The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-04-21
THE ORCHARDS SUFFERED
THE COLD WAVE DID LOTS or DAM
AGE.

yesterday morning, besides causing
much discomfort, may have effected a
total loss of what was promising to be
a good peach crop in this state, The
mercury went down to 20 degrees above
zero Monday night, and only the strong
wind averted the certain destruction Of
all the peach buds. Whether with this
slight advantage to help them the buds
survived the cold is a question which
cannot be answered until the next
warm day comes and the orchardists
can test the buds.
Mr.. George A. Dickerman, the florist
of this city, said yesterday afternoon
that the cold wave had done great dam
age here in killing the towering plants
that were out of doors Monday night
and in killing also those set out in the
gardens. Thousands Of young vegeta-
Bile plants set out in the gardens Of the
city had also been killed, as their black
ened remains testify. AS to the peach
tree buds in this region he thought the
trees on hillsides that had a southern
exposure suffered considerably, as with
trees so situated the buds had become
well started owing to the recent warm
spells. With trees having northern
exposure the buds did not quicken so
early, and hence these may have escap-
ed. The apple tree buds, he thought,
had not suffered injury to any great eX-
tent.
Mr. Doolittle of Bethany of flying
machine fame, who was in town yes
terday marketing trailing arbutus with
dealers, said that it was extremely cool
up in Bethany Monday night, and that
thick ice formed in a pail of water he
had left out in the yard over night.
Mr.. Doolittle said his farm was one
hundred feet above sea level and in the
vicinity of the Water companys Daw-
son lake. He considered the cold spell
quite notable one, although the farm
ers generally expect one setback In the
weather before the month of May gets
well started.
Many housekeepers yesterday fore
noon We're not astonished to find that
clothes from the washing hung out on
the clothes lines to dry were frozen
stiff.
Highway Commissioner Sternberg of
West Hartford, who has very large or
chards in that town, told reporter of
the Hartford Post yesterday morning
that he feared that the frost had killed
all the buds and there would be no
peach crop this season. He felt quite
sure that the buds on all the trees
standing in low land had been touched
by the cold, and he rather inclined to
the belief that the buds on the higher
ground as we'll were spoiled.
j. H. Hale of Glastonbury was inclin-
ed to take more hopeful view of the
situation. He agreed with Mr.. Stern
berg that it will be impossible to tell
until there is a warm day what damage
has been done, but he is hopeful, though
he says that if the peach crop has es-
capped it is by the narrowest of narrow
margins.
The thermometer went down to 20
Monday night" said Mr.. Hale, "and
that is getting perilously close to de-
struction. Ny hope that the buds stood
it and are not killed depends a good
deal on the weather which we have had
this spring You know that it has been
rather cool all the spring. There have
been no hot days to make the buds
swell up fast and they have been hard
ened by the cold so that | hope they
stood Monday night pretty well. If we
had had warm weather there would not
have been a bud left.
THE trees have not many buds on
them anyway. We had a warm period
last December and she peach buds
started in a dangerous way. Then came
the extreme cold of the winter when the
thermometer went down to 20 degrees
below zero and the buds were badly
injured. There were enough buds left,
however, to make a full crop and if
the frost of last night did not kill them
we will be all right"
In response to another question of the
money damage if the frost proved to
have been fatal, Mr.. Hale said that at
least the loss in dollars and cents would
not fall short of $1,000 900. 1t may
prove that portion Of the peach trees
standing on low ground have been SO
badly frozen that they will yield no
fruit and that other orchards on high
er ground will bear an average crop.
This would help out the orchardists
somewhat, but the result of the year
would be a loss.
1t may be that Mr.. Hale's hopes that
no serious damage was done despite
the low temperature, will prove true
and the scare groundless, but to-day
the growers of peaches are extremely
anxious and the opinion of other grow
ers who were seen by reporters of the
Post is that very serious damage has
been done even If the entire crop has
not been killed.
TOBACCO CROP INJURED.
Glastonbury, April 2O.-The farmers
who had their tobacco beds well ad-
vanced are fearful that the cold wealth
err of last night and to-day has
damaged them seriously If not COM
pletely. The ground froze quite hard
in many places and those who did not
cover up their beds found that the
ground in them was frozen for an inch
or two below the surface. If the plants
are damaged as badly as they seem to
be the tobacco growers who planned
to get their tobacco set out early will
find that they have met with an unex-
pected delay.
DAMAGE IN NEW YORK.
GeneseO, N. Y, April 20.-The mercu-
ry last night stood at II degrees above
zero. Ice a quarter on an inch thick