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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1904)
New Crops for Uncle Sa: ICapyrlght, 1904, by Frank O. Carpenter.) WASHINGTON, June 23. (Special U Correspondence of The Bee.) Z. . "Fresh dates will soma day be aa Yj common In thia country aa ban- " anaa are now." Theae were the words of David O. Fair Child, the agricultural explorer, who re cently returned from Persia, where he wu Sent to look up date culture In the interest of the United States. Mr. Falrchild ia one Of the first, and, I may say, the chief of his profession. Educated as a botunlst, he Worked for a time as such In the Depart ment of Agriculture, nnd then resigned to go to Bultensorg, Java, and study plants and fungus diseases In the botanical gar den there, the largest and finest garden of the world. The expenses of this trip wire furnished by Mr. Barbour Lathrop of Chi cago, at whose suggestion and under whose patronage Mr. Falrchild later on began to bunt the world for new plants for the United States. Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy runs to libraries, Stanford's millions were swal lowed up In his great California university, and John Rockefeller's surplus a small part of It, I fear goes to the Baptist church and his famous Chicago college. Barbour Lathrop, although a poor man la comparison with these three, has devoted bis surplus to a pursuit which may result In greater value to the United States than all the others. Born rich, his life before lie met Mr. Falrchild had been largely de voted to traveling up and down the world (or his own study and amusement A typi cal American, with practical business sense, he Investigated the vegetation of Other lands, and as he went conceived the Idea that many foreign plants might be profitably grown In the United States. II bad been traveling thirty years before he came to the conclusion to put his thought Into action, and It was with this Idea that be sent Mr. Falrchild to Bultensorg, and later took him with him as a plant expert, and traveled from continent to continent, seeking new seeds and plants for Uncle Bam. All this was done without ' cost to the government, save that the results were distributed through the Agricultural de partment Almost at the same time Secretary Wil son became interested in the subject In- " deed, he had taken It up about the time that Mr. Lathrop began his active investi gations, and since then the work of the two men had gone on side by side. The ' secretary has established a bureau for the Introduction of valuable plants and seeds, and he has today a number of agricultural explorers traveling over the world at the expense of the' department - At present Mr. Falrchild Is here in Washington In charge of this bureau working directly under the secretary, . although most of his work as an explorer has been under the sole direction of Mr. Lathrop and In con nection with him. I first met Mr. Fair child in 1897, Just before I started out on a newspaper trip of 25,000 miles, which was to cover the South American continent and at his request I sent him corn and ether seeds from about Lake Titlcaca and ether parts of the Andes. I afterward tramped over his tracks In Slam and Java, and I found Mm Just ahead of me In Su matra, New Guinea, Australia and the FIJls. Since then he has explored South America, haa gone up and down the coast of Africa, and lately to Arabia and up the Persian gulf to Bagdad, the land of dates and the "Arabian Nights." Tea," said Mr. Falrchild, "we will have fresh dates, and no one who has not tasted the date fresh from the tree knows what that means. Dates are of as many varie ties as apples, and some are so delicious that they will form one of the favorite fruits of our tables. We have Introduced date palms on the high dry lands of the southwest, and now know that they can be as well grown In some parts of Arlsona and California as In the Desert of Sahara and Messapotamie. Indeed, President Roosevelt and members of his cabinet have eatwt dates thus grown In America, and we bave men In the west who are going Into date raising as a business. The new Irri gation works which are being established Will open a large area of possible date country, and dates may In the future be one of our most profitable fruit crops." "llow much will dates pay to the acre?" "Mr. Walter T. Swlnglts who investigated ' date culture In the Sahara, estimates that 4,000 pounds can be annually produced on an acre of land, and that after setting aside a good amount for expenses the net profit from them will be $160 per acre. As It is now, we use only about 18,000,000 pounds of dates a year, but if they were raised here and sold fresh the consump tion would be enormously Increased, and the profits can hardly be estimated. We have Introduced a number of differ ent kinds of dates Into the west," con tinued Mr. Falrchild, "and we are raising some as delicious as any I have tasted In Persia, I have heard lately, however, of a seedless date and am trying to get Suckers to plant In Arlsona or In Cali fornia. Bo far I have not been able to trace It but there is no reason why It Should not exist No -one knew of navel ranges until an American woman, travel ing alone the coast of Brasil, was given a ' .''-:. 'v.!:..-,t.?: i. .. . vyov. r-; ,-, .