The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1882-06-23
SMOKE DIsPERsINe FROST.

Among the dispatches which have re-
Gently come from the interior of Cali
fornia respecting the condition of fruits
and vines are several stating that Jack
Frost swept over the bay counties ore
night last week, and brought the usual
devastation to fruit and vine planta-
tions In Santa Cruz, noted for its fine,
though not early, fruits and grapes, and
in Napa and Sonoma, where the wine
flourishes principally the damage seems
to have been very extensive. California
is destined to be the greatest fruit and
grape region in the world, and is rapid
ly acquiring an enviable reputation for
late, early and eTratic frOsts, which
worry the farmer and make his life mis-
erabie. As nearly everything in this
State is peculiar, it is perhaps meet that
the frosts should be governed by no law:
but it is somewhat difficult for a person
engaged in fruit and vine growing to
have his crop destroyed in this way and
keep mis- temper, 1t is estimated that
many thousand dollars worth of grapes
have been withered by the frost in Napa
and Sonoma during the past week, a
most extraordinary thing at this season
of the year, Science has done some
thing already to obviate this trouble,
and it may be that time will perfect the
system of thwarting the ravages of Jack
Frost. 1t is not well known to the gem
eral public that layer of frost upon a
tender plant does not materially injure
it-that Is, the bare frost, produced by
dew being frozen by low temperature.
1t is the rays of the sun in the early
morning thawing out the plant which
witheTs and destroys it. This fact was
first noticed when a heavy fog kept the
morning sun off a Napa vineyard, and
prevented the destruction of a crop of
grapes. 1t was then suggested that
smoke would answer the same purpose,
and it was tried with considerable sue
cess. During the last few years the
vineyards of Napa and SenOma have
been experimenting, until at present
they have regular system of smoking
Vineyards" Krug, Groezinger and a
few others, who have extensive vine
yards in Napa Valley, two years ago
warded off the frost successfully, Be
tween the 1st and 18th of April, if the
season is not unusually unpropitiOus, the
blossoms appear upon the grape vines.
If frost occurs between those dates,
followed by warm sun, the first, and
sometimes the second crop of Zinfandel
is killed, while all the other varieties.
MalvoiS, Rose of Peru, Emperor. Refs
ling, etc, suffer almost total destruction
10 smoke the vineyard at the proper
time, watchman. howitZer and q
Thermometer are put on guard. From
the first to the fifteenth of April the
sentinel keeps his eye on the thermom-
eter, from three O'Clock in the morning
until daylight, and if it goes down to the
freezing point he discharged his howit-
ger. At once a small army of vineyard
Its waiting for the sound turn out of
warm beds and repair to their fields,
around and through which have pre-
yiously been placed small iron vessels
filled with tar or piles of dry wood. A
fiambeau very quickly does the work,
and old Sol Uses over the hills to see
the valley covered with an impenetrable
cloud of smoke, and revelling in a smell
that would offend his olfactories. if he
were less than 95, 600, 00U miles away,
Thetatmosphere is gradually warmed
the frost melts slowly eff the fruit crys-
tails, and the grapes are saved, San
Francisco CGIL