Federal Promotion of Crops


placed in unsuitable locations. At Macao, Morrow ordered four-
teen cases constructed for his plants, and those put in jars soon
improved.
 When glasses in the cases were found broken, more plants were
secured in Java. Sugar canes obtained there by the Lexington
were stowed in glass cases. Many of these plants were brought
through safely, and in 1855 Congress appropriated $1,500 for the
erection of a suitable house for the Japanese plants. Four plants
each, of several kinds of persimmons, tangerines, kumquats, roses,
and ornamentals were brought back. Tobacco and cotton seeds
from the island of Mauritius were forwarded to the Patent Office.
The ship Plymouth arrived at Norfolk in January, 1855, with four
boxes of sugar cane seedlings of Salingore and Mauritius and three
barrels of the best wheat of Cape Town.
 THE WATER WITCH
 About the same time that Perry was in Japan, Lieutenants
Page and Donaldson abroad the Water Witch engaged in a recon-
naissance of the Paraguay River. They collected seeds and botani-
cal specimens which they forwarded to the Patent Office. Among
these seeds was the math, or Paraguay Tea-the familiar beverage
of the Paraguay River region.
 Another expedition contemporary with these voyages was the
John Rogers Surveying Expedition to the North Pacific Ocean.
Charles Wright, botanist of the expedition, collected many seeds
which he sent to the Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Insti-
tute at Washington. Wright, however, was primarily interested in
collecting botanical specimens, and there is no record of any
significant plant introduction resulting from either of these expe-
ditions.
 JOURNEY OF THE RELEASE
 In an attempt to secure viable sugar cane cuttings, the Patent
Office sent the Naval barque Release to South America in 1856.
Previous attempts to collect the cuttings in the East Indies had
not been successful because most of the cargo died during the
long trip home. The expedition was given an appropriation of
$10,000 and relieved of regular naval assignments in order to
hasten the return of the cuttings. The Patent Office hoped that
this importation and another from China would completely change