Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1909-08-13
SMUDGE POTS
WILL SAVE FRUIT

F. E. Price, of Payette, Idaho, re-
Gently made trip to Grand Junction,
COL, to make personal investigation
as to the merits of the smudge pot to
protect orchards from late frosts The
results of his trip are told in the Pay
cite Independent, as follows:
''There is absolutely on doubt that
smudge pots will save the fruit crop.
They will save it from frosts in any
fruit district in the United States.
This is the statement of F. E. Price,
who returned last Friday from a trip
of inspection to the fruit districts of
Colorado where this year the orchard
lists saved thousands of dollars worth
of fruit by the use of smudges. Mr..
Price was sent on this trip by the
Commercial club.
''It is a fact" continued Mr. Price,
''that the orchardists at Grand juno
tion and Palisade who used the smudges
have full crop of fruit and those who
did not use them have practically no
fruit at all. | went through dozens of
orchards there where | couldn't find a
piece of fruit, and l went through
dozens of others where the crop was
full because smudge pots had been
used.
Mr.. Price said he ran down every
rumor he heard about anyone who lost
his fruit who had used the smudges
and he did not find one that was true.
He also failed to find one orchardist
that had crop who did not use the
smudges.
The oil smudges were the favorite
ones used as they required much less
work to handle and operate. A smudge
pot is placed in every square in the
orchard Each orchard has a thermom-
eter alarm. When the mercury drops
to the danger point it rings an alarm in
the bedroom of the orchardist. This
gives him time to get up and start the
fires. He can then retire and if the
mecury drops again to the danger
point the alarm again rings and notifies
him.
Everybody in that part of Colorado
is jubilant over the success of the
smudges. Bankers told Mr.. Price
that if the fruitgrowers had lost their
crops this year, which would have
been the third season in succession, it
would have bankrupted the county in
which Grand Junction is.
Mr. Price has ordered about Is of
the pots and barrel of oil which he
expects will arrive in a day or two and
then he will give number of demon
strations for the benefit of the orchar
dists who have not seen them operated.
He strongly advocates that the orchar-
dists should supply themselves With the
pots and lay in supply of oil and al
ways be ready for an emergency. He
cites many instances where if some
thing like this had been used by growers
here in seasons past they would have
made thousands of dollars by
it. The oil does not waste if it is not
used and can be kept on hand in tanks.
He says there is scarcely a season but
what the crops would be better if en-
tirely protected from frosts. Last
year the crop was unusually large in
the entire valley, but he says usually
more or less damage is done by frosts.
By this he meant that while the growers
have had what is called good crops
they could have better ones if the fruit
was absolutely protected from frosts.
Mr.. Price will make his report to the
club at the regular meeting of the club
next Monday night, and allfruit growers
interested are invited to be present at
the meeting. If the smudge pots ar
rive in time he will also give demon
stration of their use Monday night. =
Payette Independent.