The daily morning Alaskan., 1902-12-28
RA1s1No WHEAT IN ALASKA

sOnlan Institute has been Investigating the r1lns of an old Russlin -four mIll thlt was built on Wood Island. ln Southeastern Ala,l,a early ln the Io'h century, He isarnsd of another Russian Touring mill Of much more recent date tha, WIS located about 100 miles south ot Circle City.
 The -four mlll led him to luisr, quoting hls remarks In an Interview 10 the P,-l.. "Ths growth Of wheat ln AIaskn Is evidently no, a new venture.
 "Ths wheat which kept this min sup piled was all grown In Alaska. Most oi h must have come from the district about Juneau, SltEa and adjacent teuiI,ry, and thls to my mlnd Is proof that Alaska Is a Eraln producing country, as soon rs ws| find out the kind of wheat Co SOW.
 "From the size ot the mill would Infer that thsre was a considerable amount Of wheat grown there, and that It was a sS- cess
 ''Why Russia ablndonei whelt raising and milling ln Alaska Is simply matter Uf conjecture, for there Is no history con- osmlnE lt that have ever heard ot. "
 Rls hardly probable thl, the careful researches Oi Blndoft, aided as he was by anumber of scholarly Russians who had been To the employ Of the RuSSiln Amer. can Fur Company, h the compiling ot his history Of Alaska, could have obtained knowledge Of successful wheat raising In thls district lf there ever had been any,
 On the contrary Itisam matter of history that attempts at growing grain by the Russians lI ,hslt American possessions prove a fat failure and that the Russian river country To California was ooIOn.zst by che Russian American Fur Comp uvto ralss grlln and beei fer the ,raders, trap pers. hunts.s ard factors at ths North. l, Is also a ril,i.r of history that The gain ralssd on Russian river was ground iu what Is now Alaska. These old mills were undoubtedly built for that purpose. They were probably abandoned after the failure Of the Russian river enterprise lrd the coming of the Yankee trades with flour that was traded for furs on a b sis thl, made further whsa, milling impracti- cal
 That wheat can be raised iu many parts Of this district, however, Is asserted by men who have proven the fact by eNpe'.- nsn,. The Russian colonISis were not agrleulturls,s or In any way atap. e- ,o farming. Few who have lntslIigentIy em- parked In farming and gardening in this dlstrc, have made failure of the business Year by year thsv are leaning methods that enable them Co succeed .n ml,urug vegetables that have failed to develop in previous seasons.
 Within the Arctic clrcls In Norway th- tanners raise large crops of good wheat. h natures within four weeks from the time H Is planted, lt Is said, however that seed brought to this par, of Norway from Frsncs and other more southern counties requires, from the time Of Dlan,- lnE. 10 weeks to mature, but that, as sue essslys crops from ths same origin are planted year bv year, it e kes less time Co rIpsn a, each successive season. AZ the snd of seven wears lt Is fully 1ccIimtet and VIII rlpen To a month.
 Were American smlgrants to colonize the north Of Norway, and that country was unlnhablt.d, they would probably find as many or more difficulties to contend with then arc now encountered ln Alaska.
 Mr. Holmes, the SKagway garierer is producing better potatoes every season and claims that his Increasing success Is alone due to the better adaptabillty of e'ch sue osedlng crop Erowr from his original s'yck Co thrive on hls Skagwav plantation. The experience Of those who have undertaken the cultivation Of th. soil of Southelsteu Alaska. demonstrates that lt requires Decu- IartrsltlnE and fsItlllzIna. The les, crops arc nO, raised the first wears, as els:whe'- and though fsrtlllzlng Is necessary. the more the land Is cropped the better lt yields
 Those who have tried to raise grain ln Alaska, assert that lt can be dore, but there arc very few who have undertaken it.
 The era of Alaskan agriculture Is not at hand, but lt will certainly come ln a very