92 HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK. 



Dr. Hansen — Last fall I had the privilege of visiting Lapland, which 

 is the northern section of Norway and Sweden, on behalf of the De- 

 partment of Agriculture. I was exceedingly interested in the successful 

 cereal cultivation, principally the raising of barley, and it is being done 

 as far north as the Arctic Circle successfully. I hope some of these 

 varieties will be a success in similar sections of Alaska. They raise barley 

 and oats very successfully at 69 degrees and some minutes in some places 

 in Norway. I was interested also in tracing red clover to its northern 

 limit in Lapland. As near as I can get at it, in a state of nature, it is 

 indigenous north of the Arctic Circle, the same as corn; it seems to 

 be an elementary species, and is being selected by the Government in 

 Northern Norwaj-. One clover which I found exceedingly well suited to 

 Northern Dakota was a form picked out by a peasant many years ago in 

 the mountains, a perfectly smooth leaf, a form of red clover. It has 

 lighter colored blossoms and no white spots on the leaves. We trust a 

 few of that sort will be of value, so far as there will be no dusty hay. 

 The hairs, I understand, make dust in the case of common clover. Several 

 forms have been picked up in Siberia, forms of red clover, or closely 

 allied to it, that were perfectly smooth in the leaf and very vigorous in 

 habit. There is no reason, I think, why we should not extend cereal 

 cultivation on this continent much farther north than at the present time, 

 if we take advantage of the working of nature in adapting plants through 

 the ages. As I said the other day, I believe to acclimate plants as we 

 ordinarily understand the word, it is not the work for man to undertake. 

 It is a work of twenty thousand years, but we can aid it by searching the 

 world to find species that are adapted, and take them and take advantage 

 of the work of nature through the work of ages, and then by taking ad- 

 vantage of hybridization of the forms, we may find it is possible to do a 

 great deal. 



Dr. Britton — I would like to ask Dr. Evans if he has an idea that 

 the Great Indian fruit Quinoa would be of any value in Alaska, in 

 case it could be grown there? Of course Quinoa is the fruit of South 

 American natives right down to the coast, and I understand it is the 

 staple food of perhaps eight million people where the cereals are not 

 grown. 



The President — High up in the .Andes? 



Dr. Britton — Oh, yes. I would like to ask Dr. Evans if there would 

 be any economic utility in attempting that plant ? 



Dr. Evans — What is the name of the plant? 



Dr. Britton — Quinoa. 



Dr. Evans — I don't know. It is a case of educating the people, and 

 we are having a hard enough time to educate them to grow some of their 

 own food supplies. When they are perfectly willing to trade in some 

 places and pay twenty cents a pound for potatoes when they could grow 

 them themselves, and when they are willing to pay fifteen cents a pound 

 for turnips — and I have seen turnips grown which would weigh from ten 



