AGRICULTURE TN ALASKA 179 



Considered from an agricultural standpoint, the coast region 

 is divided by a wide stretch of mountains, embracing the St Elias 

 and Fairweather ranges, into two rather characteristic regions, a 

 timbered and a treeless region. The southeast or wooded region 

 embraces the great Alexandrian archipelago, which consists of 

 more than 1 ,000 islands, and the mainland as far as Juneau. The 

 second or southwestern region, much of which is barren of trees, 

 extends from Cook inlet along the Alaskan peninsula westward, 

 including the Aleutian archipelago, Kadiak, and the neighbor- 

 ing islands, the Shumagin group, and numerous other smaller 

 islands.. The northern and northeastern part of this region con- 

 tains some timber, but in general the region is characterized by 

 its remarkable wealth of grasses. Toward the western portion of 

 this area the arborescent flora disappears entirely or is repre- 

 sented by a few small, stunted shrubs, mostly willows. 



Without entering into a general discussion of the meteorology 

 of Alaska, attention may be called to two important facts : First, 

 that the sum of effective temperatures for certain points in the 

 coast region, although somewhat low, surpasses the effective tem- 

 peratures of several localities in Europe of known agricultural 

 capabilities ; and, second, that although the total annual precipi- 

 tation is large, there is only one point at which as much as one- 

 third of it falls during the summer months. The summer rain- 

 fall at Wrangell, Pyramid Harbor, and Killisnoo is less than that 

 at Indianapolis, Ind., Raleigh, N. C, or Washington, D. C. 



The soils of Alaska to a great extent are of vegetable origin 

 and to a considerable degree resemble what are called the rice 

 lands of the South or the peat formations of Europe and else- 

 where. In some places in southeastern Alaska there are deep 

 deposits of this rich-looking soil overlying slate or conglomerate 

 bed rock, with often a deposit of gravel intervening. Sometimes 

 there is an impervious stratum of clay underlying the black soil. 

 Where the soil lies directly on bed rock or is underlain with clay, 

 the drainage is usually poor and the land more or less marshy. 



Samples of what appeared to be average soils were collected 

 at various places and transmitted to the Division of Soils of the 

 Department of Agriculture. In commenting upon the charac- 

 ter of the samples analyzed, Professor Milton Whitney says : 



The organic content of many ,of these soils is very much higher than in 

 any of the agricultural lands of the States. They correspond very nearly 

 with the rice lands and peat formations. The hlack soils of the plains 

 and the famous Red River Valley soils of the Northwest contain from 8 



