The Palemon Howard Dorsett persimmon collection contains 200 photographs of persimmon fruits, trees, workers, and related views. The photographs were taken by Palemon Howard Dorsett on several plant exploration trips to Asia from 1924-1930. There are many handwritten legends and Chinese writing. Materials originated from USDA New Crops Research Branch Offices in Beltsville, Maryland. Some of the photographs may duplicate those found in the Dorsett-Morse Oriental Exploration Expedition Collection held in Special Collections. Besides photographs, there is a blueprint of the persimmon hot-water processing kiln for use in the treatment of Chinese persimmons in Peiping, China and the vicinity, 1930. Additionally, there is a typewritten document and notes on the establishment of the Chico, California, Testing and Propagating Garden in 1930. The collection includes the publication Where Persimmon was king: P.H. Dorsett's photographic tour around China 1924-1931 edited by William H. Preston.
