand over them for many
weeks. Embankments of canals, the borders of ponds, and river
banks arc suitable situations, especially in dry regions. Large clumps
are growing along the canals in "Egypt, and Algiers has many varieties
growing in her trial gardens which are watered only by irrigation.
There are in California, Oregon, Texas, and throughout the Gulf and
Southern States thousands of suitable locations. The banks of small
streams, the deltas of rivers, low, irrigated islands, like those in the
San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, would produce big forests of
these valuable plants, while the banks of irrigation canals, wherever
such occur in mild climates, could be made beautiful by them. Any
soil which has a large admixture of gravel in it does not prove satis-
factory, as the gravel prevents the rapid spreading of the underground
stems. Such compact soils as the gumbo soils of the Southwest will
probably grow the plants well, but they will presumably not spread
as rapidly on such stiff ground as they would upon a lighter loam. If
it is the object to produce a large number of big culms, the best soil
is one with a fair admixture of vegetable humus. The rhizomes
spread rapidly in such humus and produce a tine crop of new shoots.
As the roots of the forest species penetrate 3 feet into the soil, the
writer is assured that a clay subsoil at this depth is a desirable soil
condition. In the cultivation of the edible bamboos (Phyllostachys
mitis) a lighter, more sandy soil seems to be preferred to that deemed
suitable for the timber kinds, /'. quiUoi and J\ h&nonis. Most bam-
boos will not withstand much drought without losing their leaves, but
they are not so dependent upon a moist atmosphere as most people
imagine. If they are supplied with plenty of water at the roots their
leaves will keep green in a fairly dry climate. They must not be con-
sidered, however, as drought-resistant plants, but as suitable for irri-
gated land or regions in which there is at least a moderately regular
rainfall. AtNiles, Cal., Mr. Rock has bamboos 20 feet high which are
watered only twice a year with about 2 inches of water each time
(PI. Y11J).

MANAGEMENT OF GROVES. 21

JAPANESE MANAGEMENT OF BAMBOO GROVES.

One of the best posted bamboo growers in Japan informed the
writer that twenty years ago he did not know that his groves, which
were then in a neglected state, had any money value, but that to-day
those parts of his farm on which the groves are situated are its most valu-
able portions. The attention which he bestows upon them now is very
inexpensive, but almost as careful as that given to any other of his
crops. The following forest methods are largely those which Mr.
Tsuboi described as, from his experience, the best. These are appli-
cable with -slight variations to the three principal timber bamboos in
Japan, and pertain in a general way to the culture of the ornamental
species.

Tin 1 land chosen for a bamboo grove should be dug over to a depth
of H feet the autumn previous to being planted, and, if a heavy soil,
should have worked into it a good quantity of trash from the stable.
The plants should be set out at an equal distance from each other at
the rate of about 300 to an acre, or 12 feet apart each way. If the soil
is a dry one, the ball of earth and roots should be planted below the
surface of the soil, but if a wet one a mound should be made and the
plants set in the upper portion of it. After planting it is important,
as already remarked, that the soil between the plants should be given
a heavy mulch of straw, under which is a layer of cow manure. This
mulch should be maintained during the entire year. In the beginning
the roots should be supplied with an abundance of water and in the
autumn should be given plenty of rotted manure. If some of the
plants die, they should be replaced by others so as to maintain as com-
plete a stand as possible. It is essential as the new shoots spring up
that the ground at their bases should be shaded by the foliage. The
semiobscurity of a Japanese grove is not only its greatest charm, but
one of the necessary factors of its growth. The sooner the ground
can be shaded by the plants the better.

For the first three years at least all the shoots that appear should be
allowed to mature, but after the grove is once well established only
the largest shoots should be permitted to grow, the others being cut
out as soon as they appear above the ground. This thinning process
throw's the strength of the plants into a comparatively few large culms,
and gradually increases the height and strength of the forest.

In regions where the snows are so heavy that they break down the
plants the practice of bringing the tops of several culms together and
fastening them with rope is sometimes followed. The wigwam-like
masses formed in this way are able to support without injury the
weight of snow.

No culm should be cut for timber purposes until it is at least four
3 r ears old, as before this time the wood is not mature. On the other

22 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

hand, if left standing too long the wood becomes too brittle and loses
in value, and the forest besides is benefited by the cutting out of the
four-year-old stems. The crop of new shoots is larger. This thinning-
out process should be so done that as few gaps as possible are made in
the forest and the semiobscurity below the mass of foliage is main-
tained.

The crop of new shoots varies in size every alternate year. A poor
crop would mean «! to 7 per cent of new shoots and a good crop 12 to
14 per cent. As there are commonly 10,000 culms in a hectare" (or
4,545 in an acre) of properly planted grove ten to fifteen years old,
this would mean the production of 600 to 700 culms per hectare for a
light crop and 1.200 to 1,400 for a heavy one. These figures were
very kindly furnished the writer by Dr. T. Shiga, chief of the impe-
rial forest management in Tokyo.

The experience of Mr. Tsuboi has been that some kinds of forest
trees if standing in a grove prevent the growth of the bamboos near
them. Oaks and chestnuts, he declares, are especially objectionable
in this respect, while persimmons do not seem to affect in the least
the production of new bamboo shoots. ' The effect of weeds in a forest
is undesirable, and although comparatively few species are able to live
in such a deep shade these should be dug out as from any cultivated
field. Attention to these various details makes a great difference in
the amount and quality of timber produced. A grove is not to be
looked upon as merely a thicket and left to take care of itself, but as
a plant culture which requires attention. Plates II and III show the
effects of different methods of treating parts of the same grove.

One important element in the culture of this peculiar timber plant
is the fact that a whole forest may bloom and die in a single season,
and that it is not possible— as yet— to tell beforehand when this bloom-
ing will take place. The intervals between these periods are, however,
so long that they are not taken into consideration by the Japanese
farmer when he buys a bamboo grove. Little accurate information
is obtainable regarding the length of lite, of the various Japanese
species, but Phyllostachys henonis has the reputation in Japan of
blooming oftener than either P. <]iul!<>/, P. mitis^ or P. mgra,-the
other three important timber species. A small grove near Kawasaki
which bloomed this season (1902) was reported by the owner to have
once bloomed about sixty years before. As there always remain in
the field a number of living rhi/omes, after the death of the forest,
these renew the latter in a few years, so that the actual loss to the
owner does not include the cost of replanting. This is the case at
least with the Japanese bamboos. As culms which have bloomed an 1
poor in quality, the practice is followed of cutting them as soon as
possible after they show signs of blooming.

« About 2\ acres.

PROFITS OF CULTURE. 23

In Japan, where bamboos and rice are often grown in adjoining plats
of ground, some trouble is experienced from the underground stems
spreading into the neighboring fields. To prevent this a ditch 2 feet
wide and as many feet deep is dug about the grove and kept open by
several rediggings during the year. This method is said to be a satis-
factory one. It is a difficult matter, however, after a field has once
been planted to bamboos, to clear it satisfactorily for other crops, for
there is :i mass of these tough rhizomes that are very difficult to dig-
out.

The harvesting of bamboo poles is not done before August, as
culms cut earlier than this date are likely to he attacked by insects,
not having had time to sufficiently harden. A Kyoto grower of black
bamboos remarked that the Kobe exporters, by insisting on having
their bamboos for export cut earlier than this date, had seriously
injured the foreign demand, as the quality of the wood was much
injured by this earh T harvest.

A saw is often used in cutting the shoots, by making cuts on oppo-
site sides of it near the base. When cut, the poles are classified, tied
into bundles, and stacked like hop or bean poles to dry. In the
lumber yards of Japan these stacked poles of bamboo form a promi-
nent feature.

PROFITS OF BAMBOO CULTURE IN JAPAN.

Dr. Shiga, chief of the bureau of forest management of Japan,
when asked whether bamboo growing was profitable or not, said
promptly that it was the best paying plant culture in the country,
yielding a net return of 250 yen per hectare, which is the equivalent
of about $50 gold per acre. The species referred to by Mr. Shiga in
this case was the edible one. Twenty per cent of this amount repre-
sents the profits from the sale of edible shoots. Mr. Tsuboi's profits
on his groves of Phyllostachys quilioi, a strictly timber species, aver-
aged $20 an acre, while those of one of his friends near Kyoto were
$4:0. The profits of a good grove of edible bamboo are evidently
greater than those from one grown for timber only, and the author
was informed by one of the best bamboo growers near Kyoto that his
profits per acre were about $90 on land which, cleared of bamboo,
would not bring more than $80, while good rice land sold for $200.
A second grower of bamboos near Kyoto, who ships for the export
trade from Kobe, informed the writer that the culture in his province
of Phyllostachys <]>i!ll<>! yields a net income of about $4-0 per acre,
while /'. henonis brings in only about $30. Five years ago the black
bamboo brought in a profit of $200 per acre, but now scarcely nets $50.
Rice culture in this region, according to Mr. Tsuboi, barely pays more
than for the cost of labor and manure, the former reckoned at 35 to
40 sen, or 17^ to 20 cents gold, a day. All of these figures, however,

24 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

have no practical bearing- on the profits of bamboo growing in
America, where a market for the culms can only be made after a con-
stant reasonable supply has been assured.

The cost of the attention which is necessary in order to grow bam-
boos is so much less than that required for rice growing, suitable land
is so much cheaper, and so much less risk is run from bad weather,
that the .statement that it is the best paying culture in Japan seems
correct, and such inquiries tend to confirm it.

CULTURE OF THE EDIBLE BAMBOO.

Only one species of bamboo is commonly grown in Japan for food,
and this is the largest one {Phyllostachy8 nut is), known as "Moso."
It was introduced from China, where its value as a food plant has been
known for centuries, and its common name indicates its origin." One
other sort, /'. cmrea, is also said to have edible shoots, but those of
the remaining kinds are understood to be too bitter to be eaten.

The method of cultivating this species diners from that described
for the timber sorts. The best soil is a more friable one, and if not
naturally with a good admixture of sand it must be top dressed every
year with 1 inch of light sandy loam and a mulching of straw or grass
and weeds cut from the meadow. The young plants are set out more
sparsely than if designed for timber, not more than 120 to the acre.
Liquid manure is given freely to the newly set out plants, and as long-
as they arc grown for their edible shoots large amounts of rich ferti-
lizer containing much soluble nitrogen must be supplied them. In
.Japan the cost of the fertilizer is the principal expense of cultivation.
In five years, if the transplanted mother plants are of good size, they
should yield shoots large enough for sale, but ten years are required
to bring the plantation into a profitable bearing condition. Weeding
is done more carefully than in timber groves, though for the first
five or six years all the shoots which come up are allowed to stand;
but later, when the plantation is established, all small-sized ones are
promptly removed as soon as they appear above ground. In order to
obtain a supply of fresh culms a regular system in cutting out the old
ones is followed. A definite number of selected stems, as soon as they
are fully grown, are marked with the year of their production, and
nine } T ears later all of those bearing the same date are cut out. Each
spring the same number (about NO per acre) of new culms are spared
from being dug out when small for market, and each autumn a similar

" Moso is the name of one of the twenty-four paragons of Chinese filial piety.
The story is the ease of a hoy whose widowed mother fell ill and longed for hroth
made of young hamboo shoots. The shoots not being procurable in winter, his devo-
tion was such that he went out in the snow to dig for them. The gods rewarded his
devotion hy causing the shoots to grow suddenly to an unheard-of size. Japanese
artists are fond of illustrating their works of art with drawings of the hoy Moso.

CULTURE OF EDIBLE BAMBOO. 25

number of 9-year-old stems are cut and sold for timber. These are
only a small proportion of the total number of bamboos on an acre,
for this ranges from 040 to 680. If this system of thinning out is fol-
lowed a plantation may be kept in bearing almost indefinitely. Near
Kyoto the practice is followed of cutting off the top of every shoot
left standing, before it is fully mature, to a height of from 12 to 14
feet. This prevents the wind from moving the culms too much and
induces the formation of a bushy mass of luxuriant foliaere and a great
number of medium-sized shoots, which are more profitable than the
few larger-sized ones that result if the mother plants are not topped.

The tenderest shoots and those which bring the highest prices are
the ones dug up before their tips have pierced the surface of the soil.
These bring, early in the season, as much as 1 yen per "kwan" (about
6 cents gold per pound), while the later product must sometimes be
disposed of for a tenth of this price. The market season in Tokyo
begins in December and closes in dune. Although bamboo shoots are
very nutritious, they are not easily digested, and many Americans do
not like them for this reason. Old residents in Japan, however, often
grow very fond of them and have adapted them to their Western menu.

Miss Fanny Eldredge, of Yokohama, has very kindly furnished the
following recipes for cooking bamboo shoots:

1. Bamboo sprout* with cream sauce. — These sprouts are cut when about a foot above
the ground, by digging down to the rhizomes which bear them. After being gath-
ered, the outside sheaths are removed and the shoots are soaked for half an hour
in cold water. They are then cut in thin slices, about 3 incites long by 1 inch square,
and thrown into boiling water containing a small teaspoonful of salt, and are boiled
from an hour to an hour and a half, or until tender. The pieces are then drained
and a white sauce is poured over them, which is made in the following way: To a
half pint of cream or milk add a teaspoonful of butter; season witli salt and black
pepper. Allow this to boil up and serve at once. If desired, this sauce may be
thickened with flour.

2. Bamboo shoots in butter. ■ — Slice and ( k as in the previous recipe, until tender.

Into a saucepan put three tablespoon fuls of butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, and a
little chopped parsley. When heated, put in the bamboo. Shake and turn until
the mixture boils; then lay the bamboo on a hot platter, pourthe butter over it, and
serve at once.

3. Bamboo shoots, Japanese style. — Slice and cook the bamboo until tender, as in
recipe No. 1 ; then put into a sauce made as follows: Take one coffee cup full of soy
sauce (this is the basis of Worcestershire sauce and obtained only at Chinese or
Japanese grocers or at some of the largest groceries in our large cities), one-fourth
cupful of water, one heaping teaspoonful of sugar; let boil for half an hour in this
sauce, and serve.

DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BAMBOOS.

The bamboo family is a large one and scattered over a great portion
of the warmer and mountain regions of the globe, and, owing to the
fact that the plants so infrequently bloom and that their classification

26 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

depends upon the characters of the flower, it is not a very well-
known group of plants. The monograph by Munro" is one of
the most comprehensive attempts to give in one book descriptions
of all of the known species. Of the hundreds of described forms
only a small proportion are of much economic importance, and of
these only a few are hardy. When the interior of China, the slopes
of the Himalayas and Andes, and the mountains of the Malay
Archipelago have been searched over for valuable hardy forms,
the comparatively short list of species suitable for introduction will
doubtless be largely increased. Anyone wishing- to know what a
large territory there is to search over for hardy bamboos and how
many remain to be introduced and tested, will find these subjects dis-
cussed in a very interesting chapter called, "Future possibilities." in
Mr. Mitford's book, "The Bamboo Garden." Nor should attention
be confined to the hardy forms, when the tropical species are so many
and various and have been so little studied from an economic stand-
point. There are forms in Burma which could doubtless be introduced
with great advantage into the Philippines, and species from the semi-
tropical regions of China which are worthy of establishing in Hawaii.
In fact, the more familiar one becomes with the bamboo question the
truer does Mr. Mitford's statement, from the aesthetic standpoint,
appear, that "we have only touched the fringe of what we may hope
to achieve in the decoration of our wilderness gardens with the grace
of these royal grasses."

At present, only a limited number of forms are eligible for intro-
duction into the United States, and the majority of these are found in
Japan.

The following popular descriptions of the more important economic
sorts are given to assist in determining those common species which
may be introduced in the near future, or which are already growing in
America. The nomenclature followed is that given by Mr. Mitford
in his "Bamboo Garden, 1 ' except in such species as are not included
by him, when Sir Ernest Satow's work, "The Cultivation of Bamboos
in Japan, " is followed. This is not an attempt to clear up the nomen-
clature of these badly mixed species.

The different common species of Japanese bamboos which resemble
each other have been so often taken for one another that a convenient
method of telling them apart is a very desirable thing. Such a method
Sir Ernest Satow has drawn attention to in his book. It consists in
comparing the forms and markings of the sheaths that surround the
young shoots and in the leaf -like appendages or pseudophylls which
are borne at their tips. He has published colored plates to illustrate

a Monograph of the Bambusacese, including descriptions of all the species. London,

1K70, 157 pp.

DIFFERENT SPECIES. 27

those characters. The difficulty in using them, however, is that the
sheaths are only obtainable in the season when there are young- shoots.
Mr. Mitford points out that the form and coloration of the winter
buds in the axils of the branches, from which new branches develop,
are important means of distinguishing the species. The characters
which determine whether a bamboo belongs to the Bambusa, Phyl-
lostachys, or Ani/ndinaria genera, which are all it is necessary to con-
sider here, are unfortunately largely floral ones and for practical
purposes nearly useless. The genus Bambusa belongs to a section
(Bambusae verse) in which the flowers have six stamens, while Phyllos-
tachys and Arundinarm both belong to the TriglosssR section, where
the flowers have three stamens. ArundAnaria is distinguished from
Phyllostachys by having round stems, while those of the latter are
grooved or slightly flattened on one side. The sheaths in Arundinaria
remain attached much longer than in Phyllostachys, as a rule those of
the latter genus dropping off as soon as the culms are mature.

Phyllostachys Mitis, A. & C. Riviere.

(Japanese name: " Moso-ckiku" <>r " Momo-chiku." )

The largest hardy species in Japan, growing to a height of over 50
feet and producing, not uncommonly, culms over 6 inches in diameter.
In England specimens have been grown to a height of 10 feet and a
diameter of 14 inches. The culms are gently curved shortly after leav-
ing tlir ground, while those of other sorts with which it might be con-
fused rise straight from the base. (Compare tigs. 1 and 3, PI. IV.)
Its sheaths are of a light-brown color, m-arked with dark umbe? , -brown
blotches and round dots and covered with bristles. The pseudophyll is
broad atthebase, tapers to a point, Imt is not wavy in outline. The sheath
spreads right and left from the base of the pseudophyll and is fringed
throughout with hairs, which are straight when they lie between the
pseudophyll and the stem, but curled on the right and left sides where
they arc free to develop. The internodes are generally shorter than
those of the other large species and tin leaf sheaths are fringed <tt tin
//is, i-t inn of the leaf with <t numbt r of rather co<ti>s<> hairs. The branch
buds are purplish brown and strongly marked. The leaves vary from

I to 6 inches in length and are too variable to be convenient characters
for quick determination. This is the great edible bamboo of Japan
and China, the method of cultivation of which has been described. It
is not as hardy in England as Phyllostachys quilioisuid /'. henonis.

Phyllostachys Quilioi, A. & C. Riviere.

(Japanese name: il Madake. u )

The second largest hardy species, growing to a height of 30 to 10
feet in Japan and 18 feet in England, with a diameter of 1 inches and

II inches, respectively. The great timber bamboo of the Japanese.

28 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

The culms rise straight from the rhizome, and the branches are pro-
portionately long, compared with the height of the stem.

Its sheaths are marked with purple or reddish Notches, mhich are
much more pronounced in character than those of the preeedm§ species,
and the pseudophyll has a wavy outline. The branch buds have green
bases, and only the tips are brown. The new shoots appear above
ground in Japan a month later than tho.se of the following species
(P. henonis), that is, in June. The internodes are proportionately
longer than those of P. mitis, but the leaf sheaths are fringed with long
hairs, us they are in that species. The leaves vary in length from 2
to 8 inches, but are proportionately broader, according to Mitford.
This species is hardy in England and has a more vigorously spreading
rhizome than that of J\ mitis or /'. aurea.

Phyllostachys Henonis, Mitford.

(Japanese name: "Hachiku.")

A somewhat smaller kind of bamboo than the preceding two species.
Considered by Mitford the prettiest one cultivated in England. Height
in Japan from 20 to 30 feet, with a maximum diameter of a trifle over 3
inches. In England specimens 14 feet high and one-half inch in diameter
occur. After P. mitis and P. quiUoi the commonest timber form in
Japan. Culms rise straight from the base. Sheaths are a straw color,
with few or no spots of any hind and with a distinctly wavy pseudo-
phyll like the blade of a Malay kris. New shoots appear before those
of P. quilioi— that is, in April and May. The leaf sheaths are fringed
(at least on young plants) with delicate hairs, which are neither so long
nor Irristlelil'e as those in I\ /a/'tis and P. quilioi. Branch buds
are a pale yellowish-green. The pipe is thinner walled than that of
P. quilioi, and its use in the arts is restricted because of the inferior
quality of the wood. The rootstock is said to run freely in England,
where it has proved hardy.

"MADARADAKK'' , OR " UmMON-CHIKU."

A form closely related to P. henonis, which is distinguished by hav-
ing dark blotches on its culms that are presumably caused by some as
yet undetermined species of fungus. These spots are regularly pres-
ent on almost all internodes and give to the stems a very decorative
appearance, making them much sought after for fancy furniture. The
extent and beauty of these blotches vary with the amount of shade
which the plants are given and the kind of soil upon which they are
grown. The best location is said to be a moist river bottom, and the
less direct sunlight that is permitted to strike the young shoots when
in growth the better. A rare sort, except in certain localities in Japan.
Some of the best groves the writer has seen are in Hikone, in the
province of Mi no, on Lake Biwa.

DIFFERENT SPECIES. 29

Phyllostachys Nigra, Munro.

(Japanese names: " Gomadaki," " Kuro-chiku," or " KurodaM.")

The black bamboo is not as generally grown in Japan as the three
species just mentioned, but it is nevertheless an important culture.
Formerly more money was made out of it than has been the case in
recent years, because the foreign demand, it is said, has fallen off.

It is a smaller species than the other timber sorts, seldom growing-
over 20 feet high and 1^ inches in diameter.

The culms when young are covered with dark-brown to purple spots,
which spread as it grows older until the whole culm becomes dark-
brown, almost black, except just below the nodes, where there is an
ash-gray line. This dark color at once distinguishes the species from
all other Japanese sorts. Branch buds are brown, mottled with black.
There is a great variation in the intensity of this dark color of the culms,
and this is said to vary with the kind of soil upon which the plants are
grown and the amount of sunlight to which they are exposed. There
are, however, at least two varieties of this species, one with much more
intensely brown culms than the other. Mr. Mitford calls the lighter
sort P. nigro-punetata, and remarks that it is hardier than P. nigra,
but not so pretty. Light, hillside soil is claimed as bettor adapted to
the production of intense color than rich alluvium, and it is found
necessary to renew old plantations, in order to prevent the color from
fading out.

This is one of the hardiest forms grown in England, attaining in
exceptional cases 20 feet in height, and it is certainly one of the most
decorative kinds. Nothing could exceed the delicate beauty of the
groves of this species which are to be seen near Kyoto. Their dark
stems, ash-gray nodes, and light-green foliage make them unique
among decorative plants. (See PI. I.)

The uses of this species are limited to the manufacture of furniture,
numerous household articles, and fancy fishing poles, for all of which
these black bamboos are peculiarly suited.

Phyllostachys (Jastillonis."

(Japanese name: " Kimmei-chiku." )

The golden-striped bamboo is one of the most decorative forms of
the group. It is not easily confused with other Japanese sorts when
its characters are fully developed, for each culm is of a beautiful
golden-yellow color, striped with brilliant green. The leaves also are
variegated with stripes of green and .white. The contrast between
the golden yellow of the stems and the green stripes on the young

«No authority is given by Mitford for this name, and the author has been unable
as yet to work out its correct name. The nomenclature of the bamboos needs work-
ing over.

30 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

.shoots is one of the prettiest effects imaginable. The species grows
occasionally over 30 feet high in Japan and specimens 5 to 6 feet high
are already found in England, where the species has withstood a tem-
perature of 24 degrees of frost or 8° F. It is not a common species
even in the gardens of Japan, and Mr. Mitford says it is uncommon in
England. Very young plants sometimes show only slight traces of
the variegation on the stems, but develop this character later.

Mr. Tsuboi, who has the most exceptional taste in bamboos, and in
the dwarfing of which he is an acknowledged connoisseur (see PL VII,
fig. 1), suggested planting a mixture of this golden bamboo with the
black species, /'. nigra. As a rule, mixtures of bamboos are said to
be objectionable, but such a mingling of golden and black stems is
worthy of an experiment.

Phyllostachys Aurea, A. <Sc C. Riviere.

(Japanese names: " Hotei-chiku," " Horai-Chiku," or "Taibo-CftiJcu.")

A smaller species than /'. mitis or /'. quilioi, but attaining in Eng-
land a height of 14 feet and a diameter of culm of over three-fourths
of an inch. In Japan, culms have been observed over li inches in
diameter. It is not a golden bamboo, as its name implies, its steins
being about the color of /'. //////'.v. The distinguishing characteristic
is that the first 5 or <! internodes near the ground are very short,
bringing the internodes, or joints, close together, often only a few
inches apart. These joints are not, as in /'. heterocycla, set at an angle
to the direction of the stem, hut are generally parallel to each other
and quite horizontal. Branch buds are variable in color, but pale. Mr.
Mitford remarks that this species should be planted in large, bold
masses for good landscape effect, for if single plants are set out they
send up shoots only near the mother culm and produce a switch-like
effect. The shoots of this species are edible, according to the Japanese
books, and are of even better flavor than those of P. mitis; but this
variety does not appear to be grown for food.

Phyllostachys Bambusoides, Sieb. & Zucc.
(Japanese name: " Yadake.")

The arrow bamboo is that of which the stems are still employed in
the manufacture of the line Japanese arrows used generally for archery
purposes. The plant is still a rare one in England, and Mitford says
that other sorts are sometimes sold by Japanese nurserymen under its
name. It is not very commonly seen in gardens, so far as observed,
even in Japan, and the arrow makers, it is said, get their main supply
of stems from wild plants. There are some of these manufacturers in
the town of Shizuoka, but the demand for arrows is so small that they
are doing a poor business. This species is distinguished from others

DIFFERENT SPECIES. 31

by the fact that it does not have an actively creeping rootstock. Each
plant forms a separate small clump by itself. The' branches are shorter
than the internodes and the middle branch of the three is longest,
whereas in other bamboos the middle branch is the shortest — some-
times wanting. Clumps of this form grow to 10 or 12 feet in height
in Japan, with a diameter of little over three-fourths of an inch. The
internodes are long, and the sheaths, although withering the first year,
do not fall off until the following year. They are bright green in color,
with a purple edging. The leaves are large, sometimes over 12 inches
long by li inches broad, and are borne in fours, fives, sevens, or
eights. The hardness of the culms, their small cavity, and the smooth-
ness of the nodes, as well as their small size, are characteristics that
well adapt them for arrow making. This is believed to be a hard} 7
species, and it is quite unlike the ordinary bamboos in appearance.

Phyllostachts Marliacea, Mitford.

(Japanese names: u Shibo-chiku" or u AS}rivxi-chiku.")

The "wrinkled bamboo" is easily distinguished from all other kinds
by the fact that its culms are longitudinally channeled with shallow
grooves. It is a low-growing species compared with P. <jh /'//'<>/, which
it otherwise resembles, not being commonly over 12 to 14 feet high,
even in Japan. It is a rare kind, and its culms are used occasionally,
it is said, for decorative woodwork in the special rooms which in man} 7
Japanese houses are kept sacred for the tea-drinking ceremony. A
beautiful and hardy form.

AuuNDiNAiuA Japonioa, Sich. & Zucc.

