182 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Investifjations are now beini^ curried on in the mountain orchard 

 districts of North Carolina with a view of determining the limits 

 of the thermal belts in the Blue Eidge Mountains. Ten orchard 

 stations with 29 substations have been established, and it is proposed 

 to extend the service by the establishment of 10 additional stations on 

 other spurs of the mountains. 



Under the Portland (Oreg.) district frost investigations are car- 

 ried on in the Rogue River Valley, Umpqua Valley, Stuck River 

 Valley, Yakima Valle}^ Snake River Valley, Boise Valley, and Hood 

 River Valley. The official at Portland hopes to extend this service by 

 the establishment of 4 stations in the Boise section, 2 in Hood River, 

 2 in Riddles, and 5 in North Yakima. In the Lewiston (Idaho) 

 district 3 stations are in operation. The San Francisco district has 

 5 stations around Los Angeles and in the northern and central 

 counties, where the annual value of the citrus-fruit interests is placed 

 at $40,000,000. During the past year it is estimated that by the 

 timely Avarnings of the bureau at least $20,000,000 worth of fruit 

 was saved. An extension of this service by the establishment of 12 

 fruit district stations in the San Gabriel Valley, 2 in the Santa Clara 

 Valley, 3 in the San Joaquin Valley, and 5 in the Sacramento and 

 Bay Valleys has been recommended. 



In the Salt Lake district experiments for the protection of fruit 

 by means of canopies have been carried on at Provo, and stations 

 have been established at four other places in connection with investi- 

 gations looking to the protection of vegetables and alfalfa from 

 frost. Under the Grand Junction district is the service in the 

 Grand River and Gunnison Valleys with five stations. Four stations 

 have been established in the Columbus (Ohio) district, and experi- 

 mental work has been started for the protection of vineyards. In 

 the Jacksonville district the frost-warning service for the protection 

 of truckers and citrus-fruit growers has been established with four 

 stations in operation. 



The special cranberry service gives warnings of frost in the bogs 

 of the Cape Cod (Mass.) district, where five special stations have been 

 established under the supervision of the official at Boston; and the 

 bogs in Wisconsin, with three stations under the supervision of the 

 official at Chicago. A station has also been established at New Lisbon, 

 N. J., and another at Sea view, Wash. 



RIVER AND FLOOD SERATiCE. 



On July 1, 1897, there were 150 river stations operating under the 

 river and flood service of the Weather Bureau. The success of the 

 river forecasts during the great flood of 1897 created a demand for 

 the extension of the service that has never been fuUv satisfied, but 



