1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
563 
pine securely bolted. This gives such weight that, 
while less sensitive in starting in a light wind the 
momentum, when started, is such that it runs steadily 
and with a display of power. It runs a two-hole corn 
sheller and a feed grinder, and can be attached to the 
grindstone, churn and pump, the power being trans¬ 
mitted by sprocket wheel and chain. The cost of the 
mill was $11. The lower figure shows the position of 
the fans when the mill is out of gear, while the upper 
shows the mill in gear. It should be noticed that the 
ridgepole of the shed is north and south, that is, in 
the direction of the prevailing wind. 
One reclaimed mill observed by me near Kearney, 
Neb., supplied a small irrigating reservoir with water, 
yet its fans consisted simply of thin boards nailed at 
an angle of about 45 degrees to somewhat lengthened 
arms. In order to try this, I have arranged for the 
mechanical parts of several old mills with a view to 
reconstructing and testing them. When an itemized 
account shall have been rendered, there is promise of 
a fair balance in favor of the reclaimed mill. The 
windmill is sure to be an important factor in the mat¬ 
ter of irrigation, and while we are studying the 
efficiency of other mills, let us also consider the pos¬ 
sibilities of the Jumbo, Go-Devil, or Poor Man’s mill. 
University of Nebraska. erwin h. harbour 
AGRICULTURE IN THE YUKON VALLEY. 
GRAIN GROWING NEAR THE GOLD FIELDS. 
Recently, I met an intelligent man who had spent 
the past four years prospecting for gold in the Yukon 
Valley of Alaska, and I was rather surprised by the 
description he gave of that distant part of the United 
States. The winters in the Yukon Valley are not 
much different from those of northern Minnesota, in 
their influence upon the white man. Tne cold is 
more prolonged and severe, but the extreme dryness 
of the air, in a large measure, offsets this difficulty, 
and a man who has labored outdoors through a north¬ 
ern Minnesota winter, will not notice much difference 
in the cold of the two localities, in its effect upon his 
constitution. On the Yukon, there are frequent 
periods during the winter when man must desist from 
all out-door work, and the thermometer drops down 
to 70 degrees below zero, but I have, on several occa¬ 
sions, seen the mercury go as low as 00 degrees below 
zero, in Minnesota. Prom this, it appears that the 
cold is not to be regarded as so great an obstacle of 
that region as it has i^sually been. 
The Yukon Valley is so vast in extent that it is 
difficult to realize its size, and a very large portion 
of it is identical with the Red River Valley of Minne¬ 
sota in formation and in soil. The upper terraces of 
that portion of the Yukon Valley which lies below 
the point where the river makes its exit from the 
mountains, are immense level tracts of deep, rich soil 
which are only slightly broken at long intervals. So 
level, indeed, are these fiats, that the eye can seldom 
detect any change in the surface on them, and a fur¬ 
row 25 miles long might be turned, in many places, 
without a break. The Pacific Ocean exerts a pro¬ 
found influence on the climate of the valley, and the 
changes of the seasons are wonderfully abrupt and 
decisive. When the spring comes, the sudden disap¬ 
pearance of the ice and snow, and the bursting forth 
of green verdure are all but magical. The quick growth 
of plant life, and the perfection it attains, are truly 
remarkable. But it seems to be fully accounted for 
when the conditions of soil and climate that exist in 
the valley are understood. During the summer, the 
ground never entirely thaws out. The surface is 
quickly released from the fro3t to the depth of four 
to ten feet, according to location and character of the 
soil, and this frozen state of the subsoil is the princi¬ 
pal factor in the growth of plant life. The summer 
is one long day of three months’ duration. The sun 
swings ’round in a circle, and is above the horizon 
from 21 to 24 hours each day, so that, for this lengthy 
period, it never becomes dark, and the ground has no 
chance to chill; no frost falls, and the thermometer 
ranges from 90 degrees upward, in the sun, during 
these three months. 
Again, the dryness of the air renders this prolonged, 
excessive heat as easy for man to withstand as a 75 
to 95-degree temperature in Minnesota. It is seldom 
that rain falls during this short but potent summer, 
and storms of wind and hail are unknown. But the 
more prolonged the drought and heat may be, the 
quicker and more perfect is the growth of all plant 
life present, and the wide valley is clothed in deepest 
green during these summer months. The secret of 
this is that an abundant supply of moisture is fur¬ 
nished by the frozen subsoil, that slowly thaws and 
steadily releases the water stored in it, which is 
brought to the surface through the channels of capil¬ 
lary evaporation. This moisture is but slightly above 
the freezing point when it is absorbed by the roots 
of the growing plants, and it must exert a highly 
beneficial influence by counteracting the fierce heat 
that steadily assails the surface of the ground. Under 
these peculiar conditions of the natural forces of 
Nature, it is easily realized that a number of our 
staple crops will succeed and reach perfection in the 
Yukon Valley. Scotch Fife wheat produces enor¬ 
mous yields of the very highest grade of that grain, 
which has been proved, by test, to make the best 
class of fancy patent flour. Barley and oats, potatoes 
and roots of all sorts, and many of the garden vege¬ 
tables, also reach surprising perfection In the case 
Fig. 232. Fig. 233. 
