Valdez daily prospector., 1913-05-27
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{s cry r"ne nesr H'eSaa fusG FS1 $li half s $ the entire world with that, inval- 4 uable ingredient of fertilizer ! potash--through it's extensive $ kelp beds, is the belief of Prof. { Geo. R.. Rigg, of the, department \ pf botany, University of; Wash 3 ington, who heads an expedition { lMhich is aboard the power : schooner Gjoa, which left port for { Southwestern Alaska this morn { ing, having called here on her ! way north for fuel. The belief of { Prof. Rigg is shared by members \ of his party, and by the gOvern- ! ment bureau of soils, under the direction of which the survey of < the kelp beds will be made this { summer. Incidentally new re- { |,sOurce in Alaska is discovered-- f |and one that is rich in possibili- \ ties.
 {" The government expedition is < divided into two parties. One is $ aboard the Gjoa, as published ex- : clusively by the Dispatch yester- ! day. The other party, headed by { Prof. T. c. Frye, also botanist ! from the University of Washing S ton, is aboard the fishing boat { ZarembO. which is on it's way to : Prince William Sound by easy ! }stages. The Zarembo separated ! from the Gjoa at Dixons En- \ trance, a few miles south of { ketchikan.
 > The GiOa will make a stop at ! Yakutat and her commander eX- ! poets to reach Seldovia within three weeks. Surveys of the kelp ! beds will be taken at several points. The Gjoa is an exact \ twin to the famous boat of the same name. on which Capt. ROn- : aid Amundsrn, who later became the discOverrr of the South Pole, sailed through the Northwest : Passage several years ago. dis covering new territory. The orig 1 inal Gjna was donated to the city ! of San Francisco. The vessel was l dragged over the sands of the beach near the Cliff House and \ placed in a cradle in the beach end of Golden Gate Park.
 Prof. Rigg said yesterday: "FOr the manufacture of fertilizer, and for many other uses, potash is widely demanded. and the supply fin the United States is getting ! low. Tests having determined
 that a great percentage of pot
 ash is contained in seaweed, the i government readily consented to
 foster our Alaska expeditions. We | hope in plat the krlp of the whole | Alaskan coast from DXOnS En- | trance to the Four Mountains be-
 fore the end of the summer. | There are only two countries that | produce potash in any great ] UYani ity. These. arc t;rrmany and : nc | illlpu SlalpS. ne loIlllef
 country has been furnishing this
 nation with considerable potash. but each year Germany has les S senrd it's shipments ter the Unit
 ed StatrS. and the time is not far off. it is believed. when the na- A tion across the sea will keep all -| it's potash at home.
 "The method of harvesting the
 kelp crop has been tested and it's ipracticability established. A scow
 is equipped with long feelerS un-
 derlaid with sharp knives A tug
 pushes the scow into the kelp
 beds and the knives cut the ten
 !taclcS from their roots. A con- Iveyor takes the seaweed to hop = iper, from which the kelp drops s to a bin where it is chopped finely
 by small knives. Then the weed
 is put through a cyiinder, where
 it is dried by means of hot
 blast. The dry weed is then sack
 ed and ready for shipment"
 In Prof. Riggs opinion the crop
 will grow almost as fast as it is ' harvested. as there is no season"
 on the bottom of the water, the ! temperature remaining practical ly uniform the year round.--