(Japanese name: " MhaM" or M6daM;" not "Makadt.")

A well-known bamboo in Europe,*where it is not very highly thought
of by some, but is praised as a valuable decorative plant by others. A
form distinguishable by its persistent sheaths which, instead of falling
off. like those of the genus PkyUostachys, remain attached until they
become frayed out and split to pieces. These ragged sheaths give to
clamps of the plant an untidy appearance. The culms are round and
without any groove or flattening on one side, as is the case with the
Pbyllostachides. The pseudophylls of the ordinary sheaths are very
narrow, sometimes not over an eighth of an inch wide, and from 1 to 2
inches long; but those of the topmost sheaths develop into true leaves.
The leaves themselves are large, 8 to 12 inches by 1^ to 2 inches.
This is said to be the hardiest species in Japan, growing as far north
as the island of Hokkaido, where the temperature falls below zero
Fahrenheit. Its culms are extensively used for fan making, and
millions of cheap paper-colored fans are made every year from the

32 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

stems of this species. River banks and the margins of ponds and
canals are eminently suited to its growth, and the overflowed lands
of the Colorado River in Arizona might be planted to advantage
with this species. This bamboo is one of the few that has flowered
and fruited in Europe. According to Mr. Mitford, specimens in the
Bois de Bologne in Paris, and simultaneously all over France and in
Algiers, bloomed and produced fruit in 1867 or 1868.

Arundinaria Simoni, A. & C. Riviere.

(Japanese name: "Narihiradake.")

This species is easily distinguished by its broad, persistent sheaths
of a plain straw color that fall off only after the culms have attained
maturity. (PI. V, tig. 1.) It is the tallest of the hardy arundinarias
which are grown in England, the culms attaining a height of 18 feet
and a diameter of an inch. The shoots appear from midsummer until
late in the autumn, and Mr. Mitford remarks that many do not mature
sufficiently to stand the English winters. The sheaths nearest the
ground are short, though long enough to overlap the internodes, but
those of the upper joints, although 8 to 10 inches long, do not exceed
the internodes in length. They are at first of a line green color, shad-
ing into purple, which soon fades, however, to a dull yellow. These
prominent sheaths, which are thick, stiff, and beautifully glazed on
the side next the culm, will easily distinguish this arundinaria from
any other common Japanese form. The species has flowered and
fruited in England, and it is quite universally grown in English
gardens. A long description of it is given by Mr. Mitford in "The
Bamboo Garden.' 1

Arundinaria Hindsii, Munro.

(Japanese name: "Kanzan-chiku.")

The Kanzan-chiku is a very common garden plant about Tokyo, and
clumps of it are to be found in many of the farmyards in central
Japan, where the culms grow to a height of IS feet and attain a diam-
eter of over 1^ inches. This species forms pretty clumps, with a fine
grass-like foliage, and although little farm use is made of it, it is
worth}- of trial as an ornamental. Its hardiness has not been demon-
strated in England, but it seems likely to prove as hardy as forms like
P. mitis. It is distinguished from the preceding arundinarias by its
long, narrow leaves, sometimes !» inches by live-eighths of an inch,
according to Mr. Mitford. The sheath is provided with a reddish
margin toward the tip.

DIFFERENT SPECIES. 33

Artjndinaria Hindsii, var, Graminea.

(Japanese name: " Taimin-chiku." )

A .sort similar to the foregoing, but with considerably narrower
leaves and a longer, narrower sheath, with no evidences of a brown
margin.

Bambusa Veitchii, Carr.

(Synonym: Arundinaria veitchii. Japanese name: " Kokumazasa;" sometimes only

11 Kumazasa." )

The Kumazasa. by which is generally meant Bambusa palmata, and
this B. veitchii are sometimes confused. The latter may be distin-
guished by the fact that its leaf margins wither in late autumn and
make the plant look as if it were variegated. B. veitchii is further-
more, as a rule, only about 2 feet high, whereas B. palmata grows to
5 feet in heis'ht. The sheath of B. veitchii is said by Sir Ernest Satow
to be longer and more persistent than that of B. palmata. The leaves
of B. veitchii are much smaller than those of its taller relative and
warrant the name of ''Kokumazasa, 1 '' or lesser bamboo. This species
is suitable for lawn planting and is used by the Japanese to plant
under their pine trees and to cover with a thick mat of green foliage
a sloping hillside or embankment, for both of which purposes it is
admirably adapted (PI. V). It must be kept from spreading into cul-
tivated ground by means of a broad ditch, 2 feet deep and lh feet
wide. The variegated effect produced by the dead margins of the
leaves after being touched by frost is striking, though not very
attractive.

Bambusa Palmata, Hort. Ex. Kew Bull.

(Japanese name: "Kumazasa.")

A much larger species than the preceding and with leaves 12 to 13
inches long instead of 5 to 6 inches. Altogether one of the most effective
plants for embankments, as it covers them with a mass of broad leaf
surface which is very attractive. Its rhizomes are said to be good
sand- binders. Large patches of this plant on a lawn or hillside are
striking objects of interest. Caution must be exercised to prevent
the rhizomes from invading cultivated fields. This can be done by
ditching, as has been described for B. veitchii.

Bambusa Quadrangularis, Eenzi.

(Japanese names: " Shiho-chiku" or " Shikaku-daM.")

The square bamboo is unlike any other Japanese species in the pos-
session, when fully grown, of square culms. These square stems are
often not apparent on young small shoots, but the older ones are sure

27<tts— No. 43—03 3

34 JAPANESE BAMBOOS.

to show this character. The squareness of these culms is aptly com-
pared by Mr. Mitford to the square stems of the Labiates. Small
groves of this bamboo are to be seen not far from Yokohama, and the
writer has seen stems among one of these groves that were about 20
feet high, while Mr. Mitford says the plant grows to 30 feet near
Osaka. The sheath is very thin and delicate and more open than in
most barnboos, gaping from the base and leaving the greater part of
the internode uncovered. The wood of this species is' too weak to
make it of any great value, and its sensitiveness to frost is too great
to enable one to class it among the hardy sorts. It is, however, a
decorative plant and worthy of repeated trials in the f rostless regions
of America. It is said that roots will form easily from the lower
nodes of the square bamboo if the portion bearing these nodes is buried
in the soil. This would facilitate propagation if the statement proves
correct.

Bambusa Vulgaris, Schrad.

(Japanese name: " Taisau-chiku." )

A species growing in Satsuma, the southern province of Japan, but
which is not hardy at Yokohama. It is propagated differently from
the hardy sorts, as new shoots are borne from the base of the culm as
well as from the rhizome. Short culm bases, without rhizomes, arc
potted and easily transported from Satsuma to Yokohama, where^new
branches appear from the nodes. This species is said to be easy to
propagate because of this character, but it will probably have a chance
to succeed in the United States only in subtropical Florida and Texas,
where it will require a good soil, rich in humus.

Wb SHAKUTAN

••

k 'Shakutalr , is the name of a very pretty species which is reported
to grow in the northern island of Japan and to be perfectly hardy.
The writer saw plants under this name in the Yokohama Nursery
Company's grounds. They were very distinct from B. palmata, and
dried specimens were sent to Mr. Makino in Tokyo for determination.
The species is probably related to B. palmata, but the broad, large
leaves are mostly situated near the tip of the slender sheath-covered
stem, which rises from the ground with a characteristic curve, and is
bare of leaves for several feet from the ground.

Plate V, tig. 3, shows a clump of what appears to be the same spe-
cies, from Tosa, one of the southern islands of Japan, which was
growing in Air. Tsuboi's garden under the name "Hanchiku. ,, The
culms are almost covered with the light-colored persistent sheaths
from the ground to the leaves. The stems are not over one-fourth to
three-eighths of an inch in diameter, and are about 5 feet high.

PLATES.

35

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES.

Plate I. A commercial grove of the black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra) growing at
Kaiden, Shinkotari, near Kyoto, the property of Mr. Denkichi Fujibayashi.
Age unknown, but probably more than 30 years old. Photographed by Yendo.

Plate II. A well-kept forest of Phyllostachys quilioi growing on good soil, showing an
open drainage ditch in foreground and the thick mulch of leaves and straw
which cover the ground. Age probably over 50 years. Photographed by
Yendo.

Plate III. Bamboo forests. Fig. 1. — A well-kept forest of Phyllostachys quilioi grow-
ing on poor soil filled with gravel "Weeding has not been as recently done as in
that part of the forest shown in PL II. The two photographs from which
these plates were prepared were taken from points not 20 yards apart in the
forest of Mr. Isuke Tsuboi, of Kusafuka. Photographed by Yendo. Fig. 2. — A
badly kept forest of timber bamboo {Phyllostachys quilioi) growing on good soil
adjacent to the well-kept forest shown in PI. II. This shows the effect of not
weeding, thinning out, or fertilizing. Photographed by Yendo.

Plate IV. Bamboo groves in Japan. Fig. 1. — A hillside grove or forest of the edible
species (Phyllostachys mills) 20 years old, showing large size of the culms.
Fig. 2. — A grove of the same species over 100 years old near Tokyo. The bundle
< f barley straw shown on the right will be used for mulching purposes. Fig. 3. —
A 12-day-old shoot of Phyllostachys quilioi in a forest of the same species on Mr.
Tsuboi' s place at Kusafuka.

Plate V. Bamboo groves in Japan. Fig. 1. — Clump of Arundinaria simoni, showing
the persistent characteristic sheaths. Fig. 2. — Grove of Phyllostachys quilioi on
Mr. Tsuboi's place at Kusafuka. Age unknown, but probably more than 50
years old. Fig. 3. — Plat of a species of bamboo called by Mr. Tsuboi " Han-
chiku," from Tosa Island, which has not been determined botanically so far as
known. An exceedingly pretty, decorative form, somewhat like Phyllostachys
palmata.

Plate VI. Bamboo plants. Fig. l.—A young black bamboo plant of which the
rhizome, to be seen on the left, has died. The rosette of leaves still remains
alive, but no young shoots are formed. This specimen was dug in Mr. Tsuboi's
garden at Kusafuka. Photographed by Yendo. Fig. «\— Properly dug young
plant of black bamboo ready to transplant, showing several inches of rhizome
on both sides of the base of the stem, which is necessary for the production of
new shoots. This specimen was dug under Mr. Tsuboi's direction and repre-
sents his idea of how a plant should be prepared for transplanting if dug late in
the season. Photographed by Yendo. Fig. 3. — Rhizome or underground stem
of bamboo (Phyllostachys quilioi), showing young shoots and roots springing from
the nodes. Dug in June. If dug in winter, the buds would all be in a dormant
condition. Photographed by Yendo.

Plate VII. Bamboo scenes. Fig. 1.— Dwarf bamboos at Kusafuka. Fig. 2.— Em-
bankment on top of a wall in a city street in Tokyo planted with Bambusa veiteh ii.
Fig, 3, — Young shoot showing effects of the bamboo culm-boring larva. Sawdust
on outside of shoot affords evidence of presence of larva within. Fig. 4- —Longi-
tudinal section of young shoot showing the culm-boring larva inside one of the
segments. Photographed by Yendo.

Plate VIII. Bamboos in California. Figs. 1 and 3.— Rows of Phyllostachys quilioi (?)
growing 25 feet tall in the grounds of a nursery company at Niles. Watered
twice a year with 2 inches of water each time. This species is called Ba)ubusa
striata by Mr. Rock. Fig. 2.— Plant of Phyllostachys quilioi (?) which was set out
two years ago in the grounds of a nursery company at Niles.
36*

O

Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept of Agriculture.

Plate II.

A Well-kept Forest of Timber Bamboo I Phyllostachys quiliod on Good Soil.

Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept of Agriculture,

Plate III.

Fig. 1 .—A Well-kept Forest of Timber Bamboo
i Phyllostachys quiliop on Poor Soil.

M

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liif MP>fr'H'

Fig. 2.— A Badly Kept Forest of Timber Bamboo (Phyl-
lostachys quiliop on Good Soil.

Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate IV.

Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate V.

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Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

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Bui. 43, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate VII.

Fig. 1 .— A Few Dwarf Bamboos.

Fig. 2.— Embankment of Bambusa veitchii in Tokyo.

Fig. 3.— Sawdust on Shoot, Indicating Presence of Culm-boring Lar

va.

Fig. 4.— Longitudinal Section of Shoot, Showing Culm-boring L

arva.

Bui 43, Bureau of Plant Industry. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture

Plate VIII.

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r»

U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE.
BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY—BULLETIN NO. 44.

K. T. i;ai,i,ii\vay, Ckkf.af Buretik.

THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

BY

HERMANN VON SCHRENK,
Special Agent in Charge of the Mississippi Valley

-

Laboratory,

AND

PERLEY SPAULDING, Special Agent.

VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATIONS.

Issuer July is, 190$

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.

BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

The Bureau of Plant Industry, which was organized July 1, 1901, includes Vege-
table Pathological and Physiological Investigations, Botanical Investigations and
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No. 1. The Relation of Lime and Magnesia to Plant Growth. I. — Liming of Soils
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2. Spermatogenesis and Fecundation of Zamia. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

3. Macaroni Wheats. 1901. Price, 20 cents.

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6. A List of American Varieties of Peppers. 1902. Price, 10 cents.

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12. Stock Ranges of Northwestern California: Notes on the Grasses and Forage

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13. Experiments and Range Improvements in Central Texas. 1902. Price, 10

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14. The Decay of Timber and Methods of Preventing It. 1902. Price, 55 cents.

15. Forage Conditions on the Northern Border of the Great Basin, Being a

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]G. A Preliminary Study of the Germination of the Spores of Agaricus Campes-
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18. Observations on the Mosaic Disease of Tobacco. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

19. Kentucky Bluegrass Seed : Harvesting, Curing, and Cleaning. 1902. Price,

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20. Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. 1902. Price, 15 cents.