VARIOUS METHODS OF FASTENING THE ARMS. 
of barley grown in the Yukon Valley, the malt 
makers would likely find the very highest grade of 
grain for their use, which might soon take precedence 
throughout the world. The growing barley would not 
be subject to the vicissitudes it is in the States and, 
especially it would escape the injury from rains dur¬ 
ing harvest, and when standing in the shock, which 
lowers the quality of this grain more than any other. 
There are already a number of small farms in the 
valley which have been opened by disappointed gold 
seekers, and it is from the results secured on these 
that I have drawn my most trustworthy information. 
These farmers are reaping a rich harvest of dollars. 
The miners stand ready to pay high prices for vege¬ 
tables, and even for grains, which they grind into 
coarse meal for bread. This is the golden side of the 
picture of prospective farm life in that semi-polar 
region. 
But there is a darker side to life in that far northern 
country, which will likely appear to those used to the 
comforts of farm homes in the States, as insurmount¬ 
able. The long, cold winter, with its constant night 
of nearly three months, when the landscape is 
wrapped, in deep gloom, and when only a faint 
flicker of twilight and the changing play of the 
aurora borealis, shining on the white snow, reflect a 
faint, uncertain light, is likely to give a dubious 
aspect to the Yukon country. This dismal and dan¬ 
gerous period of the year, coupled with the incredible 
swarms of mosquitoes and flies in the summer, which 
make it impossible for horses or cattle to exist, seem 
to outweigh the favorable features of the valley. 
Mules and the reindeer will be the beasts of burden 
in that country if it be ever brought under cultivation. 
Sheep and hogs will, no doubt, be easily acclimated, 
and goats may take the place of the cow. The rein¬ 
deer is a very valuable animal ; it makes an excellent 
beast of burden; furnishes good meat ; is easily 
reared, and is in its native home in that climate, and 
will take the place of the horse and the ox. 
If, however, a railroad should be built to connect 
the great Yukon Valley with the commercial world, 
and wheat-growing prove to be a profitable business 
there, the work would, likely, be done mostly by 
steam. There is plenty of coal in all districts of the 
valley, which will furnish cheap fuel for every pur¬ 
pose. On those great flats, a traction engine can run 
a gang plow, turning furrows miles in length, and 
fields of 50,000 or more acres of wheat would likely be 
a common sight. The people could live in villages, 
for mutual protection, and in the spring, summer 
and fall, carry forward their farm work on the largest 
scale. Here the bonanza farm would find its true 
sphere, with room for all who wished to enter that 
class of business, and the great Yukon Valley could 
be made to supply the marts of the world with the 
very highest grade of wheat, that would, no doubt, 
command a better price than that of any other 
country. Neither are we to presume that this is a 
painting of the fancy. It will likely become a reality 
at no distant date. w. c. b. 
Faribault, Minn._ 
JAPAN PLUMS, PEACHES, CHERRIES, IN 
VIRGINIA. 
I have been growing several varieties of Japan 
plums for several years, both in nursery and orchard. 
I have had the Kelsey Japan and Prunus Simoni in 
bearing for four or five years. The Prunus Simoni 
has proved to be perfectly hardy in this section ; it 
is a very shy bearer, very sour, and good for nothing 
except to cook. Last year, I cut down all my Prunus 
Simoni trees, some of them four inches in diameter, 
which had not matured a dozen plums. Other trees 
of this variety planted in the neighborhood have done 
very little better. This year, while the Japan plums 
were in bloom, we had a very severe freeze; the 
ground was frozen an inch or two, and ice was formed 
one-fourth inch thick, which killed about nine-tenths 
of the blossoms on all varieties except the Kelsey ; 
that variety withstood the freeze. One trouble with 
Japan plums is that they are likely to overbear, and 
it is very important when a full crop sets, that the 
fruit should be thinned I have had limos of Kelsey 
two or three feet long, resemble an ear of corn when 
the fruit was partly grown; the plums were wedged 
in as closely as possible all around the limbs. Of 
course, the fruit could not mature unless a part was 
removed. The quality of the Kelsey is good and sweet 
when the fruit ripens on the trees, and the plum grows 
very large here, considerably larger than hens’ eggs. 
This year I have had the following varieties in 
bearing, only a few of most kinds because of the 
spring freeze : Abundance, Orient, Satsuma, Red June, 
Burbank. The Red June is a week or 10 days earlier 
than Abundance, and about two-thirds its size. I 
think that it will prove a valuable plum for this 
section. The Abundance is a wonderful bearer or¬ 
dinarily, commencing often the next year after plant¬ 
ing. It is good in quality, very sweet and fine for 
eating. Every one that eats them wants some of the 
trees. The Burbank is a week or 10 days later than 
the Abundance, a little larger, but not of so good 
quality. The Orient and Satsuma are of medium siz3, 
and quality very good. I had a tree of the Orient 
three feet tall that bore fifty plums. As far as tested 
in this section, the Abundance and Burbank stand 
the highest, both for quality and productiveness. 
Two trees of the Abundance in the neighborhood, 
planted four years ago in a chicken yard, bore 2% 
bushels of plums each the third year from planting, 
and the plums sold for $14, with enough left for 
family use. This year, the crop on the two trees was 
eight bushels. The owner sold $16 worth, canned one 
bushel, gave away one-half bushel, and had enough 
besides for family use. 
I have examined the Japan plums this year to note 
the effect of the curculio, and have caught a number 
of the pests while on the plums at work. I find that, 
while they are not quite curculio-proof, they with¬ 
stand the attacks of the curculio much better than 
the Gages and most other plums. The curculio began 
