Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-02-24

preparation to save their crops IL
any frost shall come with its deaden-
ing and disastrous results. c. J.
sinsel. who has been very active and
who has been spending much of his
time in comforting with the fruit
growers and farmers of the valley in
order to arrange and cooperate with
them when the cold snaps come, has
received many letters of inquiry AMI
some giving information as TO how
to obtain best results The smudge
pot has been decided upon as the
only safe method to save the trees
and crops. W. C. HOWE of Mountain
Home, who has had 0 years expert
ence in frost protection, has written
to Mr.. Sinsel about plan whereby
it is not necessary for him to stay
awake all night when the smudge /
pots are burning. says the Statesman.
81 found the great trouble he
writes, Ito be of not knowing when
it was going to frost My plan was,
when there was going to be frost
conditions, to set an alarm clock to
wake me up at different times in the
night ! would get up and note the
temperature and other conditions.
This was a great bother, as ! would
have to get out many nights when
there was no frost. and even then
was hardly safe. SO l conceived the
idea of getting a thermometer that
would ring an alarm whenever inc
temperature reached a certain stage
of danger. and tried several years
to get one
Il finally took the matter up with
Mr.. Wells of the Boise weather bu-
reau and he referred me to firm
in Philadelphia. On my suggestion,
this company perfected an absolutely
reliable thermometer that will give
an electric alarm on falling tempera-
ture and will give as many points
of alarm as you wish. had them
\ make for my thermometer two points
of alarm. one at SO degrees and one
at 80 degrees.
This thermometer is placed in the
orchard, wires running from there
to an electric battery and then con-
nected with an alarm at the head OF
my bed, with switches IN either 81
or 80 degree alarm. When l do not
care for the alarm / switch them off.
When l want the alarm. turn on the
switch on the line of the alarm
want, and when the thermometer In
the orchard reachs that temperature,
the bell at the head of my bed will
ring until the temperature goes up
again or until switch it or There
is no danger of it not waking any one
| have tested the thermometer with
the government thermometer and find
it to be absolutely correct.
"Of a frosty night when fruit is
very tender I turn on the SO degree
line: when it rings / note the time.
and if it is late enough in the night
and / think there is no danger,
switch the alarm and go to sleep
again. If it is early enough that
think ] shall have to fire, it gives me
the time the thermometer is dropping
the four degrees to 80 in which to
get my fires started.
Heretofore. my material being SO
poor, it was then necessary for me
to stay up all night and watch my
fire, but with the smudge pot think
that / shall start my fires and set
them at the point of heat | think
will need turning on the 80 degree
line, and should it get colder or my
heat insufficient, the thermometer
will sound the alarm
"Wth these thermometers the
fruit growers and the gardeners can
go to bed and sleep soundly with alb
solute assurance that the frost can
not catch them mapping and they
will not have to be making make
shifts to know when to heat the
orchards. The contrivance is a mer-
curry thermometer, but so arranged
that the mercury goes up instead OF
down on a falling temperature. A
wire is blown into the glass and il
connects with the mercury at the
bottom and another wire is blown
into the glass at the 30 degree point
and still another at 35 degrees. OF
whatever point you desire. The bot
tom wire is so connected with an
electric circuit with either Of the
upper wires; as soon as the mercury
touches the upper wire it closes the
electric current and il there is any
alarm on the circuit, it is bound K
ring"
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