Report of A. H. Carson. 31 



mg which dried the ground to such an extent that it was 

 almost impossible to cultivate and put the ground in condition 

 to conserve the moisture. All these conditions were a handi- 

 cap to the fruit grower's anticipations of a large crop to 

 supply market demands that always prevail in the Rogue 

 River Valley for her süperb apples and pears at harvest time. 

 The low temperature during the blooming period kept the 

 fruit-grower of the Valley in a nervous condition, and had it 

 not been for the energy and push and practical knowledge of 

 the virtue of smudges during frosty periods of P. J. O'Gara, 

 the government pathologist, assigned to aid the fruit-grow- 

 ers of this district in eradicating the pear-blight in this dis- 

 trict, the greater part of the apple and pear crop on the lower 

 levels would have been lost through frost. During this frosty 

 period, Professor O'Gara, with headquarters at Medford, 

 watched the temperature, and when it become dangerously 

 low, warned the growers Jby telephone, and smudge fires were 

 built to Protect the buds from the blighting frost. Had it 

 not been for Professor O'Gara's zeal, and the confidence his 

 ability inspired in the pear and apple growers in and about 

 Medford, Grants Pass and Ashland, our fruit crop this year 

 would have been a very small one. Every fruit grower that 

 heeded Professor O'Gara's warning and built fires and 

 smudged as he directed, saved fruit on all the low levels 

 where low temperature is dangerous. Many growers for 

 want of faith did not heed his warnings, and lost all their 

 fruit. That it is as much a practical detail of the fruit-grow- 

 ers' duty to smudge for frost during the frosty periods as it 

 is to spray with lime and sulphur for the scale or to spray 

 for the apple worm with arsenate of lead, is evidenced by 

 the object lesson we had in the Rogue River Valley last spring. 

 Last June, I spent several days with Professor O'Gara and 

 Inspector Taylor visiting the pear and apple orchards of the 

 Valley about Medford, and Central Point. Every orchard 

 along Bear Creek that had been smudged as directed by Pro- 

 fessor O'Gara was loaded with fruit, and was being thinned 

 at the time of our visit. Adjoining the heavily loaded orchards 

 that had been smudged were orchards without fruit that the 

 owners had neglected to smduge. If any fruit had been left 

 on these orchards that had not been smudged, the quantity 

 was very small, and what had been left showed frost marks 

 that would prevent it maturing to fruit that would have a 

 market value. 



There are no fruit zones in any section of the United 

 States but have some Springs liable to killing frosts. The 

 fruit-grower to be up-to-date, must be prepared with mater- 



