The above telegram was received by Mr. Meserve last night, and it looks as if the work done by Mr. Meserve and the different fruit growers' associations has, as it were, "borne good fruit."
    The above statement was made by Professor P. J. O'Gara to a representative of The Morning Mail yesterday afternoon, and to those who know the professor and what he is capable of doing will not for a moment doubt but what he means just what he has said.

    The new headquarters of Professor O'Gara in the Haskins Block is becoming the general rendezvous of all those interested in the progress of the valley. Everyone calling there is requested to register, so that the roll will be complete. Many people come in, transact their business and go away without registering, but at that 300 were registered at the rooms during the past week.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 10, 1909, page 5

    Professor P. J. O'Gara intends to become "one of us."
    "We have bought a lot, Mrs. O'Gara and I," said Mr. O'Gara, "at the corner of Thirteenth and King streets, and we intend building a home there. I am not prepared to give out any details as to plans--that lies principally in Mrs. O'Gara's hands. But we both like Medford and the Rogue River Valley and want to stay."
Medford Mail Tribune, August 24, 1910, page 2


    In the past, various districts throughout the United States have attempted the work of frost prevention. both in deciduous and other fruits, with varying success and failure. For the most part, however, the methods employed have been such as to consider the work in the light of an experiment, rather than being practical. No doubt the citrus districts of California have carried out the most extensive experiments known, but at this time there is much difference of opinion as to their value from a practical standpoint. Firing and smudging as a protection against frost injury is by no means a new thing. California orchardists were not the first to attempt this work. Several systems, which need not be mentioned here, were employed in France more or less successfully.
    It is only within the last three years that much interest has been manifested throughout the country in frost prevention through the use of fires and smudges, and this is particularly true of parts of the Middle West and the Pacific Northwest. Even at this time, very few districts are wholly prepared to fight frost in a scientific way. This is due to the fact that the best fuels and the best apparatus for carrying on the work successfully are wanting. A large number of inventions, as well as new fuels, have been put upon the market and the growers, for the most part, do not understand them well enough to get the best results. Besides, the disadvantage of not having an official of the United States Weather Bureau on the ground, or at least the inability to get accurate forecasts far enough in advance, makes the situation a difficult one.
    The data which may be found in this article has been obtained in the Rogue River Valley, in Southern Oregon, and the experimental and practical work covers a period of three years, during which time the writer has had charge, not only in directing the actual work of firing and smudging, but also that of making the local weather forecasts in cooperation with the United States Weather Bureau. It must be understood at the outset that frost fighting can never be considered so local a problem that the work of the Weather Bureau is not to be considered. The United States Weather Bureau must always be an invaluable aid, and the very first thing a district should do is to arrange for direct communication with the nearest district forecasting station.
    It is believed by the writer as well as the growers in the Rogue River Valley that frost fighting has been reduced to a system which may be relied upon. Through the assistance of Mr. E. A. Beals, of the Portland Weather Bureau station, and Mr. N. R. Taylor, of the Sacramento station, a system of forecasting has been worked out. This system may be improved upon, but by its use not a single error has been made during the past two years. Farmers' Bulletin 401, United States Department of Agriculture, describes the method of forecasting, and gives other valuable information. This bulletin may be obtained by writing to the division of publications, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Another bulletin giving the results of more recent work is now being submitted for publication and will be ready for distribution before the frost season next spring.
