The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1914-03-16

in Alaska. and as such became
familiar wi h various districts OF the
Territory.
BY LINCOLN WRIT.
If the wrath OF man shall be
turned to praise" it is equally true
that the wrath OF the gods shall be
turned to smiles.
Sell a man an Alaskan farm with,
out him seeing it. then let him visit
his investment any one OF the eight
mon hs of the year in which the
feet and he viii curse the boomer
and all his works. But let him visit
his Alaskan farm during June, July,
August or September and he will see
a miracle OF productivity and vernal
beauty.
Alaska is the greatest land on
earth. because while land Of fabu-
lous resources. its wealth has been
so tightly locked in the big ice-chest
that only unusual men and unusual
methods can forge the secret key
which is able to unlock these treas
ures of Midas.
Short summers, extreme tempera-
lures. great distances, procrasti-
mating 2vernment-nay thousand
difficulties have been overcome by
the genius Of these sturdy pioneers.
The great product of Alaska is its
stal1art brood of adopted sons. who,
not finding way. are making one
yonder IN the land OF midday dark
ness Making a way, and for the
most part an astonishing new way.
The inventiveness of necessity has
taught new methods Ct farming and
stock breeding, new applications Of
chemistry and electricity 20 mining,
a new science of forestry, new
conservation OF energy, new dar-
ing in engineering, a new courage
IN character building.
a Race OF Giants.
The very battle for life midst rug
ged and trying conditions Is produc-
ing d race of giants, who by new
processes and unusual methods are
Hring ing her secrets from the re-
Iuctant queen # the white silences.
Alaska is two countries. Nay, it
is a dozen countries with a dozen
climates, soils and types Of people.
If a line We're drawn straight south
from the western extremity of Alas
ka it would touch a point 1000 miles
west of San Francisco. Slip Cape
Prince Of Wales down the map to
Seattle and Aaskas panhandle will
sire. Oh into the Cuff of Mexico. SO
when one man comes from Point
Barrow on the Arctic ocean and
sees a bushel of potatoes said to be
grown in Alaska, he laughs derisive-
". There are no agricultural pos
sibilities at Point Barrow But when
d ClllLCu VI DOu tiic1StSLii <h4eoNsA
reads the government report OF fat
cattle of Kodiak, the flowers OF
Skagway, the cabbages of the Yukon
and the wheat fields of the Tanana,
he mods his head in approval and
says, Yes. | have seen them.
1t is the old story Of the Cali
fornian, Australian and South Afri-
can gold fields over again. The
capricious goddess of the mother
lode doles her nuggets out to the
few, hiding them from the many.
The last "grub-stake gone then and
only then the miner turns in deeper
alton to some other means OF sus-
tanning life, to find lying at his feet
on the surface of the ground a
frtune for the taking.
To use Richard Stahls words,
Imagine great bowl Of ice. three
hundred miles long and fifty miles
wide, sprinkle it with a layer OF dirt,
light it with sun that beats down
with terrific intensity % hours a
day, give it the climate Of Arizona
with 10 inches of rainfall, and you
have a picture Of more than one AL
aska valley where farming Is being
undertaken in dead earnest
Why Farming Succeeds.
The country would be an arid
desert were it not that the ground
is frozen from surface to bedrock
~ months in the year-except foot
or two of the surface which thAws
out during the short, brilliant sum-
mer Here we have subirrigation on
the one side and % hours of sun.
shine on the ether to force the
growth Of plant Mfe abnormally. This
is the secret of successful agriculture
in the Aleutian range. Pessimists may
scott and doubters may doubt, bnt
the fact remains, Alaska holds out
better opportunities for the American
farmer than Canada does. The Unit
ed States experimental farm at Fair
banks produced SO bushals of Red
fife wheat to the acre, and 60 bush
els OF Romanoff spring wheat plant
ed in the fall.