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H. D. Clark, Skagicay, Alaska. — I am glad to be able to report a better season 

 for myself and other Skagway agriculturists than last year. 



The report of my potato crop in the Daily Alaskan was not exaggerated. I 

 planted 3* aci'es of land to Early Ohio, White Ohio, Early Michigan, and 

 A'ermont Gold Coin potatoes. With the exception of the White Ohios our potato 

 crop was a better one than I have ever seen either here or in the States. I 

 have tried the White Ohio for three years in a small way, and I shall have 

 nothing more to do with them. While the original potato which I used for 

 seed was a very fine potato in every way, the potatoes raised from them have 

 never been satisfactory either in quality or quantity. The Early or lied Ohio 

 potato has been very satisfactory with us. I have raised it here for the past 

 six seasons and have always been able to begin marketing in July ; this season 

 I began July 10. The Early Michigan, while not as early a potato as the 

 Ohio, gives better satisfaction to the general market than the Early Ohio. I 

 have raised it for four seasons and consider it one of the best varieties for 

 this place. It is smooth skinned, white, mealy, and dry when cooked. Last 

 winter I purchased 210 pounds of Alaska-grown Gold Coin potatoes. They 

 planted a plat of ground measuring just 3G1 square rods. This fall the crop 

 dug from that plat lacked 40 pounds of being 4 tons, which is a yield of 576 

 bushels to the acre. The Gold Coin is a late potato, but it fully matures in this 

 climate. It is white, mealy, and very fine flavored. With us it is of good size, 

 no overgrown ones, and few small ones. The large yield results from there being 

 so many in a hill. Mr. Hogan, one of our neighbors, had on a small scale a 

 greater experience with Gold Coin than I. From five hills in his little garden 

 he raised 55 ix)unds. They were very large potatoes, and he pronounced them 

 of poor quality. The largest hill that we weighed in our patch weighed 7| 

 pounds. ■ Our other varieties of potatoes have always been somewhat affected 

 with blight, or stem rot, but we found the Gold Coin so far absolutely free 

 from it. From the 3J acres of different varieties of potatoes I raised a few 

 more than 1,000 bushels. 



We set out about 3i acres of cal»bages. The cabbage maggot damaged them 

 to such an extent that we got very unsatisfactory returns. When I found the 

 maggot was so bad we cleaned the soil away from the stem and applied 

 air-slaked lime. While it checked them somewhat, it was not a satisfactory 

 remedy. This same maggot ruined all our outdoor radishes and turnips. 



I raised about a fourth of an acre of carrots, which were of fine quality, 

 very large, and the yield was enormous. 



I did not pay much attention to celery this year, but there was some very 

 fine raised in Skagway this year. Our neighbor. Mr. Wildt. raised a patch of 

 the finest celery I have ever seen. 



We set out the nursery stock which we received from you last spring and gave 

 it the best of care, but find that only a part of it has grown or is alive this 

 fall. The live plants consist now of 2 apple. 2 cherry, 2 currant, and 1 rasp- 

 berry. What the story will be next spring time will tell. 



We have been experimenting with tame currants and red raspberries for the 

 past few years and find that they do well. We set out 300 of the Cuthbert 

 raspberries last August and expect to set out several other varieties next 

 spring. 



I can not close without speaking of the great crop of wild berries which grew 

 on the hills and in the valley around Skagway this year. First in season came 

 the currants, then the red ras])berry, then blueberries (or huckleberries) and 

 the high-bush cranberry. There were bushels of these berries picked, and bush- 

 els of them went to waste. The cranberries are largely used in making catsup, 



