998 
RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
sheep  ns  any  dairyman,  and  almost  every  bunch  T 
bought  of  stockyards,  dealer,  or  neighbor,  made  as 
/-a  i  d  profit  as  the  steers  and  hogs  the  same  years, 
f.i  w  that  T  have  a  son  instead  of  hired  hands  to 
0. no  for  them  at  lambing,  we  grow  our  own.  and 
Jt  saves  the  first  highest  profit.  It  is  not  supposed 
that  men  who  like  cows  will  change  to  anything 
♦  'so,  because  they  have  a  business  which  is  neces¬ 
sary.  and  can  he  made  profitable,  hut  there  are  many 
to  whom  it  is  irksome,  and  young  fellows  who  see 
no  other  future,  who  can  break  away  into  an  old 
reliable  industry  that  will  continue  with  as  much 
/unfit  as  any  other  while  men  eat  meat  and  wear 
clothes. 
START  IX  A  SMALL  WAY.— It  is  a  good  plan  to 
begin  with  a  few  ewes,  of  any  breed,  and  work  up, 
keeping  the  ewe  lambs  until  the  increase  crowds 
something  else  off  the  place.  I  am  opposed  to  the 
purchase  of  foreign  feeds,  and  believe  a  farm  should 
grow  everything  for  its  livestock.  I  would  rather 
buy  fertilizer  and  grow  feed,  but  feed  can  be  bought 
for  sheep  if  one  wants  to  carry  surplus  animals. 
With  a  small  start,  (lie  pair  will  lie  "fillers”  bring¬ 
ing  some  returns  from  apparently  nowhere,  hut 
when  tlie  quota  of  ewes  is  complete,  they  can  be 
■  idled,  tlie  objectionable  ones  fattened,  and  their 
i  lace  filled  from  the  young,  and  it  is  surprising  lm\v 
soon  a  flock  asserts  itself.  w.  w.  kevnoi.ds. 
( )hio. 
Live.stock  and  Maintenance  of  the  Soil 
Uses  cf  Organic  Matter  in  the  Soil  and  the  Plant 
I’art  VIII. 
lTHiKiKXorS  AND  NOX-XITRCX : KNOT’S 
MATERIALS. — The  materials  that  form 
/•lants  are  divided  into  two  groups.  One  group  eon- 
tains  nitrogen  and  is  termed  nitrogen  material.  The 
other  group  does  not  contain  nitrogen,  hut  being 
based  on  carbon  is  known  by  several  terms.  Car¬ 
bonaceous  might  he  applied,  having  in  mind  their 
high  carbon  content.  Recent  investigations  have  de¬ 
termined  that  growing  plants  can  take  up  both  kinds 
of  organic  materials  from  the  wreckage  of  decaying 
plants  and  use  them  in  their  new  tissues.  A  number 
<f  nitrogenous  substances,  such  as  coumnrin,  the 
casein  of  milk.  urea,  peptones,  and  a  number  of  others 
i  re  known  to  he  used  directly  by  plants.  Of  the 
carbonaceous  materials,  many  of  the  common  sugars, 
alcohols  and  organic  acids  can  also  be  used. 
SAVES  ENERGY  AND  INCREASES  CROP.-The 
mil  significance  of  this  point,  will  be  better  realized 
if  it  is  remembered  that  it  takes  energy  to  grow  a 
plant,  just  as  it  takes  energy  to  build  a  house.  That 
energy  is  used  to  bring  together  and  to  fasten  to¬ 
gether  the  various  elements  of  which  the  plant  is 
composed.  The  carbon  which  makes  up  about  half 
(  f  the  plant  comes  from  the  carbonic  acid  gas  of 
the  air.  The  hydrogen  and  oxygen  come  from  water 
and  from  the  air,  while  the  mineral  elements  come 
from  the  soil.  The  energy  that  sticks  these  elements 
together  in  the  plant  is  sunshine.  Now  if  the  young 
plant  can  utilize  blocks  of  material — organic  com¬ 
pounds — that  an  earlier  plant  has  formed  it  con¬ 
serves  that  much  energy  and  is  free  to  use  its  pow¬ 
ers  of  further  elaboration  and  tlms  attain  a  larger 
growth  and  perhaps  a  better  quality.  This  being 
true  the  importance  of  having  in  the  soil  the  kind  of 
compounds  the  plant  can  use  if  it  would  make  the 
maximum  growth  is  better  understood. 
