CIV REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE. 



region will furnish abundant forage for goats. The work at Kenai 

 will be continued and similar operations will be carried on at Rampart 

 and Wood Island and in the Copper River region. 



It is hoped to complete the headquarters building at Sitka during 

 the present year. The cost of this work will be about $2,000. As 

 soon as possible a small herd of cattle should be placed at the Kenai 

 station and experimental work in animal husbandry begun. This 

 would involve the building of a barn there and the employment of 

 additional laborers. The station at Sitka should have an equipment 

 of chemical apparatus sufficient for simple chemical work. 



As long as the income of the stations is on the present basis it will 

 not be possible to do more than maintain the stations at Sitka and 

 Kenai and do a verj^ limited amount of work at one or two places in 

 the interior. 



Hawaii Experiment Station. 



A large amount of work has been done at the Hawaii experiment 

 station during the past yeav in clearing and preparing for cultivation 

 portions of the tract reserved for the station and establishing planta- 

 tions of fruit and other valuable trees and experimental plats. The 

 buildings begun the previous 3^ear were completed, and the station now 

 possesses a residence for the special agent in charge, an office and 

 laboratory, stable, cottages for laborers, water tanks, etc. 



Experiments have been begun with potatoes and taro to overcome 

 the very destructive diseases which seem to threaten the extinction of 

 these crops. Taro forms the principal food of the Hawaiians, and the 

 ravages of the blight have so curtailed the supply that there has been 

 actual suffering in some places because of the shortage. At present 

 the experiments are being confined to the lowland taro, and an effort 

 is being made to find some remedy for the disease that attacks the 

 root. Dry-land taro does not appear to be as susceptible to disease, but 

 it will be studied also. It was found in many cases that immature and 

 diseased cuttings were used for planting. The lowland form of taro 

 requires extensive irrigation, and in practice the land is kept flooded 

 for a considerable time. Wherever the water was allowed to become 

 stagnant it was found that the root rot was most prevalent. By the 

 use of fertilizers it was found possible to actively stimulate the growth 

 of the plant and make it less liable to disease. Wherever a liberal 

 application of lime was made there was no disease, and with care in 

 the management of the water, selection of cuttings, rotation of crops, 

 use of lime and fertilizers it was found possible to not only reduce 

 the disease, but to considerably increase the production of the crop. 



The experiments with potatoes were conducted upon the island of 

 Maui in cooperation with one of the residents of that island. This 

 island formerly produced the most of the potatoes grown m the archi- 



