320 REPORT OF OFFICE OF EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



there any way to kill worms? I tried some tobacco, but it did not get big. I will 

 try again. 

 Where can I get a copy of land laws? 



0. F. Stites. 

 Prof. C. C. Georgeson, 



Special Agent, Sitka, Alaska. 



REPORT FROM DYEA. 



Dye a, Alaska, November 14, 1901. 



Dear Sir: Your letter of the 2d instant received a few days ago, and I take great 

 pleasure in answering it. I only wish I had more to tell you, but to tell the truth, 

 my lack of implements necessitated some rather crude methods. 



My idea at first in putting in my crop was simply to raise feed for chickens, as I 

 meant this for a chicken ranch. I used no fertilizer, simply burning off the brush, 

 and was astonished at my own success. 



The wheat and oats were fully ripened before I cut them. I think I was most 

 pleased with the wheat; the heads were full, and it was so heavy that I was unable 

 to use a cradle. I intend next year to put in a larger crop, and feel confident that 

 it will more than repay me. 



Alaska has a grand future before her, I feel confident, and I am planning to make 

 my home here for years to come. I have had my ranch platted, and intend to plant 

 a crop on it in the spring. 

 Sincerely, yours, 



L. Ross Stacy. 



Prof. C. C. Georgeson, Sitka, Alaska. 



A FINLANDER'S EXPERIENCE. 



Seward City, Alaska, October 8, 1901. 



Dear Sir: This spring was later than the year before. I planted potatoes from 

 the 19th to the 25th of May. They did fairly well and are fine potatoes. Two 

 years ago I planted potatoes on the 14th of May and had new potatoes July 8. 



The ground I have been gardening on covers very nearly one acre and a half. One 

 patch of ground is in potatoes for the third season, and did better this summer than 

 before, and has never been manured at all. The soil is very rich, about 2 feet deep, 

 and I think it will produce crops for many years to come without being manured. 

 I am going to break some more ground this fall. I think it is wise to let the ground 

 lie broken over winter. It has been tried in Finland, the country where I came 

 from, and it seems to do the soil good. The climate over there is very nearly the 

 same as here. I think one could raise almost any kind of vegetable here, if one 

 had a hothouse to start the seeds in and then transplant them when the soil gets 

 warm enough. 



Potatoes grow to a pretty good size here. Some weighed a pound and a quarter. 

 They are the finest eating potatoes I have ever had anywhere. They are far better 

 than the potatoes brought up from the States. This can be seen from the difference 

 in prices. Last year in Juneau the potatoes which were raised in Alaska sold for 

 4 cents a pound, and potatoes brought up from the States sold for 2 cents a pound. 



People used to doubt if potatoes raised in Alaska would stand the winter well, but 