21. List of American Varieties of Vegetables for the Years 1901 and 1902. 1903.

Price, 35 cents.

[Continued <>n j>. 3 >>f cover,]

Bui. 44, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Plate

Apples Affected with Bitter Rot.
Inoculation from a canker.

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY -BULLETIN NO. 44.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chk'f of Bureau.

m

THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

11V

HERMANN VON SCIIRENK,

Special Agent in Charge of the Mississippi Valley

Laboratory,

LIBRARY

NEW YORK
BOTANICAL

A X I )

GARDFN

PERLEY SPAULDING, Special Agent: *

VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL
INVESTIGATIONS.

Issued July In, 1903.

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

B. T. Galloway, Chief.
VEGETABLE PATHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS.

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

Albert F. Woods, Pathologist and Physiologist.

Erwin F. Smith, Pathologist in Charge of Laboratory of Plant Pathology.

George T. Moore, Physiologist in Charge of Laboratory of Plant Physiology.

Herbert J. Webber, Physiologist in Charge of Laboratory of Plant Breeding.

Newton B. Pierce, Pathologist in Charge of Pacific Coast Laboratory.

Hermann von Schrenk, Special Agent in Charge of Mississippi Valley Laboratory.

P. H. Rolfs, Pathologist in Charge of Sub-Tropical Laboratory.

M. B. Waite, Pathologist in Charge of Investigations of Diseases of Orchard Fruits.

Mark A. Carleton, Cerealist in Charge of Cereal Investigations.

Walter T. Swingle, Physiologist in Charge of Life History Investigations.

C. O. Townsend, Pathologist.

P. H. Dorsett, Pathologist.

Rodney H. True,« Physiologist.

T. H. Kearney, Physiologist, Plant Breeding.

Cornelius L. Shear, Pathologist.

William A. Orton, Assistant Pathologist.

Flora W. Patterson, Mycologist.

Joseph S. Chamberlain, Physiological Chemist.

R. E. B. McKenney, Physiologist.

Charles P. Hartley, Assistant in Physiology, Plant Breeding,

Deane B. Swingle, Assistant in Pathology.

James B. Rorer, Assistant in Pathology.

Lloyd S. Tenny, Assistant in Pathology.

Jesse B. Norton, Assistant in Physiology, Plant Breeding.

A. W. Edson, Scientific Assistant, Plant Breeding.

Karl F. Kellerman, Assistant in Physiology.

George G. Hedgcock, Assistant in Pathology.

Perley Spaulding, Special Agent.

a Detailed to Botanical Investigations and Experiments.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

U. S. Department of Agriculture,
Bureau of Plant Industry, Office of the Chief,

Washington, D. C, Aprils, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a paper on "The Bitter
Rot of Apples," by Dr. Hermann von Schrenk, Special Agent in
Charge of the Mississippi Valley Laboratory, and Perley Spaulding,
Special Agent, Vegetable Pathological and Physiological Investiga-
tions, and respectfully recommend that it be published as Bulletin No.
44 of the series of this Bureau.

This paper was prepared under the direction of and was submitted
for publication by the Pathologist and Physiologist. The illustrations,
which comprise nine half-tone plates and nine text figures, are an essen-
tial and important part of the paper.
Respectfully,

B. T. Galloway,

Chief of Burea >i .
Hon. James Wilson,

Secretary of Agriculture.

3

PREFACE.

For the past four or five years the bitter rot of apples has been the
cause of heavy loss to growers and handlers of this fruit. As stated
in our report for 1901, the president of the National Apple Shippers'
Association estimated that the damage to the apple crop of the United
States in 1900 from bitter rot was $10,000,000. In some orchards
there was a total loss of fruit; in others from one-half to two-thirds
of the crop was destroyed. The disease is especially severe in the
Mississippi Valley and the States along the Ohio River. At the
request of numerous growers this Bureau undertook extensive inves-
tigations to determine more definitely the life history of the fungus
causing bitter rot with the hope of discovering a more effective method
of holding it in check. The report presented herewith contains a
general account of the history of the disease, a description and life
history of the fungus causing it, and some facts which have been
recently discovered in regard to the mode of life of the parasite.

During the year 1901 cooperative experiments, conducted along lines
suggested by this Bureau, were carried on with the Illinois Experi-
ment Station, but during the last season the work was conducted inde-
pendently by both the station and the Department, Cooperative
experiments on the control of this disease were started the past year
with the Missouri Fruit Experiment Station, and will be continued
with this station and fruit growers in various apple sections during
the present season.

Albert F. Woods,
Pathologist and Physiologist.

Office of the Pathologist and Physiologist,

Washington, D. C, April 7, 1903.

CONTENTS

Page.

Introduction 9

Historical account of the bitter rot 11

Distribution of the bitter-rot fungus 12

Geographical distribution 12

Occurrence on various hosts 14

General description of the bitter rot 15

Time of appearance 15

Character of the spots 16

Cause of the bitter rot 17

Rate of development of the bitter rot 18

The diseased apple 19

The bitter-rot fungus 19

Life history on apples 19

The conidia 21

Growth in cultures — conidial and ascus stages 22

The name of the bitter-rot fungus 25

The canker stage 29

Discovery of the canker 29

Description of the canker stage 31

Relation of the cankers to the bitter rot 32

Spread of the bitter rot 36

Remedial measures 38

Removal of diseased fruits and mummies 38

Removal of limb cankers 39

Spraying with fungicides 40

Summary and recommendations 44

Index to literature 46

Description of plates 53

7

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PLATES.

Page.
Plate I. Apples affected with bitter rot. Inoculation from a canker. . .Frontispiece.
1 1 . Apples affected with bitter rot. Inoculation from a diseased apple. . 54

III. Diseased apples under trees 54

IV. The bitter-rot fungus on various fruits. Figs. 1, 3, and 7.— Various

stages of growth on apples. Fig. 2.— An early stage of the disease
Fig. 4.— A mummified apple from the preceding year. Fig. 5.-
Growth of the bitter-rot fungus on a pear, with control fruit. Fig.

6.— Growth of the bitter-rot fungus on squash 54

V. Drawings showing various stages of the bitter-rot- fungus. Fig. 1.—
Spores of the bitter-rot fungus ( Glomerella rufomaculans) growing
in pure culture. Fig. 2.— Germinating conidia of the fungus. Fig.
3. —Starch grains from diseased apple, showing corrosion. Fig.
4.— Resting spores of Glceosporium cactorum. Fig. 5.— Perithecia
of bitter-rot fungus from apple canker. Fig. 6.— Asci of the bitter-
rot fungus {Glomerella rufomaculans). Fig. 7.— Perithecium with
asci from apple canker 54

VI. Stages of growth of the bitter-rot fungus. Fig. 1.— Plate culture of
the bitter-rot fungus {Glomerella rufomaculans), showing masses of
perithecia. Fig. 2.— Enlarged group of pustules on an apple
affected with the bitter rot, showing the tendril-like spore masses.
Fig 3.— Apple diseased with bitter rot. The infection was made
with spores from a pure culture obtained from a canker. Fig. 4. —

Control fruit 54

VII. Three limbs with bitter-rot cankers from living apple trees 54

VIII. Cankers on livingapple limbs. Fig. 1.— Cross section of four cankers.

Figs. 2, 3, and 4.— Cankers on living apple limbs 54

IX. Artificial cankers produced on living apple limbs by inoculating
spores of Glomerella rufomaculans into bark slits. Fig. 5 is an
enlarged view of fig. 4 54

TEXT FIGURES.

Fig. 1. Map showing geographical distribution of bitter rot 13

2. Diagram showing how the bitter-rot fungus decays an apple 17

3. A later stage of bitter-rot decay J '

4. Berkeley's grape-rot fungus {Seploria rufu-maculans Berk. ) 26

5. Berkeley's apple-rot fungus ( Gkeotyorium fruciigenum Berk. ) 27

6. Diagrammatic cross section of an apple canker 32

7. How to cut off a large limb ° 9

8. Method of cutting large limb which should be avoided 39

9. Arrangement of vats used in making Bordeaux mixture 43

8

B. P. I.— 60. V. P. P. I.— 102.

THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

INTRODUCTION.

The bitter rot or ripe rot of apples has for many years formed one
of the most serious enemies of this fruit. It made its first appearance
in the United States before 1867, according- to Curtis's catalogue, but
it was not specifically described until 1874, when M. J. Berkeley and
M. A. Curtis published -the first descriptive notice concerning its occur-
rence in America. With the increasing number of apple orchards
throughout the central belt of States, its range and destructive action
have steadily increased.

The bitter rot is a disease of the ripening fruit, which appears late
in the summer, affecting whole orchards at once and destroying vast
quantities of fruit when it is almost ready for marketing. Estimates
of the loss resulting to apple growers from the ravages of the bitter
rot in various sections of the country have been made repeatedly.

The bibliography beginning on page 16 of this bulletin gives in full
the titles to which the .short citations of authorities in the text of this
paper may be referred.

A few statements from various sources will show what this pest is
capable of doing:

This orchard that appears so vigorous and healthy is almost worthless. Last year
it had at least 1,000 hushels of apples on, and the proprietor did not get a bushel of
winter apples. The hitter rot blasts them like the breath of ruin, and the promise
of spring ends in disappointment and decay. * * * This orchard was in its prime
from the time it was 8 until it was 18 or 19 'years old. For ten or eleven years it
gave most bounteous returns and produced wagonloads of the finest fruit. It then
began to decline. The fruit commenced to speck, and the evil increased until the
trees are little more than an incumbrance on the ground. (Murray, 1870.)

An Arkansas man relates his experience as follows:

The man from whom I purchased my place told me that the Fameuse had always
been subject to the lot. For the last three years the disease has steadily increased,
so that this year (1887) my old orchard of 75 trees will not yield 25 bushels of sound
apples. (Galloway, 1887.)

In 1900 it was estimated that the loss in four counties of Illinois for
that season was $1,500,000. (Buri'ill and Blair. L902.)

9

10 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

The Pathologist and Physiologist of the Bureau of Plant Industry
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1901 says: a

The losses caused by bitter rot in the Middle States often amount to half or three-
fourths of the entire fruit crop, single large growers sometimes losing 10,000 barrels of
apples. One firm estimated that their losses in 1900 on apples bought in the orchard
in Missouri alone amounted to §20,000 to $30,000, and orchards which in midsummer
promised a yield of 25,000 barrels of choice apples produced only about fi,000 barrels
of indifferent fruit, owing to this disease. The president of the National Apple
Shippers' Association estimated that the damage to the apple crop of the United
States in 1900 from bitter rot was 810,000,000.

In some years the destruction was so great as to cause many fruit
growers to abandon the business, and instances have been known
where men have leased their bearing orchards at §5 per acre for
periods of five years, preferring to be assured of that small amount
rather than risk getting nothing from their trees because of the work
of this fungus.

Older reports make mention of extensive destruction. Galloway
reported in 1889 that "in certain places in Virginia, Kentucky, Ten-
nessee, Missouri, and Arkansas our agents report this season a destruc-
tion of from 50 to 75 per cent of the crop."

Garman in 1893 stated that bitter rot probably caused more loss to
Kentucky fruit growers than any other disease, and statements of this
character have appeared from time to time and with increasing
frequency in the reports of experiment stations and horticultural
societies.

The sudden appearance of the disease at a time when the grower has
spent time, money, and energy in producing a large crop, and the
almost total destruction of the apples in a few days, causes the disease
to be universally feared. It has probably done more to discourage
apple growing in many regions than all other troubles, including both
fungous and insect discuses combined.

In spite of the universal and destructive appearance of this disease,
comparatively little had been accomplished until recently toward pre-
venting or even checking the bitter rot, although its cause was clearly
established by Berkeley in 1856, as described more fully hereafter.
while other observers have given detailed accounts of spraying experi-
ments. Ever since the experiment stations were established investi-
gations have been conducted looking toward preventive measures.
Many papers on the subject have been written, an idea of the number
of which can be gathered by referring to the bibliography at the end
of this Bulletin.

In the following pages a general account of the disease, a description
of the fungus and its life history, and some facts which have recently
been discovered in regard to its mode of life, etc.. are presented.

"Annual Reports, Department of Agriculture, 1901, p. 4',

HISTOKICAL ACCOUNT. 11

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BITTER ROT.

The early accounts of the bitter rot deal mainly with the fungus
causing the disease, which for the present we will call by the name
which it has held for so many years — Gloeospor'ium fru<-ti<j< num. Berk.
Rev. M. J. Berkeley described a fungus causing a ripe rot of grapes
in 1854, which was probably the same as the bitter- rot fungus (see fig.
4). Two years later he described a fungus causing ripe rot of the
apple, calling it Glceosporium fructigenum n. sp. He describes (1856)
the disease (see fig. 5) as follows:

It (the apple) presented a spotted appearance externally as well as internally.

* * * The spots were perfectly circular and well denned, and exhibited traces of
vegetation. On cutting through the apple the flesh was found to be discolored in
various places from the effects of incipient decomposition which was not confined
to the surface but penetrated into the center of the fruit. * * * In a few days
some of them (the spots) were studded with pearl dike specks bursting through the
cuticle and swelling above it in the form of little flat cushions. Sometimes there
was but a single speck in the very center, but more frequently there was a more or less
perfect ring of satellites, * * * the cuticle was raised into little shining pustules,
and a tendril of minute spores * * * was protruded through it.

In 1859 Berkeley described a fungus causing a disease of peaches
and nectarines, which he called Glaosjwrium laeticolor n. sp. :

Nearly a month since we observed on the peaches little dark specks with a bleached
center. * * * Two days ago he (the gardener) called our attention to its present
condition. The specks were prevalent on the nectarines as well as the peaches.

