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Show 6y CCGeOQCeSOft) It has been demonstrated both at government experiment stations and by hundreds of settlers set-tlers scattered over the country, that Alaska has agricultural capabilities of considerable range. But it is not without its drawbacks and prospective settlers should get all available avail-able information before deciding upon a move into this section ' i SO FAR as topography, soil, and climate determine the matter, Alaska has probably 100,000 square miles of area on which there jre possibilities for farming and grazing. graz-ing. The larger portion of the farming farm-ing land is in the interior, in "the Yukon Yu-kon drainage. Currants, raspberries, gooseberries, .strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries cran-berries are plentiful in Alaska. Some rarieties of wheat, oats, rye, barley, potatoes and many other vegetables have matured every season since the United States department of agriculture agricul-ture started its work. The department has four stations; one is on the-Yukon within 75 miles of the Arctic circle, another is also in the interior, while there is one in the southeastern and another in the southwestern portion of the territory. It has been positively demonstrated that forage crops may be grown in the southwestern and. central portions as well as potatoes and other garden vegetables. Chicken raising is also proving .feasible. It has also been 'estimated 'es-timated that a great number of farm products are shipped in that might easily be raised on the ground. A recently issued bulletin on Alaska, while citing many optimistic facts, also al-so warns the homesteader that there are many difficulties to . be encountered. encoun-tered. On the south coast, where the climate cli-mate is mild, tillable laud is scarce, because of the proximity of the' mountains moun-tains to the shore line ; elsewhere in Alaska the winters are long and very cold and frost-proof buildiugs must be provided for shelter of family and stock. The ground freezes to a great depth and there is but a short period during which this can thaw, and the surface is covered with an accumulation of un-decayed un-decayed moss and other vegetable material ma-terial serving as a protection to the frost and a reservoir for moisture. The frost line under natural conditions sinks but a few feet during a season, and the thawed layer is usually a morass of muck in all portions of Alaska Alas-ka where tillage is possible. Tins condition con-dition makes land travel almost out of the question, during the summer until un-til wagon roads shall have been built, and these must be largely of the corduroy cor-duroy type. Meantime the farm home must generally be located close to navigable nav-igable water. The swampy character of much of the surface of Alaska makes it a great .breeding .-ground for mosquitoes and gnats, which -are almost Intolerable pests to both man and' beast. It also makes drainage a prerequisite in order or-der to remove the. surplus water so that the land can be worked, raise the temperature of the surface soil, lower-the frost line, facilitate the decay de-cay of the accumulated organic matter," mat-ter," and bring about chemical changes which will transform the soil from a very acid condition to one much less so. Nature requires much time fur this last process. Where the vegetable accumulations are largely moss, this must be destroyed, de-stroyed, either by burning or by carting cart-ing it from the land, for if plowed under un-der it decays very slowly and seems to have an injurious effect on most crop plants. The timber growth, which occurs on practically all the land suitable for tillage, must, of course, be cleared from the land. All this work building houses and barns, draining, clearing land of moss and timber, is very slowly accomplished accom-plished in the short outdoor working season if done single handed by the homesteader, and costly, almost prohibitively pro-hibitively so, If hired labor Is used, lecause of the high wages and living expenses. Lack of general transportation which would open up the country, of local wagon roads, schools, churches, ami other features of present-day life, and of the markets in which to sell farm products and from which to obtain ob-tain home supplies anil farm equip- , meat are deterrent features at pros- i cut. but they will disappear in time. The federal homestead laws extend to Alaska, excepting that, instead of J I 100 acres. 3-0 may be tiled upon. Very j little of the available laud has been surveyed, but that work is now in progress. One may locate on unsur-veyed unsur-veyed land, file a claim, and establish lines by metes and bounds, but he cannot can-not secure a title until a survey has been made by an authorized surveyor and the survey approved. If the survey sur-vey is made in advance of that made by the government, it is done at the expense of the homesteaders, and that is heavy. In a recently published report showing show-ing the results of the government's experimental ex-perimental work, and the agricultural progress in Alaska, we find the following: follow-ing: The most favorable season for farming farm-ing known in Alaska for many years occurred throughout the territory in 1015, according to the annual report of the four Alaska agricultural experiment exper-iment stations for that year. Grain, of all the varieties grown, ripened and matured unusually early, while vegetables vege-tables and berries produced abundant crops. ... An agricultural reconnoissance of Matanuska valley, through which the projected government railway is to pass, and to which many settlers have somed at the Rampart station about 73 miles south of the Arctic circle. Promising results have been obtained ob-tained in breeding more prolific early varieties of grains. Especial success has been had with spring wheats and but little with winter varieties of the grain. During the year work was resumed at the Kodiak island experiment station. sta-tion. A recommendation was made for provision for the crossing of Hol-steiu-Frieshm cattle with the hardj Galloway beef cattle. The report states that it has been demonstrated beyond question that sheep do well on natural pastures throughout the island and coastal regions in the vicinity of the station, and Lhat in normal winters win-ters these animals can maintain themselves them-selves with little feed. For the development of a satisfactory satisfac-tory beef animal for central Alaska the report recommends anew the importation im-portation of yaks from Asia for crossing cross-ing with hardy cattle. It is recommended recom-mended that horse breeding be taken up at the Kodiak station, since at present none are bred in Alaska, while many are imported at great expeuse-from expeuse-from the States. A circular for the use of those who are thinking of settling in Alaska has just been issued by the Department of Agriculture as Circular No. 1 of the Alaska Experiment Stations, under the title of "Information for Prospective Settlers in Alaska." This circular is designed to answer questions as to the climate and agricultural areas of Alaska, the best places to locate, the ways of obtaining a farm, the means and cost of transportation, cost of living, liv-ing, what crops can be grown, possibilities possi-bilities of live stock production, labor conditions, school facilities, game laws, etc., etc. The publication is Intended primarily for the benefit of homesteaders. homestead-ers. It is stated that the agricultural area of Alaska (mainly in the interior valleys) is as large as the combined An Alaska Settler's Garden and Cabin, Eight Months' Development. Rab- . bit-Proof Fences. already been attracted, is reported. It is stated that the region is well adapted adapt-ed to general farming and stock raising rais-ing and that the prospects for successful success-ful farming probably are as favorable there as anywhere in Alaska. Promising results were attained during dur-ing the year in the development of hybrid strawberries combining the .hardy characteristics of' the native stock and the quality of fruit of sorts cultivated in the States. The hybrids, most of winch were developed at the Sitka station in southeastern Alaska, have not been distributed because of the belief that something still better will be produced .in "the near future. Success has bee'n-achieved in growing certain varieties of apples in t ho coast country, and what is believed to be the first apple tree to bloom in central cen-tral Alaska a Siberian crab blos- areas of the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Con-necticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire, and it should be capable ca-pable of supporting a population nearly near-ly equal to that supported by the agricultural agri-cultural products of those slates. The circular contains a special report re-port on the agricultural possibilities of the valley of the Matanuska river through which "the government railroad rail-road is now being constructed and where, as a result, settlement has re cently been rapid. The great problem here, as elsewhere in Alaska, is Hip clearing of the generally heavily-wooded land. The soil and climate hnv been found favorable to general fanr ing. the experience of (lie past few years having shown that a consider able variety of field crops, vegetables, and fruits cjju be produced. |
