The Delta independent., 1908-06-26
Il and no particular care during this

! and no particular care during this
period
On the other hand, coal would seem
much the cheaper fuel requiring no ex.
pensive storage facilities, and there is
no doubt, if carefully prepared so as to
insure quick lighting. and given proper
attention throughout the night, a
steady heat may be maintained and the
required result achieved.
We neither saw nor heard of any ex
periments having been made, with
large fires and few to the acre, and
would caution our growers to be care
full about this experiment with large
fires, at least for the present, but
rather to follow the beaten path of
small fires and many to the acre.
We have noted during our investiga-
tions in California, that from forty to
eighty fires are being used to the acre,
the number lighted being determined
by the particular location, and the de-
gree of cold encountered.
More fires being used on the outside
of the orchard than in the center, and
that it is the usual practice to light
fires, before the therometer gets down
to freezing, claiming that it is easier to
hold the temperature where it is than
to raise it after 1t has dropped below
freezing point.
AS to the devices used in California
for burning crude oil and coal, the best
we saw being used there for burning
oil was the Froude (or so-called Bolton)
pot and the best device we Investigated
there for burning coal was the wire
basket, sample of which we have.
We might say however, that coal is
not used to any extent in California
for this purpose, on account of its ex-
cessive price, $500 to $1,000 per ton,
in carload lots, while oil may be bought
for 81 90 per Dbl. freight added.
Your committee has not conducted
any series of experiments as to the
best device for burning either coal or
oil and therefore recommend none. In
fact we consider it more logical that
these experiments be conducted in our
own counties, and with the particular
material at hand, which we shall be
compelled to use, and we therefore rec
ommend that our different associations,
Immediately appoint committees who
shall at once proceed to conduct
series of experiments with the mater
ials we have at hand with the view of
ascertaining and recommending to our
growers, the best and cheapest device
for burning either coal or oil, and the
probable cost per acre of either meth
cd. This information was impossible
to obtain in California, many of their
methods were crude, their material,
both coal and oil are different than
ours, which would render experiments
there questionable, when applied to
different grade of material here. AS
there must be an expenditure of many
thousands of dollars by our growers in
preparing to fight frost it seemed de-
sirabIe, before advising this expendi-
ture to obtain corroborative evidence
to our own experiments in protecting
lruiI III d ioW ueBree iIoSI- ouch cur
roborative evidence we have in plenty
and it is our firm belief that if any
grower in Western Colorado loses a
fruit crop from frost, with the same
degree of cold we experienced last
April, it would be because he is un-
willing or unable to avail himself of
the material at hand for firing and an
intelligent use of the same.
Respectfully submitted,
A. B HoYT,
Grand Junction, Colo.
CHAs. OLIVER,
Montrose & Delta Counties.
GEO. H. SAwADE,
Grand Jet & Palisade, Colo,