OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 187 



ments and make definite observations regarding the agricultural 

 possibilities. 



O^Ying to the lateness with which funds for this work became avail- 

 able, Professor Georgeson and Mr. Jones were not able to make suit- 

 able arrangements for going up the Yukon from its mouth the pres- 

 ent season. They therefore left Skagway on June 27 and crossed the 

 mountains to Bennett and Whitehorse and reached Dawson on July 

 3. Under date of Julj^ 4, 1900, Prof essor Georgeson writes from Daw- 

 son as follows : 



I am very favorably impressed with the agricultural possibilities of the country 

 as far as I have seen them. While tbe banks of the river are generally hilly and 

 in places mountainous, there are also large areas of excellent agricultural land. 

 And best proof of all, they have here in the rooms of the chamber of commerce 

 very fine samples of wheat, barley, and oats which were raised here at Dawson 

 last year. The grain is plump and fully matured. As soon as we pass the coast 

 range, the glaciers and snow entirely disappear. I have not discovered a speck of 

 snow even on the highest mountains in sight. Along the river the native vegeta- 

 tion seems vigorous, and in many places the s'.opes are covered with a profusion of 

 flowers. Here at Dawson are three successful market gardens, and the town is 

 well supplied with earl)' vegetables, especially lettuce and radishes. It gets occa- 

 sionally uncomfortably hot here. They tell me that the mercury has been up to 

 96 F. twice already this summer. 



Under date of July 14 Professor Georgeson writes that his party 

 visited Eagle, Circle, and Fort Yukon. At Fort Yukon a tract of land 

 for experimental j)urposes was surveyed and arrangements were made 

 to have a small area cleared for seeding next spring. Professor George- 

 son is of the oj)inion that the summer temjjerature there is sufficient 

 to grow crops that will mature in three months. He reports that at the 

 time of his visit he failed to find any frost in the ground which was 

 open to the sun. There may, however, be difficulty in gromng crops 

 there on account of the scanty rainfall. The agent of the transpor- 

 tation comjjany located at that place maintains a small garden. 



The considerations which led Professor Georgeson to undertake 

 experiments there he states as follows: 



There are thousands of square nuiles of level land in this region; there are no 

 mountains in sight m any direction, and the climate is therefore not changeable 

 and the summers are uniformly warm. It is north of the Arctic Circle, and pre- 

 sumably what will succeed here will also succeed farther south. The soil is nat- 

 urally warm and favorable to rapid growth and early maturity. 



At Eagle "one bona fide farmer" was supplied with seeds of dif- 

 ferent varieties with which to make experiments next year. It is 

 probable that arrangements will also be made for experiments at 

 Circle and at Rampart. In later communications Professor Georgeson 

 reports that a tract of land was surveyed at Rampart and arrange- 

 ments made for cooperative experiments at Holy Cross Mission near 

 Koserefski. The site selected at Rampart is believed to be the most 

 favorable location for a station in that region, and clearings are to be 

 made there in time for seeding next spring. Haymaking upon a con- 

 siderable scale is reported upon the Tanana River, where there are 

 said to be extensive natural meadows that admit of the use of mow- 

 ing machines. Numerous small gardens were observed at various 

 points along the Yukon River, and everj^where success seemed to have 

 attended the efforts to grow hardy vegetables. 



At Sitka, besides the land cleared on the reservation, the station 

 has the use this year of seven lots, one of which was assigned to us 

 by the Navy Department and the others by private parties. Experi- 

 ments are being made with varieties of grain, as follows: Wheat, 12; 



