The record-union., 1896-12-02
p. Stabler, Yuba City; General N. P.

HleuCo, r. II. Buck, VdcdVule, -. L.
Fowler, Fresno; W. B. Gesler, New
castle; William Johnston, Courtland; !;
Sol Runyon, Courtland; H. P. Stabler,
Yuba City; Fl. Black. Santa Clara, and
J. A Filcher, San Francisco.
NICARAGUAN CANAL.
Secretary Lelong read letters from
Senators White and Perkins, Congress
men McLachlan, Loud, Johnson, Ma
guire, Hilborn, Barham and Secre-
tary of Agriculture J. Sterling Morton,
stating that the memorial of the as
sociation urging the construction of the
Nicaraguan Canal had been received,
and would receive their hearty con-
currence and support in getting the
measure properly placed upon the stat
ute books.
GENERAL CHIPMAN'S ADDRESS.
An interesting paper was next read
by General N. P. Chapman of Red
Bluff ON Should Tree Planting Be
Encouraged or Discouraged? If So,
What Kinds, Varieties, Etc?" The most
valuable fruit trees in the East, those
bringing in the largest returns in the
East, were apples and peaches. The
Americans were fruit-eating people,
and throughout the East apples were
considered a necessity and not a lux
ury.
In California it was hard to tell how
much fruit an average family would
consume annually. He noted one in
stance in which one family Of eight
persons consumed 5000 pounds of
fruit of all kinds in one year.
During the last year prices for de-
ciduous fruit in California had in
creased, while for all other kinds prices
had decreased. This was partially due
to the killing frosts in Florida, and
the overproduction of deciduous fruit
in the East The vital question, how
ever, was not overproduction, but
transportation, and to that question the
attention of the convention should be
directed. One of the great points to be
brought before the convention was to
combine for mutual protection.
In regard to what kind of trees to
plant, it was contended that different
localities demand different varieties.
Some would say that oranges should
not be planted, because in 1895 more
oranges had been imported than ever
before. The same might be said Of raj
sins, figs, peaches, etc. He considered
that the grower should plant that kind
of trees best adapted to the soil Of his
orchard and the climatic conditions.
MATTER OF FINANCE.
1t was a4scertained at this point in
the proceedings that expenses amount
ing to $3.50 would be incurred, and on
suggestion of r. D. Stephens each
member was assessed 81. The amount
collected was $73 10.
MR.. LANNON'S ESSAY.
w. H. Harmon, forecast official, sta
toned at San Francisco, next read an
essay on Protecting Orchards From
Frost" When he came to this State
from Missouri, Mr.. Harmon said, he
had been told that a forecast official
was not needed in California. He had
been informed that frosts did not oc-
cur here, but had found his mistake.
He came before the convention as
student rather than an educator, and
trusted that the subject would be dis
cussed fully by the convention.
Plants lose their heat either by con-
tact or radiation. The heat given off by
the condensation Of vapor was enor
nous. and it was lost by radiation. Ra-
diation takes place more rapidly when
the sky was clear than when clouds
acted as a veil. On calm nights the air
settled itself into natural stratas, the
colder being near the ground and warm
er above it. Wind served to mix the
stratas and give warmer air through
out
One Of the methods Of preventing frost
was checking radiation by placing
screens over orchards. This, however,
created considerable exposure, and
while it had been successfully tried in
Florida and elsewhere, it was doubtful
if it would ever become practicable.
Dry smoke or gas has been proven to
be small protection against frost, and
a damp or wet smudge was the best
preventative by fire Sacks Of manure
made damp had been successfully tried
as a smudge. and the heat produced by
a single smudge Of that character was
sufficient to increase the temperature
20 degrees in a 100-foot radius.
The remainder of Mr. Hammon's re-
marks have already been published IN
Bulletin No. 20, issued by the State
Board of Horticulture.
quite an extended discussion followed
which was participated in by several
fruit growers. One instance was re-
Ported in which a fog hung over a
prune orchard when a cold wave
swooped down, condensing the fog,
leaving icicles hanging to the fruit,
which was nearly half-grown. In that
instance, it was contended, more mois-
tUre would have meant larger icicles.
Major Berry Of Visalia contended that
q smoke veil or moisture which could
be held in one place, regardless Of air
strata, would be successful through
out but as long as strata would change
and cold waves come along, there could
be no absolute protection against frost
by ejecting moisture into the atmo-
sphere by means Of wet srnudges, or
anything else,
George Ditzler Of Palermo stated that
he had not been successful in operating
portable smudges, owing to the fact that
he had attempted to cover too much ter
ritory.
Hugh NJ. LaRue contended that the
benefit of smudges TO orchards de-
pended entirely upon climatic condi-
tions. When the thermometer did not
fall below % degrees he believed
smudges would save the fruit, but If a
harder freeze happened, no smudge
which could be made would avail any
thing. He had no confidence in
snudges where the thermometer went
no lower than % degrees above zero.
and in California 1t was seldom that the
thermometer registered less, when
fruit was liable TO damage.
y. W. Motheral of Kings County con-
tended that In sections where the ther-
mometer ran below the frost line and
remained for a short time only, no