A TEAR'S PROGRESS IN THE KLONDIKE. 465 



light and day heat protracted far into the normal hours of night — 

 and a comparison of these conditions with somewhat similar condi- 

 tions prevailing elsewhere, have given hope not alone of a possibil- 

 ity, but of a probability, and there are few to-day who doubt that ag- 

 riculture may not be practiced with at least a legitimate amount of 

 success in many parts of the Yukon basin. This probability has, in- 

 deed, been already emphasized by Prof. George Dawson, and the 

 more recent examinations of Alaskan territory, made by Colonels 

 Ray and Abercrombie, confirm with a conviction the reference to 

 American soil. The feeble but more than promising eiforts in 

 agriculture and gardening that were made in the region about 

 Dawson in 1898 have borne surprising fruit in 1899, and while the 

 results may not, for various reasons, have proved in all cases remu- 

 nerative to the " prospector," they at least clearly demonstrate 

 the possibilities to which the future may lay claim. Cabbages, 

 turnips, peas, radishes, lettuce, and beans are now raised to per- 

 fection in favored spots along the Yukon and Klondike, and Qn 

 scattered hillsides of the Bonanza and Eldorado, and ^a good 

 promise is also held out for the potato. In the charming spot 

 known as the Acklin Garden, situated on the Klondike about two 

 miles from Dawson, oats and barley, sown on April 26th and May 

 22d respectively (1899), were grown to beautiful heads, and har- 

 vested in the middle of August. ^0 wheat had ripened up to 

 that time, and I suspect that, owing to a light frost which took 

 place on the 19th of the same month, none of this grain came to 

 maturity. Radishes sown on April 24th were collected on May 

 20th, and string beans, whose seed was scattered on May 26th, were 

 collected on August 1st. Other successful crops were those of 

 beets, onions, and spinach. 



The exquisite beauty of the "flower garden in this spot rivets 

 the attention of all passers-by, and few there are who do not for 

 a moment lay aside their packs to enjoy the feast of color that is 

 presented to them. Poppies of the size and brilliance of those 

 which adorn the fields about Naples, chrysanthemums, gorgeous 

 dahlias, pansies, the cornfiower, mignonette, and centaurea are 

 part of the outside bloom, to which Nature " beyond the fence " 

 has fittingly added the wild rose, anemone, fireweed, and forget-me- 

 not. Such is the aspect of the region which to-day illumines the 

 far North, and carries with itself a hopeful promise to many and 

 the certainty of disappointment to many more. 



VOL. LVI. 36 



