Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-11-18
SOUTH PARIS, MAINE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER Is, 1919.
Farming In Alaska.

according to DR.. C. C. Georgeson, sgron-
omist, In charge of the FIVE experimental
agricultural stations In the Territory,
who but recently returned from bis an.
nusl visit to the station ct Rampant which
Is In latitude 65 80, the most northern OF
the five stations. DR.. Georgeson reasons
that anything that will grow and mature
there will do well at all points In the
Territory south of there. All together
$50 varieties of wheat, barley, rye and
oats have been developed, many of them
better and more perfect than have ever
been developed in the States. In fact, In
the matter of hulless and beardless bar
ley, DR.. Georgeson believes that he has
developed varieties that excel all previ-
ous efforts resultant from cross breeding.
he not only gets big yield, but the
straw is sufficiently stiff to defy storms
and the grain ripens perfectly within 100
days from the period of seeding. Several
varieties of this type of barley have be-
come staple and will now be grown In
larger plats for the purpose OF seed pro-
duction which will be distributed in
small quantities among the farmers OF
Alaska. The elimination OF the barley
beard is triumph from the fact that
besrdless barley ia much more valuable
as forage than the bearded varieties.
SPRING WHEAT.
Fully dozsn varieties of spring wheat
have been developed as the result of by
bridization at the Rampant station. The
object sought has been to develop va
riety that will ripen and mature in 100
DAYS and this object has been attained 10
heavy, solid and fully developed heads
that will grow perfectly anywhere in
Alaska south of the Arctic Circle. DIR.
Georgeson has been six years developing
these several varieties of wheat by cross
breeding but his efforts have at last been
fully and generously rewarded. The
same process used in developing barley
and wheat has been employed In devet-
opipg oats and another To-day product
has been attained.
ALFALFA.
Experiments covering period OF ten
years have been made in the develop
ment of alfalfa at the Rampant station
and the result has been variety that
possesses all the virtues Of common al
falfa and which at the same time will
Withstand the weather of interior even to
10 degrees below zero without any pro-
lection. Ten acres of alfalfa was grown
and harvested at the Rampant station
this year, all of which has been saved for
seed and from which all Alaska will be
eventually stocked with this superior va
riety of forage
FUR FARMING INDUSTRY EXPANDING
Within the past few weeks upwards OF
half dozen islands, mostly In the vicin-
ity of Kake, have been located by resi-
dents of Petersburg who will stock them
with blue foxes.
WAS "sEwARD's FOLLY" FOLLY?
Stewards folly, that barren and inhos.
pital land of perpetual snow, has "a ,OOO,-
900 acres of good agricultural land avail
able for farms. Finland has less than
one ninth of the available farm land we
have in Alaska. Finland and Alaska are
very similar in climate and are both
largely located between the fifty-eighth
and SEVENTEEN parallels of north latitude.
Look up the records and you will find
that year or so ago Finland, during one
season, produced 36,7S1 $3.50 bushels of
grain, 20, ,5S5, 800 pounds of butter, and
during the same year she exported meat,
game and butter to the amount of $S, ,67O,-
400 and wood pulp and paper to the value
of SAC, ,012, 900. If Finland, with less than
1000, 900 acres of agriculture land. can
do that, what can Alaska, with "a ,OOO, 600
acres of farming land, dop Alaska is
destined to be a great farming and stock
raising country.
We paid s7,2Oo,OOO for Alaska. Dur.
ing the past SO years Alaska has shipped
1894, ,7S9, ,69r worth of gold. copper, sill
YER, tin, marble. gypsum and other met.
ais. Alaska has shipped out $53, ,278, ,561
worth of seal skins and $26, ,032, ,035 OF
other furs and pelts. Up to December
81, 1917, Alaska shipped from her ports
$29S, 1852 worth Of salmon, cod, hall
but and other fish.