* * * It is of the disease, then, as developed on the nectarines more especially
that we are speaking. * * * The white spot and the dark ring around it were
most beautifully defined, seated in the center of a regular circular depression, the
borders of which were pale, but not completely bleached like the center. The whole
surface of the depression was studded with little salmon-colored warts, disposed more
or less in circles, from the center of some of which, but especially of those in the
bleached cuticle, a little curled tendril of salmon-colored spores was protruded. After
a time, however, the several spots run together, and form a depression an inch or
more across, still teeming with the red spores.

This fungus is apparently the same as Gloeosjjorium fructigenum
Berk. Berkeley in his description gives most of his attention to the
fungus rather than to the disease caused by it, but we can very easily
recognize the fungus of the bitter rot as being the same that he
described.

In 1867 Rev. M. A. Curtis in a catalogue of the plants of North
Carolina mentions a fungus, Gloeospor turn versicolor n. sp., as occur-
ring upon rotten apples. This was the first use of the name, and also
was the first record of the occurrence of a fungus causing bitter rot in
this country, as far as can be determined. The bitter rot was very
probably known at that time, and possibly quite extensively known, as
the article by Murray in the Illinois Horticultural Society publication
only three years later (1870) would seem to indicate. In 1874 Berkeley
and Curtis published the first description of Gl&osporium versicolor
n. sp., so that the name really dates from 1874.

12 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

Practically all of the publications in regard to the bitter rot until
1887 were mere reprints of the articles already mentioned, and the dis-
ease was treated apparently as a rather uncommon one and not of
much importance.

Galloway seems to have been the first to treat upon the subject of
thisdisease from an economic standpoint, the first accounts dealing with
the bitter rot as a destructive orchard disease being published by him
in 1887. He called attention to the damage caused and the results of
experiments made to check the disease. At that time the bitter rot had
appeared in many States from the Atlantic seaboard to Kansas, and the
destruction of apple crops was large. These experiments were fol-
lowed by many others: Garman (1889), Galloway (1889), Jennings
(1890), Curtiss (1890), Galloway (1890), Churchill (1890), Chester (1890),
Garman (1890), and others. The results of these various experiments
were very conflicting. A few investigators succeeded in totall} T check-
ing the disease even after it had become well established, while others
had no success whatever. In the more northern States experimenters
seemed to succeed in checking the disease by spraying affected trees
with the ordinary fungicides. In the region south of the fortieth par-
allel, i. e., in the territory extending from the eastern coast to Kansas,
Indian Territory, and Texas, where the fungus seems to flourish best,
it was found much more difficult to control the disease. Spraying-
experiments indicated that the disease could be checked to some, extent,
but only in one or two instances was it stopped entirely. From the
time of its first appearance in July until the latter part of September
the bitter-rot fungus was active. What became of the spores, where
they remained over winter, and how they infected the fruit the fol-
lowing year was unknown, but the opinion was generally accepted
that many of the spores survived in the mummified fruits which
remained on the trees or on the ground throughout the cold season.

Up to within three years ago it was generally accepted that Gloeos-
po7'ium , fructigenuru Berk, was the cause of the bitter rot of apples.
During the last two years, owing to the increased ravages of the dis-
ease, attention was directed toward the investigation of the life history
of the bitter-rot fungus, with the result that a number of new facts
of considerable importance have been determined. These facts have
been discovered almost simultaneously by a number of observers, and
their exact bearing on preventive measures has already been tested.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE BITTER-ROT FUNGUS.

GEOGRAPHICAL, DISTRIBUTION.

The bitter-rot fungus, like other species of the form genus Glceospo-
rium, has an almost world-wide distribution. In the United States it
has been found in nearly all of the States east of and including Kan-
sas, Oklahoma, and Texas. A careful search through the mycological

GEOGKAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

13

literature available at the Missouri Botanical Garden has shown that
under one name or another this fungus has been reported from Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indian
Territory, and Texas. The States east of the Mississippi from which
the fungus has not yet been reported are almost unexplored mycolog-
ically. It is extremely probable that it occurs in all States where
the apple is being grown, even in the most northern latitudes. (See
fig. 1.)

The bitter-rot fundus was first described in England from English

Fig. 1.— Map showing geographical distribution of the bitter-rot fungus in the United States. The
shaded sections show where bitter rot occurs, the heavier shading indicating where the disease is
most prevalent.

specimens. On one or another host the bitter-rot fungus has been
found in all parts of the world. It is reported by Trail (1888), from
Perth, Scotland; by Saccardo (1881), from Italy; by McAlpine (1805),
from Queensland and New South Wales; by Cooke (1892), from
Queensland; by Speschnew (1897), from Tiflis, in Transcaucasia; by
Klein (see Frank, 1896), from Baden, Germany; also by Kirchner
(181)0), from various parts of Germany; by Nypel (1896), from Liege,
Belgium; by Viala (1887), from France. It is probable that the fungus
occurs to some extent in every country where the apple is grown,
which is not surprising when one considers the manner in which apples
are sent to all parts of the world and the excellent chances which
spores of this fungus have for dissemination with the fruit.

14 THE BITTER EOT OF APPLES.

OCCURRENCE ON VARIOUS HOSTS.

The first bitter-rot fungus was described in 1854 (Berkeley) as
growing on grapes. Some years later the same writer described a
fungus causing ripe rot of the apple. Berkeley in some later papers
describes the ripe-rot fungus (under various names) as occurring on
grapes, apples, peaches, and nectarines. In 1871 Berkeley, referring
to a manuscript description of a fungus growing on grapes (Glaeo-
sporium uvicola), takes occasion to say that in his opinion it is the
same as the fungus causing ripe rot of peaches and nectarines (Glceo-
spo Hum last icolor Berk.). He states that "where grapes are grown
in the same house with stone fruits the malady may spread upward,"
which ma}* be taken to imply that he considered that the ripe-rot fun-
gus of grapes ma}' cause the disease of peaches and nectarines. He
further emphasizes their probable identity by saying (p. 1163): " Both
on grapes and stone fruits the spores of the fungus are very variable
in size, so that no stress can be laid on mere measurement."

Von Thiimen (1887) added the pear and the apricot to the list of
hosts. Galloway, in 1890, demonstrated for the first time that the
ripe-rot fungus of the grape, when transferred to the apple, caused the
ripe rot or bitter rot of the apple, and vice versa. Miss Southworth,
in 1891, confirmed these results.

Halsted, in 1892, published the results of a large number of experi-
ments in which he had inoculated fruits with spores from different
ripe-rotted fruits to determine whether the numerous forms of ripe
rot or bitter rot were really due to the same fungus. His experiments
seemed to prove that the same fungus caused the ripe rot of the apple,
grape, peach, pear, pepper, tomato, and eggplant. The fungus was
found to grow on bananas, quinces, lemons, and beans, in addition to
the other hosts mentioned.

Chester (1893) corroborated Halsted's results so far as the tomato,
grape, pepper, and apple were concerned. He came to the same con-
clusion as Halsted — i. e., that the fungus on the apple, grape, tomato,
and pepper is biologically the same species. Alwood (1891) states
that all pomaceous fruits are attacked by Gla>osj)orium fructigemim
Berk. During the last year Spaulding grew the fungus successfully
on squash. (PI. IV, fig. 6. See also PI. IV, fig. 5, showing the
fungus on the pear.)

From the evidence at hand it appears that this fungus can adapt
itself to numerous hosts. It seems probable that all the forms are one
and the same species, but it will be necessary to develop the perfect
or ascus stage of many of them before any positive statement on this
point can be made.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 15

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BITTER ROT.
TIME OF APPEARANCE.

The bitter rot appears in an apple orchard at different times durino-
the months of July and August, the time of its first appearance vary-
ing with the climatic conditions during- any particular season. The
first spots (PL IV, fig. 2) usually develop on the apple fruits when
they are nearly full grown. From that time on until the fruit is
entirely ripened the disease is likely to occur with increasing severity.
In the Southern States bitter rot may destroy some fruit in the early
part of July. In a number of cases apples only three-fourths of an
inch in diameter were found affected with the disease. One of the
writers collected apples affected with bitter rot in Vermont on Octo-
ber 20. The spots were small but well developed, and were present
on a large number of individual fruits on one tree.

The factors which determine the time of appearance are probably
(1) the age of the fruits; (2) the temperature and humidity of the air;
(3) the presence of spore-distributing centers. The age of the fruit
is a factor of considerable importance. As a rule, the green fruit is
comparatively immune, which may be due in part to the large amount
of malic acid present in the unripened fruit. It is possible to produce
the disease on green fruits by artificial inoculation by allowing such
fruits to lie on a shelf for several days after being picked. Different
varieties of apples show a different susceptibility with respect to the
time of attack. No hard and fast rule can, however, be laid down in
respect to this matter, as the climatic conditions may hasten or retard
attack.

Warm, sultry weather, particularly after a rain, forms the ideal con-
dition for the development of the bitter rot, In cool, dry summers the
bitter rot is usually present but sparingly. A short scries of hot, wet
days in August may bring about a sudden and very destructive attack.
Nights with a heavy fall of dew alternating with hot days are usually
followed by an extensive development of the disease. Numerous
instances might be mentioned where the disease appeared in an orchard
during the latter part of August, after a few hot days, destroying the
whole crop in three days. A notable case of this kind occurred during
the summer of 1900. Cold weather usually checks the disease and
may stop it altogether.

The time of appearance of this disease is probably influenced also
by the condition of ripeness of the spores in the cankers (as described
later) and in the mummies. A cold spring may retard their develop-
ment and consequently bring about a late attack on the fruit, or vice
versa.

16 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

CHARACTER OF THE SPOTS.

The first signs of the bitter rot appear in the form of a very faint
light-brown discoloration under the skin of the apple. The spots are
exceedingly small at first, and as they grow larger they appear cir-
cular in outline. (PI. IV, fig. 2.) The .spots rapidly increase in size,
becoming darker brown. When the spot is one-eighth of an inch in
diameter the area appears distinctly sunken. The borders of these
spots are usually very nearly circular and sharply defined. When
about one-half an inch in diameter small black dots appear at more
or less regular intervals beneath the epidermis in the sunken area.
These increase in size and project as tiny raised points. At a later
stage they break through the epidermis of the fruit and allow large
numbers of spores to escape. (PI. IV, figs 1 and 7.) These spores, when
not washed from the fruit, form pink masses, sticky when moist. As
the spore mass dries it cakes and adheres to the epidermis. On quiet,
dry nights the spores are discharged in long tendril-like threads
(PI. VI, fig. 2), oozing out slowly from the mouths of the black
bodies, which are the fruiting bodies of the bitter-rot fungus. These
black bodies or pustules are often arranged in the form of a ring.
(Pis. I and II.) As the rot progresses other rings of pustules appear
outside of the first one, and at regular intervals six to eight, and
sometimes more, well-defined rings may form in rapid succession.
Each ring will have hundreds of pustules, each producing spores at
the same time, so that some rings appear almost continuous. (Pis. I,
II, and IV, figs. 1 and T.) The formation of these rings depends on the
rapidity with which the fungus grows. The most perfect rings of
pustules are formed when the fungus grows most rapidly. (Pis. I and
II.) Cold weather will be followed by a more or less irregular devel-
opment of the pustules. (PI. IV, fig. 3.) They then break through the
epidermis at many points, as shown on PI. IV, figs. 3 and T. The
arrangement of the fruiting bodies in rings is a common phenomenon
among fungi. Where a single spore germinates in a medium where
the food supply is abundant on all sides, the hyplne generally grow in
all directions with equal rapidity. When the period for the develop-
ment of spores has arrived, the spores will be formed from hyphae of
the same age, i. e., at points equally distant from the original point of
infection. The phenomenon of fairy rings is a notable instance among
the higher fungi. Alternate periods of low and higher temperature
may account for the intermittent development of fruiting bodies, and
hence the formation of successive rings.

The pinkish appearance of diseased fruit is d\w to the spore masses
which exude from the pustules. After a rainstorm the interior of the
pustules looks sooty black and the mouths ragged, all the spores
having been washed off.

CHAKACTER OF THE SPOTS.

17

Fig. 2. — Diagram showing how the
bitter-rot fungus decays an apple.

The brown coloration of the spots on the apple fruit is an indication
of the decayed condition of the tissues immediately under the spots,
in which region the threads of the bitter-rot fungus are bringing about
changes in the firm tissue of the fruit which make it appear deca} r ed.
The lateral progress of the disease, evidenced by the increasing
diameter of the brown area, is accompanied by a corresponding prog-
ress of the disease into the fruit (figs. 2
and 3). The rotted mass, which is an
inch in diameter at the surface, usually
extends inward to the core of the fruit.
The rotted mass shrinks somewhat in
volume, hence the sunken character of the
spot outside. There is usually a sharp
dividing line between the rotted mass and
the sound tissue. In this respect the bit-
ter rot differs from the black rot of the
apple.

The size of the diseased areas on the
fruit increases rapidly after an infection, and eventually the whole
fruit may be affected. Where two or more separate infections
take place the diseased masses fuse (PI. I). The separate rings of
fruiting bodies join and the two sets of hyphae then grow on just
as if there had been but one. The completely rotted fruit appears
considerably shrunken, especially if there have been several cen-
ters of infection. The fruit hardly ever decays entirely, as do apples

attacked by the black rot; as a rule there
are small patches of healthy cells which
hold out a long time. The affected fruit
falls from the tree during all stages of
the disease. (See PI. III.) In this case,
as in other instances of fruit diseases due
to fungi, a hastening of the ripening proc-
ess takes place. The diseased fruits are
heavier than ripe fruits, and are readily
shaken from the trees. There are proba-
bly other changes taking place in a dis-
eased fruit which influence its condition and
bring on premature fall, much as with fruits stung by various insects.

Fig. 3.— A later stage of bitter-rot
decay.

CAUSE OF THE BITTER ROT.

