The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-06
R ALL OUTDOORS.
THE TASK OF CALIFORNIA ORANGE
GROWERS ON GOLD NIGHIS.

GROWERS ON COLD NIGHTS.
fires and smuare Kept Goinr Constantly ma
Close watch N1aintatned on the Thcr,noms.
~ser-Efneisnt work or q Pail OF Smokes
Temperature Raised six Degrees.
Los ANGELES, Feb. 1.-For the second tim.
this winter the orange growers of southern CAN.
fornin are engaged In tho task OF warming Mn
all outdoors in order to save their cror of
oranges. Tho orchardists of this region have
already learned the lesson which has cos, Flor.
ida so dear and can meet without much los,
temperatures which would freeze stin tho In.
comes Of the Florida growers. II the orange
growers Of the Southern peninsula cared N
make tho samo efforts and take tho a IN
trouble they could fight jack Frost just as suo
c~essfully ns do tho orchardists of southern Cali
fornin. II IL had not boon for constant watch.
~fulness, the all.night labors OF an army Of men.
miles and miles Of smudgc fires OF crude oil ana
burning baskets Of coal half tho orange cron A.
southern California this winter would hnvo
been frozen as badly as was that OF Florida.
Southern California is on the northern edo,
of the citrus belt of tho Western Hemisphere
and may BIO touched by injurious frosts at any
time during tho three winter months. There
arc some localities that never suffer in tho least
from frost, and there are lowlands where oranges
nre sure to DO frozen every winter Not many
OF these lowlands are planted In citrus fruI,s
and those that are will undoubtedly be dug up
and devoted to some harder crop. The bulk
of tho orange land, in the great valleys back
from the coast, may no. be touched by an In.
furious frost for three or four years, and, again.
there may be three or four frosts in one winter.
A cold wave is likely to como at any time dur.
ing the ripening season. But the signal ser.
vice gives ample warning and the orchardlsts
have their fires ready to light whenever tho
thermometer drops to the danger point. Thi,
winter has been one Of unusual severity and tho
orange growers have been waging a particularly
lively and interesting battle with Jack Frost,
So far they arc the winners, for not more than
10 per cent. of the unusually largo orange crop
has been injured.
1t has been necessary to determine by much
patient experiment just how much cold an
orange will stand. 1t has been pretty vol
settled that, as the Juice of a moderately ripe
orange is 10 per cent. sugar, it will not CONCEAL
above 2s'- Fahrenheit. Tests have shown
that 24o for a period OF two hours pro.
in the skin Of The fruit. When 1sGar cold i ni 5aS o u
expected the orchardist simply sits up with his
dreps! eo Is: al amy n5sh tiim IL nSs sfors and iD il ~ Il
are lighted all over the orchard, Sometimes
Of f1.s soft e. coal sIo and supported 1ts ! 9 on t,o rods driven
over which they scatter fine manure. In one
grove thirty fires to the acre Of pepper boughs,
and saved the oranges, In another. where
twenty coal baskets to. tho acre were
f Par one test shf buc teape Of epaSe T oil we're raised ssf him. A.:
ing three rows apart oil through a big or.
chard and the temperature. was raised -, so
the thermometer and the fires must be watched
constantly. and the mon taking care Of an or.
up the fires. making sure that each gives outs
liberal quantity of smoke and seeing that tho
point. The heavy smoke settles in a thick, uni.
form cloud over the trees and acts, as a sort Of
bblan Ike ar nsld and t SSTn pad ah e Tn 5 : tbe E dSs,b, out
There is a difference Of opinion among or.
chardists as to the best plan for warming UP
sired result - brought about by the mixing OF
the warm with the cold dir and that tho over.
nevertheless a fact that a half acre in one or.
chard was protected, by an overhead screen.
higher than In the. surrounding plain. Tho
best results have been obtained from fires
Of BUT ef i has oil bs whif f6u burned nna5 with Z large n ss ila m;
material because the SCOT gathers in large guam.
tit sem on o rrSit shd leaves cav sbat wbo,.v.r will, n-o.
skyward VII produce the desired result. In
viii read nf from nn'; 2. 'I 70 ' 4: higher nigh rns WITH sacn
ten or twelve feet of ascent, and that even
raise the tem Ga Stre several eu fitdie e.r roes frsn u M,t.
ly enough to save the fruit.
rIoni tneSc, IactS, Sald one grower who
pears that a solution Of the frost problem may
t 6s h cSnt by g s' nnnsr mixing nj of the lower with
In order to give thorough test to this the.
ory, trial is to BIO made of large blowers. or
driven by, gasoline engines or electric
without fires, throughout an orchard.
Many experiments have been made in the
effort to solve this problem. Much was c.
pected OF a. steam apparatus which Iuffed
out clouds of warm steam. But 1t was found
that the moisture settled and turned into frost
on the trees, In some orchards water Is
during cold nights. But this is not
supposed to be, of much use. Most orchards
are protected by wind breaks on the sides
from which cold waves are most likely 10 come.
Notwiths standing the fact that the thermOme.
ter has stood rs low rs "a on n good many
nights this winter, and in some localities in the
orange district has dropped even lower, the
orange growers have saved nearly the whole
81 their crop, and they are united In the convic.
lion that the orange crop can be preserved
uninjured during any weather that
likely to visit southern California. except in
very low, cold localities, which ought not to be
Tor Florida to think about.
The effect of freezing upon an orange Is to
burst the small sacs which inclose the pulp.
20 that the Juice. ooZes out and evaporatcs
.hrough the skin, leaving the inside dry and
'pongy. No difference Is apparent in the fruit
, ,oit, e week or two after freezing. If eaten
Iced, and the fruit is not Injurious. But a
test OF q suspected orange is to place some
Juice cells on the thumb nail and
sently push them over II. A little trail OF
moisture will be left on the nail If the fruit has
been frozen.