7 
FRUIT GROWING FOR HOME USE IN THE GREAT PLAINS. 
TaBLE I.—Records of temperature, frost, and precipitation at several points in the central 
and southern Great Plains. 


















Temperature. 
Mean 
Locality. Eleva- Absolute | Absolute Days pare 
en eae NY seer maxi- mini- 
M lw ( mum Rane mum mum 
axi- ini- | (August, |(February z 
Annual. mum. | mum. 1902). 1899). ae rE pelewt 
Feet. Tis liye oie ee SY Oe 
Garden City, Kans.......... 2, 836 54 70 39 112 —32 63 144 
Hort Collins, Colo... .2. 2... 4,997 47 62 31 100 —38 19 179 
BueblowColoss..-25-..22---- 4, 663 52 66 oN 104 —27 42 148 
Foehnes|Colozs <8 -28.4-02 55. 5, 700 50 68 | 33 103 a —29 29 169 
Amarillo Mexsaa 3... 3, 658 56 68 | 44. 6105 —16 36 111 
Frost. | 
| Precipi- 
Locality. First kill- Pee| : - | tation, 
ing in Last in sn auey Latest | annual. 
| autumn a teamss t 8 ™| in spring. 
(average). (average).) autumn. 
Tnches. 
Gardem@ityesheans © isaac ks ae, 02 sactsteise seca dens = Oct. 4] May 2] Sept. 7| May 26 19.6 
Honig ColinsaColosesse. ett eee nae Se hee Sept. 21 | May 13 ]|...do....] June 5 14.6 
JEYEE OS CD) ea Se ere ec ea | Oct. 15 | Apr. 28 | Sept. 12 | May 23 11.6 
line hn wOOlOse Bese eee os ha ee as eas ee Oct. 2] May 10} Sept.13| July 4 13.0 
PATINA THO PANO Reena eee Seysiske eso Neate Ge bce Nov. 7 | Apr. 12 | Oct. 16 | May 23 21.9 
a January, 1901. b June, 1902. 
SITES FOR FRUIT PLANTATIONS. 
In the central and southern Great Plains the sites for orchards and 
other fruit-producing plants should be selected as a rule with refer- 
ence to the best supply of soil moisture. On some of the ranches, 
especially the smaller ones, there is little or no choice, as the conditions 
are so nearly uniform. Convenience of location in such cases will 
probably be the ruling factor. 
In many instances, however, the soil conditions with regard to 
moisture can be taken into account. Streams of considerable size 
pass through some of the ranches. The bottom land adjacent to 
such streams frequently has an underflow which can be reached by 
the roots of fruit trees. Under such conditions trees often make a 
remarkable growth. 
The water from small streams, even if they are dry a considerable 
portion of the time, can often his utilized to good advantage for fruit 
growing if the plantations are located with reference to such sources 
of supply. On many ranches that are not traversed by streams of 
any description there is still some choice of site. Wherever a slight 
elevation or slope occurs from which there is surface drainage during 
showers or more protracted rains, the area which receives the run-off, 
other things being equal, is a relatively favorable site for fruit growing. 
This is because of the additional quantity of water that it receives. 
[Cir. 51] 
