The Alaska daily empire., 1916-09-25
ALASKA SOON TO TAKE HER PLACE
 IN CROP WORLD

That Alaska Is destined to take her place in the great crop world. and become an American agricuitar- al factor. is the firm belief of II. u. Bennett. of the Bureau Of Soils of the United States. who Is in JG. neau.
 Mr. Bennett in 1914 was selected Co investigate the agricultural possi. bgities along the various proposed railroad routes from the coast to the Interior Of Alaska He made an extensive report on Che agricultural possibilities Of the Cook lnlet-Susi,- na region. the Yukon-Tanana region and the Copper River region. and a comparison Of the country reported upon Finland and parts Of Siberia. Tais report vas issued as a bUlle- tn of the Departmeu, ot Agriculture In 1915
 This year. in association with A.. C. Riugland. e, the Bureau Of For estry. Mir. Bennett investigated the Kcnd Peninsula country. and it's ad1ptabnlty for agricultural purpos- es. He found that there is far more lands suitable for agricultural pur- poses on the peninsula than had been previously supposed.
 Speaking or his work in Alaska and the conclusions he has reached, Nir Bennett said:
 "This summer ] was through sey- eral parts CT Kenai Peninsula and other paris or tine Cook Inlet region The agricultural development in 8latanuska Valley is very encourag- ing. When ] was there two years ago th.s valley was largely a wil- deruess; now it is possible Go see from one farm Co another for long distances. and the area Of cultivat- cd land Is being enlarged as rapid ly as the homesteaders can clear iL
 ~It is said that the areable farming land in this section has already been taken up. The soil here is deep. mellow loam that is proving very productice The yields Of potatoes are exceptionally heavy. over 300 bushels per acre being secured. and this without any fertilization A large number or vegetables are be- ing grown. and also some fields Of oats and barley. The advance of agriculture here has been faster than had expected.
 "The ranchers call this deep loom soil 'Matanuska soil In our report, on the agricultural possibilities Of the several regions that were being considered for the location Of the government railway which was made in 1914. we classified this land as the deep place Of the Knik loom, using the local name Knik to desig- note the well-drained soils of the Cook Inlet region. which are under lain at variable depths by sandy and gravely beds. Thus Kn!k soils were found extensively developed iu every region visited this year, and other areas have been found th.s year. In general the depth of the soil does not average so deep as ia the Matanuska valley. yet exactly the same soil. with che same depth. has been found in number e. places on the SusiJna. Yentaa. and Talkeetna rivers and on Kenai Pen insula. while large areas not so deep. but which. nevertheless. con sist Of good farming land. have bean found throughout the region. All of this large area of bunch land, can be used for crop production. with probably some variation in yield and maturity as 9 resultant of cit matic variation due to local topog- raphy
 She shallowist sail. such as that where small spruce and moss are abundant. will need some kind or manurial uearment-the addition of barnyard manure or fish scrap. It is not unlikely that the kelp. which