EDITORIAL. 103 



tilizer with the flood water when rice is heading is not justified, so 

 far as Hawaiian conditions are concerned. The possible waste of 

 such late applications has been clearly demonstrated. 



In Alaska a soil problem of great imj^ortance has been worked out. 

 In that country much of the land is covered by a layer of moss of 

 considerable depth. It has been the practice to plow the moss under 

 when preparing land for cultivation, but this practice has been found 

 to be ill advised and to injure the suitability of the soil for crop pro- 

 duction. In the cold soils the moss is very slow in rotting, and there 

 appears to be a tendencey for a greater acidity to develop under such 

 conditions. Various experiments have been carried on to solve the 

 problem of the disposal of the moss, and it has been found that a 

 better plan than plowing under is to tear up the moss by light plow- 

 ing, followed by harrowing, and after it has become dry to burn it. 

 By this method uniform stands and good crops have been obtained 

 the first season, whereas several years are generally required for equal 

 results if the moss is plowed under. The practical application of this 

 discovery will be of great importance in the development of that 

 country. 



An important line of work at each of the insular stations has been 

 the introduction and breeding of new economic plants. In Alaska 

 much attention has been given to the testing of varieties of field and 

 garden crops, to get those that will ripen in the short season ; and in 

 many instances it is now possible to recommend varieties that may 

 be expected to do well in the dift'erent parts of that country. Through 

 the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction of this Department many 

 varieties of plants have been secured from high latitudes in Europe 

 and from the elevated portions of southern Asia, and with some of 

 these very promising results have been obtained. Breeding and 

 acclimatization work with cereals is being carried on, especiall}^ at 

 the stations located in the great valley regions of the country, and 

 locally developed forms have been obtained that mature earlier than 

 the same varieties from seed produced outside of Alaska. It has 

 been found practicable to grow cereals in the vallej^s of the Yukon 

 and Tanana rivers. Trials have been made of many varieties of oats, 

 barley, rye, and wheat, and of the first two there are noAv known 

 varieties that can be reasonably expected to ripen every year. The 

 work has involved not only the introduction of the grains but the 

 establishment of early maturing strains of varieties through tlie con- 

 tinued selection of the earliest maturing heads. Some hybridizing of 

 varieties of barley has been undertaken, with every promise of success. 

 A successful effort has been made to produce hybrid strawberries, 

 crossing the well-known wild species with a cultivated variety. A 

 large number of first generation hybrids have been obtained, some of 



