Omaha daily bee., 1910-05-01
HOT FIGaT AGAINST FROST
An Experience Bearing on Recent
Weather Conditions.
SUDDEN COLD wARDED OFF
How Colorado Fruit Growers FouHht
OFF q kiIIinE Cold wave
During April, Last
Year.

ear
The success Of our western fruit growers
is success founded on tireleEs patience
scrupulous care and q continuous use Of
brains. Fruit growing IN parts OF our
western states, where warmth IL abundant
and water turned on or of from irrigation
bitches as wanted, has become almost an
exact science.
twenty-five years ago the Grand valley
IN western Colorado was a desert Today
u contains some Of the most valuable
agricultural land in the country. Its fruit
Tsuchers have conquered drouth. worms
40 plant diseases A year ago for the
first time in a dozen years. there vas con-
siderable loss from early spring frosts.
Light frosts had been met bv ''smudEing -
burning piles Of damp hay in the orchard
just before dsybresk. The smoke cloud
projected buds from sharp sunlight OF that
alutude-EomethinE over 1000 feet-snd the
frost was drawn Off gradually without
harm 10 the blossoms. This method was
not effective however. when the thermone-
ter went below freezing
Last spring promised 10 be Of the usua'
ruildness but on April Is the weather OBJ
server al Grand Junction sent out a frost
warning that filled the whole valley with
:
or g degrees. one ranohmsn determined
10 try q petroleum pot device which had
been exhibited IN the valley. but not vet
generally taken up 1t was 2 O'Clock in
the afternoon when he engaged the pots.
Five hundred were distributed over twely~o
acres. They were 10 act as huge lamps.
TO raise the temperature Of the entire
orchard.
Firing Pots of OIL.
Five neighbors joined IN The work. Two
thermometers were hung in the orchard
At Ehor1 intervals one Of the workers would
call out the reading. II was freezing at
s:45 o'clock. An hour later il was 2S de-
grees. At 1880 the last Of the pots were
being filled. The mercury touched 20 de-
grees.
Torches flew from pot to pot. Now came
the test Would those trivial pots OF burn
ng oil, looking ike gala Illumination at
garden party crszly out Of place on a
winter night, cope with February cold
wave? As the men gazed at the yellow
flames idly waited this way. now that, the
Idea Of those scattered lanterns prevailing
against all the cold between heaven and
earth seemed preposterous. They looked at
The thermometer. Stin 26 degrees. A mo-
ment later it registered q degrees, five
minutes after Is degrees.
The mercury in the area Of the pots
gradually climbed Up TO so degrees. Far
and wide the pots burned on. but not now
as a mere idle illumination. Now they
seemed animate with human will At last
the east began to tighten. A great general
Was marching TO their relief And the
bright eye Of the showed over the line
Of the mountains
The following Tuesday another cold
wave, worse than the first, struck the val
ley. The killing cold began earlier and
continued longer. At dsybreak, when It
was expected that a temperature which
had been gradually rising for hour would
col tlnue to ascend came the worst assault
Of all Feeling that the fight had been
wen, the owner Of the orchard insisted
that his neighbors go home and set some
rect Befors they left the pots were half
covered, as so much heat was not needed.
Fighting n FIareback.
Ten minutes after the neighbors had de-
pFrted, with daylight streaming in, the
thermometer began suddenly 10 drop. II
was = degrees before the rancher was
aware of the danger. AS fast as he could
N began TO kick the tops off the pots.
But there was only one man. where a
half dozen were needed. The cold broke
through the wall Of heat and was In among
the trees after the buds. 1he rancher
guided his course clearing off tops 10 q
thermometCr. 1t stood at - degrees. He
kicked across the orchard TO another Their
mometer-2G segrets. He worked faster
and faster A few seconds later the mer-
curry stood at % degrees-and then thg
sun came.
Many buds were affected by this drop
but enough was left TO make a good crop
preparation at a hair-trigEer until the sun
actually comes up Crude oil was obtained
curing succeeding nights. and the work
made much easier. The crude oil burnl
much longer and can be handled without
danger
OF the ranchers who used the pots last
spring, the most successful had 100 TO each
acre His table OF readings showed an
extreme difference OF Il degrees between
the center Of the heat zone and the out
si1t one OF the ten acres which he pro-
ttsstad he had practically q full crop, an
oasis among surrounding orchards
II is proposed now to use coal as well
as oil This spring a dozen or more ex-
pcriments in heaters are being tried. and a
frost. should Il come will find the valley
creating q climate Of its own. II Is estl-
mated that the pots cost about IS per acre
gear-0n.y a reasonable insurance oon-
sider1ng the prices at which fancy fruit
Is sold.-Colher's Weekly.