The Daily Transcript (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 192, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 4, 1916 Page: 3 of 4
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NORMAN DAILY TRANSCRIPT
«
CHINESE FORAGE
AND FOOD PLANTS
UlUtt TRIED
Third Plant Introduction Expedi-
tion Yields Many Promising
Specimens.
FRENCH SOLDIERS FIRING AT ZEPPELIN
BRING IN 3.000 VARIETIES
Jujube, Alkall-Reslstant Wild Peach
and Mar«h Vegetables Are of Par-
ticular Interest—Flora of Sec-
tions of China and the
United States Related.
Washington, D. C.—The third expe-
dition into China to discover new
plants suitable for Introduction into
the United States has been completed
by F. N. Meyer, plant explorer of
the United States department of ag-
riculture, who has Just returned to
Washington after a three-year trip
in the far East. Ab a result of this
expedition through the center of
China, and two previous explorations
of Bimilar duration covering extremely
cold Manchurlan regions and the arid
regions of Chinese Turkestan, there
have been sent to America for plant-
ing and testing for commercial adapt-
ability, seeds, roots, or cuttings of
some 3,000 food and forage plants,
(lowers, ornamental shrubs and vines,
shade and timber trees. The previous
expeditions brought to America sped
mens of many cold-resistant and dry-
land grains, sorghums, soy beans, al-
falfas, and forage plants, and also cer-
tain semitropical plants, such as the
bamboo, which are now under experi-
mentation to determine their useful-
ness for the extreme South.
Of the many specimens forwarded
to this country during the last expedi-
tion, the specialists regard as moBt
significant the jujube, a fruit new to
this country, whlcli may be suitable
for use in the Southwest; a wild peach
resistant to alkali, cold, and drought,
the root system of which offers great
possibilities as a grafting host; cer-
tain Chinese persimmons larger than
any hitherto known in this country;
a number of aquatic food roots and
vegetables which offer promising pos-
sibilities for the utilization of swamp
land; some thirty varieties of vege-
table and timber bamboos; and a num
ber of Chinese vegetables, bush and
climber roses, shrubs and trees.
Flora Closely Related.
Of scientific rather than commercial
interest is the discovery on this expe-
dition, near Hangchau, of a hickory
tree, the first found in China. The ex
Istence of this tree, together with the
facts that the sassafras and tulip
trees are common In both countries
and the Chinese tea box tree is close-
ly related to the sweet gum of the
South, confirms the fact that the flora
of the southeastern United States and
that of sections of China are closely
related. Another discovery of botan-
ical Interest was the finding in a re-
mote and hitherto unvlsited valley in
Tibet of a hazel tree 100 feet high—
a surprising departure from the hazel
bush. Elsewhere English walnuts
were discovered in a wild state, and
the discovery of the wild peach is
regarded as significant because it
seems to establish that the peach may
have been a native of China rather
than of Persia, to which its origin has
been ascribed. The discoveries of na
tive and hardy oranges and other cit-
rus fruits, a number of which have
been brought to this country for breed-
ing work, give added evidence that
China was the home of the orange,
which was introduced into other coun
tries probably by early Portuguese
travelers. Similarly many plants com
monly ascribed to other countries,
such as the wistaria, chrysanthemum,
lilac, azalea, and certain peonies and
rambler roses, have been developed by
the ChineBe, although, because they
reach Caucasian use through other
nearby nations, their Chinese origin
often has been overlooked.
Huh't for Pointers.
The first or experimental explora-
tion for new plants in China in 1905
was undertaken by the department be-
cause the wide range of climate, rain-
fall, elevation and Boil conditions in
that immense country gave promise
that the Chinese, who had been farm-
ing successfully in some sections for
about 4,000 years, might have found
solutions for special difficulties which
confronted American farmers in re-
gions of excessive cold, or drought, or
alkaline or swampy soils.
The investigators quickly found that
China also offered a particularly fer-
tile field for plant Introduction work
because for many centuries the Chi-
nese farmers, in a crude way. had been
selecting seeds and developing im-
proved varieties now ready for com-
mercial use in the United States. In
many cases all that is needed is to
bring the seed or plant to this country
and use it, although in other cases,
Inasmuch as Chinese methods rarely
produce pure strains, some further
seed or plant selection is necessary
to obtain constant varieties.