    During the past season much valuable data has been secured, especially in the matter of orchard fuels and appliances to be used in frost prevention. In the past two years' work wood and coal have proven entirely satisfactory, but somewhat difficult and cumbersome to handle. However, these materials have proven so satisfactory to those who have used them during the past three seasons that they seem willing to accept the difficulties occasioned by their use, and will continue using them in the future, unless some good reason may be shown for discontinuing them. Besides wood and coal, crude oil direct from the California wells and 28-degrees test distillate have been successfully used. In the past, crude oil was very little used on account of the fact that it was difficult to obtain it sufficiently free from water. However, during this season a very good grade of crude oil, practically free from water, and at a cost of about four and a half cents per gallon laid down, was very largely used in some of the large orchards with entire success. This oil was burned mostly in the Fresno pot, or heater, with about sixty to seventy pots per acre; the actual cost for one night's firing per acre, including the labor necessary to fill the pots, was about $3. The crude oil was very easy to handle and was distributed in the orchard by means of a large wagon tank, carrying lines of hose. The hose was attached at the rear end of the tank, and the nozzles carried by the laborers. With two men for each tank, two rows of pots could be filled almost as fast as the team could walk with the loaded tank. A record of some of the work of filling the pots was carefully kept, and the average showed that six men could easily fill 2,000 pots in eight hours. At sixty pots to the acre, this crew would easily handle thirty-three acres. In handling the crude oil as little pumping as possible should be done; gravity should be depended upon, not only in filling the pots, but also in filling the wagon tanks.
    The 28-degree test distillate is a much better fuel than the crude oil, but its cost laid down is about double that of the crude oil. However, it is a fuel that can be relied upon since it can never contain water. As a matter of fact, if water were poured into it, its specific gravity would cause it to be always on top. Careful tests have shown that, gallon for gallon, it will last longer than crude oil and is not so easily extinguished. It is also easier to light since it volatilizes more readily than crude oil. However, in lighting both these fuels, gasoline should be used.
    In lighting crude oil or distillate, the following very simple method has been employed by many of our orchardists. A medium-sized machinist's oil can is filled with gasoline and a few drops are squirted into each pot. A small plumber's torch is fixed to the end of a stick about two feet long, and. as the gasoline is squirted into the oil-filled pot, the lighted torch is applied immediately. By this method, fuel pots may be lighted as fast as a man can walk through the orchard.
    Mention has been made of the use of wood and coal. Previous to the past season, fine materials, such as shavings and sawdust saturated with crude oil, were used to light the coarse material. However, it has been found that the easiest way to light the wood (preferably heavy sticks, since light wood burns too rapidly), is to first place the half dozen sticks for each pile in such a way that the ends dovetail. This method of placing the wood is shown in the accompanying illustrations, Figures 1, 2 and 3. Then a can of kerosene and a plumber's torch are used to light the wood in much the same way as the gasoline. Sometimes, instead of using a plumber's torch, a large swab, saturated with kerosene and used as a torch, served the purpose very well.
    In order to light the coal, which is mined near Medford, it was found.necessary to employ the coal heaters as shown in Figures 4 and 5. In using heaters, a piece of waste saturated with crude oil is first put into the bottom, and. on top of this fine material, such as small sticks of pine or other readily ignitable stuff, is placed. Then about twenty-five to thirty pounds of broken coal is poured in. In lighting, a torch is applied at the bottom of the heater, the flame passing through the vents and igniting the waste. These heaters are lighted as rapidly as any other fire, but much more time is necessary in preparing them for use.
    A large number of practical tests have been made in order to determine the length of time the different materials will burn and give the maximum amount of heat to the surrounding atmosphere. Measured gallons of crude oil and distillate, burned both in the Fresno pot and a common ten-pound lard pail holding a gallon each, were used in the tests. While there was some slight difference in different lots, or samples, the average time taken to burn a gallon of each with the covers or dampers entirely removed was about four hours. There seemed to be no difference in the style of pot so far as the time required to burn one gallon, nor in the amount of heat given off. The row of holes at the top of the Fresno pot seemed to be of no advantage whatever. The tests under actual service in the orchards showed that a plain sheet iron pot without any holes, or vents, would serve every purpose. The charge usually made for the various patent pots runs all the way from twenty to thirty-five cents or more; a pot just as good could easily be made for six to ten cents, depending upon the quality of the sheet iron.
