272 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



CLOVER. 



May 23, two plats were seeded to clover, one alsike and the other 

 red clover. The seeds started slowly in both cases, but eventually 

 made a good stand. August 13 both beds were about 9 inches high. 

 The alsike seemed to be slightly the more vigorous. Some red clover 

 was also scattered on ground that had been burned over, but neither 

 cleared of brush nor dug up. 



VEGETABLES. 



Mr. Jones makes the following report on the growth of vegetables: 



A cold frame was sown to lettuce, cabbage and turnips on August 

 15, 1900, in order to see what they might do. The soil was new and 

 raw and the plants made only a poor growth, and on the whole went 

 into winter quarters in poor condition. When the frame was uncov- 

 ered May 13, 1901, nearly all of the plants had been eaten by field 

 mice, but a few plants of cabbage and lettuce were still growing. The 

 muslin covering and the snow had been sufficient to protect them 

 against winterkilling. Some turnips sown outside the frame in the 

 fall, and which had no artificial covering but the snow, came through 

 the winter alive, but soon after growth started in the spring they 

 were eaten by insects. 



In the spring of 1901 a plat of sandy loam was selected close to the 

 river which was planted to vegetable seed as soon as the soil could be 

 worked. The selection of tjie ground proved unfortunate, as the 

 unusual rise of the river washed away a portion of the garden, and for 

 nearly a month the surface of the water was almost on a level with the 

 portion which was not washed away. All growth ceased and, with the 

 exception of radishes and lettuce, vegetables on this piece of ground 

 were an entire failure. Later, vegetable seeds were planted in soil 

 well back from the river. Here the flea-beetle appeared in large num- 

 bers, and radishes, turnips, and the first planting of cabbage plants 

 suffered greatly from them. .Rabbits also visited this patch, and beets, 

 peas, and cabbage suffered in consequence. Such plants as escaped 

 these pests grew rapidly — lettuce, kale, peas, onions, and carrots being 

 worthy of special mention. The soil was worked down to a fit condi- 

 tion for vegetable seeds with much labor, and the result on this land 

 was more favorable than was hoped for at the time of planting. 



A large number of persons received seed from the station this year, 

 and many of them report much success with their gardens. 



There are a number of good gardens in Rampart this year, Capt. 

 A. D. Williams having one of the best. Captain W'illiams has been 

 a successful gardener in Alaska for some years, and the present season 

 he has over an eighth of an acre in cultivation. Capt. Alfred Mayo is 

 one of the oldest gardeners in this section of the country and has been 

 very successful in this line. 