The bitter rot of apples is due to a fungus, Glososporium fructige-
num Berk., which grows in the ripening tissues of the fruit, thereby
inducing decay. The earliest accounts of this fungus deal largely with
its systematic position, but it was recognized at an early date that the

26802— No. 44—03 2

18 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

bitter rot or ripe rot of both apples and grapes was in some way con-
nected with this fungus. A complete description of the fungus and
its various stages is given in a succeeding chapter, and it will be neces-
sary at this point to simply mention in brief the general appearance of
the fungus in the orchard and the reasons for connecting this fungus
with the bitter rot.

Reference has already been made to the appearance on diseased
fruits of more or less regular rings of pustules. In these pustules
small one-celled spores are formed, which exude from the pustules
after they have broken through the epidermis. In the orchard these
spores seem to be produced abundantly only when the air is heavy
with moisture. Heavy dews and rain wash away the pink spore
masses, leaving the ragged mouths of the pustules freely exposed. The
appearance of the pustules and the discharge of the spore masses are
the only evidences of fungus activity visible during the attack.

These pustules and spores are, however, always present in apples
affected with the bitter rot, and no cases of this disease are known
where these spores have not appeared at one stage or another. More-
over, inoculations of sound fruit with the spores of Grlceosporium
fructigenum Berk., made by many experimenters, have invariably
produced the disease (PI. II). There is, therefore, no doubt whatever
that the bitter rot or ripe rot of apples and of some other fruits is
caused by the bitter-rot fungus (Glceosporium fructigenum Berk.).

RATE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE BITTER ROT.

The rate with which this disease develops depends largely upon con-
ditions of temperature and moisture. During some summers it may
take several weeks for the disease to develop to any extent after its
first appearance. Then, again, it may start on a fruit during the night
and in three to four days entirely destroy it. Apples inoculated
with the bitter-rot fungus and kept in incubators at a temperature
of 37° C. (98.6° F.) will show spots three-fourths of an inch in diame-
ter, with numerous pustules, in forty-eight hours after inoculation.
As has been stated above, the disease will develop in several days in
epidemic form when heavy dews fall during the night, followed by
hot, cloudy days. The condition of the apple fruit at the time of
the attack influences to some extent the rate of development. Thus
green fruits do not suffer as severely from the disease nor does the
disease progress as rapidly as with fruits which are almost ripe. The
disease progresses at different rates on different varieties of apples.
Some are more easily affected than others. In general, it may be said
that hot, muggy weather is most favorable for the rapid development
of the bitter rot.

THE BITTER-ROT FUNGUS. 19

THE DISEASED APPLE.

An apple affected with the bitter rot or ripe rot is a most objection-
able fruit. The name of the disease is derived from the peculiar bitter
taste of the decayed tissues of the fruit which is noticed almost as soon
as the fungus has begun its growth in the cells. One observer (Alwood,
1894) states that this bitter taste is not always present. The partially
deca} r ed fruit leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, resembling the after
effect of quinine, yet not quite the same. The bitterness increases as
the rot becomes more pronounced. The tissues of the apple are hard
and firm when first affected; the cells look somewhat watery and are
pale brown. As the rot advances the flesh of the apple softens and
turns darker in color, until at an advanced stage the whole tissue is
soft and mushy, very watery, and without any resemblance to the
original healthy tissue. Attention should be called to the fact that in
no case does the apple become as soft and mushy as it does when
affected with most other fruit-rotting fungi, for instance, the black
rot. The decay starts at the surface of the fruit and gradually extends
inward toward the core, making a sort of cone-shaped mass of dis-
eased tissue, as described above (tigs. 2 and 3).

During the early stages of the disease there is a marked accumula-
tion of starch around the affected spots, which calls to mind similar
phenomena described by Halsted (1898) for various leaf- spot fungi.
The cells of the apple tissue separate from one another as the disease
progresses. The middle lamella of the cells is dissolved by the fungus
lrypha?, but the cell walls themselves remain intact.

THE BITTER-ROT FUNGUS.
LIFE HISTORY ON APPLES.

The spores of the bitter-rot fungus germinate on the apple fruit
when it is nearly ripe. In some cases the fungus has attacked apples
when they were only three-fourths of an inch in diameter (Garman,
1893). which, however, may be regarded as exceptional. The hypha?
from germinating spores enter the apple and begin to grow in the
layer immediately under the epidermis. Whether the young hyphae
can pierce the uninjured epidermis of the apple seems to be a some-
what disputed point. In making infections of apple fruits in the lab-
oratory it was found that the greatest numbers of successful infections
were obtained b} T puncturing the epidermis with a sterile needle and
then spraying the spores on to the broken epidermis. Clinton (1902)
states that the spores placed on unpunctured apples, " if successful,"
brought about the rot two or three days later than when placed on
punctured fruits. It is probably true that the young hyphae can enter
through the unbroken skin, possibly through the stomates, but at the

20 THE BITTER EOT OF APPLES.

same time it is probable that a. large percentage of the infections in
an orchard .start in fruits which have been wounded in someway, gen-
erally by insects. When one reflects that the number of spores which
fall on a fruit is generally very large, it is strange that there should
be only very few infections or sometimes onl}' one infection. This
point is one which will require additional careful study.

After the first hypha has entered the tissue below the epidermis it
branches rapidly. The hyphse grow in the intercellular spaces, absorb-
ing the sugar and other products from the apple cells. (See PI. V, fig.
3.) The affected cells turn brown and separate, and after a time they
collapse. It is then that the presence of the fungus becomes noticeable
on the outside in the form of the brown, sunken spots mentioned above
(PI. IV, figs. 1 and 2). The fungus hypha 1 grow in all directions from
the original point of infection with great regularity. As they extend
outward the cell groups attacked become brown in turn and collapse
more or less. This regular development gives the affected mass of
cells the circular form visible on the outside.

Early in the season the brown areas are about one-half of an inch in
diameter before there is an y evidence of spore formation; later on,
during the height of an epidemic, the spores begin to form when the
affected areas are still very small. The spore-forming stage is evi-
denced by the appearance of numerous small raised points, which push
up the epidermis in a brown spot at irregular intervals. These points
are composed of masses of parallel hypha 1 which grow outward from
the cells just underlying the epidermis. These hypha? are short and
so arranged as to form a low cone, whose apex pushes against the
epidermis as the hypha- composing it grow in length. These hypha?
are at first colorless and then turn olive colored. Ultimately, either
by pressure or because of the solvent action of an enzyme, the tip of
this cone breaks through the epidermis. On the outside the tips of
the cones appear as small dark specks. The unicellular spores are
formed by abstriction from the ends of the hypha? composing the
cone, many spores being formed from each hypha. Great masses
of these spores issue from the hole made in the epidermis and
remain on the outside as bright pinkish, glistening masses, adhering
to the tips of the cones. The latter are the pustules or sori. When
the fungus is growing rapidly the pustules or sori may form when the
spots are but one-fourth of an inch in diameter. The spore masses
arc stick} T and adhere firmly to the mouth of the pustules. Some-
times, especially during nights when a heavy dew has fallen and there
is an abundance of moisture in the air, the spores will be discharged
forcibly in the form of tendril-like masses. (PI. VI, fig. 2.)

As stated above, the sori appear in irregular groups early in the
season. Later in the summer, when the fungus is growing rapidly,
they break through the epidermis in groups, forming very regular
rings (PI. I), These rings are striking objects shortly after the dis-

LIFE HISTORY OF FUNGUS. 21

charge of the spores and form one of the most characteristic; features
of the disease. The spores disappear from the tip of the pustules
after a time. Rain or dew may wash them away or insects rub
them off. The empty sori remain behind and have a sooty, black
appearance.

The time elapsing between spore germination on a fruit and the
ripening of the first spore crop differs with the season from three or
four days to a week. In hot days of August the cycle is completed
with great rapidity. In one and the same spot on a fruit spores may
be forming at the center, while a quarter of an inch farther out the
pustules have not yet begun to develop.

The foregoing description of the growth of. the fungus pertains to
the development on apples still on the trees. Spores inoculated into
apples after they have been picked will give rise to similar phenomena.
The rate of growth of the fungus and tb"e formation of spores will
depend entirely on the temperature and moisture conditions under
which the inoculated apple is kept.

The spores of Glcemporium fructigermm Berk, germinate on grapes
when they are almost or quite ripe (Southworth, 1891). The bitter
taste which follows the attack of this fungus on apples is absent in
diseased grapes. Hence the more common designation of '"ripe rot"
for the same disease of the grape. On white grapes small reddish-
brown spots appear, which spread and become darker as they grow
older, until the spots have an almost purple center with a bright brown
border. The pustules on the grape are at first white, then darker,
until they are almost black. The spores are flesh-colored. The berry
ultimately dries up, but does not turn black. Dark-colored grapes
how no color changes when attacked.

'to'

THE CONIUIA

The spores of Gloeosporium fructigenum Berk, produced in the
sori, and commonly called eonidia, are pinkish-colored en masse. This
color varies from a light fresh pink to a darker reddish pink." When
highly magnified they have a very delicate light-green color. This
color is quite distinct, and it seems strange that of man} T observers
Alwood (1894) seems to be the only one to recognize this greenish
color. Clinton (l'.»o^) states that the eonidia are colorless, while Miss
Southworth (1891) says that they are hyaline.

In size and form the eonidia are extremely variable. The great
variability in these respects has probably been responsible for the
difficulties which many observers have labored under when it came to
deciding which of the several fungi causing similar diseases of fruits

"One of the writers noted apples which had heen inoculated in the laboratory and
bore only cream-colored spore masses. The spores seemed to be perfectly normal in
other ways.

22 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

properly belonged to this particular species. Alwood (1894) was able
to produce in the same culture spherical, dumb-bell-shaped, oblong,
ovoid, and cylindrical conidia. Although such extreme forms were
not found by the present writers, they agree with Alwood and others
that the form variation is certainly large. The general form of the
conidia developed on fruits and in cultures may be characterized as
oblong or cylindrical, sometimes slightly curved (PI. V, fig. 1).

Extremes in sizes, gathered from all other writers, were from to
40 jj. in length and from 3.5 to 7 /< in width. The dimensions given
by some may be mentioned. Alwood gives 10 to 12 ju X 4 to 6 /<.
Saccardo's measurements, 20 to 30 ju X 5 to 6 yw, are probably of
exceptionally large spores. The average size, as determined by the
writers, is 12 to 16 /< X 4 to 6 /<.

Miss Southworth says of the conidia: "They are apt to be shorter
and thicker on the apple [than in cultures], and in dry than in moist
surroundings."

The spores can not and should not be taken as a criterion in deter-
mining whether any particular fungus is Glceosporium frxtctig&ium
Berk., since the spores of other species of Glceosporium closely
resemble those of the bitter rot. The great variability in size and
form of many fungi of a more or less saprophytic nature is coming to
be more widely recognized, and the former method of lumping or
separating many forms simply by spore characteristics is rapidly giv-
ing way to a clearer conception of the relationship based upon more
constant characters.

The ripe conidia are filled with a finely granular protoplasm. Near
the middle and usually a little to one side a clear hyaline area is gen-
erally visible (PI. Y, fig. 1). It is at this point that the septum forms
during germination. Normally, the conidia are one-celled until they
germinate. They resemble the ascospores of this same fungus, and
the two can hardly be distinguished. As a rule the ascospores are
slightly curved, while the conidia are straight.

GROWTH IN CULTURES — CONIDIAL AND ASCUS STAGES.

Freshly-formed conidia of the bitter-rot fungus germinate in three
or four hours when put in water at room temperature. Just before
germination a septum frequently forms at or near the middle of the
spore, thus making a two-celled spore (PI. V, fig. 2). A spore may
produce one, two, or more rarely three, germ tubes (PI. V, fig. 2).
Where a wall forms, these two germ tubes start, one from each end of
the spore. Short spores generally have but one tube. When the
spores germinate in drops of water they become vacuolated after a
few hours, and after five or six hours they become entirely empty.
When germinated in bouillon or on agar, the protoplasm remains
finely granular for some time and the cells rarely become entirely
emptied.

GROWTH IN CULTURES. 23

The germ tubes grow in length with great rapidity, reaching a
length three or four times that of the spore (PI. V, fig. 2) in three-
fourths of an hour. In a water medium the first hyphse grow to con-
siderable length before branching. In bouillon or agar they branch
when two to three times as long as the spore. Septa form very earl} 7
in the development of the mycelium (PI. V, fig. 2).

Fusions between neighboring hyphaB are common both in the apple
fruit and in cultures. The young hypha3 are colorless and are filled
with a granular protoplasm. When growing in the tissues of the
apple, the young hyphse soon turn darker and ultimately become
brown. When an abundant food supply is at hand the mycelium
grows to large dimensions, and it may be several days before any
fruiting bodies are formed. These are usually conidia formed by a
process of abstriction at the end of short lateral hyphse (PI. V, fig. 7).

These conidia develop with great rapidity (Clinton, 1902), so rapidly
that in twelve hours an agar plate will appear as if covered with a
powdery mass. When growing under unfavorable conditions, so that
the mycelium is starved, some of the hyphal tips will swell consider-
ably, and a wall will cut off the swollen end (PI. V, fig. 2). The walls
of this swelling turn dark red-brown and thicken somewhat, forming
what appears to be a spore (PI. V, fig. 2). A bright translucent spot
is usually present near the center. These brown bodies have various
shapes and appear to be formed by most species of the genus Gloeo-
sporium. Miss Stoneman (1898) figures them for G. fructigenum and
G. na/oiculisjporium. Miss Southworth (1891) and Clinton (1902)
obtained them in cultures of Glmosporium fructigenum. Glososporium
cactorum forms very fantastic bodies which bud and develop short
tubes (PI. V, fig. 1). Halsted (1892) published an extended account
dealing with some of these secondar}' spores. Many attempts were
made to cause the bodies formed by Glceo&poriwn fructigenum to ger-
minate, but so far without success. They probably represent a form
of chlamydospore, which may have to undergo a resting period before
developing.

