85 



Correxixnulciit, llohj CroKs Misxioii. Alanha. — Last year's crop (1004) was 

 about one-fourth loss than the usual (|uantity. Wo hail a lonjr, ooUl, dry. and 

 windy spoil rijrht afti-r plantinj; season. May 1.". to LM. lasting till the lK>«inning 

 of July; then almost continual rain for about throe weeks. We had very few 

 real warm days. 



The turnips and cabliai-'o did fairly well, but the potatoes were very poor and 

 watery. I'.arley. (lats. :ind wheat were sown. I)nt nothing matured. I took 

 the ;,'reatest care of the new variety of Windsor beans you sent me. Rivin.L: 

 them the best spot in our little front garden, but tlu> ground koiit so cold tli it 

 it took weeks for them to come above ground, and at frost. September L'o. they 

 were only beginning to form i)ods. 



Toward the nuddle of August we transplanted some strawberry plants, both 

 bush and running varieties. The plants were v«M-y strong and healthy. They 

 had been raised in cold ri-amcs under glass and bad ali'eady blossomed when 

 jiut in the ojien groinid. where they remained all winter with a slight protection 

 of straw. .VII the running varieties stor.d the frost liravely. but nearly all the 

 bush varieties perished. The former began to bloom in the beginning <if .Tune, 

 but everything is now .it a standstill on account <if cold wciitber. 



We had real .May weather in the month of April. The snow had disappeared 

 about the I'.th of that month. The entire month of May was cold witii the 

 excei)tion of a few days. We had snow as late as May 25, when most of our 

 planting was over. Ever since that we have bad constant rain and dark, cold, 

 showery weather. On July 1(« we had a hail shower. The strong winds almost 

 uproot the young plants which an> trying to push their w:iy up. These two 

 last summers are the coldest wo have seen since we have been in Alaska. 

 There are no two years alik(>. 



I sowed some melons and cucumbers in the hotbeds, and they came u\\ nicely 

 and were doing well till I was obliged to remove the sashes on account of other 

 plants. The air became too cold for their delicate natures. They stopped 

 growing and turned yellow. I have some more cucumbers wbicli I started June 

 to in a hotbed by themselves, and they are doing well, but I am careful to 

 keep the glass on at niglit. 1 have about 200 strong plants of celery about 7 

 inches high which I shall plant in trenches as soon as our first crop of radishes 

 is finished, and that will be in a few days. 



E. R. Brady. Wkkcrxham, Alasha. — At this time wo have prepared for culti- 

 vation upward of an acre, and last year Mr. J. H. Anderson, who owns and 

 conducts a large roadhouse here, raised a fine crop of oats. At that time the 

 ground was new. but this year he expects to have a still better crop. He is clear- 

 ing more ground now. and by this fall we shall have perliai)s .1 acres ready for 

 use. 



I have a small hotbed which has been in oiieratiou since March 20, and at this 

 time has radishes, etc., almost ready for use. This lias lieen a very cold spring 

 in this section, but we hope to have it warm from now until fall. The rainfall 

 here is about the average for the Yukon Valley. 



The soil in this section of the country is the same as I have found in all 

 parts of the interior of Alaska. It is of a sandy nature, with some black loam 

 and yellow clay. After the removal of the vegetable growth it is very mellow. 

 and the second year it will produce fine crops. 1 have never planted anything 

 in this country that .did not prove entirely satisfactory. But it may be that 

 I gave more attention to n)y work than a person would who plans for commercial 

 returns. 



The number of acres available for cultivation, or for pasturage. I can not esti- 

 mate, for many sections of the Forty-mile district are yet unexplored. How- 

 ever, the Mosquito Fork of the Forty-mile is almost entirely good agricultural 



