172 PACIFIC STATES FLORAL CONGRESS. 



Portland has. New Orleans, Vicksburg, and Charleston, S. C., have 

 from 8 to 15 inches more average annual precipitation than Portland. 

 But Oregon escapes the hot summers and cold winters of the eastern 

 states, and also their extreme temperatures of heat and cold. 



Oregon's climate is somewhat similar to that of southern England. 

 It is better in everything in which southern England's climate is good. 

 Oregon has more clear and fair days, less rain, and milder freezing 

 weather than southern England. 



AVERAGE CLEAR, FAIR, AND RAINY DAYS. 



The average number of clear, fair, and rainy days at Portland for 

 spring and summer for twenty-seven years is as follows: 



For spring, 48 clear and fair days, and 44 rainy days. 



For summer, 74 clear and fair days, and 18 rainy days. 



For fall, 53 clear and fair days, and 38 rainy days. 



For winter, 34 clear and fair days, and 56 rainy days. 



By a rainy day is meant a day when one-hundredth of an inch or 

 more of rain falls. There are many days in Oregon when the rainfall- 

 is very small, but they are counted as rainy days. 



The records of the United States Weather Bureau show that the 

 average annual sunshine for thirty years at Portland is between 40 and 

 50 per cent, while in Los Angeles it is between 60 and 70 per cent. 



The Oregon summers are free from fogs, chilling winds, and sudden 

 changes. Its summers are as superior to most summers elsewhere as 

 California's winters are superior to the winters of most countries. 



EFFECTS OF WESTERN OREGON'S CLIMATE. 



It is the soft, balmy, and even climate which makes Oregon what it 

 it. It has forests and other indigenous trees. The climate beautifies 

 its forests and plains with wild flowers from March to November. In 

 the earliest spring the woods arc scarlet with the wild currant; later they 

 are yellow with the Oregon wild grape, the state flower. In April and 

 May they are white with the dogwood. In June and July the woods 

 are again white with the wild syringa and spinea. But I must stop, for 

 this is not a paper on Oregon's wild flowers. 



Oregon has springs and streams which run throughout the year. 

 It has green grass most of the year. It grows all its crops, vegetables, 

 flowers, and fruits without irrigation. This gives what may be called 

 the natural, instead of the artificial, products of the soil.' In these 

 nature far excels art. 



COMPARISON OF OREGON'S AND CALIFORNIA^ FLORA. 



Oregon and California each excel in the flora best suited to its cli- 

 atc. The elm and the maple do not thrive in California as they do 