    Coal fires in sheet iron heaters filled with from twenty-five to thirty pounds of coal easily burned four to six hours, with the damper removed. Wood fires with about six good fir sticks of cord wood lasted easily four to five hours. In the burning of cord wood, or longer sticks, more attention is necessary in order to get the best results. It is quite necessary to frequently move the sticks forward into the crater of the flame, so as to keep them burning. However, knowing the direction from which the slight breeze usually comes, the wood may be so placed as to secure good results with a minimum amount of labor. By cordwood. the four-foot length is to be understood. The number of fires per acre must necessarily vary between wide limits. In an old orchard where the trees are large and mostly cover the ground, fewer fires are needed in order to maintain safe temperatures than in an orchard of young trees which only partly shade the ground. Under ordinary conditions, an old orchard with wide-spreading branches may be protected from injury, even where the temperature goes as low as twenty degrees Fahrenheit, with sixty crude oil, distillate or coal fires per acre. The same orchard can be protected with thirty to thirty-five wood fires per acre. Younger orchards under similar conditions of temperature will require at least seventy pots or heaters per acre, and, perhaps, fifty wood fires. In case temperatures do not range below twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit. the number of fires which should be lighted must be proportionately less. The conditions, of course, are so variable that no set rule can be given, and the only thing that can be said is that the one in charge must look after the temperatures in the orchard and start the tires as needed. Usually, only one-half the number of fires should be lighted, and the remaining pots or wood piles should be left as a reserve, to be lighted only when the temperature begins to fall below the danger point. It is not well to wait until the temperature has gone much below the danger point, since injury may be done by warming up the frozen blossoms or fruits too suddenly, and thus have the same effect as the sudden warming by the morning sun. Another important factor is the placing of a double number of fires around the outside rows, especially on the side from which the slight breezes come. The cost of firing per night per acre depends not only upon the cost of the fuel, but also upon the degree of frost. Under average conditions, say with temperatures of twenty-six to twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, the cost per night per acre, with the fires burning four hours, has been estimated for the past season as follows: Crude oil, including the labor of distributing the oil and interest on the cost of pots, with sixty pots per acre, $3; distillate, including the same items of expense, $6; coal, including the same items. This is on the basis of 250 pounds of coal per acre hour, the coal being worth $4 per ton at the mine. The cost of hauling the coal, as well as the kindling for starting it, is included within the estimate. The cost of firing with wood is very difficult to give, since the price of wood varied greatly. However, it would be safe to say that with thirty to forty fires per acre, under the above conditions, the cost would be from $2 to $4 per acre. From this it will be seen that crude oil is the cheapest of the fuels, taking everything into consideration, with wood a close second. Distillate is the most expensive, but for liquid fuel, it is by far the most reliable. However, when the value of the crop is considered, the above actual costs represent a very cheap insurance. The value of any fuel for frost prevention depends upon the amount of heat it is capable of giving off. All of the fuels which have been mentioned have proven entirely satisfactory. A careful test of crude oil in the Burrell Orchard, at Medford, Oregon, on the night of April 12 to 14, gave the following results in a thirty-acre pear orchard, which is about twenty-two years old, the trees being large and spreading. At 12:00 midnight, the temperature in the orchard was thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit; at 1:00 a.m. the temperature dropped to thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit, when the fires were immediately lighted, and in a short time the temperature in the orchard rose to thirty-three degrees Fahrenheit. From 2:00 a.m. until 5:00 a.m. the temperature outside the orchard remained approximately twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature within was held at thirty-six degrees Fahrenheit; with the exception of the south side, which was not so well protected by fires. and where the temperature along the outside row registered thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature inside the orchard was recorded by a man who had some thirty thermometers which had been previously tested at my laboratory. These thermometers were hung about three and a half to four feet from the surface of the ground, being suspended from the branches of the trees. Thermometers were also placed outside the limits of the orchard and well away from any influence of the fires within the orchard. In the above tests, sixty pots were used per acre.
    Similar tests were carried out with distillate, wood and coal, and results equally satisfactory have been gotten. It is not at all difficult to raise the temperature six to ten degrees.
