AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ALASKA. 29 



ing. The Cook Inlet region has 3,000 square miles of tillable land, 

 the Copper River drainage 2,000 square miles, and there are 1,000 

 square miles on the south coast, including the southeastern and south- 

 western projections. 



It is not to be understood that the land in these areas is of such 

 character that every half section is a possible farm home. Excepting 

 in the alluvial-deposit areas bordering the larger streams, the topog- 

 raphy of the possible tillable land is hilly, and in selecting home- 

 steads care must be taken to secure a favorable slope, so as to get 

 the full advantage of exposure to the sun. Apart from the bottom 

 land there are few half sections all of which may be tilled, and home- 

 steads will not be joined one to another, as a rule, but will be sepa- 

 rated by land unfit for farming. 



Alaskan soils have been formed largely from material produced 

 by glacial action and from alluvial deposits. Gravel beds occur 

 frequently, and these are often thinly covered with soil. Shallow 

 lakes and lake beds abound and in the latter the accumulation of 

 partially decayed vegetation has been transformed into peat. Where 

 the vegetation has fully decayed there is a rich black loam. 



Because of the protecting coat of vegetation and the short melting 

 season, the frost line in the soil lowers only a few feet during the 

 summer, thus preventing the escape of the excess of soil moisture 

 and, together with the low temperature, the decay of vegetation. 

 This results in a very wet, mucky, and sour condition of the soil. 

 Consequently, much of the land before it can be made to produce 

 cultivated crops must be drained and cleared of the protecting coat 

 of moss and other vegetation, in order to permit the heat of the sun 

 to lower the frost line. Lime is very generally needed as a corrective 

 of the acidity of the soil. 



Practically all of the tillable land in Alaska must be cleared of a 

 growth of timber and moss* at heavy cost. 



The climate of Alaska varies greatly. On the south coast the 

 summers are cool and the winters mild, the mean annual temperature 

 at Sitka being about that of Washington, D. C. Zero temperatures 

 are the exception. Precipitation is heavy, and there is much cloudy 

 weather that is not favorable to tillage other than the growing of 

 vegetables and grasses. The high mountains fronting the south coast 

 intercept the moisture-laden clouds coming from the sea and cause 

 the excessive precipitation at low levels and the permanent snow and 

 ice fields at the higher levels. 



The central plateau, consequently, has a much drier climate and a 

 much greater range of temperature, with warmer summers and colder 

 winters. The summers are short as to number of days, but, with 18 to 

 20 hours of sunshine in each 24 hours during the growing season, 



