S10-


 Introductions of the Twentieth

 Century



D AVID G. FAIRCHILD took charge of the Office of Foreign Seed
and Plant Introduction in 1897, and held that post, except for
tours of exploration, for twenty-seven years. Under his leader-
ship the Office set up an efficient system for disseminating plants,
and experts in different parts of the country were employed to
locate new plant materials. In 1902 Fairchild's division came
under the jurisdiction of the new Bureau of Plant Industry.
Three other divisions-the Arlington experimental fram, Congres-
sional seed distributions, and tea investigations-were established
at the same time.
 When the Bureau of Plant Industry was organized in 1900,
is was the first official agricultural organization of its kind
devoted exclusively to plant introduction. In addition to the four
branches listed above, there were divisions concerned with
physiology and pathology, botany, grass and forage plants, pom-
ology, and the experimental gardens and grounds. Under Beverly
T. Galloway, the Department's leading plant pathologist, more
than two hundred employees were engaged in plant work. The
Bureau had several gardens and farms at its disposal, and experi-
ment and field stations were established as they were needed for
plant experiments. The Arlington Farms and Potomac Flats were
located in Washington, D. C., and an eighty-acre garden at Chico,
California. The South Texas Garden, established at Brownsville
in 1907, contributed much to the development of the Winter
Garden district in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.
 THE SEARCH FOR NEW CROPS
 At the turn of the century, the Department of Agriculture
accelerated its search for new and better crop varieties. Secretary
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