Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1870-03-04
From the Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle and Sentinel.
Saving Fruit from Late Spring Frosts

Saving Fruit from Lste Spring Fros1s
| Being often asked chow to pres erve fruit
from the effects oil frost late in the spring, ~
l have decided to again give the n10duS
opera1adj SO that each one may use it in
time Of need.
stroy it, for, if thawed out slowly in the
shade, no one would perceive any differ
ence II its taste Or keeping qualities.
Thus, apples, Irish potatoes, &C., when
! hard frozen, can, by being buried till the
frost is extracted, be used and kept for
some time, while growing peaches and APP
pies, though frozen solid, can, by the fol
| lowing process, be SO restored as to realize
fair crop, " hich would otherwise be ut
terly lost:
Make once IL about forty feet, on the
| Western and J1orthcrn side of the orchard,
q pile of about = busheI Of light wood. cut
TO from six 10 eight inches III length, and
split tiue by the side Of which q pile of
aoeI sawouSt, Caubark. or rotten wood must
be placed and thus, used.
With i ightwood torch laid on the
gro@nd, stand the prepared ightwood,
like an ordinary coal kiln, putting from
peck to the whole amount prepared, ac-
cCrdIng 10 the degree Of coal. When the
pile IS all ablaze, place over the whole,
previously prepared, bark from stumps,
so that the fires shall not be smothered,
then cover all with the qcet sawdust, sc. :;
with Z sitting motion, such as brick
layers use when applying sand to the
mortar bed, but do not put too much
on at once, lest the fires be extinguished.
4 little experience will enable any. one
- AA~H"6O tIIs properly. BY lighting
every other pile first and afterwards
firing the balance, the best results are
obtained. / once lost part Of my fruit by
the winds shifting into the northeast,
q a1V
side also. After all the f,es arc lighted
there will be nothing more to do than sim
ply TO prevent the fires from blazing up,
and the hand must keep passing FROM one
end to the Other-nOW sprinkIino on q lit
tie sawdust and now putting on a piece Of
bark, so as 10 keep up g dense smoke,
smudge IN fact, never allowing a blaze for
moment. 1t Is q cold business, and q
new beginner must not be discouraged by
appearances, but persevero till the warmth
OF the sun has extracted all the frost from
the fruit, which viii be somewhere between
eight and zen o'clock. Your fruit may be
frozen hard, but if you follow the above
you Will have trnit when your lazy neigh !
Dor will have only leaves.
what time Of night you viii ask must |
we begin the fires That will depend IN.
on the size OF the orchard. So that the !
fires are all going and under perfect CON i
trol BY early daylight, the danger Will be |
warded of. begin between two and three |
o'clock Ia the morning, and two or three
hands can make fifty fires by the time sun
light would begin to do injury. And SO
Is the protection that fruit is
protected from quarter TO half mile to
lac leeWard of the fires
AA0t0 no one 10 buiLd q tire 10 hee11 1curua
III, is my order, and unless ven carry it
out you may as well not attempt the bust
ness. Moreover, do you lead the hands
al night long, for if you trust them, don't
complain that the remedy proves failure.
w. Fl. S.
We can fully endorse the above from I
our own experience. 70 determine accu-
'ately when the fruit is in danger from
rost, place the thermometer in an open
and if the mercury sinks to ~
II AZ degrees by 10 o. clock at night when
he trees are in bloom) it may be safely
that it will fall 10 degrees lower
~ sunrise. A good deal of fruit will be {
l1lled at 30 degrees at 80 degrees but I
title will be left. Such fires as are recon-
nended above will affect the temperature I
II an orchard from two to four degrees, l
'ut the main purpose is subserved by rails I
ng dense smoke. TO effect this, any I
Material Of slow combustion is good to be
aid on from time to time after the fires !!
re started. If any wind should be blow l.
ng, the fires should be chiefly on the 9
7indward side. L
From the present advanced stage of
egetation, it is believed that the fruit is
/ very precariOus condition. Whoever
Ill go to the trouble of saving his peach
rop, as recommended, will doubtless be o
bic to realize two or three prices for it in C.
use he succeeds.-Ed. Petersburg Llder. In