To locate these special varieties,
however, it is necessary for the ex-
plorers to visit not merely individual
villages but even to study single
farms. There are no seed stores in
china and no mechanism for extend-
ing the use of improved varieties. Su-
.'J «■'■*•>
toes.****
DRILLING MORE FIGHTING MEN IN CANADA
?
Men of the Fifty-seventh battalion
Europe, are here seen drilling in snow
WHEN DIKES BROKE
These French soldlerB are trying to drive away a German Zeppelin thai Dramatic Description of the DlS
is hovering over Nancy and dropping bombs on that city. j aster in Holland.
of infantry, the next contingent to be sent from Canada to the battlefields ol
trenches on the heights of Abraham at Quebec.
perlor varieties grown on one farm
often are not used on adjoining farms,
and are unheard of ten miles a way.
The farmer who develops an Improved
variety guards It Jealously and gives
seeds or cuttings or scions only to
his immediate relatives. In the case
of fruits, the Chinese farmer Is averse
to spraying or other treatment for dis-
eases. largely because his ancestors
have never done this, and the adop-
tion of modern methods would be con-
sidered irreverent. As a result, ex-
cellent varieties which are traditional
or mentioned In Chinese literature
have either disappeared completely,
or are to be found only on isolated
farms.
Discovers Jujube Tree.
In the last trip the explorer pene-
trated through the center of China
1,500 miles on foot to the borders
of Thibet and returned to the coast by
a different route. On this expedition
he covered territory the agricultural
conditions of which are very similar
to those of the southern Rocky moun-
tain regions and portions of the
Great Plains.
In this territory the most important
discovery probably was the jujube
tree, which bears a heavy crop of a
brownish fruit, which is delicious
when fresh and when dried offerB a
confection very similar in taste to the
Persian date. This tree is of partic-
ular interest to the department be-
cause it can withstand cold and
drought and neglect. The section in
which it is productive in China Is a
semi-arid belt where winter tempera-
tures do not go much below zero
Fahrenheit. This indicates that it
would be of particular value to Texas,
California, New Mexico, Arizona,
southern Utah, and perhaps even
farther north. Already, several thou
sand seedlings have been grown at the
Plant Introduction garden at Chico,
Cal., from the specimens sent to this
country, and some of these have borne
desirable fruit, which confirms the ex-
perimenters In their belief that this
HAS NEW PEACE PLAN
may contribute a new fruit lndustrj
to the sections indicated.
The wild peach discovered In China
and now brought to this country foi
the first time, is considered of greal
interest although Its fruit is not de
slrable. Investigation in its native
habitat showed that the roots of thli
plant are not as susceptible as out
native peach to alkali in the soil, while
it will withstand cold and does not re
quire much moisture. Experlmenti
It Will Take a Generation to Retrieve
the Loss Caused When the Sea
Broke Through—Some of the
Pathetic Incidents.
Rotterdam.—'T am standing up to
my waist in water. The whole Island
is flooded, and the houses are giving
way." At that moment the telephone
cable between the island of Marken
In the Zuyder Zee and the mainland
are under way, therefore, to determine 8napped and the 0UtBlde world heard
the usefulness of the rootstock of this ! „„ more of the plucky oporator 8 de.
peach for grafting with different hardy j BCrlpt|on of what wn9 happenlng ,n
American varieties. If success Is j ^nt quaintly picturesque spot, which
achieved, the specialists believe that j haR Buffered moro tllan any other
they can develop peach trees which j from the 8torm wh|ch ghattered tlie
will make possible the raising ol
peaches in the southwestern or alka
line sections, and at the same time of-
fer possibilities of peach cultivation
in many droughty and cold regions,
historic Dutch sea dikes and flooded
miles of country north of Amsterdam.
At IcaBt sixteen people lost their
live* In the floodB, cattle were Bwept
away, the wrecks of the picturesque
Canute. The police retrieved cattle
In boats. All the churches on the high
land were thrown open to receive cat-
tle.