WORN-OUT  ORGANIC  MATTER  OF  LITTLE 
VALUE, — Old,  run-out,  broken-down  organic  mat¬ 
ter  has  low  value.  The  new  fresh  materials  that 
have  just  undergone  the  early  stages  of  decay  are 
desired.  Perhaps  this  gives  a  cue  to  the  seeming 
lower  value  of  muck  and  peat  deposits  than  manure 
as  fertilizer.  They  have  run  the  course  of  decay, 
'i  lie  first  products  have  been  further  broken  down 
and  decayed  and  only  the  tough,  inert  materials  re¬ 
main.  To  again  borrow  a  building  term,  the  doors, 
window  casings,  mantels  and  nice  smooth  hoards 
have  been  largely  destroyed  and  the  young  plant 
finds  less  than  it  can  use.  An  example  in  point 
here  may  he  taken  from  mushroom  culture.  These 
plants  depend  entirely  upon  preceding  plant  re¬ 
mains  to  build  up  their  1  issues.  Without  active, 
fresh  material  they  make  no  growth.  In  mushroom 
(dlars  after  tlie  manure  has  run  its  course  of  heal¬ 
ing.  it  is  discarded  as  having  little  further  value.  The 
heating  is  evidence  of  the  decay  by  which  the  readily 
;  vaihible  materials  are  released. 
NEED  OF  FRESH  ORGANIC  MATTER.— The 
farmer  who  does  not  continue  to  put  into  his 
soil  at  greater  or  less  regular  intervals  raw  mate- 
lial — stable  manure,  green  manure,  good  sods,  stub- 
Me.  etc.,  must  sooner  or  later  suffer  in  decreased 
m op  yield,  resulting  from  the  lack  of  these  highly 
i  vganized  organic  compounds.  He  will  also  suffer 
because  those  same  compounds  and  many  others  are 
the  key  b.v  which  the  latent  plant  nutrients  in  the 
soil  are  made  soluble.  He  will  also  suffer  because 
the  physical  condition  of  the  soil  will  have  deter- 
iora led— because  hard  and  dense  with  low  water 
capacity.  From  every  point  of  view  actively  decay¬ 
ing  organic  matter — commonly  called  humus — is  es¬ 
sential.  and  is  to  be  sharply  distinguished  from  the 
old.  carbonized  material  that  is  relatively  inert. 
Peat  and  coal  are  such  materials  in  extreme  form 
and  certainly  the  farmer  would  not  think  of  these 
as  having  much  value  in  the  soil.  The  fact  that 
ime  crop  feeds  directly  upon  the  organized  con¬ 
stituent  of  another  should  lie  immensely  serviceable 
to  the  expert  crop  producer,  and  probably  is  hack  of 
the  insight  and  experience  that  has  made  some  men 
so  very  successful  with  their  crops.  The  principle 
las  a  relation  lo  the  use  of  organic  versus  inorganic 
forms  of  fertilizers.  e.  o.  pippin. 
Cornell  University. 
Fish  Farming  in  Alaska 
Novel  Work  in  Breeding 
T  OCAL  POPULATION.-  Since  writing  my  article 
J — /  on  the  agricultural  possibilities  of  these  Alas¬ 
kan  islands  in  flu*  issue  of  December  11,  11)15.  I  have 
received  several  letters  from  readers  who  were  in¬ 
terested  and  wanted  more  detailed  information.  It 
is  only  to  those  who  have  the  strong  pioneer  spirit 
that  the  life  up  here  would  at  present  appeal.  To 
begin  with,  there  are  not  many  white  people.  The 
hulk  of  the  population  is  made  up  of  natives  and 
half-breeds,  and  most  of  them  have  not  been  bred 
My  Sheep  hear  my  Voice."  Fig.  382 
with  the  desire  for  steady  work.  There  are  excep¬ 
tions  of  course,  hut  that  is  the  rule.  There  are  few 
villages  on  the  islands  and  they  are  long  distances 
apart.  Most,  of  the  travelling  has  to  be  done  by 
water.  For  those  who  have  children  to  educate  it 
is  not  yet  time  to  leave  the  States  and  start  ranch¬ 
ing  here. 
