OCR Text |
Show NEW THINGS IN AGRICULTURE. No branch of the exploratory work of the Agricultural department depart-ment of the government is more interesting or more promising of good than that of searching out the best in fruits, vegetables, grasses and trees in foreign countries. Secretary Wilson, in his annual report made public Thursday, says: "An agricultural explorer of the department has spent the year exploring the plant resources of southwestern Asia. .Among the large number of interesting things he has secured is a variety of alfalfa from Erivan, which is said to be longer lived than the Turkestan; Turkes-tan; a species of Medicago from an altitude of over 4,000 feet, which is already being utilized in the work of creating new hybrid alfalfa far the Northwest; a wild almond from the Zarafshan Valley, found growing on the dry mountain sides at an altitude of 6,000 feet; a drought-resistant cherry for home gardens in the Northwest; and a collection of apricots with sweet kernels from Samarkand; the Af-ghasian Af-ghasian apple and special varieties of pears for trial in the Gulf states ; some remarkable olives, which have withstood zero temperatures and still borne good crops of fruit; late and early varieties of Caucasian peaches for trial in the Southwest; seeds collected in the Caucasus from wild plants of the true Paradise apple, which is used as a dwarf stock for the purpose of obtaining seedlings not infected with crown gall; scions of a newly produced crab apple, reported to be a better keeper than American crab apples; the Slew. Abrikose, a variety of apricot with a skin as smooth as that of a nectarine; a remarkable drought-resistant poplar for the Middle West; and a wild strawberry, fruiting at tho end of February on the dry calcareous cliffs of the Caucasus. Our Weber county farmers, particularly the horticulturists,' should keep in close touch with this labor of discovery and be amon the first to take advantage of new plants or trees that may prove to be adaptable to Utah's climate and soil. The drought resistant cherry; the apricots of Samarkand or the Slew Abrikose; the wild strawberry; the new alfalfa, all these should be tested xn the soil of this region. Why not write to our senators or our congressman for further information on these imported products of the soil of Asia? |