    From what has been said it will be seen that the protection of the orchard from frost injury is dependent rather upon heating than the use of the so-called smudge. In our work we have ceased to use the term "smudge," and have substituted the word "heating" or "firing," both terms seeming more appropriate. There is only one value in a dense smudge, and that is in cases where it is impossible to keep the temperature above the danger point it will serve to prevent the too sudden warming of the frozen blossoms or fruits when the morning sun strikes them. The smudge may also be more or less effective in trapping any heat generated by fires, or prevent heat from radiating away from the surface of the ground or the trees. However, when the temperature runs very low, the smudge is no protection. Some smudging has been done in the valley, using damp manure, straw and rubbish, but only in a few instances, and where the temperature did not go below twenty-eight degrees Fahrenheit in the pear and apple orchards.
    One of the most important things which the orchardist must know is when to fire. A number of manufacturers have put on the market frost alarm thermometers which may be set to ring an electric bell at any desired temperature. Most of the instruments tested by the writer have been found to be very inaccurate, and in actual use often fail to work. Several instances of failure have been reported, and in one case, a considerable amount of fruit was lost through depending upon one of these instruments. At best, all that a frost alarm thermometer can do is to give an alarm when a certain temperature is reached, and it is, therefore, much wiser to use a good alarm clock, and depend upon forecasts from the nearest United States Weather Bureau station. In each case, a good local observer is a most important factor.
    In order to do accurate work and get results, all instruments used in the orchard should be tested. In my work in the Rogue River Valley I have found thermometers which varied both ways as widely as three and four degrees. All this had to be corrected, and the growers were forced to get standard instruments, or, at least, have them tested before putting them to use in the orchard. It is a wise plan to use a large number of thermometers, and one per acre is not too many. There are always some spots colder than others in every orchard, and it is only by using a sufficient number of instruments that these spots can be found.
    Before any firing is done, some knowledge should be had of injurious temperatures. These temperatures vary very widely for the different fruits, as well as for the different stages of growth. A large series of tests have been made in the Rogue River Valley, and upon these tests the following table, giving injurious temperatures in bud, in blossom, in setting fruit, and at other times, is appended. Injurious temperatures may not be the same from season to season, as weather conditions previous to frosts determine very largely the ability of plants to resist freezing temperatures. In every case there should be a physiologist on the ground to determine approximately this factor. A few days of very warm weather, together with an ample supply of soil moisture, will cause the newly formed cells of the blossoms and fruit to be filled with a watery protoplasm, or cell sap, which freezes more readily than concentrated cell sap. If a freeze follows a period of weather in which temperatures have been such as to produce slow growth, lower temperatures than those given in the table may not cause injury.
    The matter of forecasting frosts will not be gone into in this paper, as this has been previously published in United States Farmers' Bulletin No. 401. Suffice it to say that a fairly accurate knowledge of the weather should be known far enough in advance so that the grower may be prepared. Not only that, but he should know approximately the minimum temperature to be expected in case of a frost. It has been stated by agents and manufacturers of orchard heating apparatus that firing should always be begun when the thermometer registered thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit; this is a serious mistake since the thermometer may reach thirty-two degrees many a time during the season of frosts, and go no lower. A glance at the table of injurious temperatures will show that no fruits are injured at such temperature. It is not only a waste of fuel to light fires prematurely, or when not needed, but also a very great waste of time, and time in frost fighting is the most important factor.
    A most important factor in frost fighting is an efficient rural telephone system. In our work in the Rogue River Valley it is estimated that between 1,000 and 1,200 people received the forecasts daily. The forecasts were given to the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company at Medford, a separate sheet being given each operator. Tentative forecasts were given each morning about 9 o'clock, but the final forecast was made up at 6:30 p.m. These forecasts were then telephoned to the other towns and stations in the valley, where they were distributed locally. Not later than 7 p.m. every grower knew the probable weather conditions to be expected before morning. The forecasts also indicated the minimum temperature, as well as the time it would be necessary to begin firing. During the past two years every frost was accurately forecast and the growers warned in ample time. The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, through its manager, Mr. D. H. Drewery, as well as the operators, deserves much praise for the efficiency shown in getting the forecasts distributed. During the entire time not a single error was made.