The conidia formed freely from rapidly growing mycelium on agar
resemble those from the pustules on apples in all respects. They ger-
minate in a similar manner, and the mycelium which they give rise to
may produce similar conidia, pustules, or perithecia, as the case may
be, depending upon the age of the fungus, the food supply, etc. The
fungus can be made to grow continuously, producing crops of conidia
without the production of the other stages.

When kept growing on apple agar several crops of conidia usually
form, as described above, and when the food supply has been partially
exhausted the production of conidia gradually stops. The first lot
of conidia have germinated by this time and have produced mycelia,
so that a petri dish with a pure culture of the bitter-rot fungus

24 THE BITTER ROT OB" APPLES.

is covered with a dense growth of mycelium after a period of from
ten to fourteen days. At about the time when the conidia cease to be
formed small black knots appear among the tangled mass of hyphae,
looking much like warts. Drops of a yellowish liquid frequently
exude from these black bodies (PI. VI, tig. 1) The latter increase in
size and frequently form masses one-fourth of an inch in diameter.
Cultures on apple agar will show good-sized masses of this kind in
from twelve to eighteen days. These black masses contain the peri-
thecia of the bitter-rot fungus.

The perithecia and asci were first described by Clinton (1902), who
proved their connection with the bitter-rot fungus (Glceosporium jruc-
tigenum Berk.) by inoculating ascospores into apples and producing
the bitter rot. The formation of perithecia was found by the writers
to occur with great constancy under appropriate conditions. As a
rule the perithecia form in older cultures only.

The black nodules in which the perithecia are embedded are hard
masses of mycelium, which may be characterized as carbonaceous.
They are very irregular in shape and vary in size from a small pin
head to one-fourth of an inch in diameter. The perithecia. from one
to many, are embedded in this carbonized mass. In apple-agar cul-
tures the perithecia form when the black nodules are still very small.
When there is but one perithecium in a nodule it is almost spherical;
when there are several, they are somewhat flattened laterally, and
sometimes very irregular in form. There is no beak. Clinton (1902)
found the perithecia to be from 125 to 250 m in length. These meas-
urements ag-ree fairly well with those found by the writers. The
walls of the perithecia show marked reticulations about 6 to 14 /< in
diameter. These are quite marked in the early stages, but become
obscured as the perithecium matures.

The asci (PI. V, fig. 6), which occur in considerable numbers in a
perithecium, are oblong-clavate in form, 55 to 70 m by 9 /<, often with
a slight pedicel, and are comparatively thin walled. When mature
they break open and disappear rapidly. They contain 8 ascospores,
which are usuall} T arranged in pairs, more rarely in oblique series.
The spores resemble the conidia formed directly on the mycelium, so
much so that they might easily be taken for conidia. They are per-
haps curved a little more than the conidia, a character which can some-
times be used to separate the two, but not always. The ascospores
and the conidia are about the same size, though the former are not as
variable as the conidia, measuring 12 to 22 /< by 3.5 to 5 //. Their
great resemblance has probably led to the ascospores remaining undis-
covered for so many years. The asci are short lived and after they
have discharged the spores they vanish. When found in apples it is
practically impossible to tell whether any particular spore is an asco-
spore or a conidium. The ascospores germinate much in the same

THE NAME OF THE FUNGUS. 25

manner as the conidia, and the description given for the germination
of the conidia will hold for the ascospores.

Conidia were found in the bitter-rot canker during- the summer of
1902, and in the latter part of 1902 perithecia and asci were found in
the canker. (Science, 17: 188, 1903.) The description of these will be
given below in discussing the cankers.

The bitter-rot fungus grows readily on most culture media. It grows
vigorously on apple agar, on sterilized apple wood or leaves, on sterile
pine blocks, bean stems, etc. It is in many respects a true saprophyte.
It is questionable whether it ought to be considered a parasite at all
times when growing on the ripe fruit in the orchard, for at the time it
attacks such fruit the latter is practically full grown and is no longer
composed of cells or tissues which will react when stimulated. The
fungus develops best at temperatures ranging from 33° to 38° C.
(91.1° to 100.1° F.). Apples which were kept in incubators at 38° C.
after infection showed decayed spots 1 inch in diameter in from
one to three da} T s. Cold checks growth materially, and at 2° C. or
35.6° F. (cold-storage temperature) no further growth takes place.

THE NAME OF THE BITTER-ROT FUNGUS.

About the middle of the last century a number of funo-i were
described by M. J. Berkeley as growing on various fruits and bring-
ing about their decay. In 1851 he published the discovery of a fungus
growing on grapes which caused ripe rot. He says of this:

The surface of the spots is rough, with little, raised, orbicular, reddish bodies
arranged in concentric circles and easily separating from the matrix, which is per-
forated for their protrusion. The outer surface of these bodies consists of delicate
cells, with a distinct darker nucleus, and when this is removed a lobed hymenium
is seen within, rough, with distinct sporophores, each of which is surmounted by an
oblong spore, sometimes constricted in the center, and occasionally so much so as to
become pyriform, and varying in size from y^Vo to t |q- inch. In age the perithecia
fall away, leaving a little aperture, the border of which is often stained with black.

Berkeley named this fungus Septoria rufo-maculans, n. sp. He fig-
ures pycnidia and spores, and for reference the latter are reproduced
herewith (tig. 1). In 1860 he changed the name to Ascochyta rufo-
maculans. Yon Thumen (1879) renamed this grape fungus Glceosporium
rufo-maculans (Berk.) v. Th.

In 1850 Berkeley described a fruit-rotting fungus growing on apples,
which he called Glososporium fructigenum, n. sp. This is the first
authentic description of a fungus causing bitter rot, or ripe rot, of
apples. Berkeley says of this fungus:

On examination each plant was found to consist of a branched inosculating myce-
lium, giving rise to simple or forked subfastigiate irregular threads, each tip of which
was surmounted by an oblong, curved, or irregular spore about ,,',„ of an inch in
length. There was not the slightest trace of an investing membrane or perithecium.

26

THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

He refers to the description of a grape-rotting- fungus two years
before, and seems inclined to doubt the wisdom of considering the
apple fungus a new species.

The spores (of the apple fungus) are more inclined to be curved, rather longer,
and not so variable in size, and the want of a perithecium separated the two widely
from each other. * * * At the same time these organisms are so different in dif-
ferent conditions that I would not affirm that the two productions are essentially
different, and the more especially because in external appearance and habit they are
so perfectly identical.

Berkeley's figures of this fungus are reproduced in figure 5.

In 1859 Berkeley published the name Glceosporium Iseticolor n. sp.,
applying it to a fungus growing on peaches and nectarines. He evi-
dently regarded this species as quite distinct from the apple and grape

Fig. 4. — Berkeley's grape-rot fungus {Septoria rqfo-inaculans'Betk..). [Drawn from the original

figure.]

fungi, as he speaks of these in the following words (p. 676): tb A plant
of the same genus, destructive to apples, is figured and described in
this journal (Gardeners' Chronicle, 1856, p. 215). * * * We may
also refer to the very similar production on grapes."

In 1871 Berkeley and Curtis described a fungus growing on apples
in South Carolina, calling it Glceosporium, versicolor' n. sp. They
appeared anxious to emphasize the fact that this new fungus was not
Glceosporium fructigi n um, as they say: " It is very different in habit."

In the years following this last description the accounts dealing with
the bitter-rot fungus on apples in the United States speak of it as
Glceosporium fructigenum Berk., using the name given for the fun-
gus on apples by Berkeley in 1856.

When Miss Southworth, in 1891, published an article on the bitter-
rot fungus she reviewed the older accounts of fungi causing bitter rot

THE NAME OF THE FUNGUS.

27

or ripe rot of fruits, and decided to accept the name Gloeosporiwn
fructigenum Berk, for the fungus causing the bitter rot of apples.
She gives her reason for so doing in the following words:

The strict law of priority might demand that we now make the specific name rufo-
macvlans, hut since the better-known G. fructigenum is also Berkeley's name it will
remain so in this paper.

At this point it will be necessary to refer again to the results which
Miss Southworth obtained by inoculating grapes with spores of the
apple bitter- rot fungus (Gheospornnn frnct!<j<iiurh Berk.) and apples
with the grape ripe-rot fungus (Glasosporium rufo-maculans (Berk.) v.
Th.). In both cases a bitter rot or a ripe rot of the respective fruits
followed, which led Miss Southworth to regard the bitter-rot fungus
and the ripe-rot fungus as one and the same species. The experiments
of Halsted (1892) seemed to verify Miss Southworth's experiments

Pig. 5. — Berkeley's apple-rol fungus [Gkeonparmm fructigenum Berk,). [Drawn from the original

. figure]

and to show that the same fungus caused the ripe rot not only of
apples and grapes, but also of quinces, pears, peaches, nectarines,
peppers, and other fruits.

Summing up tne foregoing, it appears that several fungi causing
fruit rots have been described under the impression that they were
distinct species. More recent investigations have demonstrated that
in all probability the same fungus has caused the various ripe rots of
fruits. The different forms variously described as Glasosporium fruc-
tigenum, Glceosporium rufo-maculans, Gloeosporium versicolor, and
Glasosporium, laeticolor probably differ only in minor characters, such
as in the size and form of the spores. The effects which they produce on
different fruits vary as to color, size of spots, etc. These differences
are readily intelligible in view of the better knowledge which we now

28 THE BITTKR ROT OF APPLES.

have concerning the influence of different substrata on morphological
characters of plants. This is particularly true of saprophytic fungi,
which, like the ripe-rot or bitter-rot fungus, can grow on media of
widely different chemical compositions. An abundant food supply
may result in the production of very large spores, just as a meager
supply may be followed by the formation of smaller spores.

The various fruits under consideration have a different structure and
they differ chemically. It might, therefore, be expected that there
would be slight differences in the structure of the fungus, and also in
the external appearance of diseased fruits.

In cultures the various forms behave similarly. No such distinct
physiological strains as were described for Neocosmospora vasinfecta
by Erwin F. Smith (1899, p. 39) could be established. This is prob-
ably due to the more or less saprophytic nature of the fungus.
Olcnosporium fructigenum Berk, is not bound so strictly to the apple
cell as the root-rot fungus is bound to the cowpea, the cotton, or the
watermelon.

Assuming, then, that the four species mentioned above are one and
the same, it becomes necessary to choose one of the four specific names.
According to the generally accepted rules of nomenclature, the name
under which the fungus was first known takes precedence, and in this
case it is Glceosporium rufo-macuians (Berk.) v. Thi'imen.

This would have been the name of the bitter- rot fungus but for the
discovery of the perfect or ascus stage. In 1002 Clinton placed the
bitter-rot fungus in the genus Gnomoniopsis Stoneman.

In 1895 Miss Stoneman described a new genus Gnomoniopsis in
which she placed (after obtaining in cultures the ascosporic stage) the
following fungi, hitherto known only in the imperfect stages as mem-
bers of the Melanconiacea?: Glosospo?'ium cingulata Atk., Glceosporium
piperatum E. &E., Colletotrichum cinctum Berk. & Curt., and Ool-
letotrichum rubicolum E. & E. Clinton included the bitter-rot fungus
Gloeosporium fructigenum Berk, in this group and named it accord-
ingly Gnomoniopsis fructigenum (Berk.) Clinton. It is under this
name that the fungus now stands.

In establishing the genus Gnomoniopsis Miss Stoneman, however,
overlooked the fact that six years prior to her publication Berlese
(1892) used the name Gnomoniopsis for a group of fungi very different
from the perfect form of the Gloeosporium which she described.
Clinton, in accepting Miss Stoneman's name, likewise overlooked the
name published by Berlese. The latter raised the subgenus Gnomoni-
opsis of the genus Gnomonia as used by Winter (1887) to generic rank,
making the species Gnomonia chamaemori (Fries) the type, and includ-
ing in the new genus the former Gnomonia misella as a variety of
Gnomoniopsis chamaemori (Fries). Lindau (1902) accepts Miss Stone-
man's genus Gnomoniopsis. The generic use of Gnomoniopsis by Ber-
lese in 1892 clearly invalidates Miss Stoneman's name, and it becomes

THE NAME OF THE FUNGUS. 29

necessary to rename the genus. The name Glomerella is suggested by
the writers. The bitter- rot fungus would accordingly become Glom-
erella rufomarnhinx (Berk.) Spaulding & von Schrenk, with the fol-
lowing synonymy:

Glom^reUa rufomaculans (Berk.) Spaulding & von Schrenk."
Septoria rufo-maculans, Berk. (1854, Gard. Chronicle, p. 676).
Ascochyta rufo-maculans, Berk. (1860, Outlines of British Fungology, p. 320).
Gloeosporium rufo-maculans, (Berk. ) v. Thiimen (1-879, Fungi Pomicoli, p. 59).
Gloeosporium, fructigenum, Berk. (1856, Gard. Chronicle, p. 245).
Glceosporium laeticolor, Berk. (1859, Gard. Chronicle, p. 604).
Glaosporium versicolor, Berk, and Curt. (1874, Grevillea 3: 13).
Gnom&niopsis fructigena, (Berk.) Clinton (1902, Bull. 111. Agr. Exp. Sta.).

The new genus Glomerella stands practically for the genus Gnomoni-
opsis Stoneman, and accordingly includes all the species, four in num-
ber, which were placed by her in the genus Gnomoniopsis, i. e., they
become Glomerella cingvlata (Atk.) Spaulding & von Schrenk, Glom-
erella pvperata (E. & E.) Spaulding & yon Schrenk, Glomerella cincla
(Berk, and Curt.) Spaulding & von Schrenk, Glomerella ruMcolor
(E. & E.) Spaulding & von Schrenk.

Glomerella rufomaculans may be described, using the description
given by Clinton (1902), which agrees with the finding of the writers
so well that it fully covers all points.

