74 



I have sown a small iniantity of barley each yeaf fm- the last tlu-ee years. 

 Last year wind ami i-aiii laid it to the fjround. hii( 1 cul the heads ami dried 

 them indoors and tried au'ain this year. The grain lapened nicel.v. 



Mrs. ./. (idi-itiiiii. \'(il(lc.:. Ahtsha. — Most of the nursery stock you sent me is 

 doing well. I have ten apple trees and one seedling whicli are 2") inches high. 

 Of the six currants one is 32 inches high, and four of the raspberries are grow- 

 ing rapidly. 



Beets (Detroit Dark Red) were a disappointment this year, as they went to 

 seed very early: but carrots (Early Scarlet Horn) grew to medium size. 

 Onions (Extra Early I>rown Spanish) were fit for table use early in August. 

 Broccoli (IMammoth White) was killed by late frosts, while cabbage (Early 

 Jersey Wakefield) wilted a little, but pulled through. White turnips I do 

 not plant, as they do not keep as well as the .vellow turnip. 



Sweet alyssum blooms early and more profusely than other annuals. 



G. 8. Clcvengcr, Copper Center, Alaska. — I sowed last spring G acres of oats, 

 of which 4 acres was on a flat about 20 feet above the Copper River. These 

 I put in with the drill and rolled the ground carefully afterwards. I cut about 

 24 tons of good oats hay from this piece. The oats were nearly ripe when I 

 cut them. I put in 2 acres on a high beach and l)roadcasted them and rolled 

 them after sowing. These were not worth cutting. This was wholly new 

 ground that had been burned over years ago, and the soil appeared, to be good. 

 Of the 4 acres first mentioned, 2 acres were new and the other 2 had been 

 plowed once before. The plowing was all done in the spring. 



I raised what might be termed a good garden. I had no potatoes to plant. 

 I raised peas, onions, carrots, parsnips, ruta-bagas, lettuce, radishes, and 

 cabbage. The growth was luxuriant. Some said it was the best garden they 

 had ever seen in Alaska. My garden plrtt is 50 by loo feet. I put ashes in 

 the furrows before dropping the seeds, and it certainly did work well. I noticed 

 on the field that wherever there had been a log pile burned there was a 

 luxuriant growth of grain. I found the same thing was true on the experi- 

 mental farm. I noted also the fact that the old land on United States experi- 

 mental farm did not produce well. All this has forced the conviction upon me 

 that the difficulty in raising crops here does not lie primarily In either the 

 drought or fi-ost, but in the fact that there is some element lacking in the soil. 

 I did !ii!t water my garden, and the growth was excellent. 



I ha\e my cow and a 2-jear-old heifer this winter. It is nearly two years 

 since the cow was fresh, and we have our milk and make butter suflicient for 

 the family. The cows will not be fresh until March. I think the smaller 

 cows, that give very rich milk and are easily kept, are the cows for this country. 

 It does not pay to raise beef here and will not for years. It. can be driven in 

 cheajjcr. P.utter and milk is what is absolutely needed. 



I brought tlirei> \\'yandotte hens and a rooster in with me. They have done 

 wt'U. The hens have been great layers. I raised a half dozen chickens. We 

 never had chickens do better. We can keep a dozen at little or no expense. 



.1. />. Hills. 8eirar(l, Alaska. — In compliance with your recjuest I herewith 

 hand you a rei)oi-t of my success with agricultural seeds furnished me by your 

 I)ei)artinent. 



I wish to note, in the first place, that the land on the 1st of January last was 

 covered with heavy timber and moss. .\s soon as the frost was out of the 

 ground I commenced grul>liing the I'oots out of the ground. I planted two rows 

 of peas 40 feet long, from which I gathered fully 2 bushels of jieas in the pod. 



I grew three croi)s of radishes on the same ground, and all were sound, 

 crisp, sweet, and tender. Lettuce never tasted better than that grown here. 



