40 



ALABAMA 



ALASKA 



some parts Tery hilly. The soil is a light, sandy loam, 

 usually underlaid with red or yellow clay. It is naturally 

 poor, being deficient in potash and phosphoric acid, and 

 yields only scanty crops without fertilizers. It can, 

 however, be made very productive by judicious manur- 

 ing, and it builds up rapidly under intelligent intensive 

 farming. This region is well adapted, both by soil and 

 climate, to the production of early vegetables, and it 

 seems probable that the business of truck-farming will 

 ultimately spread widely from its present center at 

 Mobile. Among fruits most promising for this region 

 are grapes, oriental pears, figs, Japanese persimmons 

 and strawberries. Satsuma oranges on hardy trifoliata 

 stocks can be safely planted at the extreme south, and 

 peaches and Japanese plums in the more northerly por- 

 tion. Pecans thrive admirably, and the better kinds 

 should be widely planted. 



The soils of the prairie region, being mostly rather 

 cold and wet in the spring, are not well adapted to early 

 vegetables. Their fruit-growing capacity has not been 

 fully tested, cotton claiming almost universal attention. 

 Peaches and plums will thrive on some of the lighter 

 soils, though the trees are usually short-lived. Apple 

 trees grow well on the heavier prairie soils, and it seems 

 probable that with a proper selection of varieties and 

 due attention to spraying, their cultivation would prove 

 profitable. 



The mineral or mountain region presents so great a 

 variety of soils and conditions that it Is hard to charac- 

 terize it as a whole. Some portions present almost ideal 

 conditions for peaches, plums and grapes, and in the 

 moister, heavier lands apples thrive and yield abun- 

 dantly. If the people of Alabamaeverinterestthemselves 

 in fruit-growing as their neighbors in Georgia do at the 

 present day, then these choice mountain locations will 

 certainly be covered with orchards and vineyards, and 

 this mountain region will advance to* the first place in 

 the magnitude of its horticultural interests. 



The northern region already has its well established 

 nursery business, which seems destined to increase. 

 Owing to late spring frosts, peach and plum crops are 

 too uncertain here to make commercial plantings advis- 

 able. It is, however, a promising apple country, and 

 strawberries, raspberries and blackberries succeed well. 

 An undeveloped but promising industry for this region 

 would seem to be the growing of late crops of cabbage 

 and Irish potatoes for the southern market. The allu- 

 vial soils found here seem well adapted for this purpose, 

 and all the southern towns and cities offer a near and 

 ready market. F. S. Eahlb. 



ALANOIITM (from the Malabar name). GornAcece. A 

 few species of shrubs or small trees of the Old World 

 tropics, with alternate entire evergreen Ivs. and small, 

 perfect purple fls. in axillary clusters. Rarely cult, in 

 Old World stoves, but probably not in the Amer. trade. 



ALASKA, HORTICULTUBE IN. Pig. 59. When con- 

 sidered from a horticultural or agricultural point of view, 

 Alaska may be very conveniently divided into two divis- 

 ions, the southern coast region and the interior. These 

 two regions differ very materially in their climate, and 

 may be ultimately found as unlike in their possibilities. 

 The climate of the coast region, which extends from 

 Dixon's Entrance on the southeast to Unalaska on the 

 southwest, is characterized by a heavy rainfall, a great 

 preponderance of cloudy weather, and a rather low sum- 

 mer temperature, with little or no diurnal variation in the 

 readings of the thermometer. The winter temperature is 

 not excessively cold, zero weather being seldom experi- 

 enced, while in the summer it is seldom high. The average 

 rainfall, as shown by data from the Government Weather 

 Service, varies from 55.9 inches at Killisnoo to 92.1 at 

 Unalaska, about one-third of the precipitation falling 

 during the growing period, from May to September. The 

 data concerning the interior portion of the country are 

 mainly from along the Yukon River, that being the great 

 thoroughfare of the region. Here the rainfall is slight, 

 and during summer clear skies are the rule. The intense 

 cold of winter is followed by comparatively warm tem- 

 perature in the summer, with a growing period of about 

 four months, although occasional frosts have been re- 

 ported from the upper part of the valley during the 

 summer months. 



The soils of the two regions are very similar, being 

 largely of vegetable origin overlying rock or glacial de- 

 posits. In the coast region arable areas are confined to 

 rather narrow valleys and the slopes along the sea. In 

 the interior are reported more extensive areas of com- 

 paratively level land. Of the coast region, the most ex- 

 tensive area of land adapted to cultivation is that on the 

 Kenai Peninsula, and, extending across Cook Inlet, is 

 continued up the Sushitna River. This region, on ac- 

 count of its position relative to ocean currents, partakes 

 more of the climatic characteristics of the interior, al- 

 though still somewhat modified. 



The accompanying map shows regions where some 

 attempts have been made in gardening, from which defi- 

 nite reports have been secured. From the data at hand 



59. Sketch map of Alaska. 



it seems probable that the local supplies of hardy vege- 

 tables might be produced nearer at hand than the Puget 

 Sound. This is undoubtedly true of the southeastern 

 portion of the country, where the production need be 

 limited only by the demand for such supplies and the 

 ability to secure arable lands at a cost that will permit 

 the producer to compete with the Sound country. For 

 some time certain economic features will enter into the 

 subject of extensive horticulture. Among these are the 

 high price of labor, the standard being at present deter- 

 mined by the wages paid for gold mining, the question 

 of transportation, and the rather limited markets. 



As it exists at the present time, horticulture in Alaska 

 is of a very primitive type. A few gardens here and 

 there, with perhaps a row of berries along the side and 

 an occasional fruit tree, represents nearly all that is done 

 along this line. Near Juneau and at Killisnoo are mar- 

 ket-gardens of considerable importance, but elsewhere 

 only small areas are cultivated. 



It has been said that during the Russian occupancy 

 of the country many attempts were made to cultivate 

 gardens and fields, but the data are often so meager and> 

 contradictory as to throw doubt upon the sincerity of 

 the endeavor. In the accompanying account, it is de- 

 sired to place on record some of the horticultural achieve- 

 ments as gathered from reports from gardeners in many 

 places, as well as the personal observations of the writer 

 during two seasons in the country 



Fruits.— The great abundance both in kind and quan- 

 tity of native fruits, especially berries, has doubtless 

 contributed to the delay in the attempted introduction 

 and cultivation of other sorts. Some effort has been made 

 in this line, as is shown by the presence at Sitka of a 

 number of old apple trees , remnants of the Russian days, 

 which bear a very inferior fruit. A few young bearing 

 trees of unknown variety are grown at the same place. 

 At Wrangell there are apple trees of what are thought to 

 be the Red June variety in bearing, and young thriving 

 trees are known to be at Juneau and Metlakahtla. Plum 

 and cherry trees have been recently planted in several 

 places, but so far have not fruited. The mountain ash 

 ( Sorbus sambncifolia ) is grown as an ornamental tree in 

 a number of places. Currants flourish wherever planted, 

 and gooseberries have been seen, but they were usually 



