89 



lu'twt'en lliiit (lute :iinl M.iy l.'i, lK>fi>rt' i1h> ^i'duiiiI was tlKinuiKlily tliawt'd nul, 

 oil fcrtili/A'd siiil. Siuh can' was ;;ivrii iIumu as a Iniu' prospector coiiltl liiul 

 tiiiK' for and tin' n'sults wit*' t'litiivly salislactofy. 



Froui less than ont'-foiiitli of an aciv I jifow ."5 sacks of potatoes licsidcs what 

 was usihI, ") sacks of ruta lia;;as. S sacks of White K;:t; tin'iiips. 1 luisln'l of 

 carrots, and 1(H» heads of cahha;r»>. Heets ami parsnips were very iMjor, not 

 over one-half hushel tojJtether. I'.esides this we hatl i>lenty of kale, lettuce, 

 radishes, and some ptMis. the latter did not do well. On enriched land the 

 tendency was for the peas and potati»es to ;;«» t») vines. 



The season was exceptionally cold and rainy, not at all favorable to ve;;etable 

 jjrowth, hut the following; si/.i's of some turni|)s will demonstrate the possi- 

 liilities of our section in the ^'arden line. One I'lU'iile Top turnip "Jltl inches in 

 circvnnference. ."U inches thick; 1"J or m«)re White K^^' turnips were 1."'. inches 

 ionj,'. L'u to •_'.■'. iiiciics Minuiid; c;ii(i)a;;»' whii-h weifjiied .". or *'< pmuiils ; ruta-hagas 

 weighinji 4 to •"> iiounds. ('alilia;,'e and rnta-lia;;as wen- transplanted. Kale 

 ^'rew very thrifty, as did tlie U'ttuce and r.nlishes. 



Mrs. ./. .1/. Slriniil. \(ihltz. MusLa. — I wish to tell you how successful 1 

 was durinj; the .se.ison of r.K»4 with the ;;arden |»laide»l with si'ed you sent me 

 in the siirinj:. 



I had lettuce and radishes on .June "J, heantiruiiy crisp and tender. We 

 thoujiht the curled lettuce a nicer variety than the Hi?,' Huston, which we plaided 

 this year. We found the French Breakfast radishes matin-ed more tiuickly 

 niul were nmre tender than a louder variety of which I forjiet the name. We 

 raised five different crops of radishes. 



I was more succ-essful with onion sets than willi seed, as I li'ft Die seed till 

 it was too late for planting'. 



I had ."'.O heautifid heads ..f (auHllower from plants st.irlcd .March l^n in the 

 liouse and transplanted .May 1.". 1 iiad turniiis. I;ir>;e ruta-iiayas. and heets. 

 which were not very lar.u'e hut very sweet and j.'o(.d. We had plenty of kale and 

 rhuliarlt. which I h.ul started the year before. 



Then I had lots of tlowers. I found sweet aly.ssum and pansics the most 

 satisfactory, as they blossom early and are not^injured easily l>y the frost. I 

 picked the last bunch of tlowers October 28. There were, besides candytuft, 

 miynonette. corntlower. asters, and some Knjilish daisies started in the house, 

 of which I was especially proud. 



1 felt much encourajxed with my irarden. for the sejisoii thoutrli early was 

 ver.v rainy and cold. 



W. Jl. Mdirclt, nuiiics. Alaska. — Wheat, oats, l)iirley, and buckwheat just 

 barely matured durini,' the last season (1904), which has been the coldest I 

 have known in Alaska. Of such vegetables as potatoes, turnips of numerous 

 \arieties. cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, beets, parsnips, radishes, lettuce, celery, 

 and peas I have raised an abundance for table use, and several tons surplus of 

 I'.otatoes. turnips, carrots, and cabbage, but in no case was the yield per acre 

 at all remarkable. This year and also last the first frost was not until October. 

 I plowed last season 12 acres in December, finishing the 12th of the month. 

 Most years I could plow nearly or quite as late. Spring plowing is always 

 best, however, on my farm, as the fall of snow prevents much freezing, so that 

 the root crops if left in the ground come.out in the spring uninjured by the cold. 



Hay has been my only large crop. 1 have harvested and thoroughly cured 

 this past season a little over GO tons. Every year there has been some excellent 

 weather for making hay. but it can not be counted on at any particular time. 

 During 1903 there was several weeks of clear sunshine and no rain. The 

 previous year there was not two successive days during .July and August 

 without some rain, but that year the really good hay weather was in June. 