-.'v;v ; ' r V .-' '-' - ;t . ' xAyn ic Seedless orange while her ship stopped at Bahla, She asked about it and was told that It was cultivated by the people of that state. When she came to Washington she called at the Department of Agricul ture and told Mr. Saunders about It The old gentleman was very polite, and al though he evidently doubted the statement be sent down to Bahla asking about this orange and for slips of the tree. Some came, and they were planted In the de partment garden. They grew Into trees and upon them were produced the first navel oranges ever seen In the United States. Slips from those trees were sent to California and Florida and our enor mous seedless orange crop of today Is the result Not long ago a delegation of Cali fornia fruit growers visited Washington. They called at the department garden and one of them said: 'Those navel orange trees have given more to the United States than the cost of the Agricultural depart ment since Its beginning.' " "i should think that such things might be grown in Porto Rico, Mr. Falrchild," said I. "Not the date, for that requires a dry country," said Mr. Falrchild. "But the navel orange can undoubtedly be grown there. Porto Rico ia a virgin field for plunt Introduction. We are now studying the tropical fruits to see what will grow there, and I think it is fair to say that that Island will some time be the tropical fruit garden for the United States. It Is not far from New York, and the shipping facilities will grow better and better. One of the fruits which we are Introducing Into Porto Rico is the mango. We are scouring the world for the best varieties and are planting them In various parts of Porto Rico. I don't know that you realise that there Is as much difference In mangoes as there is in peuches and apples. I have seen some in East Africa as large as a small cantaloupe, finely flavored and delicious. There is a mango with very thin seeds grown in the Philippines, and there are other mangoes with different flavors in other parts of the tropics. A few years ago bananas were no more common In the United States than they are now In Germany. Mangoes will some day be. eaten all over this country. It Is not true, as has been stated, that the fruit has so much Juice that the only place one can eat It Is In the bath tub. "Another fruit which we are setting out In Porto Rico Is the mangosteen, which grows in the East Indies, and which Is the delight of all travelers. We shall have a large quantity of trees planted and hope that the arrangements will be such that the fruit can be exported to the American cities. I have kept mangosteens three weeks on a steamer, and In cold storage chambers they could be preserved fresh for a month. It is only about four days from San Juan to New York, and there is no reason why the fruit could not be shlped from one place to the other." "Are we doing anything In nut culture?" "Ybs," said Mr. Falrchild. "I spjnt gome time a year or so ago looking for almonds that might be successfully grown In Cali fornia and similar regions. X found that fair child. the Jordan almond was the best variety for the salted or burnt almonds which are served on our dinner tables. We are now spending H. 500,000 annually for such al monds, and the demand is rapidly increas ing. This Jordan almond grows In " the mountainous regions of southeastern Spain. I visited that country and irought back a great lot of scions from, bearing trees. These were sent by the Agricultural de partment to California and used to bud and graft thousands of young trees there. Some of the trees are already producing? and the probability Is that we shall grow all we need. These Jordan almonds have hard shells. The women and children of the Spanish mountain villages crack the nuts and take out the kernels for shipment When they are thoroughly Introduced here cracking machines will do this work. "Another nut which we are Introducing, said Mr. Falrchild, "Is the cashew nut which grows In different parts of Africa and elsewhere. It is served roasted and will some day be far more liked than the peanut is now. I think the cashew tree can be grown In Porto Rico. "One of the most important projects In this line," continued Mr. Falrchild, "is the introduction of the Japanese bamboo for the gulf states, Florida and southern Texas. We have imported thousands of bamboos and have placed them In the hands of a few selected men, who, It Is thought, will be capable of handling them. We hope that commercial groves of bam boo timber can be grown throughout the south and they will be as profitable there as they are In Japan." "Give me some Idea of the bamboos of Japan and the money In them?" I asked. "It would take a book to tell the story," said Mr. Falrchild. "There are many va rieties, used for all sorts of purposes. The bamboo, you know, Is a giant grass, which grows not only In the tropics, but also In the upper regions of the Andes and Hima layas, which are covered with deep snow In the winter. The plant Is found almost everywhere in the" Philippines, nnd the dif ferent varieties may be Introduced into Porto Rico and Hawaii. Some of the bam boos have edible shoots, which look like giant asparagus sprouts and may be cooked and eaten In the same way. They are a delicious vegetable and will