The sun., 1896-06-21
TO KEEP OUT JACK FROST.
THE FOE THAr CALIFORNIA FRUIT
GROWERS FEAR MOST

POMONA, CAL, Juno 15.-.A fortune that may
bo expressed by six or seven figures awaits the
person who will invent o sure and economical
means by which Jack Frost may be kept out OF
tho orchards OF tho southern California fruit
growers for fow hours every winter. Not
only will tho inventor soon hnvo.a fortune, but
he will also bo blessed from San Diego to Sis
kiyou as a public bcnefactor. For decade or
moro somo of tho best inventive brains in Cali.
fornia have been busy with the problem and
a little progress has been;made in learning tho
condition of orange and lemon groves when frost
is likely TO do its sovcrest injury, the periods
when attacks by frost may DO most expected,
and how cold wind currents ARE created and
checked among tho trees in citrus fruit groves.
But 1t is safe to say that tho fruit growers in
southern California would gladly give In tho
aggregate a million dollars for n positive and
Trustworthy means Of raising tho temperature
five or six degrees on cold, chilly night in De-
cember or January for two or three hours,
whilc tho pruno, apricot, and peach growers Of
northern and central California would cer-
tainly give as much more TO discourage the Ad-
vent Of Jack Frost in their immense orchards in
March or April. when tho fruit trees arc In full
bloom or the young fruit is developing.
The Los Apgelea Times finds that the aRRro-
gate capital invested in tho growing of oranges
and lemons in California-that ie, in tho land,
trees, irrigation systems. special fruit cars.
packing houses, and all manner of horticultural
devices-is S33,oo0,0Oo. whilo the sum invest
ed In the growing OF pruncs, peaches. olives,
apricots, and small fruits In this State Is about
sos, 900, 000 A frost in midwinter, when the
orange. and lemon trees are In full fruitlon, and
again in March or early April. when the decid-
uous orchards are.blossoming. may therefore
in q few.hours ruin the income from q capital
Of 100000, 900 expended through years Of
toll, and upon which several hundred thousand
people are dependent. The valuo OF an inven-
tion or process by which this vast Investment
may assure itselfsof returns each year viii be
readily seen. In southern California, where
irrigation. .has been made q science, and perl
odical rainfall is not so all-important, where
insect pests are annihilated by gases and chemi-
cal decoctions, and where there Is little posi-
bllity Of damaGe:from tempests, frost is now
practically the only menace TO fruit growers.
But frost comes:so-stealthlly and does It's dam
age 30 quickly and thoroughly In tho very hour
OF harvest. that nearly every grower would
gladly give hundreds and even thousands OF
dollars to DO insured against harm by 1t.
Tho seventeen years that orange growing
has been money-mnking industry in south
ern California have demonstrated that the
critical frost nights may come between Dec.
20 and Feb l. Thore may be light frosts
early in December in the early part of
spring, but they never cause uneasiness
among orange and lemon growers. When
the dcciduous fruit orchards como into bloom
light frost may do thousands Of dollars Of
damage in an hour or two Oranges and
lemons, II full OF Juice and we'll irrigated, will
stand cold weather as low as 24' above zero
for n few hours. They have been known safely to
endure for short time temperature even
as low as 22' and 23s above zero. Twice since
1850 there has been night when nearly all
thermometers In southern California showed
the mercury at 2o' above zero for an hour or
two. and tho orange crops were almost COM
plcte losses But there have been a score Of
nights in the same length OF time when tho
and tho orange and lemon growers have
tossed on anxious beds or trudRed nervously
the atmos phere. The diaries kent BY the
a .Pahsra Gathers ndlsa IN s old 1o as
1853, and then the records kept by the ranch
men men II tn. same region IN this time. all
IN southern California during century was
at about daybreak OF u December, day, 1877,
San Juan missions fell to iso above zero, '
II vii be seen, therefore. that all that IS
worth fg !"
shronghont the groves may be Iascd three aS
time as Killing and blasting a freeze as poor poor
Of the weather for over n century 20 to prove
that southern California is exempt from dam
ton from northern blasts afforded BY the
high mountains all about, and by the warm
ah P ss shore Of the pa
OF the adjacent territory by several degrees
The Oldest and most common practices among
orange growers to ward Off the attacks OF JACK
Frost are by irrigation. and by small bonfires
which make heavy black smudge among the
orange growers pin their faith To a liberal use
OF water during the night that damage by frost
Is expected and frost never comes upon the
horticuturist without warning by O falling
temperature for twelve or twenty four hoursj,
and they say they arc able to raise tho surface
long. shallow burrows betwecn the rows Of trees
through the length and breadth OF tho orchard
tho upper end OF the grove, create a network
of little waterways when the mercury shows
the s1SDss " hs
evaporation (which is always rapid in q dry
region IKE southern California! from the
air amongEthe fruit trees, and thereby dimln-
ishes the chances OF frost. From the middle OF
sicrras arc full o snow and teiceraphe I reports Io
appear in taS daily newspapers Of blzIards In
states, all watchful orange gro Sers Of south.
ern California keep their Thermometers near
0n nights w1sn thG Is down
prudent grove, WIN bo up all night looking al.
ter his crop, which may DO worth at evening
$1,000 or $4,000 and vRluelcss before the next
sunrise. When the grower observes ut mid
night that tho mercury has fallen to $50 or 32'
above zero. he opens the gates Of his irrigation
pipes. and from that time until the sun is up
water IS run through the burrows close about
the trees. Some growers believe that the best
results in fighting frost arc accomplished by
running irrigation water through the groves
on IL" day preyious to the expected cold might.
cnccd orange growers who ridiCule tho run
ming Of water through nm orchard In til, criti-
cal cold season Of the winter. because, as they
say. it creates n hcavncss OF tho surface air
among the trees an that rather draws frost
from tn" nppcr air.
Hundreds OF men engaged In growing
oranges have tried the smudge bonfire means
Of raising tho temperature among orange
groves. On tho day or the evening previous to
the autcinatcd visit from Jack Frost pans.
kettles, and all manner of vessels by scores aud
hundreds arc arranged among the trees, and
filled with tar or crude petroleum.; When tho
mercury ls slowly falling at and . A. NJ. the |
contents OF the vessels are lighted and a black,
heavy smoke arises and floats over and among
the acres Of trees. Other growers create a |
smudgo by bonhres OF reen vegetation, but
hpi methods nrp md rn nnt n VIVA