The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-22
AGRICULTURE IN alaska.
A Government Expedition to Gather
Data.


exploring expedition sent out by Uncle
sam. Ii is TO start Ia a few days, and its
shiact will be tn visit ALASKA ana .,atber
III. ,,.-t. ,z. .,,
'''' ''10 ~ 'i'S o'ii-
'7H-p'"'1d e9'duilsiilheht OF one or more
agricultural experiment stations In that
Arctic province. Congress has aDDronriat-
cd z-o,o ~, man, for tho ir,,,ostt..'tfo. -
,,r5..r .,;sti,,s. is,,. ~, t,,..tt,,t3 - -
sort ,goul5 ~. enttfreI H., =, s,,t.ei5i-, - az
~, ,,.,r ,,,,,,,,, f,-, ~ ,,1,-.,y ~ V' @
late The popuIatlon Of ina tar,itnr,, b,.s
49,, 49,. III ',,-...l.,,.l. 80 iia'
ma ,,ers r,i ~, al u VI o.
thcm IN Ulrs1tt of goid The rnsb ~ ~
mines along tbe ynkon continues slo =
dav being the price of ordinary Labor I'm
the E<lond.ke region where at tho nres-
eut time "A shade or shovel i worth s25
cash. As a rule however no man can ret
work unless he brings q Years provisione
with him. because the clain-owner cannot
afford ia give nm ann, of me food which h.
an that stands between himself and starry
alton
Here is a country. then. which does not
Cffcr support 90 an increasing roDi1Iatiop
Yet II is exceedingly rich. and In narts
very fertile. so that there Is no reason why
il should not sustain millions OF people. In
fact, most Of the important food plants Of
the temperate zone grow there very wen
and the enterprising farmer may choose
whether he viii produce vegetables or SOW
grain Thanks to the great warm current
that flows along the shores OF Southern
Alaska, corresponding to the Gulf stream
of the Atlantic ocean, the climate of the
coast belt and outlying islands is very
mild, the temperature In winter rarely
dropping more than fifteen degrees below
the freezing point. Unfortunately, knowl-
edge respecting the agricultural possiblH-
ties of the territory is slight, and it is
just this deficiency Of Information that is
70 be supplied by the contemplated expe-
dition.
Botanist Allen Of the department OF ag-
ricu.ture. and Or. Killen of the Oregon
Agricultural College, with one or two oth-
ers, will compose the party. They will
make a tour through the Sitkan region
and also win visit a number of islands of
the Aleutian chain, looking for the estab-
lishment of an experiment station. They
viii pay particular attention to the great
island Of Kadiak. which is of such size
ninety miles long by sixty broad. that
alone it might be a granary for the whole
of Alaska. TWo-thirds of it is treeless, ana
the fertility of the soil is evidenced by the
extraordinary mxuriance Of the grasses
with which its hills are covered. This
wealth Of wild grasses is equal to anything
that can be seen on the prairies of Iowa
or Minnesota.
The expedition will choose a location for
at least one experiment station. When
once II is started, the work of the estab-
lishment will be OF a very elaborate ana
comprehensive description. II will be
scientific farming conducted with a view
to finding out how the conditions of nc
region may be utilized to best ADVANTAGE
for the production of every possible field
and garden crop But this is not all for
il IS desired to learn yhat domestic mi
mails may be reared to advantage in Alas
ka At the presnet time there are nrac-
tically no domestic animals i'm the Terri
tory though the country Is well adanted
for sheep, pigs and goats and in the Sitka,,
region, as well as on the islands Of the
Aleutian chain. cattle will keen fat an ~,
year around without much care suhsistine,
on the nutritious grasses Further 10 ~
north it would be necessary To Dive tbe,,
shelter during two or three noo1tbs ~ IL
Verest winter weather pou-ty.,, oa,, 10 -
ed to great advantage in Alaska
In short Alaska is n country ~ greet 90.
ricultural possibilities Tbo coastoI III
and the lowlands OF the y,l,on rogio,,
are covered as soon as snrins- arri,,oe t,itt,
a mxuriant growth Of grass ana eou 80
Among the most Valuable prosses &c ~,
familiar Kentucky hlue praes v,btnI,
grows as far north as Kofseh1a so,iI,5
and another is the blue-toint Grass roanb,
ing four or eva faot IL 80, 9rs97' traCi-
make most excellent FORAGE por,o,, ~.
been tried at Port Yukon m e,,,al1 80
and has matured tboIeb he 80, ~,
short. Rive and harley oIebt 70 e,',,r j"
inasmuch as those e,rat,,s - -. ~,
very high latitrdes 4, IF,rona ~
and of Kadials l. i'm tbe - ,a.t,.. -
with tenaneratura ana roi,, e,tI - 49,
as a part ar scotland Will ,'r',l, va
much barley and rye Oats 90 -.
will grow very far rortt, - anu
The growth ~ nlants A. t,,a. co.. ...,.
ern region is asfonisbinf,l,, - ~, NJ, ~
snow has HARDLY disan,,,, ~ - 'e
mass Of berbae, he s,,ii,,,,. ~,
which a Few is,,ss h. - s5, ~ en- spotS
ing but n vsbito sboot - ...s - iiu, ,i ~
Vegetarian nro1,,cl,o, 49,. e, WIZ
fruit in ouirl. e,1ccnssi,,, II - eia 1i'u
The short ana 49, .,,,,,,, - u'l' ms
lion attairs alr,,o.t -, ~ ngstla-
Everv rIant is r,isbo1 as 60 a. ~ "a y So
"a ripeniny I'm orIor No. a., q lo'I,. ny
be produced heroro ~, aa,i,+ s,.,., 10 may
tnrn mn il pIants - - - ,.o7's vi du-
customed In to,,nnr.,.e J., ,tt,,5l ''c "v -
At nipbt ana ~ : irtornstt,,as ~ sleep
tbat ~, vereta ,,nn ~ ar,ti.s W OBSERVE
snes similar babit for -, -. ,'li
eacb tygont,,-ro -, t,'a'is Iu'o ~
is In tbo boa,,c,,s g. s'Iu.Sn llle sun
70