Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-04-29
HEATING ORCHARDS.
Methods Of Saving Fruit Crops from
the Late Frosts.

Heating orchards to protects beds
flowers and young fruit from the late
spring frOsts has been proved practic-
| able in Missouri. according To w. l..
Howard. professor of horticulture at
the University of Missouri
There are three ways of generating
heat In the orchard" says Professor
Howard in a circular letter he will is
sue next week, "by burning oil. by
burning coal and burning wood or
brush. Heat is what is wanted and
not smoke. Smoke will help at times.
but cannot often be depended upon. In
deep valley the smudge value of
smoke would be the greatest. Ii really
VIII be necessary to raise the tempera
ture more than two or three degrees to
save the crop. The further along the
young fruit is in its development the
less cold it can stand"
AS to the number of heaters to be
used an acre in an orchard Professor
Howard says this will depend upon
their size and heat giving powers No
heater holding less than two gallons of
oil should be used, as il is not practic-
able to refill them during the night if
they are used on large scale.
Coal burners also. Professor Howard
directs. should be large enough To burn
from five To seven hours
IL rarely will be necessary TO keep
these fires burning longer than four
hours, from > o'clock in the morning
until s, but in extreme cases they may
have to be started at IL O'Clock and it
iC mo al Of
the orchardist be prepared for the
worst
For apple and peach orchards it is
not safe to use less than sixty or
seventy of the large types of heaters
to an acre" says Professor Howard.
For moderate sizes of both oil and
coal burners eighty to 100 to an
acre should insure absolute protec-
ton. In open strawberry fields at
least 125 heaters to the acre should
be used"
AS To the matter of the cost of
heating orchards for saving the crop
Professor Howard SAYS:
There are fifteen or more kinds of
orchard heaters on the market and
prices vary all the way from $40 TO
Sf1 a IuluItu- ne average price
would be about $50 a hundred. regard
less Of make. as the larger the heater
used the fewer will be required
"Oil i'm lots Of less than a tank car
costs about five cents a gallon. In car
lots the cost is two and one half cents
a gallon. Use nothing but fuel oil of
30 degrees specific gravity oil may
be stored in galvanized iron tanks or
in Cemented cisterns where the walls
have been coated over with a LAYER
of asphalt paint to prevent leakage
Tanks holding /, 200 gallons cost
about $3S each. Where fuel and
other things are purchased in large
quantities the cost an acre is rel
atively less. Small orchardists should
combine when purchasing supplies
1.-THE cost of heating a fifteen acre
orchard or larger the first year would
approximate $40 to $50 an acre. Less
than fifteen acres. where the owner
purchased supplies alone. the cost
would be about s55 to $50 an acre.
These estimates include heaters fuel.
storage, tanks and labor Tank wag-
ons would cost extra.
After the first year the cost for
heating would not be more than SOL
to $40 an acre. These figures refer
to oil heaters only No data have
been prepared on coal burners, but