USDA National Agricultural Library This 21-minute video is a historical silent motion picture produced by the USDA in the 1920s. The film features footage of plant explorer David Fairchild and his expedition team (including P.H. Dorsett and James Dorsett) during a trip to the East Indies in 1925 and 1926. The film follows the explorers as they seek out tropical plants that could be grown in the United States and provide economic benefits, whether as food, ornamentals, or crossbreeding stock to improve species already grown there. Much of the film shows gardens, landscapes, and village scenes from the three islands visited by the explorers. In some scenes, native people demonstrate their uses of fruits, vegetables, and plant materials.
Agricultural Explorations in Ceylon, Sumatra and Java (1925-1926)
