81 



ports for IJX).") aro tho reverse. Tlie season was favorable in fhe coast 

 region, Avhile the results in the interior were not satisfactory, owing 

 to more than the average amount of cohl and wet weather. 



Special attention is called to the following valuable report from 

 Judge Howard, of Coldfoot. That vegetable growing can be made a 

 success 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle is a fact which will interest 

 all who are friends of Alaska. The further fact that potatoes have a 

 market value of 80 cents per pound will suggest the possibility that a 

 market garden might pay better than a fairly good gold mine. The 

 l^rice also gives a hint of the economic conditions which exist, and, 

 inferentially, the need of roads and transportation facilities. 



Frank E. Hoicanl, IJtiited Statcfi coiiit)iissi(»icr. CoUIfoot, Alaska. — lu vv]>\y 

 to your request tluit I report results of my efforts at .iiardeuiutc iu this sintioe. 

 of Alaska durinj; 1!K)4, I suhuiit the follonins: 



Coldfoot is situated near the head of the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk Itiver, 

 G7° 20' north and l.-)0° '20' west, about GO miles above tho Arctic Circle. 



In the spring several small .gardens were planted in Coldfoot and on the ad- 

 .iiicent creeks from seed sent me from your Department. I'.ut T shall report the 

 results from U)y jiiO'den only and the prolific crop of the one that was planted 

 by our deputy marshal, .7. II. Johnson. 



The sunnner of 1904 was the third jilantint: of my patch Xo. 1. 'i'lie soil 

 has proven not as prolific as my other patehes, owinj? to its being clayey and 

 retaining the cold. It is slow to thaw in the si)ring. and when I spade it up 

 about May 1 the shovel touches frozen ground at a depth of from to 8 

 inches. ^Yhen I first eleared this patch it was covered with a foot of moss. 

 and my experience leads me to the conclusion that uioss-covered ground, for 

 some years at least, is decidedly unfavorable to garden growths. At least 

 ground that was not covered with moss produced far better results. For three 

 seasons patch No. 1 has produced a fair crop of turnips, with an increase of 

 worms each year that did some damage. The turnips planted were Purple- 

 Top Strap-Leaf, and White Milan. Yellow Goldenball turnips did fairly well, 

 and I think in more favorable ground would produce excellent results. They 

 are the best turnips for winter storage. Ruta-bagas were a failure. Lettuce 

 (Boston Market) did fairly well. Radishes were destroyed by the worms. 

 On May 12 I transplanted cabbages (Early York) when the plants were 2 to 3 

 inches high. As a protection from freezing nights, occurring at intervals up to 

 June 1, I covered the plants with white-glass beer bottles, first cutting off the 

 bottoms and necks. In such jackets the plants flourished well, and by June 10 

 bad grown to such size as to fill the bottles, when I uncovered them. Most of 

 these plants headed to about the size of a cocoanut, many of them being quite 

 solid. I harvested my crop the first week in September, and have cabbages for 

 all winter and a keg of fine sauerkraut. 



My experience during two seasons with patch No. 1 led me to believe that 

 garden stuff would grow here with some degree of luxuriance in more favorable 

 ground. I therefore selected a patch almost free from the usual heavy covering 

 of moss, cleared it in the first week in May, spaded it the third week, and 

 ])lanted lettuce, radishes, peas, beets, ruta-bagas, and turnips the last week. 

 About June 1 I transplanted a bed of kale when plants were 2 inches high. 



Lettuce (Boston Market) I planted in two remote beds. One bed was a com- 

 plete failure, but the other one produced abundantly in large and exceedingly 

 fine heads, tender and sweet. Such a contrast in the growths from the same 



