The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-22
THE MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. AUGUST %. 1897

the shape Of a red raspberry, and is an
inch long; the Indians crush il in a wood
en- bowl and eat it with seal oil This is
one of the Oldest gastrouomic practices
OF the natives who regard seal oil as the
natural accompaniment of pretty nearly
everything edible. They even eat straw
berries with seal oil, we would put SUI
gar on them.
Where small fruits grow wild in such
surprising abundance, it is reasonable TO
suppose that they might be cultivated
successfully This is one OF the problems
to be tackled by the experts who may be
placed in charge of the experiment sta
ton. They Will try TO find out how the
fruits and vegetables also may be pre-
served best for winter use. The produc-
ton of eggs, butter and cheese Will de-
mand attention at their hands. Nothing
could be more absurd than the present
fact that the people who are porting into
Alaska are obliged to bring their
food with them, because the country will
not yield them a support. They are act
ually Obliged 10 fetch what they need to
eat from San Francisco or from
Puget Sound. 1t is all because the re-
sources of the country are undeveloped
Dr. Dan says that within a century from
the present time Alaska will be exporting
great quantities Of ship timber butter
cheese, wool, mutton and beef Very
Hkeiy her berries Will find a wide demand
Turnips and radishes flourish in Southern
Alaska. Potatoes do well, though the tub
ers DO not attain a great size Cabbages
do not head" Lettuce is successfully
grown, though il does not ripen seed The
turnips above referred TO reach a weight
OF five or six pounds, and have an excel
lent flavor; the Russians preserve the tops
IN vinegar for winter use. Wild peas grow
in abundance on the Aleutlan Islands
Along the coast of the mainland to the
northwest Of Sitka, and on some of the
ISLANDS off shore, all of the cereals except
corn can be grown to perfection Kadiak
Afognak and other islands possess a most
fertile soil with milder and more euua-
bic climate than that OF the western states.
wild timothy grows luXuriantly in South
east Alaska. There are large areas of ex-
cellent grazing land, notably on the great
Islands OF the kadiak and Aleutian archi-
pelagoeS. There is no reason why Alaska
should not rival Montana or Wyoming in
the raising Of stock. All along the coast
millions of cattle and sheep might subsist
on the wild grasses with a much less per-
centage of loss from winter cold than in
the western part of the United States the
climate being far milder and more eduable.
Indeed, the climate of the Sitkan and Aleu-
tan regions is not more severe than that
of Maryland or Virginia, and exhibits few
er Yicissitudes.
on the upper Yukon the summer climate
is delightful. In that region there is much
arabic land, with soil from which farm
and garden products of nearly every kind
can be obtained. During the last spring
and summer there were eight-five days of
growing weather in that country-eoual
TO at least 100 days IN the latitude of Ohio
and Indiana, the sun shining throughout
the twenty-four hours Before long the
vast coal fields of Cooks Inlet and Kaku
tat bay will furnish employment for thou
sands of miners, and this among many
causes viii bring about a continuance Of
the tremendous influx of population into
Alaska-a population which must needs be
fed.