STATES RELATIONS SERVICE. 3G1 



- The stations continued to enjoy tlie cooperation of the various bu- 

 reaus and divisions of the department, and their "work "was greatly 

 assisted in this way. Hearty acknowledgment is made for the aid 

 thus received. 



The administrative and financial review of the affairs of the sta- 

 tions in connection with the States Relations Service continued, as 

 formerl}', under the supervision of Walter H. Evans and the ac- 

 counting office of the service. 



ALASKA STATIONS. 



The Alaska stations continued in direct charge of C. C. Georgeson. 

 Stations were maintained at Sitka, Kodiak, Rampart, Fairbanks, and 

 Matanuska. The headquarters is at Sitka. 



At Ramj^art, practically every variety of spring grain sown in 

 1918 ripened. Of 76 varieties of spring grain that matured, more 

 than half were hybrids that had been produced at the station. Many 

 of these seem to have become fixed in character and they are being 

 propagated for wide distribution throughout the Territory. 



At Fairbanks the yields were less than in some years, but barley 

 yielded 30 bushels per acre a.nd oats 48 to 50 bushels per acre when 

 sown on a field scale. An especial effort is being made to increase the 

 stock of some spring wheats for distribution for seed purposes. 

 These grains were received from the experiment station at Tulun, 

 Siberia, and have proved well adapted to Alaskan conditions. About 

 65 bushels were distributed in 1918 to be grown for seed purposes, and 

 it was estimated that more than 500 acres of wheat would be sown in 

 the Tanana Valley in the spring of 1919. The station at Fairbanks 

 made milling tests of the various grains, and samples of whole wheat 

 flour produced by the station were given a baking test by the Bureau 

 of Chemistry of this department, which showed the flour to be of 

 high grade. The report on the test states : " This flour makes a very 

 good loaf of bread; in fact, it is one of the best whole wheat or 

 graham flour breads we have had occasion to make." 



At the Matanuska station, most of the work is still of a pioneer 

 nature, but quite a little was done with various crops during the 

 year. Cereals sown for grain hay matured, and there was a large 

 production of potatoes of good quality. An attempt was made to 

 grow sugar beets in a small way and analyses of roots sent to this 

 department showed an average sugar content of 15.9 per cent. Ex- 

 periments to determine the possibility of growing sugar beets for 

 seed were undertaken. 



At the Kodiak station, the Avork with sheep and cattle progressed 

 favorably. The herd of cattle was tested for tuberculosis for the 

 fourth time and no new reactors were found. Of the calves dropped 

 by reacting mothers but reared on pasteurized milk, only one out of 

 eleven showed any suspicious symptoms when tested for tuberculosis. 



In an effort to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle, cooperatiA^e work 

 Avas carried on with the Territory in testing cattle in all the more 

 accessible localities, the legislature having made an appropriation 

 for that purpose. 



The extension Avork begun as a Avar emergency project was con- 

 tinued and considerably expanded. Large quantities of seed and 

 151352°— 10^— 24 



