The San Francisco call., 1913-08-29

Dy exLeuuiiB the cicctlNe 1TduCiiiSc "
women"
Pretty good fellows. those Alaskans
not?
WILD FLOWERS OF ALASKA
To the average American the fact
that Alaska is abloom with flowers
may come somewhat as a surprise
But even California could boast no
1ovelier poppies than the pale lemon
colored ones that / saw on the Pribi-
loft islands and around Nome, and
the wild geranium, monkshead. mon
key flowers (mimulus), dog tooth
violets, Columbine spirea, 1ouseweed
Ia dreadful name for lovely fiower)
and f1reweed. often growing six feet
high, with individual flowers two
inches across, cover acres of the
made land of the islands of the Yu-
kon or spread under the trees climb
ing the banks. I never realized be-
fore how decorative fireweed is until
I saw 1t in what surely must be its
native habitat. There were so many
new to me that felt abashed that
did not know them-ready bloomers
that they were.
CUCUMBERS GROW II INCHES
Alaska goes California one better
in rapid growth. It's 100 days of
summer makes vegetation put on
third speed" And vegetables surely
work overtime to grow. They are
aided by "a hour day sun, who stays
strictly on his job, with no charge for
overtime or added heat between and
4 p. m. Therefore I saw a cucumber
at Fairbanks, town only one degree
below the arctic circle, the soil of
which is the two inch covering OF
everlasting ice, that grew IA inches
- l. ~ l.
greenhouse, but resented the simpu-
tation cast on my informant's We
racity when a scoffer asked II were
known as a truthful writer.
! hotly told him yes. and that be-
lieved the story. The woman who
grew 1t told me 80. or course be-
lieved 1t. The unbeliever suggested
then that II cucumbers were So
piece In the Fairbanks market had
told him this previously-that the
cucumber growers cut on every II
inches as they elongated themselves
and save the stump for future growth.
Wasn't he horrid?
ALASKA STRONG ON RHUBARB
But, truly, the cucumber story is
not q whopper, and all Alaska bor-
dering the Yukon river and many
other places, notably the valley bor-
dering the inland passage and on the
southern slope, can and Is beginning
to grow all the smaller fruits and
vegetables. The first old fashioned
scythe and sickle, as well as hay
caps with wooden pins that I've not
seen since I was girl in Maine on
my fathers farm, was In hay field
back from Seward, and the hay
smelled as sweet as Of old. slid
down the haycock. too. much to the
delight of the farm expert, Professor
Georgeson. and others OF the party.
Among the odd things were crab
apples that were no bigger than peas
But they are good stock to graft
other apples on. And rhubarb!
weighing two pounds each and crisp
as celery well bleached, were often
pulled, and President Taft can bear
witness that Alaska celery Is the
sweetest ever.
To revert to flowers for a moment:
The most gorgeous gloxinias and the
most perfect Canterbury bells / ever
saw are raised by the good Sisters of
st. Anne in Holy Cross mission.
ALASKA CLIMATE VS.. CALIFORNIA
Now here Is where I shall raise
questioning eyebrows. / said Alaska
was a fine summer recreation center.
and I'm going to enlarge on the gor-
geous weather we found on all the
flowing road that took US so smoothly
and comfortably on our triangular
journey from its beginning through
the inland passage. over the White
pass. down the Yukon river, where we
went down north at good clip un-
til we reached Fort Yukon, inside the
arctic circle. and then headed in q
general westwardly direction, but still
going with the current
Lovely Sitka. with its harbor ISL
ands and It's Russian memories, has
a warmer mean temperature than
many eastern cities. and the most
northern open the year round port is
in southern Alaska
Every one should visit Alaska. The
attractions are so many and so abso-
Ilutely unlike any Other summer out