^90 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



though large trees are plentiful, and there are some patches of dense 

 young growth. Close to the river the timber is very good. 



There is some good hay land here. I saw some excellent hay that 

 was put up for the mail horses by Mr. Charles Overheiser, who had 

 been in charge of the Fish Brothers' trading station at the Tanana. 

 Grass has not taken this section as it has taken the ground in the 

 Forty mile country, or as it is said to have taken the land lower down 

 on the Tanana. Straggling bunches of grass are found all over the 

 valley. A very thin coat of moss covers the ground, and blueberry 

 bushes make up tHe undergrowth for a great part of this section. 



There are two large log buildings at the Tanana, both belonging to 

 Fish Brothers. One is used as a warehouse and general store, and 

 the other, which was not finished when we passed, will be used as a road 

 house. At present there are no other buildings at this point. The 

 goods for the store are hauled from Forty mile Post on the Yukon 

 during the winter. Next season an attempt will be made to get a 

 small steamer to this point, some 350 miles from its junction with the 

 Yukon. At the Tanana station we are 265 miles from Valdez, and 

 about 170 miles from Eagle. There is a free ferry at this point, which 

 is looked after by the man in charge at the station. This ferry is a 

 great convenience to prospectors or others that pass this way during 

 the summer months. Of course the horses have to swim the stream, 

 which is said to be 500 feet wide at this point, but the boat enables the 

 traveler to keep himself and his outfit dry while making the crossing. 



There is a large stretch of^ almost perfectly level land on the south 

 side of the Tanana. The soil is a dark sandy loam and the subsoil is 

 sandy. I made a reservation of a square mile on the south side of the 

 river, the northwest corner being close to the river, and near the Govern- 

 ment trail, which has been cleared of brush to the Tanana. As far as 

 one can see up or down stream from this point, probably 15 miles in 

 each direction, there is no closing in of the valley, and it is at least 20 

 miles wide here. A large area in this portion of the valley was burned 

 over some years ago. But outside this burnt area, where timber is 

 still alive, there is no underbrush to speak of and the timber gener- 

 ally is small and somewhat scattering. 



This land can be brought under cultivation with little difficulty. It 

 is possible, however, that the rainfall in summer is not sufficient for 

 growing crops. The sandy nature of the soil would prevent its retain- 

 ing moisture for long periods. I was unable to obtain definite infor- 

 mation as to the rainfall, but I am satisfied that, barring dry weather, 

 farming may be carried on successfully in the valley of the Tanana. 

 As in the Ketchumstock country, there would be no market for farm 

 products at the present time. 



Captain Abercrombie's force of trail makers had reached the Tanana, 

 and turned back a few days before we reached this point. Trail build- 



