Omaha daily bee., 1911-05-04
Council Bluffs.
FRUIT NOT MUCH DAMAGED
Temperature Falls Fraction Below
Freezing at Orchards.
EXPERTS SAY LOSS IS SMALL
OF Fires Lighted by HOrtieuIturists
Near Council BIuffs, who Say
Apples VIII Come Through
Unhurt.

temperature of s11t degrees was the
extreme low point recorded by standard
registering thermometers I'm Council Bluffs
Monday night. When day dawned white
frost was gllstening on roofs and side
walks and thin films of ice had formed on
water left in basins. The unmlstaRable
indications Of the presence Of the frost
made every one who had unprotected
plants on their lawns or fruit trees in
bloom extremely anxious to discover the
extent Of the damage. AS the sun rose and
its heat dissipated the frost the examina-
lions were eagerly made. The result was
most satisfactory, disclosing practically no
damage at all except In isolated instances
to tender growing garden plants. Cherries,
plums, peaches and aprioots in full bloom
awoke with new vigor, apparently un-
harmed.
In the fruit districts around the city,
where thousands of dollars are hanging on
the trees, the same satisfactory conditions
were reported, although the thermometers
in many places indicated much lower tenn
peratures. In some of the low-lying val
leys where the cold air flowed and set
tied, as low as % and % degrees were re-
corded on instruments that we're probably
more or less inaccurate. Inquiries were
sent early in the day in all directions by
Secretary Reye of the Grape Growers as
ISOLATION an organization that handles S.
per cent of all the fruit grown in the vi
cinity Of the town, and the responses were
generally Of the most favorable character.
The indications were that about per
cent of the cherry and plum blossoms were
killed with no damage at all to the APP
Piles on account of the undeveloped condi-
ton of the buds. This was also the opinion
OF j. A. Aulabaugh, one Of the most extern
sive fruit growers in the vicinity
d. r. Olmstead another large grower
found about one in twenty of the plum and
cherry blossoms blighted. This thinning
out is desirable rather than otherwise as
the trees, after two years of idleness have
developed an unusually heavy crop OF
bloom, and II half of the buds matured
the crop would be too large for the good
of the fruit or the tree
Fearful lest the magnificent promise of
huge apple crop might be injured by the
frost, despite the apparently safe condition
Of the back-retarded buds Prof Green
who has charge of the state experimental
orchard on the Roger farm, concluded to
light the fire pots. The experiment was
in the nature of trial of various types of
orchard heaters we'll as frost preventers.
Six hundred of three different types were
placed in belt through the center of the
twenty-acre orchard and lighted after MIDI
night when the temperature dropped be-
low the freezing point. Thermometers were
scattered throughout The orchard and out
side of the heated belt At 4;SO yesterday
morning the outside Instruments indicated
temperature of 26iz degrees. In the heated
belt 80 to "a degrees were marked until after
sunrise, demonstrating the entire feasibility
of artificial heating.
In the Keeline orchard this year in
charge OF Prof s. K. White of the iowa
State Agricultural college, the heaters were
also lighted with the same satisfactory re-
suits
A telephone message received last even
ing from ]. NJ. Murphy of Glenwood. who
represents most fully the orchard interests
of Mills county, declared that no damage
whatever had been done to apples and
but a minimum amount to cherries and
plums The peach crop in this vicinity has
been generally winter killed
The vegetable growers around the city,
whose gardens represent many thousands
of dollars of both product and investment,
were almost equally fortunate. The only
vegetables damaged at all We're beans, corn
and tomato plants. The top of the tender
corn shoots were black and the beans cut
down to the ground. The gardeners say
the beans are gone. but that the corn will
revive without experiencing much Of a
check. The tomato plants that were in
jured at all are permanently destroyed.
Thousands of newspapers were used in
many of the gardens to protect the tender
plants and wherever used saved the plants.
Old Jeweiry repaired and remodeled at