218 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and collef^e-extension directors engaged in agricultural instruction 

 work. During this period the foundation of a permanent system of 

 farmers' institutes has been laid and direction given to the conduct 

 of the work throughout the country. 



INSULAR STATIONS. 



Agricultural experiment stations were established under the super- 

 vision of the Office of Experiment Stations in Alaska in 1898, in 

 Hawaii and Porto Rico in 1901, and in Guam in 1908, preliminary 

 surveys having shown the apparent necessity of such investigational 

 institutions in the different regions. The policy adopted at the be- 

 ginning and maintained ever since was to determine and develop the 

 agricultural possibilities of Alaska, to diversify the agriculture of 

 Hawaii and Porto Rico, and to restore that of Guam to its former 

 importance. 



ALASKA. 



In Alaska, on account of the size of the country and the diversity 

 of conditions, stations have been established at various points along 

 the coast and in the interior valleys. The principal lines of work 

 have been agriculture, horticulture, and stock raising. At Sitka, 

 where headquarters are maintained, horticulture has been given 

 prominence, and not only have varieties of garden vegetables been 

 found adapted to that region but bush fruits have been introduced 

 and are flourishing, apples and cherries have been matured, and 

 hybrid strawberries produced that excel in hardiness and quality 

 any cultivated varieties that have been tested. 



In the interior valleys, at Rampart and Fairbanks, grain farming 

 is being especially studied. A majority of the varieties of barley 

 and oats have ripened every year at Rampart since the station was 

 established in 1900, and some varieties of wheat and rye have likewise 

 matured. Last year practically all varieties of cereals ripened. 

 Some hybrid barleys have been produced that for earliness excel 

 anj^ of the introduced ones. Siberian alfalfas have been successfully 

 introduced and have withstood the winter climate for two years. At 

 Fairbanks similar results have been secured, and these two stations 

 represent a large area of land whose agricultural possibilities are by 

 no means unimportant. Potato growing has been given attention at 

 all the stations, and at Fairbanks field yields of over 200 bushels per 

 acre were secured in 1911. 



At the station on Kodiak Island attention has been given for about 

 six years to stock raising, and Galloway cattle have been found per- 

 fectly adapted to the country, a herd of nearly a hundred head hav- 

 ing been maintained almost exclusively on pasture, silage, and hay 

 made from native grasses. 



