250 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



When the bottom of the ditch is soft, two slabs are put together in 

 the shape of a V, in the middle of the ditch, and a third slab is nailed 

 on top so as to leave a triangular water passage. On top of this .are 

 packed poles and brush as before. The writer believes that this kind 

 of drain will last for many years. Slabs can usually be procurred 

 from sawmills everywhere, and as the mills multiply settlers can pro- 

 cure them in many instances near by their farms. 



At the Sitka Station we are experimenting in this manner, with 

 the drainage of about 2 acres of peatv soil. The object is to see what 

 the productiveness of such a soil is when brought under culture. 

 There are extensive areas of peat in Alaska, and it is important to know 

 if such land has any agricultural value. In this instance it was found 

 necessary to place the drains 15 feet apart. The work is not completed 

 at this writing. 



NATIVE GRASS FOR SILAGE. 



I stated in my last report that the log silo which was built in the 

 summer of 1900 had been filled with native grass. It gives me pleas- 

 ure to report now that this experiment was a complete success. The 

 silage kept well in this log structure and made a feed of good quality. 

 Our oxen were fed on it almost exclusively during the past winter. 

 They ate it readily and kept in fair condition. They were given a little 

 grain in addition only when they were worked. On the top and 

 around the sides there was a pertain amount of decayed silage, but no 

 more than is found in all cases when green forage is packed away. 

 We found that this waste silage had some value for manure on certain 

 plats of soil. The grass was cut on a natural meadow skirting a bay 

 some distance from Sitka, where it grows in abundance. It was then 

 loaded into a scow and the scow was hauled to the beach at the nearest 

 point to the farm by our steam launch. The grass was 2i to 3 feet in 

 length. It was thrown into the silo and tramped down at intervals 

 during the process of filling. It settled into a very compact mass 

 which was removed when wanted for feed by slicing it down with a 

 hay knife. 



During the latter part of August and the beginning of September 

 of the present year the silo was again filled in the same manner, and 

 as before it has resulted in a fine quality of feed. Not only will 

 native grasses make good silage, but our log silo demonstrates the fact 

 that it is not necessary for the farmer to go to great expense in build- 

 ing a silo. He can himself build one of logs. The logs should, how- 

 ever, be dressed on the inside and laid so as to make a nearly smooth 

 wall. They should be fitted well upon one another and the openings 

 between them should be chinked with moss, clay, or mortar in the 

 usual manner. 