Milo after mile Ib under water; rich
farmers are rendered practically pen-
niless and the land will take years to
recover IU old fertility. At places
where breaches occurred land was
washed out till it was lower than the
bed of the sea. and until the breaches
are repaired there Is no hope of taking
off the water. Edam, Monnikendam
and Vollendnm are completely under
water. Th lower houses In the latter
place have water up to the attics,
whilst in the low-lying Buikslootmeer
Poldor the water is level with the
china insulators of the telephone poles.
It is the worst disaster for many years
and it will take a generation to re-
trieve the loss
and possibly even into portions ol j 0jd filing craft were piled up on each
Icwa beyond the northern edge of our
present peach region
Aquatic Food Plants,
other in the harbor, and the remaining
Inhabitants peer out from their attic
windows upon an immeasurable waste
ijf special interest also are the col j ot angry gray water.
lections of aquatic food plants secured J When the fierce northwest gale
in the recent expeditions. These in- | dl-ove the sea down into the Zuyder
elude water chestnuts, water nuts, and
a number of aquatic bulbs, as well as
the water bamboo. The Chinese, tha
explorer found, have mastered through
centuries of experiments the process
of using swamp lands for the raising
of food crops, and their success is be-
lieved to point to commercial possibil-
ities for some of our swamp regions
where reclamation by drainage 1b not
practicable. Whether the American
farmer would ever be willing, how-
ever, as a commercial enterprise, to
grow crops which call for cultivation
in water waist deep is, the specialists
admit, open to question.
The kauba, sometimes called wild
rice or water bamboo, now to be made
the subject of experiment, is a vege-
table In taste somewhat between grass
and asparagus. The swollen stalks of
the plant are eaten much like our as-
paragus.
In selecting Chinese vegetables for
Zee the water came like a tidal wave,
casting into the sea the walls of the
mainland, and mounted the dikes of
Marken on all sides. No boat could
have got people off in time and, leav-
ing cattle to their fate, men and wom-
en climbed to the attics of their dwell-
ings or perched on piles, fearing the
worst, but hoping that the skillful
work of their forefathers would hold
against its ancient enemy.
It is a tribute to the Dutch engineers
that every soul on the island was not
lost. As it was, only four houses es-
caped damage.
In the mad rush of the waves solid
fishing-boats were smashed like tin-
der; two small vessels were lifted on
to the roofs of p group of houses,
wrecking the dwellings and drowning
the inmates.
In one of them a man, his wife and
two children were drowned. In an-
i other house which was crushed eight
introduction the explorer was greatly , , , , . . . ,
! Pe°Ple clambered from beam to beam
as the house settled down, and last of
limited by the fact that many articles
favored by Mongolian palates would
be unpleasant to Caucasians. He has
sent over, therefore, only those things
which promise to add valuable vege-
tables or fruits to the American table,
and also which fit in with a general
plan for the introduction of certain
food crops which will find a ready
market among our Chinese popula-
tions. The Chinese, in many cases, !
are importing large quantities ol j
favorite native foods In canned or j
dried form from China because they j
find difficulty in getting them in a :
fresh state In our larger cities. Some )
of the vegetables brought over which
promise to find a dual market are a |
number of varieties of vegetable bam- ;
boo and improved varieties of pe tsai, 1
the odorless Chinese cabbage, soma
kinds of which already ape on sale aa
"celery cabbage" in American mar-
kets.
Suitable for Cold Slaw.
all clung for dear life to the rafters,
screaming for help that could never
come. As their strength failed and
they dropped into the swirling waters
one by one and wqre borne away the
beam still pointed upwards as a mock-
ing monument to their struggles for
life.
In another house the three daugh-
ters were surprised in their beds, and
Marken beds are like huge ct pboards,
the children sleeping on the floor, the
parents on an ample ledge above.
Their bodies have just been discov-
ered, the bodies locked In each other's
arms.
When the house of Chaes De Waard
was washed off its foundations a wom-
an was last seen screaming from a
top window for help. Everyone in that
household Is missing. The house was
carried over 100 yards, then struck an-
other and wrecked.
All land in and around the dead
This cabbage is suitable for cooking ^ Q( ^ Zuyder Zee_Edam. Vol.
Congressman Meyer London, ntwly
elected Socialist member from New
York, recently laid before the house
his new plan to bring peace In Eu-
rope and stop the preparedness move-
ment In the United States. He has
introduced a resolution calling on
President Wilson to convene a con-
ference of neutrals to offer mediation.
