Section 12. The Treasurer shall receive all moneys belonging to the Board, and pay out the same only for bills approved by it, and shall render annually a detailed account to the Board of all receipts and disbursements.

Section 13. There is hereby appropriated for the use of the State Board of Horticulture, as set forth in this Act, out of the moneys in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $3,500 for the year commencing April 1, 1889, $3,500 for the year commencing April 1, 1890; and the Secretary of State shall draw his warrants upon the State Treasurer in favor of the Treasurer of the Board for said sums, or any part thereof, when they have become available, upon proper demand being made for the same by said Board.

Section 14. The said Board shall report to the Legislative Assembly, commencing January, 1891, what, if any, legislation is needed in aid of the horticultural and fruit-growing interests of the State.

Section 15. Inasmuch as there is great danger to the fruit and horticultural interests of the State from pests and other causes, and no means exist whereby they can be remedied, this Act shall take effect from and after its approval by the Governor.

REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT.

To the Honarable State Board of Horticulture:

GENTLEMEN: Until my duty as Commissioner-at-Large of your honorable body made it my province to look over the whole State in the interest of fruit-growing, I confess to you my conviction that this industry could only be successfully followed in certain restricted districts in Western and Southern Oregon, and a very few favored spots in Eastern Oregon; and the impression that such is the case has been generally accepted and gone abroad without question. I wish now to correct this mistake, and say a few words to dispel this very erroneous impression. The truth is, that there is no district, or soil, or climate in Oregon, from the snow line of its mountain peaks to the sand beach of the Pacific Ocean, that will not, under intelligent management, produce fine fruits. It has been demonstrated, by practical tests and cash returns, that the hitherto valueless wind-swept shifting sand dunes of the Upper Columbia gorges, when protected by windbreaks of poplar or willow trees, and set to

orchard and berries, produce in great abundance the earliest and finest fruits brought to our market, and, bringing the highest prices, are veritable bonanzas to the producers. High up in the mountains, in the deep decompsed basaltic soil, rich in all the necessary mineral element, enriched and blackened by the humus of ages of vegetable decay, in a thermal belt just suited, far removed from the Codlin Moth and other insect pests, is found the home of the apple, the pear, and small fruits. From cozy, protected nooks and sunny slopes in the foothills of Mount Hood come to us carloads of the best early strawberries, which netted the producers the last season eighteen cents per pound for the season's crop. On the bald hills of Wasco County grow as fine European table grapes and other of our fruits as can be grown anywhere. In the hot cañons of Snake River, on the rich alluvial bottom-land, is the home of the raisin, grape, and the peach. On the high rolling uplands of Eastern Oregon, which have heretofore been left out of our calculations, it has been demonstrated that the homemaker may grow his own fruits. For further information regarding these localities, I refer you to the district reports of Commissioners James Hendershott and C. P. Heald.

Western and Southern Oregon established long ago a great fruitgrowing reputation, away back in the early pioneer days. These sections have in early times furnished our Čalifornia neighbors the big red apples," which justly gave Oregon the sobriquet of "the land of the big red apples." The basaltic wash from the mountains; the deep alluvial deposits forming our undulated valleys; the moisture-laden air from the warm, equatorial ocean current that washes our shores; the equable climate and seasonable rains; immunity from high winds and killing frosts-all conspire to make this par excellence a fruit-growing country for all the fruits of the temperate zone. The apple, pear, prune, and cherry we grow in great abundance, of phenomenal size and superior quality; also the peach, the grape, and in some localities the apricot, and everywhere the small fruits. It has also been demonstrated that nut culture may become profitable in these sections, and possibly all over the State. The foothills of our mountains, and the broad, rolling valleys between, aggregate a vast fruit-growing region, not yet fully occupied, now awaiting the advent of the thrifty fruit-grower.

The fruit industry as a business in its variety, extent, and commercial importance, as we find it to-dav, is of recent origin and within the memory of the present generation-a worthy tribute to the brain and muscle of men of our time. National and international communication by water, land, and telegraph, railroads, cheap freight rates, rapid transit in fruit and refrigerator cars,

created the supply; inversely, the supply increased the demandan inexorable law of trade. The future commercial possibilities of the fruit trade are full of promise, and in the light of the increase of the last few years, justify the most sanguine speculations. Shipping green fruit, canning and evaporating, are discoveries of today, and yet in their infancy. These processes will be improved upon, extended and cheapened, and other improved methods of packing, preserving, and transporting will be discovered, as popular taste is cultivated. The new glazed fruit industry is capable of indefinite extension; fruit as a confection to eat out of hand is a new and growing industry. The manufacture of fruit butter, marmalades, jams, and jellies, not to speak of fruit cider, vinegars, brandies, wines, and spirits, are undeveloped business schemes of great promise. Brain and muscle are at work in these lines, and will succeed.

A distinguished and successful fruit-grower of California was requested to furnish a paper on "The Fruit Industry " for publication in the transactions of the California Agricultural Society. The response-brief, comprehensive, in the following well-chosen wordsapplies so well to Oregon that I am inclined to quote and close this paper: "There is still room in California [Oregon] for thousands of intelligent fruit-growers, such as will plant the right thing in the right place, take proper care of the trees when growing, prune properly, when bearing thin properly, pick at the right stage of ripeness and pack nicely in clean boxes, fight all damaging insects and fungi with the best implements and insecticides to be had, and otherwise use all the intelligence they have in their business. I believe eternal vigilance is the price of good fruit in this or any other country, and for that reason think there will always be a good price for good fruit. Concert of action and union of purpose among fruit-growers is all that is necessary to make fruit shipping profitable, and maintain it so."

