The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-11-08
FROST FIGHT
IS GAINING
Fruit Districts in Many States Are
Experimenting With Orchard
Heating
COLLEGE BULLETINS LAST
COLLEGE BULLETINS LAST
YEARS TEST RESULTS
Suggestion Is Made That Pullman
Authorities Conduct an Expert
ment With Various Appliances
in Yakima This Spring

North Yakima orchardists app1rent-
ly intend to stand pat on the weather.
At least they are showing few symp-
toms. so far. of an intention to get
into the frost lighting game with the
orchard heaters Now is the line
that the orders for heaters should be
going out and arrangements mad"
for storing oil The factories must
have some idea of what the spring
demand is to be. or they may not
manufacture enough heaters during
the winter to supply the orders; In
which case somebody's fruit freezes.
SO far few orders from this district
have been reported by the local deal
ers.
VIII Try Again
The lower valley which, in num-
Der of ways, has shown itself rather
more progressive than the sections
Immediately surrounding this city,
last spring spent $4,000 in frost pro-
lection. The stand pat on the eli
mate" people are inclined to argue
that the money was wasted, since
not in every instance where the heat
ers We're used was the entire crop
saved. The lower valley people, how
ever, do not seem discouraged. They
recognize that, while the principle
is all right the orchard heating prob
lem is in state of evolution and
that there is much to be learned vel
about the fuel and the arrangement
of the pots to give best results. They
recognize also that last year was hard
ly a fair test, since the cold was SC
severe and so long continued. thai
those testing the heating were UNI
prepared for it, and ran out of fuel
Gained II Degrees
The possibilities of the orchard
heater were demonstrated in n num-
Der of orchards. A Sunnyside mar
raised the temperature II degrees on
"A night during the cold spell last
spring when the temperature outside
was 20 degrees. Through the use of
the heaters, fair crops of peaches
were obtained in Parker Bottom or
chards, and the apples are considered
to have had improved chances. The
cost of heating here is $3.50 pei
night per acre. There are storage
tanks at Wapato. outlook, Grand
view, Sunnyside and Prosser. and the
oil retails to consumers for ~ cents
per gallon.
Want College Experiment
Since the frost lighting is one OF
the live problems in fruit sections
and since California, Colorado and
Oregon districts have taken it up.
has been suggested that the state col
lege at Pullman might well be called
upon by orchardists for an expert
ment with the heaters the coming
spring at some Yakima valley point
Such an experiment was conducted
last year by the oregon state colleg,
in the Rogue River district and tho
results published in a bulletin called
preliminary Frost Fighting Studies
in the Rogue River Valley" The Or
egon officials had the unusually Sc.
we're spring to contend with, a genera
lack of preparation for the test, an(
an extremely poor grade of oil. Theil
conclusion is, however, that wher
growers have learned to use the heat.
ers to the best advantage, it will b,
possible to count, with fair assuranc,
on a crop, under even the abnorma
conditions which prevailed last spring
Prefer Oil rs Fuel
The Oregon college people prefer
oil as fuel, considering ii cheaper be-
cause 1t requires less labor to handle
Where oil fairly free from water car
be obtained they think the best re-
suits come from % degree distil
late. OIL with a paraffin base is to be
preferred to oil with AN asphalt base
With 100 heaters of a certain sort
per acre, arranged II to % feet. az
increase of three and half degrees
of temperature was obtained while
with the heaters arranged - by Il
feet, the increase was four and one
tenth degrees
The average cost of four hour pc
Rod of burning at Rogue River was
estimated at $40 per acre for oil
not counting the equipment and fOl
wood, under the same conditions
$40, since wood requires more la
Dor.
Crop Can BE Saved
Under the conditions experienced
this season. says the bulletin, there
is absolutely no doubt but that n error
can be saved by orchard heating A
very good example was furnished by
the block of apples. where the rows
that were heated have crop, and the
further away the trees were from tn,
heated area, the less fruit was saved
- AMOUR pears showed a slight in
jury from ID late frost indicating that
they are most susceptible to injury
than other varieties Winter Nehs
pears did not set a good crop. but
this is probably due to the weather
conditions, and not to the effect of
frost or smudging."
Robert Rhoades of Grand Valley