ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 247 



grown at the station in 1899 on old ground with marked success. It 

 then attained the height of 3 feet, produced a fiber of good quality, 

 and matured seed; but on new ground it is not a success. The crop 

 was stunted, the best not attaining 1 foot in height. This result was 

 expected under the circumstances. 



VEGETABLES. 



Small plats were planted with the following kinds : Cabbage — Early 

 Jersey Wakefield; cauliflower — Early Snow Ball, Extra Early Paris; 

 kale — Scotch Curled; Brussels sprouts — Improved Dwarf; kohl-rabi — 

 Large White; peas — Earliest of All; beans — Broad Windsor, Golden 

 Wax, Early Valentine; carrots — Half Long Scarlet; parsnips — Hollow 

 Crown; beets — Early Egyptian; onions — Yellow Dan vers; turnips — 

 White Milan; garden cress; mustard — White London; celery — White 

 Plume; celeriac. 



These were grown in small plats, both on old ground and on new. 

 On the old ground the results were highly satisfactoiw. I have never 

 seen better kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower than were 

 grown on a little corner of old ground at the base of Castle Hill. 

 Some of the cauliflower heads measured 14 inches in diameter. The 

 celeiy and celeriac were likewise good, and so were carrots, parsnips, 

 and the other root crops. 



On new ground, on the contrary, all these vegetables were but little 

 short of failure, and had they been grown on new ground only, one 

 might seemingly have been justified in stating that they could not be 

 grown in Alaska. This is simply further proof of the oft-repeated 

 fact that it requires some years to bring the soil into condition for 

 satisfactory growth of crops of any kind. 



I do not consider it necessary to carry out extensive experiments in 

 the cultivation of vegetables. That all the common, hardy kinds can 

 be grown to perfection in Alaska has been demonstrated so repeatedly 

 in nearly every part of the Territory, in the interior as well as on the 

 coast, that there is no further need of proof. The experiment stations 

 should hereafter grow vegetables with a view to test the different 

 methods of culture. The new ground at the Sitka Station is not yet 

 in sufficiently good condition for that line of work. 



For detailed results in the growth of vegetables elsewhere, I respect- 

 fully refer to the letters from people who have received seed from the 

 experiment station, which are submitted herewith (pp. 316-336). For 

 Sitka the letter from Mrs. George Stowell gives full details of crops 

 grown in her garden the past season, and her experience is duplicated 

 by dozens of others. 



POTATOES. 



Pride of North Dakota. — A corner of new ground, cropped for the 

 first time this year, was planted to potatoes of this variety. None 