Ten thousand square miles of the valleys and foothills of Oregon are in every way adapted to the culture of all the fruits grown in this latitude, of the finest quality and in the greatest luxuriance. Before the advent of the white man and cultivated fruits, this country had demonstrated its capacity to produce the wild fruits abundantly, of fine flavor and great excellence. The Indians, trappers, and pioneers valued these fruits highly and made good use of them. As they were in some sense evidence of a soil and climate adaptation, and prophetic of the great fruit industry now growing up among us, it will not be out of place to briefly make some mention of them; and this seems important in view of the fact that the Pomological Division of the Interior has taken up the subject and

is making collections and urging the improvement of our indigenous fruits by selection, hybridizing, and cultivation, and that some of our best fruits have been thus produced.

The Oregon Crab Apple ( Pyrus rivularis) is found on cold, marshy ground, bordering ponds, mountain springs and streams, and when favorably situated is a good-sized tree and attains a diameter of one foot, and an altitude of twenty feet. Its rich green, spreading top in the season bears heavily a small, oval, golden-colored apple, which, when ripe, is eaten by the Indians, and was used in early times by white settlers for making preserves, jelly, and vinegar. This species has been hybridized and improved by some of our nurserymen, and no doubt will be further improved, which may lead to a valuable variety in the future.

The Oregon Wild Plum (Pyrus subscordata), of which there are two or three varieties, was much valued in early times for its fruit to eat green, for preserves and jam. This plum for quality is about the same as the native red plum of the middle west, and has been improved by selection and cultivation; was used formerly_by nurserymen for stock on which to graft the plum and prune. The tree grows to a height of ten or fifteen feet. Another variety produces a round fruit nearly an inch in diameter; another an oblong, resembling in shape, color, and quality the Damson, and, by those who use them, preferred to that variety. Of these something may be expected by hybridizing and cultivation.

We have two or more species of the Wild Cherry-one, Cerasus demissa, a shrub or small tree bearing a purplish black fruit, very much resembling the choke-cherry, though of much better quality, and edible; is used to some extent for marmalade; its roots have been used as stock to improve varieties upon. The other, Cerasus emarginati, sometimes attains to the dignity of a tree one foot in diameter and thirty to forty feet high, and bears a roundish black cherry about one third of an inch in diameter, bitter and astringent.

The Oregon Elder (Sambucas glauca), is a character tree of unsurpassed elegance and rare beauty on the lawn or in the forest; is of vigorous growth, attaining two feet in diameter and thirty feet in height, with a beautifully cut leaf of rich bluish green, decked with showy sprays of creamy white flowers six to ten inches across, and in the fall of the year gorgeously arrayed and heavily laden with purple berries, interspersed with green fruit and blossoms, which continue to bud and blossom from June to September, giving a succession of flowers, green fruit and ripe purple berries the entire season. The berry has a pleasant, sub-acid taste, and with a little sugar is palatable in pies, stewed, or in preserves, and properly prepared makes an excellent wine, for which it is now often used.

Another variety of smaller growth (Sambucus pubescens) has a red berry, also edible. This variety is not so widely distributed, and is only found along the coast and up the streams inland.

The Grape (Vitis Californica) is found in the southern part of the State, and has been much used in other countries as a phylloxera resistent stock, on which to work European varieties. This fruit is something like the fox grape of the East, and has been some improved by selection and cultivation, and will doubtless be of value in the future.

Oregon is a land rich in native berries, which were held in great esteem by the Indians and early settlers, some of which are really fine and yet much sought after and utilized, and form a considerable commerce in our towns and cities.

The Wild Blackberry (Rubes ursinis) is very abundant everywhere, and takes possession of neglected fields, fence rows, and burned districts. The fruit is of good size, oblong, very sweet and juicy, and believed by the children and good housewife to be for all purposes much superior to the cultivated varieties. Tons of this fruit are gathered and sold to families; and if there were more pickers a large commerce could be made with the canneries. The Aughinbaugh is a sport from this species.

Of Raspberries, we have four varieties, the Salmon-berry (Rubus nutkanis), a large, yellowish red fruit, with a white bloom, juicy, sweet, highly flavored, very palatable; a red berry (Rubus incodermis), highly aromatic, soft, sweet and very good; a Black Cap (Rubus pendens), not unlike Gregg's Black Cap, and with us, under cultivation, fully its equal. This berry is widely distributed and abundant. A Black Raspberry (Rubus spectabilis), being rather hard and dry to rank first-class, yet with a peculiar flavor; very palatable to

some tastes.

The Wild Strawberry (Fragrara Chilensis) is widespread, abundant, and very prolific, so that in some regions it is said that hogs fatten on them. The berry is not large, but improves under cultivation, and by some is classed as superior in flavor to cultivated kinds. Several fine varieties have been produced by cross fertilization with this, among which are the Tryomph Degand, True Chili, and several other varieties.

We have several Wild Currants, one a beautiful shrub, and sought in the Eastern States and Europe as an ornamental lawn plant, and valued for its elegant foliage, and early and profuse bloom of pink and scarlet flowers; berry not edible. The Yellow Currant (Ribus aurum) responds well to cultivation, and in the wild state is of good size and edible.

Of Gooseberries, two or three kinds are common. Ribes Menziesi