ii2 The National Geographic Magazine 



country : high temperatures, thunder- 

 storms, and torrential rains in the south- 

 ern and southeastern quadrants ; rain, 

 hail, and snow in the northwestern and 

 western quadrants. The high temper- 

 atures and heavy rains, coming as they 

 did after a brief period of rainy weather, 

 conspired to swell the rivers and small 

 streams of the south and east to danger- 

 ous and destructive stages. The flood 

 in the Ohio River at Pittsburg was equal 

 to that of r884, but fell short of the great 

 flood in 1832 by about two and a half 

 feet. The monetary loss in damage to 



property, loss of wages and earnings in 

 the city of Pittsburg alone will aggre- 

 gate $1,250,000. 



The remarkably low barometric press- 

 ure, not only in the center of the storm 

 (28.68 inches, Friday morning, at Dav- 

 enport, Iowa), but from ocean to ocean, 

 was doubtless due to the rapid move- 

 ment of several areas of low pressure 

 across the United States, each low being 

 followed in turn by a second low before 

 pressure had risen appreciably in the 

 rear of the first. 



Alfred J. Henry. 



AGRICULTURE IN ALASKA 



THE article in this number by 

 Prof. C. C. Georgeson, special 

 agent, Department of Agricult- 

 ure, upon the agricultural possibilities 

 of Alaska, will doubtless be read with 

 much interest. It is an excellent pre- 

 sentation of the subject from an ex- 

 tremely optimistic point of view. 



It is easy to understand how an 

 agriculturist, meeting with success in a 

 land which has always been considered 

 a frozen, worthless waste, and who, 

 through the employment of careful, 

 scientific methods, is rewarded by the 

 growth and maturity of cereals and vege- 

 tables, could become enthusiastic over 

 the productivity of Alaskan soil and the 

 possible results awaiting its cultivation. 

 Professor Georgeson is sincere, but his 

 error (for most scientists familiar with 

 Alaska believe him to be in error) lies 

 in the fact that his enthusiastic state- 

 ments are in danger of leading the reader 

 to believe that agriculture on a commer- 

 cial scale is possible in Alaska. 



While it is admittedly true that hard y 

 grains and vegetables have been brought 

 to maturity at various points on the coast 

 and in the interior, the climate must 

 always prevent this northwestern terri- 

 tory from becoming a successful farming 

 region. To be successful, farm products 

 must be grown at a less expense than 

 they can be raised in California, Oregon, 

 or Washington, plus the cost of trans- 

 portation. We do not think that Pro- 

 fessor Georgeson would maintain that 

 farmers upon the Alaskan coast could 

 compete in their home markets with the 

 Pacific states. In the interior of Alaska, 

 where climatic conditions are more favor- 

 able than upon the coast, the summers 

 being hotter and less moist, and where 

 home products would be protected by 

 higher transportation rates, it ma} 7 be 

 possible to maintain successful competi- 

 tion, although that is a matter yet to be 

 demonstrated. 



Henry Gannett. 