    It is believed by the writer, as well as the growers, that the Rogue River Valley has made much progress in the problem of orchard heating. The important matter of accurately forecasting frosts seems to be fairly well worked out. The writer does not attempt to say that the same methods will apply in other localities having entirely different conditions, but it is believed that they are at least worth a trial.
    It is essential that all work connected with orchard heating be systematized so far as possible. Buy a bale of waste and always have plenty on hand. Buy a barrel of crude oil, or smudge oil; knock out the head, and after tearing waste apart put it in the barrel of oil. When thoroughly saturated run waste through an old wringer, and it is ready for use. Don't leave oil in barrel during summer; it will leak out. Have your kindling first sawed in six-inch lengths; it is then an easy task to split it rapidly with hatchet. Split it to size of fingers. One man can prepare enough in one day for 1,000 fires. Use egg or small lump coal; handle with coal fork having close-set tines. This will separate slack, which is expensive to burn. Place waste kindling, coal and heaters on a low truck wagon, and have men stay in wagon to fill heaters. Have brackets on side of wagon to hold heaters. To load, place small piece of waste on side of heater near bottom, throw in loosely a handful of kindling, put in the coal, using care to keep center of coal open, which will cause a quick draft when starting. Fill every other heater with full charge of coal, which will bring coal above edge of heater. The large cover protects kindling, and by placing a lump of coal on cover the wind will not blow it off. Leave every other heater lightly loaded for short firings, which is usually all that is required. Place heaters between the trees in the rows; this permits driving through to refill and do other work. Have edges of orchard reinforced with heaters, leaving fewer in proportion in center of orchard, as the pressure of the cold air on the outside forces the warm air toward the center of orchard. If work is systematized and material properly prepared, two men can handle a ten-acre orchard. Place heaters in orchard when buds begin to open, and leave until several days after date of last killing frost. Have tested thermometers at different places in the orchard and one or two outside to aid you in regulating fires. All thermometers should be closely watched, as a few degrees below the frost line makes a mighty lot of difference. Don't get excited or curious to light up before the danger point is reached. Thirty degrees above zero is usual signal for starting fires. If it is midnight or before that it gets cold enough to fire, light the heaters with full charge first. If it is after midnight, light heaters partially filled. Use an asbestos torch. A boy can light an acre in five minutes.
Better Fruit, October 1910, pages 21-26

    How the Rogue River Valley came to be developed into a great fruit district is not generally known. The first fruit trees planted in the Rogue River Valley, a few of which are still living and bearing prolificly, are now fully 58 years of age. These apple and pear trees were planted by the early pioneers, and, although they did not receive the intelligent care and attention given the Rogue River Valley orchards of today, they fruited well and pointed the way to the greatest industry in the valley at the present time. Not until 34 years after the first fruit trees were brought into the valley were the older commercial orchards planted. These numbered but four or five plantings of pears and apples, followed two or three years later by about as many more. At this time, for several reasons, there was a sudden lull in the orchard business, and no further plantings of any considerable size were made until nearly a decade afterward. Then suddenly, as if by magic, alfalfa and green fields were changed into orchards; wooded areas were cleared and, in turn, planted to profit-producing fruits. Here the question may be asked, Why this sudden change from apathy of a few years before to the marvelous and wide-awake interest in the fruit industry? The answer is easily given. A few of the eastern and foreign markets had tasted of the products from the first commercial orchards and naturally inquired whence they came. Answer to these inquiries resulted in the coming westward of the best citizens in the country, people who believed in the future of a valley capable of producing fruit of unequaled quality.
    Among the pioneers of commercial orcharding in the Rogue River Valley were men who knew of eastern varieties and eastern conditions, and naturally followed the beaten trail. They knew little of the valley's soil conditions, and the adaptability of the various varieties of pears and apples to suit these conditions. However, they made fewer mistakes than have been charged to them. They were working in the dark, mostly with unknown quantities, but out of it all came the happy discoveries which rewarded them for their efforts and left to the future generations a heritage whose worth has become millions, and whose ultimate value lies beyond the limits of the most vivid imagination.
