1518 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Climatic Characteristics of tlie Deschutes 

 Eifer Yalleyj Oregon 



In general the climate is dry and sub- 

 ject to great extremes of temperature; 

 there is an abundance of sunshine and 

 for that reason, as well as on account 

 of the dryness of the air, the extremes 

 of temperature are not so noticeable as 

 they otherwise would be. In the heart 

 of the valley the temperatures sometimes 

 go below the freezing point in midsum- 

 mer, but they do not remain below this 

 mark, as a rule, long enough to injure 

 hardy vegetation; however, when a tem- 

 perature of 2^ degrees is reached damage 

 ensues, and the interval between the last 

 temperature of 26 degrees in the spring 

 and the first in the fall constitutes the 

 growing season for the staple crops 

 raised in the valley. This season usually 

 begins the middle of May and lasts until 

 the middle of September. The prevailing 

 winds are southwesterly, with a tendency 

 to veer to the west, or even northwest, 

 at times during the summer months. 



Bdwaed a. Beals, 



District Forecaster, U. S. Weathei* Bureau, 



Okegon Apple. See Apple, Botany of. 

 Okegon Horticultural Law. See Latv. 

 OvERPEOBUCTiON OF AppLES. See Apple 

 Industry. 

 Oyster Plant. See Salsify. 



1 OC V/ZB.1; iCS 



*The past two or three decades have 

 witnessed remarkable development in the 

 fruit industry. Much of this development 

 has been along safe and conservative 

 lines, but the extensive planting of or- 

 chards in regions whose natural advan- 

 tages have been overestimated, or over- 

 exploited, has been too frequent. Prob- 

 ably in most of these instances the de- 

 velopment of orchards has been mainly 

 a land-selling proposition rather than a 

 cai^efully planned fruit-growing project. 

 In this expansion of the commercial fruit 

 industry of the country the Ozark region 

 has held a conspicuous place. 



It would perhaps be difficult to ascribe 

 to definite influences the rapid expansion 



* Condensed from Bureau Plant Industry 

 Bulletin 275 by H. F. Gould. 



of fruit culture in this region, especially 

 in Missouri and Arkansas, during the pe- 

 riod from 1890 to 1900. Without doubt, 

 however, an influence which contributed 

 largely to the early impetus in the plant- 

 ing of apples was the very satisfactory 

 prices obtained in the late eighties for 

 the abundant crops produced on the com- 

 paratively small number of trees then in 

 bearing. This was a period when there 

 were relatively light crops of fruit in the 

 older apple-producing sections of the 

 East- Once given the impetus, the rapid 

 growth is not difficult to explain. During 

 the years of most rapid development the 

 fruit-growing possibilities of the Ozark 

 region were widely advertised, not only 

 in this country but also abroad. 



The Bureau of Plant Industry of the 

 Department of Agriculture began in 1903 

 a study the object of which was to de- 

 termine as far as possible (1) the exact 

 behavior of the different varieties, espe- 

 cially the apple and the peach, in the 

 different parts of the region; (2) the con- 

 ditions under which they attain the high- 

 est degree of perfection; (3) the suita- 

 bility of each variety for the purpose 

 intended. The final object of which was 

 to aid in the introduction of sorts which 

 may prove more profitable than those 

 now being grown. This article is de- 

 voted primarily to the results of these 

 investigations. 



The soil conditions have been suffi- 

 ciently described under states, in the 

 articles entitled Missouri and Arkansas. 



(liiMiite 

 Climatic Conditions a Limiting Factor in 

 Frnit €^rowing 

 In any comprehensive investigation of 

 a given region with regard to its possi- 

 bilities for fruit growing and in the con- 

 sideration of all questions connected 

 therewith relating to varieties, the 

 climatic conditions of the region call for 

 the most critical attention. While it may 

 not be entirely correct to say that climate 

 is more often the "limiting factor" in 

 fruit production than anything else, yet 

 it is hardly possible to overestimate the 

 importance of climatic conditions in 

 their relation to fruit culture. 



