20 APPLES AND PEACHES IN THE OZARK REGION. 



conditions. While it is possible, of course, the next 10 years may furnish several Mays 

 in which freezing temperatures will occur, the probabilities are that the tendency 

 will be more and more toward the conditions that prevailed from 1894 to 1902, inclu- 

 sive, which from the record appear to have been highly favorable to the fruit man. 

 Possibly by the close of the decade ending with 1930 the average date of the, last 

 killing frost in spring will have receded to where it was, as claimed by the "old- 

 timers," in the eighties — along about April 12. 



Doubtless at that period the youth of to-day, then a man of middle age, will be 

 declaiming to all who will listen that "our climate has changed; the springs were 

 colder when I was a boy." "Why," he will continue, "the springs were so cold we 

 had to use mechanical heaters in the orchards during those days to get any fruit at 

 all." And to prove what he says he will point to the old heaters rusting away in the 

 barn. 



And thus the pendulum may swing the other way, and again later on swing back 

 to where we are to-day, continuing to swing back and forth for stated periods for 

 centuries to come. Such are the so-called cycles or oscillations of the weather. 



In connection with the article by Reeder, data from several repre- 

 sentative points relating to spring frosts in Missouri are presented 

 which show that at those points the average date of the last killing 

 frost in the spring during the years 1901 to 1910 was 11 days later 

 than it was during the 10 years preceding 1901. 



DATA OF THE ARKANSAS PORTION OF THE REGION. 



An examination of climatological data from northwestern Arkansas 

 during the period 1901 to 1910 shows an advance in the average date 

 of last killing spring frost at some points but not all. For instance, 

 the corresponding average date at Fort Smith for the years 1901 to 

 1908 was eight days earlier than for the period 1891 to 1900. The 

 difference in variation between frost dates at Fort Smith and points 

 farther north may be due to the influence of the Boston Mountains 

 in protecting the portion of the Ozarks south of them from the effects 

 of the cold transcontinental storms which occurred during those 

 years in their transit from west to east. Moreover, many of the 

 orchards in northwestern Arkansas have relatively high locations, 

 with better atmospheric drainage than those where the elevation is 

 the same or nearly the same as the surrounding country. 



TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 



The practicability of growing fruit in a given section is frequently 

 determined by the character and extent of the transportation facilities 

 that are afforded. 



In relation to the Ozark region it may be stated that the develop- 

 ment of the fruit interests has been largely coincident with the 

 building of railroads, so that in the sections in which commercial 

 orchards exist the railroad facilities are reasonably adequate to the 

 needs so far as the fruit interests are concerned. A large proportion 



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