March 17, 1010. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



39 



A Hedge of Roses at Portland, Ore., Photographed September 10. 



for some, or all of you, it will also call 

 up memories of the "days of love and 



roses. 



NORTH PAQFIC COAST ROSES. 



[A paper by William S. Sibson, of Portland, 

 Ore., read at the annual conTentlon of the Ameri- 

 can Rose Society, In New York city, March 

 16, 1810.] 



You will appreciate the vastness of 

 the subject upon which I have been re- 

 quested to speak, when I remind you 

 of the extent of territory, and the diver- 

 sity of conditions in regard to climate 

 and soil, that exist within the two states 

 of Oregon, and Washington, which I am 

 to discuss. Combined, they aggregate 

 165,000 square miles, or approximately 

 61,500,000 acres, of land so diversified in 

 character that in a brief address it is 

 possible only to select a limited area and 

 to refer generally to the balance of this 

 wonderful empire, which in development 

 is only in its infancy. Having a coast 

 line on the Pacific ocean of about 500 

 miles, these states are divided about 150 

 miles from the coast, by the Cascade 

 range of mountains, into two great sec- 

 tions, namely: Eastern Oregon and 

 Washington, and western Oregon and 

 Washington. It is of conditions in the 

 western division that I will endeavor to 

 say a few words that may interest those 

 of you who are strangers to our country. 



The Climate. 



The climate of western Oregon and 

 Washington is remarkably mild and even. 

 Occasionally, of course, we have "hard 

 winters." The one from which we are 

 now emerging has been, all told, the worst 

 I have seen during a residence of nearly 

 forty years. As a rule, however, the 

 winters are mild, rainy and pleasant, 

 with a mean temperature in a series of 

 years, for the five months between Octo- 

 ber and May, of about 46 degrees. In 

 the summer months, from May to Octo- 

 ber, the average temperature during a 

 like period has been about 63 degrees. 

 These temperatures, you will note, are 

 averages for a series of years. Cold 

 snaps, which seldom record lower than 

 10 to 15 degrees of frost, occasionally 



occur in winter, and the hot spells of 

 summer, which range from 85 to 90 de- 

 grees and sometimes a few degrees 

 higher, have been, of course, included in 

 arriving at the averages I have quoted. 



The Rainfall. 



Western Oregon and Washington are 

 frequently credited with an excessive 

 rainfall; in fact, I have heard strangers 

 claim that "in Oregon it rains thirteen 

 months in the year." As a matter of 

 fact, the precipitation at Portland does 

 not exceed forty-six in(;hes per annum, 

 and in a series of years it has not reached 

 this average. Perhaps, to people who 

 visit US" in winter, it may appear to rain 

 excessively, because the bulk of our rain- 

 fall takes place during the six months 

 from October to March. I have noticed 

 that when we have an unusually long, 

 rainy winter, generous crops of grain, 

 fruit and all the products of the ground 

 result, and, while I have never seen an 



analysis of our Oregon winter rain 

 water, I believe it is one of the best 

 natural fertilizers and laden with plant 

 food by beneficent nature. 



With such a climate as I have briefly 

 outlined, with soil unexcelled and with a 

 people who are enthusiastic lovers of the 

 rose, is it surprising that our country 

 should have become celebrated for its 

 roses? The following motto of the Amer- 

 ican Rose Society is with us a condition 



and not a theory: 



■* . 



A rose for every home, 

 A bush for every garden. 



This sentiment is good, but in my 



opinion far too modest, and I hereby 



beg to make a motion to amend and 



substitute: 



Roses for every home, 

 Roses for every garden. 



The motto of the Portland Rose Fes- 

 tival Association is: 



Roses fragrant, roses rare, 

 Roses, roses, everywhere. 



Caroline Testout Rose* at Portland Ore. 



