OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 749 



readily obtain for themselves on account of their isolation. It is 

 desired to make i:>roper acknowledgment here for this aid. 



The administrative work in connection with the insular stations has 

 increased greatly within the past few years, and the increased 

 purchases made for the stations have required considerable corre- 

 spondence and attention. As previously mentioned, this work is in 

 charge of Dr. Walter H. Evans. The duties of the accountant of 

 this Office in connection with the fiscal affairs of the temporary dis- 

 bursing officers have increased steadily with the increase in the 

 appropriations and the expansion of the work at the stations. All 

 accounts of the disbursing officers are subject to a careful preliminary 

 audit before they are approved by this Office. The ver}' satisfactory 

 manner in which these accounts have been handled has received hearty 

 commendation. 



As a matter of policy the reports and bulletins of the stations are 

 all referred to this Office before their publication is authorized, and 

 the final preparation of them for printing has taken much time, as 

 it is desired to have them as accurate and concise as possible. Con- 

 gress at its last session struck out the provision that was held to re- 

 quire the printing in Hawaii and Porto Rico of the reports and bul- 

 letins of those stations. It is believed that it will not only be a matter 

 of economy to have them printed here, but they can be gotten out 

 more promptly and in more attractive shape than if printed by the 

 stations. 



During the past fiscal year the appropriation for the Alaska, 

 Hawaii, and Porto Rico stations was $-28,000 each, and for Guam, 

 $15,000. These sums were supplemented by sales and other funds 

 which were available for maintenance, as follows: Alaska, $1,802.80; 

 Hawaii, $389.29; Porto Rico, $5,814.93; and Guam, $G. 



ALASKA STATIONS. 



The only changes in the personnel of the Alaska stations during 

 the past fiscal year were the appointment of Mr. A. J. Wilkus to suc- 

 ceed Mr. R. W. De Armond, who resigned after seven years' con- 

 nection with the Sitka Station, and the resignation of Mr. Ilerman G. 

 Zoellner, who left the station after a brief stay. Mr. Wilkus is a 

 graduate of the Minnesota Agricultural College, and he had had 

 c()usi(h'rable experience in horticulture with a commercial concern 

 prior to his appointment. At Sitka he will be largely engaged on 

 horticultural investigations. 



The plans outlined in former reports have been strictly adhered 

 to, and results from the plant-breoding experiments are beginning to 

 be secured. The main lines of work of the Alaska stations are grain 

 breeding for the development of early maturing varieties; the breed- 

 ing of hortictdtural plants, particularly borrios and fruits, which are 

 suited to the Alaska climate: cattle and sheep breeding: and the grow- 

 ing of general farm crops with a view to demonstrating whether or 

 not an average farmer who locates in Alaska can make agriculture 

 a success. 



Each of the above lines of work is carried on at a separate station. 

 The cereal breeding, testing of varieties of grain, methods of culture, 

 and introduction of new varieties of grains and forage crops are 

 carried on at the Rampart Station, located in the Yukon Valley in 



