Cañon City record., 1908-07-02

I q. = z r Y = e IL f
question of expense, facility in prepar-
ing, lighting and tending will no doubt
determine the nature Of the material
used by each individual grower.
while oil. after first being pre-
pared for US with the necessary tanks.
ETC., can possibly be handled from day
to day with more facility. lighted
quicker than coal with the assurance
OF a steady heat until the oil is con-
sumed. and no particular care during
this period.
"On the other hand coal would seem
to be much cheaper fuel requiring
no expensive storage facilities. and
there is no doubt, II carefully prepar-
ed, so as to insure quick lighting, and
given proper attention throughout the
night, a steady heat may be maintained
and the required result achieved.
I'VE neither saw or heard Of any
experiments having been made, with
large fires and few to the acre, and
would caution our growers to be
careful 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.
The smudging season. both in Colo
RADIO and California. having long since
passed, your committee have had nei-
ther time nor opportunity to test out,
the number OF fires necessary to be
used, in different degrees of cold. in
fact we believe that this phase of the
subject, will take years OF experience
to determine, in the meantime we had
better use plenty and succeed. than to
use too few and have our fruit chilli
ed. -'.-.
I've have noted during our investi-
cations in California, that from forty
to eighty fires are being used to the
acre, the number lighted being deter
mined by the particular location. and
the degree of cold encountered.
More fires being used on the out
side of the orchard than in the center
and that 1t is the usual practice to
light fires before the thermometer gets
down to freezing, claiming that 1t ia
easier to hold the temperature where
it is, than to raise 1t after It has drop
ped below the freezing point.
LAS to the devices used in Califor-
mia for burning crude oil and coal.
the best We saw being used there for
burning oil was the Froude Tor 30
called Boiton) pot and the best de-
vice we Investigated there for burn
ing coal was the wire basket. A sam
pie 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 excessive price. IS
to $12 per ton, in carload lots, while
oil may be bought for 81 per barrel.
freight added.
Your committee have not conduct
ed any series OF experiments as to
1.-THE best device for burning either coal
or oil and therefore recommend none.
In fact, we consider 1t more logical
that these experiments be conducted
lin our own countries, and with the
particular material at hand, which we
shall be compelled to use, and we
therefore recommend that our dif-
point committees who shall at once
proceed to conduct a series Of expert
ments with the materials 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 method. This
Information was impossible to obtain
in California. Many of the methods
were crude, their material, both coal
and oil are different than ours. which
would render experiments there ques-
tionable, when applied to = different
grade OF material here. As there must
be an expenditure Of many thousands
of dollars by our growers in prepar-
ling to fight it seemed desirable. be-
fore advising this expenditure. to OBJ
tain corroborative evidence to our own
Experiments in. protecting fruit In a
low degree frost.
Such corroborative evidence we
have in plenty and It Is our firm be-
lief that II any grower In western
Colorado loses a fruit crop from frost,
with the same degree Of frost We ex-
perienced last April. 1t would be be-
cause he is unwilling or unable to
avail himself Of the material at hand
for firing and an Intelligent use Of the
same.