The Alaska daily empire., 1920-08-20
POSSIBILITIES
 OF AGRICULTURE
 IN NORTH SHOWN
Fine Wheat Crop at Mata- nuska, Thriving Cattle Herds
 At Kodiak Are Reported.

Dr. c. C. Georgeson, head of the Alaska experimental work of the De partment of Agriculture, arrived in Juneau last night bound for his headquarters at Sitka after inspect ing the experimental stations at Mat anuska and Kodiak.
 Both at Matanuska and Kodiak I found the conditions of the crops and cattle herds satisfactory" said Dr. eGorgeson.
 "The grain at Matanuska is very promising. In fact, rarely have l seen more promising grain at this time of the year. The spring this year was late. Seeding, therefore, was late and the growth rather slow It should ripen in about six weeks before the first frosts which appear about the first of October.
 Building New Barn
 "The new barn we are building will not be completed until next spring though a part of it will be ready to receive our new cattle this fall. The cattle-a new breed in Al aska-are milking shorthorns which I purchased this spring from an Iowa breeder They have been sent to| Fairbanks and to Matanuska for breeding purposes.
 "The Matanuska station is in charge of F. E. Rader, graduate of the Kansas State Agricultural College, and fine man for this pioneer work
 ~. 70" Stations At Kodiak
 "At Kodiak we have practically two stations Our headquarters there are in the town of Kodiak where we have a small reservation As it was not large enough we had to open Is miles from Kodiak. where our main pastures are located
 "A new barn. modern in every respect, is being built there. Abso- lutely sanitary, it's floors are of ce- ment, its walls covered with a sani- tary washable material and the stan chions within the barn are of iron piping. Fresh, clear running water is piped from stream running out of a nearby gorge.
 Experiment Successful
 "The tubercuar cows have all been eradcated from the herd at Kodiak Before killing them, however, we experimented with them to discover whether or not we could raise heal thy calves from the diseased parents We isolated the tubercular animals but continued to breed them. We raised the calves apart from the par ents and fed them upon sterilized milk. Not one of the calves carried the disease, indicating conclusively that tuberculosis is not transmitted by the parents but acquired from food or contact with the disease after birth We have 56 head of cattle entirely sound in health.
 Two Breeds Crossed
 "At Kodiak we are carrying out an other experiment, attempting to cross the Galloway and Holstein- -Friesian cattle. Alaska is in need of a good family COW, hardy. active, a good rustler, but one that will give a large quantity of milk. The Gallo way COW fills all the qualifications except that if is not good milk COW. We have several herds of the crosses but they are not old enough for us to determine whether or not the experiment has been successful.
 Our sheep herd is increasing slow E. Because of some freak of nature, the lambs are mostly rams instead of eve lambs. The rams we sell after shearing but the ewes we keep to increase our flock We raise our own feed for the herd at Kodiak but because of the rain we have been unable to put up any hay.
 "The trip has been a success" Dr. Georgeson concluded. and I am well pleased with conditions as I found them"
 Dr. Georgeson will leave tonight on the Spokane for Sitka.