El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-01-01

Experimental farms. This is oats grown
distance away you would not recognize
the change
Much Ignorance About Alaska.
There is such a Grass ignorance con-
corning the climate Of Alaska that
viii say a little more about latitude
Take the city Of Seward. which is TO
be the terminus OF our new railroad.
That town is no farther north than
St Petersburg. and It is not half so
cold in the winter. juneau, the capital
OF Alaska, is in about the same latitude
as Edinburgh. the capital OF scot
land, and Juneau is. I venture. By far
the warmer. The same is true OF
Sitka and Copenhagen The whole
attitudes OF Alaska, and some OF the
Aleutian islands are farther south
than Birmin CHAM. Berlin, Dublin or
( Warsaw. Ketchikan and Moscow are
on about the same parallel
Is Unknown Mineral World.
Alaska is an unknown world as to
its mineral resources Only about one
fourth Of the country has been ex-
plOred by our biologists. and not one
hundredth OF il has Yet been touched
by the foot of the prospector. Never
the less. its placer mines have already
brought in more than $500, 00O O00
worth Of gold Dr. A H Brooks OF our
Geological Survey estimates that there
are several hundred million dollars
worth OF gold dust and nuggets still in
the gravel OF the Seward peninsula.
Fifty million dollars worth had been
taken out OF that region up to 1908. and
during my stay at Nome I saw them
dredging and hydraulicing quantities
OF gold from the tundra
Enormous dredges are now working
at Dawson, and that region is still pro-
ducing its millions Of dollars a year
spent some time on the gold dredges
turning over the icy gravel beds OF the
Klondize 10 a depth from thirty TO
sixty feet.
A great future for Alaska viii be
I found in its quartz mines You have
all heard OF the TreadWeu properties
and Of their product OF loWgrade gold.
, Just opposite them. across the Gas
tineau channel. other mines are being
opened that are already producing
millions. and will be producing mil
gold regions Of Juneau promise to be
second only to those Of South Africa
in their great gold production
Has Great Copper Deposits.
The copper deposits are unknown
and unprospected. although some have
been opened which are already produe-
ing millions Of dollars per annum. In
coming back from Alaska Travelled
on a steamer which had $500, 900 worth
OF copper concentrates in its hold and
the manager OF the mine from which
they came told me his company would
I There are new copper mines on an
island not far from Seward and copper
is being mined at a profit on Prince
Of Wales Island. in southeastern
Alaska
As to the coal Of the territory. the
1fatanuska fields are to be opened up
by Uncle Sans new railroad There
Is one patch. not far from the route
III Z =
thick and TO contain many million tons
Some Of our biologists have figured the
amount OF good coal in Alaska at 150.-
600. 900 tons. and others say that the
country has enough coal to last the
human race more than 100 years at
the present rate OF consumption
5O.OOO.OOO Acres OF Farm Land.
Alaska is an unknown world as to
its farming resources. I stood on the
hills near Fairbanks and looked over
4 million or so OF acres OF tillabie soil
in the Tanana valley. The whole ter
ritory is said TO have so. 00o. 900 acres
of possible farm lands and the Aleu-
tan Islands VIII feed thousands OF
cattle. Here and there ! visited the
homesteaders- and I stopped for some
time at all Of Uncle Sans expert
mental farms. Upon one OF them the
grain which stood in the fields reached
70 the height OF my head and I saw
them growing oats, barley and hay. and
even alfalfa I saw potato patches
that were yielding four tons to the
acre and one potato field which. I
was told. had crop in the ground that
viii sell for $4,000
Wild Berries Abound.
Another surprise was the wild berries
that grow all over Alaska. and an
other the wild flowers that make the
sides OF the hills and the lower slopes
OF the mountains blazeS of color
found plenty Of grass everywhere and
in places the weeds were as high a.
my head. I saw fat stock on the
homesteads of the Tanana valley. and
visited dairies which were supplying
butter and milk to the towns and min
ing camps nearby.
The Aleutian Islands have a climate
milder than Scotland. and on the island
of Kodiak, which IS as big as Porto
Rico. they are now raising Galloway
cattle and long-Wooled sheep.
The climate Of Alaska is lust right
for furs and the hunter sud trapper
will eventually be displaced bv the fur
farmer. Fox farms are already SPRING
ing up here and there along the Yukon
and other rivers. and fox skins are
shipped from there TO the markets OF
London
Another great possibility OF the fu-
ture viii be the raising Of reindeer. for
the United states markets. have vis-
tied the rindeer herds and the slauch-
terhouses at Nome, where the deer are
even HoM oSAlis ElileOs 70 De sent IN
cold storage to san Francisco and
Seattle.
Deer Meat From Alaska.
The shipping OF vension has already
begun and the time is not distant when
fresh deer-meat from Alaska will b
sold in all OF our cities Just as fresh
Alaskan salmon and halibut are sold
today
J. G. Balsillie, wireless expert az
Australia, believes he can command
rain BY q novel invention which ,rIII