340 RKPOKT <>F OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



tliroiiuh tlic wiiitrr iiioiitlis is almost 0(|Uii( to his orij^iiiiil cost; tlicre- 

 t'oii' Mr. Noal was autliorizocl to (lis})os(' of tliis Icaiii to best advaiitaj^c, 

 and to select a stroiij^er and heavier team, which liad not been injured 

 hy |)ackin«( on the trail, to take their place. Such a team has been 

 found and we have made arranj^ements to have it wintered at Valdez, 

 for the reason that liail woik l>e<;ins at that end, and we have still 

 some ecjuipment to haul in and it is imi)ossible to brinf( a sint^le team 

 fi'om C'oi)per Center to Valdez until the trail is broken. 



The writer left A'aldez on July 18 and arrived at Copper ('enter, 

 the name given to a few cal)ins located at the junction of the Klutina 

 with the Copper, on Jul}' IS, the trip taking- six days, which is aljout 

 the averaj^'e time. The stiition clearing- is located about three fourths 

 of a jnile north of Copper Center, on the first bench. (PI. VI, tijr. 1.) 



I consider the soil on the station too lij^fht and too thin to stand con- 

 tinuous croppino' for very man}' years, and for this reason I selected 

 a tract of land of a stronger nature, located about niidwa}^ between 

 Tonsina Bridge and Copixr Center, foi" possible future use. The lines 

 run east and west for 2 miles along the shores of an umiamed lake and 

 north and south for 1 mile, so that it comprises about 2 scpuirc miles. 

 A large portion of it has a gentle slopi; southward toward the shores 

 of the lake. The soil is a light but rich loam, and the subsoil is a 

 porous clay carrying considerable gravel, but will not })e likeh' to 

 suffer greatly from drought. I recommend that this selection ))e with- 

 held from settlement temporarily, initil the building of the railroad 

 shall decide where the permanent station had better l)e located. In 

 the meantime it would appear best to continue work at the present 

 location at Copper Center. There are many thousand acres of land of 

 similar character, and we ought to ascertain what its value is for agri- 

 cultural purposes. 



I recommend that the Avork of clearing. ])reaking, and l)ringing 

 under culture be pushed with vigor until the station has a hundred or 

 more acres mider plow, in order that we may test grain growing on a 

 scale which shall give us decisive results. To do this will necessitate 

 the hiring of much labor for a year or two, and it nuist not be for- 

 gotten that common labor costs $5 per day. 



I would not recommend the erection of njore buildings than are 

 a))solutely necessary, and these should ])c of an inexpensive character, 

 built from the material at hand. 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THE COPPER RIVER VA1.LEY. 



The present high cost for transportation of all of food supplies and 

 all other necessary articles makes living very expensive. As an exam- 

 ple of the cost of some common commodities I quote the following 

 prices: 



Flour, per 50-pound sack, $15; ham and bacon, per pound, -iO cents; 

 canned meats, per can of 2^ pounds, "^l; canned milk (Eagle), per can, 



