ALASKA EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 255 



After cutting the 140 logs which I needed, I had logs here and there 

 over half a square mile. To collect them I made a small sled just 

 wide enough for the big end of the log to lie on, and used one of the 

 oxen to drag them together. After I had them all piled up, I cut a 

 road wide enough for the big sleigh and hauled them home with both 

 oxen; this took until New Year. I finished hewing them February 21, 

 and in the first part of March hired C. H. March to help me lay them 

 up. The house was so nearly completed b} r the last of June that we 

 moved into it, and the remainder of the inside work has been done 

 since on rainy days. 



CLEARING LAND. 



About li acres additional land has been cleared this summer, stumps 

 pulled, land plowed and disked, and it is now ready for cropping next 

 year. This land is cleared about a quarter of a mile back in the woods, 

 leaving a belt of timber between it and the sea. The southwest wind 

 blowing up the inlet is always cold, and is thought to be a drawback 

 to vegetation. 



Sufficient hay for keeping the oxen and a yearling calf, bought this 

 summer, has been cut and gathered during the summer. No grass has 

 been put in the silo, chiefly because it is difficult to get grass near here, 

 as the cattle have it pretty well pastured down. The wild grass which 

 we use for hay grows some miles distant, and it is easier to transport 

 the hay than the green grass. 



EXPERIMENTAL GRAIN CROPS. 



WINTER RYE. 



Sisolsh. — A small plat of this rye was sown August 20, 1900, on 

 new ground, which was fertilized with fish guano at the rate of 200 

 pounds to the acre; it came up in about ten days, and stood about 

 4 inches high when the ground froze. Stand uniform, but rather 

 thin. On June 20 the stand was straggling and spotted; height 1 

 foot. Jury 1, growth straggling, some stalks 2 feet high, average 

 15 inches; beginning to head. July 15, 30 inches high, fully headed, 

 and beginning to bloom. August 1, 5 feet high and in bloom; looks 

 promising. August 15, average height 5i feet, some stalks over 6 

 feet high, going out of bloom, but does not seem to be forming any 

 seed; suckering badly. September 2, average height 6 feet, some 

 heads going out of milk, some in the milk, and some blooming. Sep- 

 tember 16, heads white, only about 50 per cent have grain in them, 

 straw mostly green; it was harvested September 26. At this time 

 there were suckers in all stages, some just heading out, but the ripe 

 straw was being broken down by strong winds. This is a new variety; 

 the seed was imported from Russia by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. 



