356 ANNUAL EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



bulletin on " Reindeer in Alaska." fully illiistratetl and containing- 

 information on practically ever}' phase of the reindeer industry, was 

 prepared during the year. This will be the first report of its kind 

 ever published and should be of much practical use to those now in 

 the reindeer business, as well as to those contemplating engaging in it. 

 The coming year should show still greater progress and develop- 

 ment of practical results from the reindeer investigations. Experi- 

 ments along the lines of feeding and handling will be conducted ta 

 learn the practicability of using reindeer as draft animals through 

 the use of a more substantial diet than reindeer moss and other native 

 forage, which they now must seek after a day of hard work. 



GRAZING ALLOTMENTS. 



The urgent need for expert study of <he Alaskan reindeer and 

 their herd management, to encourage the development of the busi- 

 ness of raising these animals as a successful industry, is fully appre- 

 ciated bj^ the white herd owners, and they are showing keen interest 

 in the work being done by the Biological Survey. Only about one- 

 third of the reindeer are owned by whites, and the remainder mainly 

 by the Eskimos. Now that the preliminary study of diseases and 

 parasites and their control is completed, the working out of grazing- 

 allotment areas is of immediate importance, and this is being done 

 by three grazing experts with the use of an auxiliary power schooner 

 belonging to the bureau. Among other investigations bureau ex- 

 perts are making quadrat studies of forage production and -of the 

 renewal of reindeer moss under varying conditions up to seriously 

 overgrazed areas. A bill authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture 

 to issue grazing permits has been introduced in the Senate, and the 

 authority it contains is vitally needed for the development of the 

 reindeer industrj' in the Territory. 



HERD MANAGEMENT. 



Demonstrations of improved methods of handling herds and indi- 

 vidual animals have been given at various places, and in a number 

 of instances these have been followed by the herd owners with ac- 

 knowledged benefit. Such practical field demonstrations will be 

 needed over a great area in order to impress the minds of both Eskimo 

 and white owners. The industry is new, and crude methods of herd 

 management are still almost universal. 



REINDEER FROM NORWAY. 



In March 60 reindeer arrived at the (government quarantine sta- 

 tion at x\thenia. N. J. — 40 females and 20 males — which the Depart- 

 ment of Conservation of Michigan had imported from Norway to be 

 turned loose in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 

 An inspection of these animals by the bureau's chief reindeer expert 

 from Alaska disclosed the fact that the Norway reindeer vvere much 

 smaller than the average Alaskan animal, and also that their color 

 was much paler. The experiment of the Michigan authorities will 

 be watched with interest, because of the differing character of the 

 snowfall and forage in the new habitat, particularly in vicAv of tlie 

 relative scarcity of the lichens and other food similar to that on 

 which the animals were accustomed to feed. 



