10 BULLETIN 518, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



logical records give the average date of the last killing spring frost 

 for the past 15 years in Hood River as April 22. For the same period 

 the average date of the first killing frost in the fall was near 

 October 11. This gives an average of 175 growing days. The mean 

 annual temperature is 50.1° F. This, it should be remembered, is for 

 the lower valley, near the town of Hood River. 



Mist-like rains occur frequently during the early summer months. 

 As a result fungus troubles, particularly apple scab, are serious and 

 necessitate a relatively large amount of spraying. 



The prevailing winds are from the west. In general, they follow 

 the Columbia Eiver gorge from the coast, thus tending to maintain 

 fairly cool temperatures during the summer season and preventing 

 extreme cold during the winter. 



Truck and forage crops naturally adapted to a fairly cool tem- 

 perate climate succeed well here, provided suitable soil is chosen. 



TRANSPORTATION. 



The town of Hood River is located on the main line of the Oregon- 

 Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., which gives it easy access 

 to Portland, about 80 miles distant, and also furnishes an outlet to 

 eastern points. There is a local railroad line, known as the Mount 

 Hood Railroad, which traverses the Hood River Valley, connecting 

 the town of Hood River with Parkdale in the upper valley. There 

 are several important fruit-loading stations on this line, including 

 Van Horn and Odell. Transportation by boat on the Columbia 

 River is also available. This was formerly the only means of trans- 

 portation. 



RURAL SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 



There are few rural communities where better social conditions 

 exist than in Hood River Valley. The people are for the most part 

 well educated. The excellent schools and churches, the means of 

 recreation, and the systems of telephones and of rural mail delivery 

 which prevail throughout the valley provide advantages as yet un- 

 available in the average rural community. The homes of Hood 

 River are more elaborate and expensive than the average farmhouse, 

 much of the money invested in them having been made through out- 

 side sources. (See fig. 3.) The ranch houses are near together. 

 Indeed, in the lower valley, especially on the west side, they are 

 almost a part of the town itself as regards conveniences. As yet the 

 people in the upper valley are somewhat isolated. 



LABOR CONDITIONS. 



There is little complaint with regard to labor conditions in this 

 section. The rates paid are not quite as high as in some other North- 



