was abundantly demonstrated in 1881 by an ex-sailor, who gained 
a comfortable livelihood by the sale of these products grown in 
his own garden. 
The rainfall and fog, though prevailing more frequently of!' the 
southern coast of Alaska, is not peculiar to that region, as the 
same condition exists as far south as Mexico. The effect of the 
warm atmosphere engendered by the waters of the Pacific Ocean 
and Japan currents coming in contact with the colder atmosphere 
of the Coast Mountains, in producing a condensation similar to 
that produced by the waters of the Atlantic oil'the British Islands, 
is familiar to all. Owing to this almost perpetual saturation of 
the atmosphere, rubber boots and oiled jackets become a necessary 
part of the outfit of the Alaska miner and fisherman. The rain¬ 
fall in Southern Alaska is generally of short duration and frequent. 
It is quickly absorbed by the earth and in a few hours is forgotten. 
Several falls of rain during the day, with intervals of cloudless 
sky, are not infrequent. 
In November the peaks of the Coast Mountains whiten with 
snow, which gradually descends their sides as winter advances, 
until finally the mountains are completely enveloped. A truly 
Arctic scene is presented to the voyager at this time and it is prob¬ 
able he will experience feelings of awe, loneliness and desolation. 
In the spring the mountains are as gradually uncovered, until an 
elevation of about one thousand feet is reached, where the snow 
may linger a month or two later, and at still greater heights re¬ 
main during the entire summer. Along the coast in Southern 
Alaska the snow which reaches the surface is probably not greater 
than the fall during an ordinary winter in our New England 
states and disappears as quickly. In the interior the fall of snow 
is greater. North of the mountains or from thirty to fifty miles 
from the coast, snow to the depth of several feet covers the earth 
for nearly, if not quite, half the year. Yet at Fort Yukon, about 
the centre of the Territory, the heat at times during the summer 
is said to be oppressive, and the mercury has been known to 
reach 112 0 F. By reference to such meteoric records as we pos¬ 
sess, it is learned that the mean summer temperature at Fort 
Yukon is 59*67°; for autumn, 17*37° > spring, 14.22°; winter, 
23.80°; mean yearly temperature, 16.92°. In the Aleutian and 
