STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 207 



South Carolina: Charleston, 66°; Aiken, 62°; Georgia: Augusta, 65°; Sa- 

 vannah, 67°; Atlanta, 62°; Florida: Jacksonville, 69°; Cedar Keys, 71°; 

 Key West, 78°; Sanford, 72°; Pensacola, 68°; Alabama: Mobile, 67°; Mont- 

 gomery, 65°; Mississippi: Vicksburg, 66°; Louisiana: New Orleans, 69°; 

 Shreveport, 66°; Arkansas: Fort Smith, 59°; Little Rock, 62°; Tennessee: 

 Chattanooga, 60°; Memphis, 61°; Nashville, 60°; Kentucky: Louisville, 

 57°; Missouri: St. Louis, 55°; Texas: Galveston, 70°; Brownsville, 73°; Fort 

 Davis, 60°; El Paso, 63°. The average for Oroville during a series of years 

 is 64.5°. As many of the points named lie far south of Oroville, it will be 

 seen that California has a milder temperature than any portion of the 

 Atlantic Coast in the same latitude. Thus, for instance, Cedar Keys is in 

 29°, Key West 25°, Charleston 34°, Savannah 32°, Mobile 31°, and Vicks- 

 burg 32°, so that those localities with a higher mean temperature are much 

 further south. 



If the reader desirous of knowing something of the particular locality 

 about Oroville, will take a map of California, he will find that the town 

 lies on the south bank of the Feather River, just where that stream breaks 

 forth from the mountains. The town is partly surrounded by hills, espe- 

 cially upon the east and north. It is thus shut off from the cold, north 

 winds that sweep down the Sacramento Valley during the winter months, 

 making the temperature lower than it is along the low foothills. This is 

 one reason why the citrus fruits do so well about this town. Another point 

 is, that the soil is of a warm, or gravelly character, with good drainage. 

 This warm soil, and the freedom from cold winds, has much to do with 

 exemption from severe frosts, so that this is a favored locality for the grow- 

 ing of citrus fruits. 



Inasmuch, however, as this same foothill belt, and the same kind of soil 

 are found for a long distance at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 

 the same general conditions for fruit growing are met with. 



While the orange has reached a more decided development about Oro- 

 ville than at any other point in Northern California, it is not an isolated 

 spot, for oranges are grown in all counties that touch the low foothills of the 

 Sierras, from Shasta to the extreme southern end of the San Joaquin Val- 

 ley. All that is needed in many places is a more extensive planting to 

 bring about the grand results that have been reached at Oroville. This 

 town has, however, two advantages that many other localities do not pos- 

 sess — first, the greater width of the mountain slope from the summits of the 

 Sierras to the edge of the valley; and second, the vast flow of water afforded 

 for irrigation purposes. Before giving an account of the fair held it will 

 not be out of place to call attention to these two points. At the spot where 

 the Feather River debouches from the Sierras, it is further to the summit 

 of the mountains than either north or south of this locality, hence the dis- 

 tance is greater to the deep snow line, and this is claimed to have a great 

 influence on moderating the climate. In this locality it is thirty miles to 

 an elevation of three thousand feet, so that an immense area lies to the east 

 of Oroville before any snow belt is reached. Both north and south this 

 belt is narrower and the distance from the valley to the snow line is greatly 

 reduced. 



With regard to water facilities this is an exceptional locality, as Feather 

 River affords an immense flow of water at all times in the year. State 

 Engineer Hall points this out in his report, when he shows that the flow of 

 this one stream is more than double all the water in the great counties of 

 Los Angeles and San Bernardino. 



In addition to this, there are numerous large creeks flowing from the 

 Sierra that afford fine irrigation facilities. 



