312 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



Skagway, Alaska, October 1, 1901. 



My Dear Sir: According to my promise, I will give a condensed report of our 

 work in the agricultural line here and at Dyea for this season. 



Our work commenced about the middle of March in the greenhouse. The first 

 cabbage and cauliflower seed was then sown, and the last was sown about April 1. 

 We commenced transferring the first plants to the hotbeds about April 20. 



The first cabbage plants were set in the open field May 12, and the last ones about 

 June 15. The varieties planted were Early Jersey Wakefield, Flat Parisian, Curries 

 Eclipse, and Early Summer. All headed well, and the first two varieties were ready 

 for market about July 20. Some of the last two varieties named were ready for 

 market a month later, and all made good, solid heads by September 20, some of 

 which weighed 15 pounds. 



We set out 35,000 plants, and in my experience of twenty-five years as a truck 

 farmer in southeastern Wisconsin I never had a more perfect crop of cabbages. The 

 quality is first class, which can be said of all vegetables raised in this section. The 

 yield was about 15 tons per acre, and the price from 2 cents to 4 cents per pound. 



The land on which the above crop w T as raised is of alluvial formation and was 

 covered with a dense forest of cottonwood and spruce until two years ago. Part of 

 it was broken up a year ago last spring and cropped last year; the balance was broken 

 up last April, and all of it was fertilized w T ith fresh cow manure during the fall and 

 winter. The land which was tilled a year ago produced a heavier crop, and the 

 heads were much more uniform in size. 



Our last plants were set on ground on which we had already raised a crop of rad- 

 ishes, lettuce, and set onions. The radish and lettuce seed were sown April 20, and 

 the onion sets were put out about the same time. They were marketed between the 

 1st and 20th of June. This particular part of the cabbage field spoken of is shown 

 in the foreground on the photograph containing the two ladies and a gentleman in 

 the center of the field (PL XXI). 



I need not dwell long on our experience in raising rhubarb; the photograph will 

 speak for itself. We sowed the seed a year ago last April, and transplanted the roots 

 last May; the result is shown in PL XXII. 



Ruta-bagas, turnips, radishes, and lettuce need scarcely be mentioned here, as they 

 grow as luxuriantly here as weeds do in Wisconsin; all that is necessary is to scatter 

 the seed. We sowed turnip seed as late as June 20 and got a good crop, but ruta-baga 

 seed should be sown in the spring to insure a large crop. We had some weighing 

 over 15 pounds. 



We have not been able to raise large onions from seed as yet, but have had very 

 good success in raising them for bunching. For this purpose we had them as large 

 as \\ inches in diameter. 



Radishes, lettuce, and green onions can be had fresh from the garden here from 

 June 10 to October 1 by sowing the seed at intervals during the summer. 



Our table beets made a fine growth this year. They were ready for bunching for 

 greens June 20, and by the last of July they had attained a size of 3 or 4 inches in 

 diameter — just a good market size. 



Other vegetables that we have experimented successfully with are carrots, parsnips, 

 salsify, parsley, celery, kale, kohl-rabi, spinach, and cauliflower. The last men- 

 tioned is the finest in flavor of any I have grown. 



The above finishes the report so far as our work in the vegetable line is concerned, 

 but I feel it would be an injustice to Skagway if I did not mention the wonderful 

 growth and beauty of our flowers. 



The photograph showing the greenhouse, with Mr. and Mrs. Clark seated on the 

 edge of the hotbed, has a cluster of dahlias and nasturtiums in the foreground, 

 which commenced to bloom about July 10 and are still blooming. The dahlias are 

 exceptionally fine, being very large and perfect in form. The poppies commenced 



