446 ANNUAL, REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Word has been received that the rabbits have now been exter- 

 minated on Laysan, although before the arrival of the expedition 

 they had almost completely destroyed the vegetation. Plants and 

 seeds were subsequently obtained in Honolulu and planted on Lay- 

 san, where undoubtedly vegetation of a more varied character than 

 heretofore will flourish. One of the interesting results already 

 reported is the finding about this and other islands of considerable 

 numbers of the little-known Hawaiian seal. 



ALASKA INVESTIGATIONS. 



REINDEER. 



At the beginning of the bureau's reindeer investigations, in 1920^ 

 the reindeer experiment station was established at Unalakleet, on the 

 shore of Norton Sound. By July 1, 1922, the work had developed 

 to a point that made it advantageous to move the station to Nome^ 

 where there is a more suitable building, with a barn and corral for 

 conducting experiments. 



FEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 



In order to conduct feeding experiments, in the fall of 1922 seven 

 reindeer — four adults and three fawns — were procured from a Gov- 

 ernment herd located 25 miles from Nome and brought to the experi- 

 ment station. Until the animals became accustomed to their new 

 quarters they were fed reindeer moss. Later moss was mixed with 

 other feed, and finally eliminated altogether. Only about 15 days 

 were required to wean fawns completely from the use of moss, but 

 it took much longer for the adults. The feeding experiment proved 

 very successful and was one step toward demonstrating the possi- 

 bility of utilizing reindeer far more extensively in travel and winter 

 transportation than is now being done. Further experiments will be 

 conducted to determine the quantity of forage necessary each day for 

 a sled animal traveling long distances. As carrying space on sleds 

 is at a premium on long trips, the weight and bulk of food necessary 

 to be taken along for sled animals is of prime importance. 



GENEEAL OBSERVATION WORK. 



The bureau's auxiliary power schooner Hazel, used for reindeer 

 investigational work on the Bering and Arctic coasts, traveled a total 

 of 3,573 miles during July, August, and September, proceeding south 

 to the town of Bethel, on the lower Kuskokwim River, and north to 

 Kotzebue Sound. These cruises were made for the purpose of inves- 

 tigating the condition of the herds and for studying the herds and 

 methods of herd management. At the same time educational work 

 was undertaken with the herd owners for the purpose of introducing 

 improved management, which is already showing results, especially 

 in methods of castration, in branding, and in the handling of herds 

 on the range. Collections made of forage plants and the studies of 

 their abundance and distribution supply invaluable information 

 necessary for the wise allotment of grazing areas to herd owners 

 when such allotments are authorized by law. 



