The Cordova daily times., 1922-11-18
garlntng nn Cup nf thr mnrln
iFrom the Pathfinder, Official Organ
 of Pioneers of Alaska)

1eIe III AldSkd aDlde these three Mining, Fishing and Agriculture but the most interesting of these is Agriculture. Many things typical of Alaska no longer create surprise Stampedes are commonplace oc- entrances. Right at this very time hundred are Hooking to get a place Oil Fields. Towns grown up in day are every year-or-two happen ings, Big salmon packs are in the regular order of things. Record smashing in gold OF copper pro duction is an expected affair, but to many people in the states and elsewhere the terms Alaska and Agriculture seem incompatible.
 ' But not so; Alaska has an agri- cultural industry begun that holds great possibilities for the future A great deal has been said about the great turnips grown in the North. Pictures have been broadcasted which show scenes in potato fields. Exhibits of vegetables have been sent to the outside and have been viewed by thousands in Seattle and other cities. Nevertheless most people associate them only with backyard garden kind of farming. The fact that certain vegetables, grasses and grains can be produced in the Territory is fairly well un- ,uerstood by most well-read Ameri- cans. But very few of these same people seem able to realize that there is actually going to- be an agri- cultural industry here in which thousands of people will make their living and save money exactly as they do in the, Dakotas. But such is the fact
 Lots of Climate
 The purpose of this article calls for q discussion of the subjects along three principal lines. But has Alaska the climate?" is about the first question that will be asked. Yes, indeed, Alaska has climate and lots of it. Our winters, espe- cially in the sections with farming futures, are cold. But so are the winters in the Dakotas, Montana and in New England, and in nearly all of the northern American states, as well as in Canada. Some of the great wheat districts of the world experience much severer weather that most of Alaska ever knows. Last year friend of mine went out to spend the winter in Montana He wrote me in December that he had suffered more from the cold already than he had ever suffered in Alaska When he wrote it was 20 degrees below zero in Butte and when l received his letter. some two weeks later We had experienced nothing colder than 10 below, and 20 be- low was the coldest snap we had that winter But, after all, most farming is done in the summer. We follow the same practice in Alaska. And, as Service says of Alaska:
 "The summer, no sweeter was ever,
 The green leafy woods all athrill, The grayling aleap in the river,
 The bighorn asleep on the hill"
 From a farming standpoint Alas ka:s summer weather averages well. True, we don't get any extremely than 90 degrees in the Matanuska section, although the Interior ex- periences weather well up toward the hundred; but such temperatures are exceptional Nor do we have the warm nights that are needed for such crops as corn and melons. To put the matter in few words, there are some things, such as corn, tomatoes, melons and some fruits, that cannot be produced success fully. But such crops as are indisen- fully well. The summer seasons . are long enough to bring such crops to splendid maturity. In this con nection it should be remembered that almost very hour of a summer day is a growing hour on account of our long days and short nights. During our summer season in the agricultural sections there is prac- tically no darkness, while about 20 hours of the day furnishes actual sunshine. All the hardy vegetables, hay, wheat, oats, rye and barley, be- sides all small or bush fruits do eX- ceptionally well.
 Character and Extent of Soil
 Another important consideration is