    If there ever were any doubts as to the possibilities of the fruit growing industry, they have disappeared. Seeing is believing. While it can never be said that further improvement along any line of horticulture is impossible, it must be admitted that the Rogue River Valley has much less to learn than many horticulture districts that boast of years of practical experience. It is true that the horticulturists of the Rogue River Valley, as a body, are made up of men who have made a success in various occupations or professional men, manufacturers, salesmen, bankers and even mere pleasure seekers, but they have put into their new life's work the same intelligence and vim which characterized them in their former occupations. Science and scientific methods have stepped in and taken the place of haphazard guessing, so that anyone making a mistake as to proper soils for certain varieties, methods of cultivation and fertilization, irrigation and treatment of diseases, which, by the way, are very few, would have only himself to blame. Located in Medford is a branch office of the United States Department of Agriculture, fitted with a library laboratory, which is in charge of a pathologist whose duty it is to look after the horticultural interests of the Rogue River Valley. All questions referred to this office are given the same prompt attention which is characteristic of the main office of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, D.C. At no other place in the United States is there an office of this kind. To the man who has but one acre an equal opportunity is given in the matter of getting scientific and practical advice as to the man who owns hundreds of acres.
    The Newtown and the Spitzenberg are the principal varieties of apples grown in the Rogue River Valley, yet all the other standard apples, such as the Jonathan, Winesap, Grimes Golden, Ortley, Arkansas Black and Rome Beauty, grow to perfection here. Rogue River Newtowns have led in price against all competitors in the London and other European markets for the past six years, and Rogue River Newtowns took first place in the National Apple Show held in Denver in January 1910, and [a] carload of Rogue River Spitzenbergs carried off the grand prize at the National Apple Growers' Show held at Spokane in November 1909. A car of Newtowns won first prize at the International Apple Show at Vancouver in 1910, and a car of Newtowns from Ashland won second prize at Spokane in 1910.
    The fruit industry tributary to Medford is developing this section rapidly, and it is safe to say that no other city of the same size in America has a more glowing future.
    There is probably no fruit district in the United States where so great attention is paid to the matter of caring for the orchards as in the Rogue River Valley; not only are the orchards well cultivated, but every attention is given to the scientific treatment of orchard fruit diseases, which, in so many localities, through careless effort, have brought about complete annihilation of the fruit industry. If there ever were any fears that infectious or other diseases would ruin the orchards of the Rogue River Valley, these fears no longer exist, since it has been shown that up-to-date methods for the treatment of diseases, properly applied, have proven effective beyond a doubt.
    In order to fight orchard fruit diseases successfully there must be at hand a perfect knowledge of the situation so that there will be no misguided efforts, and where certain infectious diseases are to be combated there must be a united effort on the part of every grower.
    In order to carry on a successful campaign against disease, there must be organization and instruction. Both of these important factors have been carefully planned. A corps of inspectors, each with his own district, takes charge of the inspection of every orchard and every fruit tree, no matter where it may be. The inspection is very rigid, and in the case of all pomaceous fruits that are subject to pear blight, every tree is examined critically. This is done, not once a year, but several times, if necessary. Furthermore, the owners are instructed as to the nature of the disease in question and are given definite instructions as to how to proceed in the eradication and treatment of the same. In order to prevent the introduction of new diseases, all nursery stock is given a most thorough and searching examination, and trees condemned by the inspectors are ordered to be destroyed at once.
Medford Mail Tribune, January 1, 1911, page B4

    Medford has literally been "placed upon the map" by being made the key station for the United States Weather bureau in Southern Oregon, and as such will hereafter appear on all of the weather maps published by the bureau in Southern Oregon, and all forecasting for Southern Oregon will be done from Medford. These forecasts will be made twice daily.
    The weather will no doubt be considerably better in the future, as Mrs. P. J. O'Gara has been appointed local forecaster in place of her husband. Some say that the professor lost his job on account of the beastly weather he has been giving us, which only cleared away when he left for a norther trip, leaving Mrs. O'Gara in charge. However that may be, Mrs. O'Gara is now the duly authorized weather forecaster and expert in charge of this district.
Medford Mail Tribune, May 26, 1911, page 2