MARKET  PROBLEMS.— The  question  of  markets 
is  the  hardest  nut  to  crack  as  yet.  The  right  cli¬ 
mate  is  here,  the  feed  is  here  in  abundance,  hut  the 
vital  questions  of  markets  and  cheap  transportation 
are  and  will  be  the  chief  problems  for  some  time  to 
come.  Eventually  these  things  will  he  worked  out 
as  they  have  been  in  the  States.  At  present  the 
mining  and  fishing  interests  hold  the  attention  of 
most  of  the  population  of  Alaska,  though  there  are 
a  number  of  fox  ranches  and  a  few  sheep  and  cattle 
ranches. 
FISH  HATCHERIES -I  am  in  the  business  of 
“fish  farming,”  that  is,  raising  salmon  fry  for  Uncle 
Sam.  The  hatcheries  operated  by  the  Bureau  of 
Fisheries  are  doing  a  wonderful  work  all  through 
the  Fnited  States  and  Alaska.  They,  together  with 
the  many  State  hatcheries,  are  directly  responsible 
for  keeping  up  the  fish  supply  of  the  country.  The 
tremendous  aniomil  of  fish  taken  from  our  streams 
every  year  would  have  exhausted  the  supply  long 
ago  if  it  had  not  been  for  this  artificial  propagation. 
There  may  lie  some  of  tlie  readers  of  The  R.  N.-Y. 
who  are  not  familiar  with  the  work  and  methods  of 
fish  eulturists.  Of  course  the  methods  vary  more  or 
less  with  the  different  varieties  of  fish. 
SALMON  VARIETIES.— My  experience  has  Been 
largely  with  salmon  work  both  on  Puget  Sound  and 
July  22,  1910. 
for  the  last  year  or  so  in  Alaska.  Here  the  prin¬ 
cipal  members  of  the  salmon  family  to  run  up  the 
rivers  are  tlie  bluebaek  or  Alaska  reds,  the  hump¬ 
back  ami  the  silvers.  The  hump-hack  is  so  calle  1 
because  of  the  very  prominent  hump  the  male  fish 
develops  on  his  hack  at  spawning  time.  At  this 
station  we  occupy  ourselves  entirely  with  reds  and 
hump-backs.  Tlio  silver  salmon  spawns  late  in  the 
Fall  and  early  Winter,  and  the  streams  as  a  rule 
are  frozen  at  that  time.  The  Alaska  red  is  the  va¬ 
riety  that  is  canned  so  extensively  and  is  distributed 
in  that  way  all  over  the  country  and  large  quanti¬ 
ties  are  shipped  abroad.  It  has  rich  red  meat, 
while  the  hump-hack  is  a  pale  /link  color,  hut  is 
every  whit  as  good  as  far  as  taste  goes.  Simply  on 
account  of  its  light  color  the  demand  for  it  is  not 
nearly  so  great  as  for  the  reds,  though  since  the 
war  started  the  European  market  has  absorbed  fair 
quantifies.  It  is  the  smallest  mem  her  of  the  salmon 
family,  averaging  between  five  and  six  pounds  in 
weight. 
TF,E  SPAWNING  SEASON. — About  (he  middle 
of  June  the  reds  first  appear  in  the  hay,  and  from 
then  on  till  they  start  up  the  streams  for  the  spawn¬ 
ing  beds,  may  be  seen  jumping  out  of  the  water, 
and  at  that  time  they  will  sometimes  snap  at  the 
angler's  spoon.  The  hump-hack  run  commences  a 
tew  weeks  later.  As  soon  as  the  salmon  reaches 
fresh  water  he  stops  eating,  his  stomach  gradual' s 
constricts,  and  presently  all  desire  for  food  is  gone. 