It provides a $100,000 appropriation
for the use of the president if the
plan goes through, and among the
principals mentioned as a basis for
peace are gradual concerted disarma-
ment, freedom of the seas, establish-
ment of an international court of ar-
bitration and removal of civil and po-
litical disabilities of the Jewish peo-
ple where these exist
or for cold slaw and can be grown
wherever ordinary cabbage is raised.
A vegetable novelty now under experi-
ment is a Chinese radish with a root
as large as a child's head. This ia
somewhat coarser and inferior in
flavor to the small radish, though the
Chinese cook it much like turnips, and
also pickle it in strips in brine for use
as a relish.
This and other explorations have
given to this country a Chinese cher-
ry, very successful in California be-
cause of its early maturity; and a
number of varieties of wild pears and
apples, wild almonds, and hardy citrus
fruits which offer possibilities for hy-
bridization with American varieties.
The explorer also brought over
specimens of the Chinese pistache
tree, which is is hoped will give the
United States a new and valuable tree
for the adornment of city avenues in
Georgia, Alabama, the Carolinas, Flor
Ida, Texas, California, Arizona and
Oregon. Plantings were also secured
on this trip of a Chinese white pine
tree remarkable for its white bark.
One of these specimens which Mr,
Meyer brought has been planted on
the grave of the late minister to China,
W. W. Rockhill, who once expressed
In the explorer s hearing a wish that
this be done. Because of its drought-
resisting qualities, this strikingly orna
mental tree offers possibilities for tha
beautificatlon of parks and grounds
in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and
i California.
endam and Monnikendam—is under
the sea. The sea dikes broke in sev-
eral places near Naarden and between
Edam and Monnikendam. All night
watchers *-ere on the dikes, but the
suddenness of the burst was disas-
trous.
Church bells boomed their fateful
signal Farmers, women, children, sol-
diers and police all dashed to the fields
to round up the lowing cattle and
frightened horses, but in hundreds of
cases they were too late.
Millions of tons of water crashed
over and through the breaches. The
maze of ditches and canals, ordinarily
so still, became as mountain streams
in flood. Sheep, pigs, goats aud cows
that could not reach the high dikes
were washed away. Hundreds that
instinctively made an attempt to save
themselves were drowned, whilst the
roads were blocked with frightened
herds of cattle that needed no urging
from equally excited drivers.
Few could mark their cattle and
many will never regain their own ani-
mals. Safety was their only thought
In little breaks in the stream women
could be seen pushing perambulators
with babes and driving cattle, all mak-
ing fo; the higher level of Amsterdam.
Many farmers first saved their cattle,
returning in boats to save their fam-
ilies.
Soldiers made a dasr. for many of
•he breaches and worked heroically to
lem the tide, but were as helpless as
BLAMES FUR-TOPPED SHOES
Oklahoma City Woman Declares Foot-
wear Invites Flirting— Com-
plains to the Mayor.
Oklahoma City.—"Why don't you
stop yils flirting that Is going on all
tho time?" asked a woman of sour
visage, who visited the mayor's office.
The mayor said he didn't know there
had been any flirting.
"Well, there has aud there Is," said
the woman
"Who is doing it?" Inquired the
mayor
"Men and women, boys and girls,"
replied the visitor, "and the girls are
Just as bad as the men 1 can show
you girls on the streets right now
who ought to be arrested."
"In what way do they flirt?" asked
the patient mayor.
"By looking sideways at the men
and by wearing fur-topped shoes and
dresses half way up to their knees."
said the woman. "You've seen them,
haven't you? And you know they're
disgraceful, don't you?"
Mayor Overholser Bald there was
no ordinance regulating women's at-
tire to that extent.
"Then pass an ordinance," Insisted
the visitor. "Put a heavy fine on tha
girls who wear fur-topped shoes and
short dresses, or else on the men who
look at them."
The mayor sighed wearily.
"If you don't," the woman con-
tinued. "this town will go to the devil.
It's going there now, with its fur-tup
shoes and flirting."
RACKS THE NERVES
Night on Listening Post Is Eerie
Experience.
