ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 31 



interests of the colleges and stations were brought to the attention of 

 the association and discussed. A brief account of the Washington 

 meeting is given on page 36 of this report. 



THE OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



During the past year the work of the Office of Experiment Stations 

 has continued to increase by the addition of new enterprises and the 

 further development of those previously undertaken. Agricultural 

 experiment stations under the direct management of this Office have 

 been established in Hawaii and Porto Rico, and in Alaska the station 

 work has been extended to. include experiments in the Yukon Valley. 

 Both the nutrition and irrigation investigations have been conducted 

 on a larger scale than in previous years. The amount of material pre- 

 pared for publication during the year has exceeded that for any similar 

 period since tfhe establishment of the Office. Unusual opportunities 

 have been afforded for the study of the more general problems relating 

 to the organization and development of agricultural education and 

 research, and there is good reason for believing that along the lines 

 already laid the Office may be able in the future to extend its useful- 

 ness in promoting these important interests. A brief account of the 

 general business of the Office will be found on page 42. 



ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



The experiment stations at Sitka and Kenai have been continued 

 and a station has been established at Rampart in the Yukon Valley. 

 The chief new feature of the investigations in Alaska during the past 

 year has been the more thorough study of the agricultural possibili- 

 ties of the interior, especially of the Yukon Valley and the Copper 

 River region. For this purpose Professor Georgeson made journeys 

 through the Yukon Valley in the summers of 1900 and 1901, and Mr. 

 Isaac Jones, who has been the assistant at Rampart, traversed the 

 Copper River region in the summer of 1901. Through these journeys 

 definite information has been obtained regarding the attempts at agri- 

 cultural operations already made in the regions traversed and the pos- 

 sibilities for the extension of such operations. It was shown that con- 

 siderable quantities of hardy vegetables, such as potatoes, cabbage, 

 cauliflower, turnips, lettuce, and radishes are already being grown in 

 the interior and there are large areas which may be used for this pur- 

 pose and also for the production of grasses and forage plants. At 

 the station at Rampart rye and barley were matured. At Sitka the 

 experiments with cereals, forage crops, and vegetables were continued 

 and a considerable number of varieties were successfully grown. 

 Good silage was also made of native grasses and stored in a log silo. 



At Kenai the experiments with cereals and vegetables were con- 