some day have a place In the American market. Other bamboos are grown entirely for the timber and for use In manufacturing. I think the timber species can be grown along the Yazoo river In Mississippi, and that they would bo a very valuable crop." "Are bamboos cultivated?" I asked. "Yes, the Japanese treat them with all the care of other field crops. They set them out In orchards or groves, taking a harvest of poles In August or later. Of some varieties there are 4,000 or 6.000 to the acre, and more than a thousand culms or stalks can be marketed from them every year. The plants are usually set out about twelve feet apart and the first stalks cut when the grove is about four years old." "Give me some idea of the profits of bam boo raising." "They should be greater hers than taj Japan," said Mr. Falrchild, "and as tar as Z could learn the business pays very well there. Dr. Shiga of the Japanese bureau) of forestry told me that the bamboo was one of the best crops of the country, often yielding r gold per acre. Of this 20 per cent came from the edible shoots. Another Japanese who raised bamboo timber told me he was annually making about 140 per tcre out of his land, and near Klota I teard of men who were making as much as 80 per acre. Prices rise and fall from year to year. About five years ago some of the planters who were raising groves of black bamboo were realising $200 per acre. They are now netting about $50." "The bamboo," continued Mr. Falrchild, Is the most indispensable of all trees In the far east It is used for everything un der the sun. It forms the building material, the furniture wood, the kitchen utensils, the water pipes, and in some places the floors and rafters of the houses. It is used to make ropes and mats, fans and umbrellas. It largely takes the place of Iron and wire, and of many other things, lie re it Is used chiefly for fishing poles, of Which we import millions every year. It would Indeed be a valuable addition to our timber crop." The conversation here turned to the Japa nese paper plants which are now being brought to the United States. The Japa , nese make the finest papers of the world. They have some which look like silk, so strong that a large sheet will support the weight of the average man. They have the finest of tissue papers, some of which are Imported by opticians for wiping lenses and glasses, and the dentists all over the country dry out the cavities In teeth preparatory to filling them with gold with a porous paper made In Japan. Mr. Fair child showed me samples of some of these papers, and, among other things, what looked like a leather portfolio, which Would, I suppose, cost at least $5 at any notion store in this country. It was made of paper Instead of leather, and I was told It had cost just 18 cents. "The Japanese papers," said Mr. Fair child, "come from different sources, but chiefly from the mitsumata plant which covers the hillsides and is also grown be tween the rice fields throughout central Japan. It Is a perennial shrub with long, lance-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. Its bark has long, delicate fibers, and it Is se cured by cutting the plant and stripping off the bark, which is then macerated and made into paper. This plant could be grown In the United States, and it might be harvested by ma chinery. The plants are grown from the seed and afterward set out and cultivated. They are cut off from year to year, other sprouts coming up for another crop. The Japanese make their . napkins, umbrellas and lanterns out of such paper. It takes the place of glass in the walls of the peo ple's houses and as oiled papers serves as rubber blankets and rubber coats. I see no reason why such plants should not be raised here and why, with our modern ma chinery, hey might not form an important part of our paper industry. I understand that from 600 to 2,000 pounds of bark can be annually produced on one acre, and that this, when made into pulp, is worth in Japan from 15 to 16 oents in gold per pound. This would make a profit I should say, of $100 or upward per acre. FRANK G. CARPENTER. Pointed Paragraphs Love is blind and the homely girl is glad of it Politics has made a few men and un made a great many. A woman's maiden aim la to change her maiden nam. A man's house is bis castle unless It Is In bis wife's name. When a man shines In society he seldom shines In business. Truth Is all right In Its way, but flattery Is often more satisfactory. Money talks, but that of a miser doesn't make extravagant speeches. Where there's a will there's apt to be a won't and a couple of lawyers. There is no hope for the man who can't tell the truth without lying about It When a man Is working for himself he doesn't have to employ a timekeeper. A woman's worth Is usually more than she can extract frqm her husband's pock ets. When a man helps his wife with the housework it takes her about twice aa Ions; to finish. A bachelor physician says the microbes In kisses are often fatal at least they often develop matrimonial germs. Listen to what your friends say of others in your presence If you wish to get a line on what they say of you when you are absent A woman can't understand why her hus band has to work so hard to make both ends meet when he is so much smarts than ether mon .-Chicago News..