Small Groups of Men Get aa Close to
Enemy's Position and Lie There
All Night Just Listening-
London.—An officer back from the
British front describes the listening
post as the most trying experience of
the war. Every evening little groups
of men steal out between the oppos-
ing trench lines and squat quietly in
a depression all night long, trying to
catch In their straining ears some
inkling of the enemy's doings.
Not until the night has well fallen
do the posts go out.
The object is to get as close to the
enemy's lines as possible without be-
ing defeated; and to be able to re-
main there as long as human beings
can, until the first streaks of dawn
show in the sky.
Once the precise spot is located, the
men who will form that particular
post that night are carefully tutored
in its position by means of the invalu-
able periscope. They instruct them-
selves In the various obstacles to be
encountered on the way, and commit
to memory every tussock and every
little obstacle that will afford them
cover as they creep out to take up
their places after nightfalL It is not
easy work to map out even a hun-
dr#d feet of country through a peri-
scope. But since dear life depends on
the accuracy of the observations
fnade, those concerned are not dis-
posed to leave anything to chance,
and every man could find his way
BEAUTY FROM DIXIE
v.* «•
Miss Eleanor Baxter of Knoxville,
Tenn., Is one of the pretty members of
Dlxia society who has been drawn to
the national capital this winter for the
social season. Miss Baxter and her
mother have been entertained at sev-
eral brilliant affairs during their stay.
blindfolded when he has completed
his survey.
And then, with darkness to shield
them, they climb very cautiously out
into the terrible dead ground, every
little article of their equipment that
might rattle carefully muffled, for
theru are listening posts listening for
them.
They have brought sandwiches or
bread and cheese with them, for it
is hungry work; but the solace of to-
bacco is utterly denied them until
their tour of duty is ended.
The little heroic party picks Its gin-
gerly way through Its own entangle-
ments, crouching low, flattening Itsell
to the ground, availing Itself of every
depression, as the star shells flare
aloft and tho pitiless blue-white light
streams down. It may be that It ie
detected at once, and given twenty-sec
onds of a machine gun's closest at-
tention and In consequence ceases 19
exist as a living thing; but It may also
be that it escapes detection, and con-
tinues to wend its cunning way to-
wards the chosen shelter.
Once there, It has practically noth-
ing to do but to listen. Any sound
might mean anything; the faint noise
of a buzzer might indicate an order to
attack; the scraping of a knife on tin
might mean the preparing of a hand
grenade or merely that a hungry sol-
dier is snatching a mouthful of food.
A night on listening post Is one ol
the most eerie experiences a man can
have. The most anf&zing things hap-
pen; things that read like fables, but
which are true as gospel. It has be<-n
known moro than once for a German
sniper to stumble Into the post, with
the intention of taking up cover there,
and waiting throughout the following
day to tako unerring pot-shots at any-
thing which shows above the parapet
Now tho members of the post are
not allowed to fire a shot under any
circumstances, unless, of course, they
get mixed up with any sort of a real
attack, in which case they would do
tho best they could for themselves.
And so, since It Is their lives or the
sniper's, they deal with the Intruder
in a summary fashion.
Bits of earth crumble down from
the embankments near at hand, tha
sound bringing men's hearts to their
mouths, for It might mean the ap-
proach of an enemy.
There Is no prolonged peace in the
dead ground; and, knowing that listen-
ing posts are out, both sides make a
point of quartering the grounds with
spasmodic fire, that the posts might
be made as nervous as possible, and
so driven back to their trenches or
else rendered Incapable of further sat
Isfactory work that night.
Your only satisfaction lies In know-
ing that you are being watched by
your own scouts, who are lying nnder
cover not far away, with instruction®
to cover you with their fire In rasa
of need. You see, you must rot lira
yourself, no matter what the provoca-
tion might he, because to do so would
be to point out your position—with
tragic results to yourselves and to
those who come after you.
If you are discovered by an enemy
patrol of scouts nosing around in
search of game, you can do one thing,
or the other—either you can die as
you crouch or you can make a light
with the bayonet, and hope tl-at th®
patrol will hurry up In time, a re-
mote possibility under the circum-
stances.
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Burke, J. J. The Daily Transcript (Norman, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 192, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 4, 1916, newspaper, March 4, 1916; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc113164/m1/3/?q=led+zeppelin: accessed June 5, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.