18 APPLES AND PEACHES IX THE OZARK REGION. 



although it has been repeatedly stated that the temperature condi- 

 tions which have damaged the fruit crops in the past 10 years were 

 almost without precedent in earlier years. 



The effect of unfavorable temperature conditions upon a fruit crop 

 is often measured by the condition of the orchard. Not infrequently 

 an orchard which has received good care, is thrifty and vigorous, and 

 has fruit buds well developed will pass through a period of adverse 

 temperature conditions with comparatively little injury, when a neg- 

 lected, depleted orchard will suffer severely. As a result of the 

 experience of some of the apple growers in northwest Arkansas who 

 have given their orchards relatively good care they feel that while 

 adverse temperature conditions may interfere with their success in 

 some seasons they do not prevent the growing of apples with a fair 

 degree of profit. 



The " moisture factor/' which in some regions is a serious feature, 

 requires no extended discussion in the present case. The annual 

 precipitation averages from 40 to 45 inches. It is usually fairly well 

 distributed, though occasional droughts and periods of excessive 

 rainfall occur; but in these respects conditions are probab]y as favor- 

 able for fruit growing as they are in most other humid regions with 

 which this region may be compared. 



In the Ozark region the "wind factor" calls for no particular 

 attention, as it is not generally subject to winds that are serious to 

 the fruit interests. 



DATA OP THE MISSOURI PORTION OF THE REGION. 



Mr. George Reeder, section director of the United States Weather 

 Bureau, stationed at Columbia, Mo., has contributed a valuable digest 

 of some of the climatological data from several points in Missouri, 

 from which the following quotation is made : 1 



Notwithstanding the supposition that orchards may be more liable to injury from 

 late spring frost at the present time because in many cases almost the entire orchard 

 blossoms at the same time, or to the improved strain of fruit now grown (the latter 

 statement is in much doubt, many authorities claiming that improved fruit is not 

 more sensitive to cold than the varieties grown 30 years ago), the fact remains that 

 the springs of the last 10 years, and particularly the last 5 years averaged colder than 

 those of the preceding 10 or 15 years, and this statement is well supported by climato- 

 logical data, * * * in apparent substantiation of the popular idea that "our 

 climate has changed." I would, however, earnestly caution the reader not to be too 

 hasty in the conclusion * * * that the climate of Missouri is undergoing a per- 

 manent change. Meteorologists of the world generally agree, and the world's clima- 

 tological records show, that climate is practically unchangeable; that is to say, per- 

 manent climatic changes are noticeable, probably, only in geological units of time. 

 On the other hand, the records also indicate that while weather may change from 



1 Reeder, George. "Are the springs colder now?" Monthly Weather Review, vol. 38, No. 12, December, 

 1910, p. 1834. See also "Late spring frosts in relation to the fruit crop of Missouri," in the Fourth 

 Annual Report (fifty-third meeting) of the State Board of Horticulture of Missouri, 1911, pp. 119-131. 

 275 



