The herald., 1897-01-16

break removed and an orchard lose more
in windlfalls and damaged fruit in q sim
gle storm than the owner would have
lost had he removed an outside row of
bearing trees.
Before leaving the matter of running
water for protection 1t is proper to recall
the fact that no water system can possi-
bly, furnish a sufficient to flood, ali the
lands in an emergency. 1t is, however,
universally conceded that the thorough
wetting of the ground at intervals dur
ing the danger period will aldl materially
and Is an adjunct to other methods
which we cannot afford to ignore The
theory that once restrained many from
using water was that to do SO would
stimulate winter growth; but this Is
disproved by experience. Indeed the
running Of cold water seems rather to
hold the tree dormant until the time
when the warm spring days and season.
able cultivation encourage a ranker
| growth by reason of the trees long rest.
The smudges used by wheat Farmers
In the northern states, and by the decid-
uous fruit growers in California are un-
questionably of service when only frost
| Is Threatened. but the use of water upon
the material burned must add to its
value. There are in my opinion mary
orcharGs showing light crops all over
Southern California because of the late
| spring frost. which killed the tender
fruit buds then just starting; and /
| haven't a doubt that some of us would
be the richer by thousand dollars this
winter If we had been prepared to ex-
pend $25 in the use of wetted straw for
smudge last spring. Our lack of prep
aration entailed serious cutting down
or the present years income.
1t was only after the calamity Of last
year that we came to recognize the need
or thorough preparation. At last those
who study the matter in scientific
way took up the question. Among the
first was Engineer Finkle, and later
Prof. Harmon, the government weather
ofi1cial at San Francisco, as well as
some of our own citizens, pointed out
the need of producing humidity by arti-
ficial means if we would successfully
overcome the conditions that worked
so much harm. 1t is upon these lines
that Is now concentrated most of the
experimental work.
The Oil bucket and the coal basket
are utilized to heat a thick layer of wet
ted straw or manure, and the heat pro-
duced Is thus made doubly effective
and sends floating through the air it's
particles of matter Weighted down with
warm moisture.
Many different plans for producing
steam have been tested, and some ex-
perimenters have shown that 1t is pos
amount of vapor which the scientists
declare ample to restore normal humid
ity even after deSSicating winds-which
always preceded a really dangerous
frost-has created the conditions most
dangerous. 1t is then that the barom-
eter is liable to be high and the air near
ly without moisture. The radiation is
excessive, and a cold spell tolerably sure
have not time to describe the several
plans being tested for evaporating wa
ter; but tests have shown that water
can be evaporated by one of these ap-
phAnces on each acre in excess of the
quantity the experts say is required.
The apparatus costs about five or six
dollars, and the amount of coal re-
quired to keep it in operation costs far
less than does the quantity burned in
open baskets to obtain the dry heat over
a similar territory. Provided with cold
water tank to supply the water evapor-
ated, and with coal as fuel, the thing
can be run with little attention. This
method will not only supply consider
able heat direct, but will help in the dis
Semination of the vapor to raise the dew
poit. Used alone or in connection with
the smudge fires or the coal baskets,
its influence can hardly fail of ec-
complishing much even against the
downward sweep Of the cold dry mount
adm air currents.
I can but feel that the direction of
our experimental work is likely to Sc
cure us knowledge which will give some
degree of insurance against the few
exceptionally cold hours that have men
aced our prosperity so seriously during
the past few years. 1t is fortunate, per-
haps, that the recent cold spell was not
dangerous enough to enable us to fully
test these new appliances, but we shall
do we'll to provide for an emergency that
sooner or Eater will be upon us. Our
experiments with manure spread wet
upon a wire screen stretched over a coal
fire have worked well and one citizen
who has tried this arrangement upon a
sled declares 1t works excellently, though
he admits that he doesn't believe he can
equal the Northern Californian who ad-
vertise the allegation that he produced
such fog with an apparatus of this
sort that he lost his way in his own
orchard. We may not hope to create a.
fog so dense here under the flow of the
dry CaJon currents, but perhaps we
can accomplish all that is necessary
IL We can but have a reasonable unity of
action in the matte r.
The experiments made cannot be ex-
pected to result with the definiteness of
those made in the laboratory, but the
latter establish a principle upon which
we may safely base our work. We are
assured that the evaporation of seven
barrels of water uponia ten-acre orchard
would raise the dew point from IA de
grees to 32 degrees. provided the vapor
did not rise over twenty-five feet from
the ground. We find that we can easily
and cheaply evaporate the quantity of
water required. Just what proportion
of this moisture will be retained near
the ground we canrct know. although
practical tests encourage the belief that
there will be no trouble ON that point
the mois ture-laden smoke hanging low
among the trees on a still night. Mr..
Handy's apparatus has we'll demon
strate,d it's value and economy. He
shows that at a cost of so an hour he
cam run ten evaporatorS and in four
hours change 40C0 pounds of water into
vapor. One evaporator to the acre would
appear to be sufficient to meet all re-
quirements Mr.. Halls apparatus shows
similar results.
The value of the hygrometer as an aid
in indicating the probable temperature
several hours in advance was we'll shown
on Sunday evering. These indicated
in spite of the rapidly falling tempera-
ture of the evening, that the mercury
would go down below 30 degrees in the
morning, and the result thoroughly jus
Titled this forecast. Much anxiety and
needless work can be saved by growers
If the conditions can thns be definitely
foreshadowed.
1t was with no sanguine feeling that
I began to agitate a year ago the ques-
tion of frost protection and sought the
advice of those who made the study of
weather life work. But I am at last
II