Glomerella n. n. [Gnomoniopsis Stoneman, not Berlese). Perithecia membrana-
ceous, dark brown, spherical to flask-shaped, often rostrate, sometimes evidently hairy,
caspitose or more or less compound and immersed in a stroma with which they often
form an evident hard cushion; asci oblong to clavate, often fugacious, aparaphysate;
ascospores hyaline, apparently eight, distichous, oblong, usually slightly curved, uni-
cellular. Permanent stage of Gkesporium-like fungi.

Glomerella rufomaculans (Berk.) Spaulding & von Schrenk. Permanent stage devel-
oping on decayed pomaceous fruits; forming stromatie cushions (often concealed by
dark olive mycelial felt), which contain immersed and more or less compounded,
subspherical perithecia; asci subclavate, often slightly pedicellate, fugacious 55-70 j*
in length, ascospores alantoid, with evident central hyaline area chiefly 12-22 /ti by
3.5-5 /.i- Gkesporium stage causing rotting of pomaceous fruits; sori small, develop-
ing more or less in concentric circles, usually soon rupturing and oozing out spores
in small pinkish masses; spores greenish,'' chiefly oblong, unicellular, with evident
hyaline areas when fresh, 10-28 /.i by 3.5-7 it, but chiefly 12-16 // by 4-5 it.

To this must be added: The fungus forms cankers on apple limbs, bearing both
conidia and perithecia.

THE CANKER STAGE.
DISCOVERY OF THE CANKER.

The sudden appearance of the bitter-rot fungus late in the summer
and its equally sudden disappearance in the early winter have long
excited conjecture as to where the spores which affected the first apples
every year came from. Diseased apples of a previous your hanging

"The writers have dropped tin- hyphen from rufo-maculans in order to simplify

the name, as was done by Cooke (1885).

b Changed by the writers. The original says " hyaline."

30 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

in mummified condition on the trees, or lying on the ground under the
trees, probably served as infection centers in many instances; but in
many cases, although all mummies and diseased apples were carefully
removed during the winter, the disease reappeared in the orchard.
Another feature explained with difficulty until recently was the fact
that even with many specimens of bitter-rotted apples of the previous
season lying on the ground under the trees, the disease first manifested
itself in the tops of the trees and very rarely on the branches nearest
the ground. In other words, it was difficult to understand how the
spores of the bitter-rot fungus got on the fruits in the tree tops from
the mummies on the ground without first infecting those on the lower
branches. It had been noted repeatedly that the disease frequently
made its first appearance on the apple tree in a cone-shaped area, with
the apex of the cone near the top of the tree. It was this observation
oft repeated which led to the discovery during the past summer of
what is probably the winter stage of the bitter-rot fungus.

On July 10, 1902, a Mr. R. H. Simpson discovered peculiar depres-
sions on many 1 >ranches of apple trees in his orchard at Parkersburg, 111.
Mr. Simpson was at that time employed as an agent of the Department
of Agriculture to conduct spraying experiments looking toward the
control of the bitter rot of apples by spraying with fungicides. Mr.
Simpson had been hunting for the source of the first infection, and
early in July he noted the peculiar cone-shaped distribution of the
fruit which showed the first signs of the bitter rot. On many trees
the grouping of the infected fruit in the cone shape was so marked
that it seemed probable that the disease had started near the apex of
the cone and had spread downward and outward. In nearly every
instance Mr. Simpson found blackened depressions of a characteristic
appearance on one or more branches at or near the apex of the cone of
infected fruit. These black depressions in the apple limbs occurred
so constantly associated with early bitter- rot infection that Mr. Simpson
proceeded at once to cutout all blackened areas which he could detect.
The blackened sunken areas in the apple limbs have the appearance of
" cankers," as this term is generally understood, and they have been
called cankers since their first discovery. Mr. Simpson was able to
locate the canker in more than 95 per cent of the cases by following
up the cone of infected fruit to the apex.

On the day following Mr. Simpson's discovery at Parkersburg,
Professors Burrill and Blair, of the University of Illinois, visited the
orchard at Parkersburg and learned of Mr. Simpson's find. Believing
that the causal relation between the cankers and the bitter rot was
thereby established, they published a preliminary note in a circu-
lar of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Illinois, in which they

«The discovery of the apple cankers was made July 10, 1902, in the afternoon, as
indicated by a telegram from Mr. Simpson to the writers on the same day, not July 11,
as stated in Circular No. 58 of the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, July, 1902.

DESCRIPTION OF CANKER STAGE. 31

recommended cutting- out all cankers in apple orchards. This prelim-
inary circular was followed by a bulletin on the same subject, giving
illustrations of the cankers and results of experiments, showing that
bitter-rot spores occurred in the canker and that apples could be
infected from cankers.

Investigations as to the relations of the cankers and the bitter rot
were begun by the writers two days after Mr. Simpson's discovery.
These have been continued up to the present time and will be carried
on further.

DESCRIPTION OF THE CANKER STAGE.

The cankers found on apple trees in Illinois appear as blackened
depressions on apple limbs of various sizes, from last years fruit
spurs to limbs 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Thus far the cankers have
not been found on the main trunk. On these limbs rounded or oblong
sooty-black sunken spots occur from one to several inches long, which
have more or less ragged edges. (See Pis. VII and VIII.)

The entire bark is killed for a considerable distance back (Pis. VII
and VIII), and the dead bark appears cracked and fissured and in some
instances broken awa}\ In many cankers regular transverse cracks,
caused by the drying out of the bark, are very marked. As the bark
dries out it adheres very firmly to the underlying wood. As a result
of the decrease in volume of the affected bark and cambium, a
marked flattening and final depression take place on the affected limb.
Around the dead areas a healing callous layer usually forms (PI. VII,
tig. 1; PI. IX, figs. 1 and 4). This starts at the edges of the dead
areas and pushes toward the center, frequentl} r lifting the dead bark
at the edges. The appearance of this callous layer makes the cankered
spots look more and more sunken. It will be noted that most of the
cankered spots show the presence, near the center, of a small branch
or of a branch stub. There ma} r be some relationship between the
formation of the cankered spot and a diseased fruit borne on such a
small branch in a previous year. That is, however, a mere conjecture.

On cross sections of cankers one frequently finds that at its very
center the wood has been dead for two years. (See PI. VIII, tig. 1.)
The small hole in the wood, two rings in, shows where the small branch
broke away. This dying and breaking away of the small branch
would point to the fact just mentioned, that the canker may sometimes
start in the branch.

The wood of the branch immediately below a cankered spot is dis-
colored for a considerable distance toward the center. (See PI. VIII,
fig. 1.) The discoloration is brown and resembles that found in many
hardwood trees in the region below a wound. The wood cells and
medullary rays in the discolored region are filled with a light brown
mass, readily soluble in alkalis, which leads one to class it as one of

32

THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

the humus compounds. It is probably one of the decomposition prod-
ucts which forms when the bark and cambium are killed and which
infiltrates the wood. One finds numerous fungous hyphre in the
medullary ray cells and the larger vessels, but at this stage it is not
possible to say whether these are hyplue of the bitter-rot fungus.
Further studies in this direction are being made.

The formation of the cankered spot probably starts at sonic small
wound (or branch, as stated above). The fungus begins to grow in
the living bark and kills the bark and the cambium. As a result no
new wood is formed at the point where the cambium is killed (see PI.
VIII, fig. 1), and a small depression forms as the wood at the edges of
the dead cambium increases in thickness. As the fungus grows out
from the original point of infection, more and more bark and cambium
are killed, until at the end of the growing season a large spot on the
limb is dead.

Since there is always a small series of wood cells formed at the

beginning of the year during which
the attack takes place, the fungus
probably starts to grow in the bark
early in June. (See fig. 6.)

The majority of the cankers found
during the last summer probably were
started two years ago. During the
first year the fungus made very little
headway. A very small central area
was killed, generally around and in-
eluding a small branch. The following
fig. i;.-i)iagrammatk- cross swtion of y ear f ne larger part of the canker was

formed. W hether the cankers will con-
tinue to increase in size is as yet undetermined, but it does not seem
probable, for if such were the case cankers three or more years old
ought to have been secured in the orchards where the bitter rot has
been common for many years.

RELATION OF THE CANKERS TO THE BITTER ROT.

The discovery of the cankers was brought about directly by tracing
groups of diseased apples to these sunken areas on apple limbs. The
numerous observations made by Air. Simpson and by those who fol-
lowed him seemed to prove beyond question that the cankers were in
some way responsible for the infection of the apples. Instances were
frequent where two or more apples hung just below a canker. These
were generally badly diseased, while all other apples in their immedi-
ate vicinity were perfectly healthy.

Although it seemed extremely probable from Mr. Simpson's obser-
vations, confirmed and extended by the writers, in his orchard and

RELATION <>E CANKERS TO BITTER ROT. 33

in other orchards, that a causal relation existed between the canker
on apple limbs and the bitter rot, it was by no means positively proved
that the bitter- rot f ungus ( Glomerella rufomaculans (Berk.) Spaulding
& von Schrenk) produced the cankers on apple limbs. Experiments
were accordingly started to determine whether any such relation
existed. Examination of the cankers showed the presence of unicel-
lular spores resembling- the spores of Glomerella rufomaculans Berk.
In most cases there also occurred numerous unicellular brown spores
of a fungus which was probably Sphceropsis malorum Peck. There
were spores present now and then of Tricotlieeium rost urn and a species
of Alternaria, but the unicellular colorless spores (Glomerella rufo-
maeulcms) and the unicellular brown spores (Spha rropsis malorum) were
quite constantly present. The mere presence of spores of any one
fungus, even when constantly associated with a canker, is no proof
that the fungus producing these spores causes the cankers. It is
strong presumptive evidence, but no more. That the colorless one-
celled spores were spores of Glomerella rufomaculans was proved after
a few days by inoculating some of these spores obtained from a canker
into healthy apples. These showed unmistakable signs of the bitter rot
in a few days. (See PI. II.) This experiment was repeated many times,
using control fruits with every culture. In every case the bitter rot
appeared in inoculated fruits, while the check fruits remained sound.
Fearing that the spores which caused the disease in these cases might
have simply rested in the bark of the cankers, numerous cultures on
apple agar were made from pustules in the bark of cankers, and from
these pure cultures of the bitter-rot fungus were obtained.

Spores from such pure cultures were inoculated into sound apples,
using control fruits, and these also produced the disease (PI. VI,
iigs. 3 and 4). These cultures, repeated for several months and under
different conditions, left little doubt that the cankers on apple limbs
contained spores of the bitter-rot fungus (Glomerella rufomaoulans
Berk.).

A number of tests were made to determine whether the spores
could be washed from a canker onto apples by water falling on the
cankers. The first test of this kind was made by Mr. Simpson. To
insure rapid action on the part of the fungus, he punctured an apple,
and then allowed water to run from a canker on the fruit. After
several days this apple showed unmistakable signs of the disease.

It now became a matter of considerable importance to determine
what connection, if any, existed between the bitter-rot fundus and the
cankers. It Avas very possible that the cankers served merely as
lodging places for the bitter-rot fungus or its spores. The presence
of numerous spores of what was believed to be SpTweropsis malorum
suggested thai this fungus, which is known to form cankers on apple
limbs (Paddock, L899 and L900) resembling those in the Illinois
26892— No. 44—03 3

34 THE BITTER ROT OF APPLES.

orchards, might bo the canker-forming fungus. This supposition
was strengthened by the fact that many of the Illinois cankers had
the sooty black appearance characteristic of the black-rot apple
cankers.

To determine whether the bitter-rot fungus {Glomerella rufo-
maculams) could form cankers, a number of trees in the Missouri
Botanical Garden were selected. Small longitudinal slits were cut
into the bark, reaching the cambium layer, two slits on every branch.
Into the upper slit spores from pure cultures of Glomerella rufomacu-
lans (made from diseased apples and from cankers) were introduced.
The second slit, from 3 to 5 inches below the first, was used as a con-
trol. A large number of control slits were used, as it was possible for
spores flying about in the air to enter the infected slits and thereby
vitiate the results. It may be said at this point that in no case did
any of the control slits show any signs of canker formation. A num-
ber of inoculations were made, using pure cultures of Glomerella
rufomaculans obtained from apple cankers in Illinois and from
diseased apples. Inoculations were likewise made with ascospores
obtained in apple agar cultures. The first infection of apple limbs
was made July 16, 1902.

The inoculations were made by inserting a needle with spores into
the freshly made slit, or by spraying water into the slit and then
placing some spores in the drop of water. Some of the slits, were
covered with grafting wax or with cloth waxed with a cocoa-butter
mixture, as it was thought that the uncovered slits might be infected
by bitter-rot spores from the air. The results showed that this pre-
caution was useless, as none of the uncovered control slits showed any
signs of being infected.

Several weeks elapsed before there was any evidence of develop-
ment on the limbs. In both the inoculated slits and the control slits
the bark dried somewhat along the edges of the slit, making a gaping
wound. After some two weeks a distinct callous layer had formed
under the edges of the bark of the control slits. The two callous
layers joined after six to eight weeks and occluded the wound. In
the slits where bitter-rot spores had been inserted the callous forma-
tion was less marked. The exposed wood turned dark, almost black,
and the exposed edges of the bark turned back. The living bark
then began to dry out gradually and became depressed (PI. IX. tig. 3),
and after about two months a decided sharply defined depressed area
had formed, with the slit in the center. Shortly thereafter small
black pustules broke through the dried bark in a number of instances
(PI. IX, figs. 2, 1, 5, and 6). Ity that time the infected points showed
all the characteristics of small cankers.

On examination the black pustules were found to contain masses
of spores resembling those of the bitter-rot fungus {Glome/'rlla rufo-

RELATION OB 1 CANKERS TO BITTER ROT. 35

maculans). At this time there were no other spores in the canker,
such as the brown Sphseropsis spores. Inoculations were immedi-
ately made with the spores which had formed in the pustules of the
cankers produced on the apple li