28 Report of State Board of Horticulture. 



REPOETS OF A. H. CAESON, 



Comniissioner for the Third District. 



APRIL MEETING, 1909. 



To the Honorable State Board of Horticulture: 



As commissioner of the third district, I respectfully submit 

 my semi-annual report to the thirty-first of March, 1909. 

 The past winter in Southern Oregon has been favorable for 

 all kinds of fruit trees, vines, berries, etc. 



While colder than a normal season for that section of the 

 State, no extremes of temperature have been recorded to in 

 any way damage the tenderest of fruits. The cold weather 

 during January and February came on gradually, which was 

 an advantage to prepare all orchards to withstand the lowest 

 temperature, 17 degrees above zero, which occurred in Jan- 

 uary. This low temperature in no case injured the tender 

 terminal twigs of any of our fruits. From the fact that our 

 fruit trees have wintered in such fine condition, nursery- 

 men in the northern part of the State, Washington, Idaho, 

 and Montana, have shipped many thousand of apple and pear 

 scions from the Rogue River Valley the past winter for propa- 

 gation. 



The present promises for a record-breaking crop for all 

 kinds of fruit were never better. March being a cool month, 

 the bloom is two weeks later than in a normal year. February 

 being a wet month, spraying with the lime and sulphur Com- 

 pound was retarded, but March conditions being favorable, 

 spraying for the scale was universal throughout the district. 



Jackson County has been very active in planting out new 

 orchards. It is a conservative statement to say that in this 

 county there have been 1,000,000 apple and pear trees planted 

 the past winter. 



Josephine County has planted a number of new apple and 

 pear orchards, and of grapes the county has planted near a 

 half a million vines, the Tokay and Malaga being the vari- 

 eties mostly planted. Were the hills and slopes of Josephine 

 County cleared of brush and timber, grape planting would 

 have been very large in this county. 



Douglas County is taking on new life in her horticultural 

 development. Many new apple and pear orchards were 