By  the  time  the  spawning  act  is  accomplished  it  is 
very  weak  and  an  easy  prey  to  fungus,  large  patches 
of  which  often  appear  on  his  body.  Its  idea  seems 
to  be  to  get  as  near  the  headwaters  as  it  can  and 
even  when  stopped  by  fish-racks  and  obliged  to  do 
posit  spawn  nearer  the  mouth  than  intended,  the  fis'.i 
still  endeavors  to  tight,  its  way  upstreams.  Hurling 
itself  at  any  obstructions  in  its  way  the  skin  is 
worn  off,  (ins  are  broken  and  finally  it  is  utterly  ex¬ 
hausted  and  dies.  The  only  salinonoid  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  that  does  not  die  after  spawning  is  the  steel- 
head.  regarded  by  many  as  a  salmon  though  techni¬ 
cally  a  trout. 
COLLECTING  SPAWN.— This  hatchery  is  situ¬ 
ated  on  the  shores  of  Let uck  Lake,  and  we  have, 
racks  in  the  various  creeks  that  empty  into  it  to 
stop  the  fish  from  going  upstream.  About  Mu-  first 
of  August  the  red  salmon  begins  spawning,  and  for 
the  next  six  weeks  or  so  we  are  busy  collecting  eggs. 
We  use  seines,  and  every  day  make  hauls  in  all  the 
creeks  below  the  racks,  taking  eggs  from  every  ripe 
female  and  returning  the  others  to  the  water.  The 
humpbacks  commence  spawning  about  the  middle 
of  August,  and  are  through  as  a  rule  by  the  middle 
of  September.  The  hulk  of  these  spawn  before  they 
reach  the  lake,  so-  we  collect  most  of  these  eggs  in 
the  main  river.  When  we  take  ripe  females  from 
tlie  seine  we  rap  them  over  the  head  with  a  short 
el uh,  then  let  the  eggs  fall  into  a  bucket.  We  then 
take  a  ripe  male  and  /tress  the  milt  out  onto  the 
eggs,  stirring  it.  in  well  and  adding  a  little  water. 
At  the  end  of  the  day  the  eggs  are  carried  to  the 
hatchery  and  put  into  wire  baskets  set  in  troughs 
through  which  a  stream  of  water  is  constantly  flow¬ 
ing — about  40.000  or  50,000  eggs  to*  a  basket. 
CARE  OF  EGGS. — In  a  few  weeks,  the  time  de¬ 
pending  a  good  deal  on  the  temperature  of  the 
water,  the  e.vespots  of  the  fish  appear  and  from  then 
on  till  hatching  time  the  eggs  are  quite  hardy,  and 
can  he  handled  more  or  less  roughly  and  shipped 
long  distances  without  harm.  After  the  first  live  or 
six  days  from  taking  and  until  the  eyespots  show 
clearly  they  are  very  tender,  and  are  handled  as  lit¬ 
tle  as  possible.  After  they  are  hardy  enough  to  he 
handled  they  are  stirred  up  daily  and  the  dead  eggs 
/licked  out.  Here,  where  the  water  temperature 
usually  stands  at  .‘!2  deg.  from  the  first  of  November 
till  Spring,  the  eggs  develop  slowly  and  it  takes 
anywhere  from  three  to  five  months  to  hatch  them. 
FEEDING  THE  FRY.— The  resulting  fry  have  a 
large  yolk-sac  attached  on  which  they  live  until  it 
becomes  absorbed,  and  they  are  ready  to  take  food. 
In  such  cold  water  this  part  of  their  growth  is  slow, 
and  it  extends  over  two  or  three  months.  When 
they  are  ready  for  food  we  keep  what  we  can  take 
care  of  and  feed  them,  planting  the  balance  in  the 
various  creeks  around  the  lake.  For  feed  we  use 
here  salt  salmon  freshened  and  cooked,  then  pressed 
and  ground  fine.  On  this  we  can  keep  them  grow¬ 
ing  for  several  months  and  plant  them  before  cold 
weather.  It  is  a  most  interesting  kind  of  “farming." 
and  it  seems  to  me  a  useful  one  as  well.  Necessarily 
the  fish  eulturist  lives  as  a  rule  an  isolated  life,  hut 
there  are  compensations,  and  no  man  has  a  right  to 
grumble  if  he  is  doing  what  lie  believes  tc>»  he  a 
good  useful  work,  simply  because*  conditions  and 
surroundings  are  not  exactly  as  he  would  like  them. 
Afognak  Island.  Alaska.  prank  s.  morton. 
