OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 697 



With the development of the stations the administrative work of 

 this office continues to increase. The purchasing of materials, edit- 

 ing and publishing the bulletins and reports, correspondence, and 

 other matters relating to the stations, require considerable time and 

 attention. This work, as heretofore, was in charge of Dr. Walter H. 

 Evans. All the fiscal affairs of the temporary disbursing agents in 

 their relations with the Government are reviewed by the accountant 

 of this office, and the satisfactory manner in which the accounts are 

 handled has received hearty commendation. 



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 and for the extension of the 

 work as follows : Alaska, $3,807.86 ; Hawaii, $18,494.47 ; Porto Rico, 

 $2,382.81 ; and Guam, $35.74. 



ALASKA STATIONS. 



The work at the agricultural experiment stations in Alaska has 

 been carried out during the past year in accordance with the plans 

 outlined in former reports. At Sitka horticultural and plant-breed- 

 ing work are given prominence. At Rampart the principal work is 

 in testing and breeding varieties of grain and in experiments with 

 potatoes and hardy leguminous plants. Farming on a commercial 

 scale as it must be practiced by settlers is carried on at Fairbanks, 

 and at Kodiak breeding and care of live stock are the principal 

 investigations. For the present this work is confined to cattle and 

 sheep. 



The work with hybrid strawberries at Sitka has been continued 

 with marked success. Of the earlier hybrids produced by crossing 

 the native strawberry of the coast region with a cultivated variety, 

 nearly 200 have shown such valuable characters that they are being 

 propagated and tested to determine their true value. About 35 

 varieties have already produced berries that exceed in size and flavor 

 any of the cultivated ones found in the local markets. Continued 

 efforts have been made to produce additional hybrids, and about 

 2,000 hybrid seedlings are now being grown at the station. These 

 should begin to bear in two years and give some indication as to their 

 value. In like manner the f^tudy of the crosses between the salmon 

 berry and the cultivated raspberry is being continued. Thus far 

 the hybrids have proved very shy bearers, and little judgment can 

 be made as to their value. The station is continuing to propagate 

 and distribute for trial a large number of fruit trees and bushes and 

 some ornamental plants. These are furnished to settlers upon re- 

 quest, as far as the supplies will admit, and some are sent to the 

 other stations, where the facilities for propagation are not as com- 

 plete as at the main station. 



Comparative tests of about GO varieties of potatoes and of many 

 varieties of cabbage, cauliflower, and other vegetables are being con- 

 tinued at the Sitka Station to determine which varieties are best 

 adapted to the climatic conditions of the coast region. 



At the Rampart Station uniformly successful efforts in growing 

 barley and oats have been made, but with rye and wheat less favor- 

 able results have been secured. The normal growing season at this 

 place is about 110 days, and in 1910 the maximum temperature was 



