ALASKA KXl'EKIMKNT STATIONS. 369 



AVliat txperiiiifiitM \\f liav*' iiukIl' witli praspcs liave been with tiiiiotliy aiiil7>V<(///»5 

 iiiennis. Tlie hitter doe^i Ite.^^t on tlry lands. We have sown tiimithy seed with oata, 

 on May 1, and liarvested Anfjust 5 as good a crop as can he raised in ahnost any 

 country, the timothy standinji froni 24 to 31) inches in height, with longer and 

 heavier hea<l.s tlian the average crop growth in the States. We have never seen 

 sudi a growth from timothy see<l in any other place, and we know that it will 

 sonnd like a fairy tale to many, if not all, eastern farmers, lint when one takes 

 into consideration the twenty-hour sunlight in every twenty-four hours of the day — 

 June has twenty-one hours' sun every <lay from the l')th to the 25th — and compares 

 the sunlight the farmei's in the Kast get, one can readily see almost a double growth 

 in the same growing months. We have grown 10 tons of oat hay from 3 acres of 

 land. We have only IS acres under i>l()w, and aliout half of this we seetl to oats for 

 hay, the balance to winter-keeping vegetables. We have also large native hay 

 marshes, but the <lemand ff>r native hay is almost a thing of the past. The growth 

 of native grasses is something marvelous, and we use it on the ranch extensively. 



Last year we harvested 11 tons of line Early Rose potatoes from 2 acres of land, 

 iligging them Septemlier lU to 15. 



Our mo.st troublesome plant has been the cabbage. We found that early plant- 

 ing gave the poorest results, and from experiments along the line deduce the follow- 

 ing: The cabbage plant grows so fast during IVIay au<l June that the leaves become 

 so large and heavy that when the folding season begins they are too overgrown to 

 lift and fold without assistance, consequently can not make solid heads. As a result 

 from experimenting with this plant, we drill the seed like other vegetables in the 

 lield -this year May Ifi. Last season we had all our liox cabljage plants that had 

 been transplanted to the tield killed by a frost on June 5>. They were of a good size, 

 about 3 inches high, and were frozen into the ground. Alongside was cabbage from 

 seed sown a month later, in the field, "none of which were touched by the frost. 

 Acclimated during growth, the\' made fine heads, some of them bursting they were 

 so solid. The l.ouse-raiseil plants were a failure. From this experience we have 

 abandoned all transplanting, confining our efforts to the method outlined. 



Small ganh-n truck, such as lettuce, radishes, peas, and onions from seeds grow 

 readily with little care and attain a larger size in the same growing time than we 

 have ever seen elsewhere. We have grown ruta-bagas that weighed 20 pcninds, turnips 

 15 poun<ls, winter radishes 6 poumls, and potatoes 1 J pounds each, all within 90 days 

 of drilling the seed. Beets and carrots do the very best with us, and are among the 

 best sellers on the market. We attribute this wonderful growth to the extra sun- 

 light. We do not claim that all the valleys in the Yukon Territory will give the 

 results we have mentioned above, for our observations in moving about the Territory 

 have bt'en that three-fourths of the soil in the Yukon Valley carries too nmch gravel 

 to grow anything in the form of n^ots, as there is no subsoil to retain moisture. Then, 

 again, much of the soil in this section of the Territory is too wet and cold. Further, 

 the latt' July and August frosts along the Yukon River and its tributaries are much 

 heavit-r ami much carlifr than at some <listance l»ack. For example, at F"ort Selkirk, 

 only 2 miles distant from our ranch, tln-y had heavy frosts two weeks earlier than 

 we had in August, 1902. Our first frost came August 21. 



We are clearing hay laiuls this season and seeding to timothy, which seems to be 

 the b«'st gra.<s for bottom lands which are not too wet. To be inside the limit, we 

 will say that oat hay yieMs 2^ tons per acre, and net.s us from 5 to ti cents j>er jjound; 

 ruta-bagas, 6 tons jter acre, and about 6 cents per pound or more; p«jtatoes, 5 tons per 

 acre, and nets 10 to 15 cents a pound, if held over for spring market. Carrots and 

 b<'ets, at least 3 tons per acre, and we g»'t from 15 to IS cents a pound for thi'iii. 

 Cabbage varies in yield and nets 15 to 20 cents per pound, and the demand is usually 



8. Doc. 148, 58-2 24 



