AGRICULTURAL CAPACITY OF ALASKA 



679 



western Alaska extend some eight de- 

 grees farther south. Now, Finland has a 

 total area of 148,000 square miles, or, 

 in round numbers, one-fourth the area of 

 Alaska. But one-third of Finland con- 

 sists of marsh land and inland lakes, 

 and another one-third is forest land. 

 The agricultural area therefore, includ- 

 ing the area covered by streams, towns, 

 etc., does not exceed 50,000 square miles. 

 But Finland supports a population of 

 3,000,000 people, or 60 persons per 

 square mile of area utilized for agri- 

 cultural purposes. Would it be unrea- 

 sonable to suppose that the agricultural 

 area of Alaska can, and eventually will, 

 support an equal population of 60 per- 

 sons to the square mile? If it is not, 

 then Alaska can support a population 

 of 6,000,000 people. But 3,000,000 may 

 be deemed a conservative estimate. 



We have reasons for believing that 

 Alaska may equal Finland in agricultural 

 production. Temperature is the chief 

 controlling factor in the production of 

 agricultural crops, and the temperatures, 

 both in the coast region and in the inte- 

 rior of Alaska during the growing sea- 

 son, compare favorably with the re- 

 corded temperatures of Finland. The 

 available data of the two countries are, 

 however, not comparable, due to the 

 difference in method of recording the 

 data. In Alaska we base the average 

 temperature on the recorded daily maxi- 

 mum and minimum temperatures — that 

 is, an average temperature which is the 

 mean of these two, while the recorded 

 temperatures of Finland are based on 

 three observations taken at seven in the 

 morning, at two in the afternoon, and 

 at nine in the evening. While these data 

 include the maximum temperature of the 

 day, which usually occurs about two 

 o'clock, they do not include the minimum 

 temperature, which occurs usually some 

 time after midnight, and the mean, based 

 on the three recorded figures, is higher 



than it would be if the minimum temper- 

 ature was taken into account. Owing to 

 this difference we cannot draw any accu- 

 rate comparison, but the facts are we 

 grow vegetables and grains with about 

 the same success that these are grown in 

 Finland. Finland is a noted dairy coun- 

 try. The agricultural exports consist 

 chiefly of butter, cheese, and beef from 

 slaughtered dairy animals. In Alaska 

 cattle feed can be grown in any quantity 

 and it can therefore also become a great 

 dairy country. 



DRAWBACKS TO SETTLEMENT 



As yet there are but few farmers in 

 Alaska, and these are chifly disappointed 

 prospectors, who have found that they 

 can make more money raising products 

 to supply the local market than they can 

 mining. Nor is there any immediate 

 prospect that the country will be settled 

 with a farming population. Congress has 

 generously enlarged the homestead in 

 Alaska to 320 acres, but even this does 

 not attract prospective farmers except to 

 a very limited extent. The reason is that 

 it is too expensive for a farmer in the 

 states to move his family and equipment 

 to the northland and there begin as a 

 pioneer. Lack of transportation facili- 

 ties is a barrier at once both to the influx 

 of people and to the export of such 

 produce as they might raise. Until the 

 transportation problem is solved Alaska 

 will have but few immigrants aside from 

 those who come for the purposes of trade 

 and mining, but these conditions will be 

 remedied as the resources of the country 

 are developed. The rich deposits of 

 gold, copper, and coal are bound to be 

 developed, and with this development 

 there will be a general advance, not only 

 in transportation conditions, but in social 

 and economic conditions, and there will 

 be a corresponding growth in the num- 

 ber who take advantage of the agri- 

 cultural possibilities of the country. 



