II 



very wet and cokl. not ni(»ro than six snnny days in all. But T have small 

 cabbages, turnips, kale. si)inaoli. mustard, radishes. l»>ttU(e, parsley, and beets. 

 r.eets and onions are both very small. Parsnips and carrots were a failure, 

 but everything else is doing well. Teas and beans were too late in coming to 

 plant this year. 



As for my Howers. I have a bank of double poppies of all colors 4 feet wide 

 and 11 feet long growing from one package of seed. Nasturtiums did wt'll. 

 growing 4 feet high: i)lenty of blossoms came out. l>ut an early frost killed 

 them. Sweet peas are budded, but I am afraid they will not bloom. All the 

 tlowers were grown in new ground, .a mixture of loam and beach gravel with 

 very little manure. 



I tried two kinds of radishes. The Early French Breakfast was the best, 

 maturing in twenty-nine days in a light sandy soil. I tried one bed with 

 manure, but they ran to lops. 'iMi(> long radish did not do so well ; it was six 

 weeks before it was ready for the table and then it was tough. Turnips. I'ur- 

 ple-Top Strap-Leaf, has been the best. I burnt over the chi]> yard in the spring, 

 turned the ground, put in a little manure, and sowed the seeds broadcast. We 

 thinned them well, using the tops for greens, and they have done much better 

 than those in the garden. I asked for a quantity of seeds, as we have about 

 fifty natives here during the summer. They are all very nuich interested in the 

 garden. I gave seeds to three of the younger men. and they all have fair gai*- 

 dens. Next year, with the experience of this, 1 think they will do well enough 

 to have something to sell. They are an industrious, good, capable people, and 

 I think once started would do very well with gardens here, as there is a demand 

 for all kinds of garden stuff .and high prices paid for it. 



One boy brought me a nasturtium blossom as large as the top of a tumbler, 

 and having eight petals instead of five. I had told him about using the offal 

 of the squirrels and the bones— of which they had a good deal after the spring 



eatch as fertilizer ; so when he planted his flower seed he put two seeds inside 



of a dead squirrel and planted it. They were longer in coming up than the 

 others, but I think all the blossoms are double, like the one he brought. 



1 think it would be very easy to raise strawberries, as there is plenty of good 

 sandy soil. Last year I sent out for some plants, but they came in after the 

 boats had stopped running between Golovin and Nome. They were a long 

 time reaching me, but we packed them in sand and stored them in the cellar 

 till spring. I saved only a few plants, but they have done well, although it 

 is too cold for the berries to ripen. The native red currant pays well for trans- 

 planting ; it yields double the next year. 



I also have good results from bulbs, and we have plenty of flowers in the house 

 all winter. Pansies do the best of anything. I have some plants that are 3 

 years old, and one has borne over 300 blossoms this year. I cut them down 

 every fall, put them in the cellar till April, and set them out in the garden 

 as soon as it is warm enough. I hope you will be able to let me have plenty of 

 seeds, for home use as well as for distribution, as early as possible. 



Vegetables grown at Council City, Alaska, during the summer of 1903 are 

 shown in Plate YIII. 



Corresi)oti(letit, Holy Cross Mission, Alaska. — Last year I told you that our 

 crops were not as satisfactory as usual, and this year I can say so Avith greater 

 reason, owing to our very short and cold season. 



We had very cold weather and rain most of the time till the middle of July ; 

 then a few warm days and sunshine, followed by dark, cold weather again. 

 Hard frost in the beginning of September put an end to all grow^th ; still we 

 left our crops out till September 13. We were expecting a few days of sun- 



