AGRICULTURAL
POSSIBILITIES
The selection of the Experi
ment station at the junction in
Matanuska valley is indicative of
the intention of the Department
of Agriculture to aid the settlers
in the problems belonging to the
farming industry of this region.
The tract of land selected con
tains fairly representative soils
found in this country, consisting
of side hills, second and third
bench or terrace lands above the
bottom lands. The soil is known
as the Knik loam, is largely of
volcanic ash overlying gravel
beds, and is from eighteen inches
to five feet in depth.
Small timber, consisting of
birch, spruce, cottonwood and
alder covers the entire areas best
adapted to farming. Native
grasses grow to considerable ex
tent in the timber, and will af
ford pasture for cattle five months
of the year at the rate of one
head for five acres. Horses often
find pasture seven to nine months.
There are some small areas where
the native grasses will afford a
fair yield of hay and excellent
pasture. The bottom lands above
Knik Arm yield considerable hay
each season. The greater por
tion of the hay lands are taken
up, and in fact, a large portion
of the Matanuska valley land is
already located and settlement is
being made. Log houses and
barns are in evidence. Clearings
are enlarging day by day, and
garden and truck patches are to
be found at every settler’s clear
ing.
Methods of clearing are crude
and no regular method has been
adopted. The practice of burn
ing during the dry weather of
May and June has been the most
successful. Where the moss and
dead vegetation is dry enough to
get a ground burn, the trees are
easily removed, as the most of
them fall tearing up most of the
roots. The burned-over ground
is left in better condition than
that which is cleared by pulling
the stumps and tearing or strip
ping the moss from the ground.
Vegetation springs up and grows
rapidly after the burns.
Dairy and poultry farming,
along with intensive truck farm
ing, will find an excellent field
along this valley. Small grains
of the earlier varieties mature
and give good yields. Small fruits
do well under cultivation. Wild
berries grow in abundance thro’
out the region. The streams and
lakes afford the best of fishing,
and the best large game country
belonging to the United States
lies within a radius of two hun
dred miles.
Climatic conditions are more
favorable for the farmer than is
to be found anywhere within the
great middle states bordering the
Mississippi and the Missouri riv
ers. There are no extreme high
or low temperatures, no sudden
changes, sufficient precipitation
for profitable crop work, and soil
that is easily cultivated, after
the first clearing of the land.
The government railroad will
be completed within two years
through the more valuable agri
cultural district! The mining
industry of a vast country back
of Cook Inlet is in fair way to be
developed as transportation fa
cilities develop, and the construc
tion of wagon roads as feeders to
the railroad, will place the far
mers of this country in position
to supply the demand for farm
products, which are now being
shipped from the states.
The opening up of the farming
lands carries a great deal of hard
labor for the pioneer, and re
quires a good stock of common
sense and resourcefulness, and
the man coming to a new coun
try must expect to do his share.
The Times, published in Cordo
va, culled several pages from the
Cook Inlet Pioneer, ran it under
an Anchorage date line, to give
the impression that it is from
their “own special correspondent
on the ground.” The Times is
to be commended for its selection
of news, because when you see it
in the Pioneer, it is as near the
truth as is possible to obtain. It
would seem, however, that the
newspaper which devotes its
time and energy to gathering re
liable information is entitled to
any credit that may accrue there
from.
Fireworks of any kind will be
absolutely prohibited on the
Fourth, because of the danger
from fire. This is printed at the
instance of Deputy Marshal War
ded to warn people that fireworks
will not be tolerated, and if they
fail to heed the warning prosecu
tions will follow.
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