Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1912-11-08

SCOou HNAP' ~ "HIlc lrOSC, silent
and relentless, has destroyed all or
portions Of his crops. Frost. com;no
while the trees are in bloom or inst
after the young fruit has set, is fine
most deadly of all orchard foes No
fruit growing district in the Irnitod
States is free from its visitations
Though numerous localities suffor
more or less severely every year. occa.
sionally, late spring frost sweeps tbe
whole country and the following AN.
tumn the trees are barren.
At last, however, a way has been
found to combat successfully this dead.
" enemy of the fruit Orchard beat
ing has proven its usefulness. and has
come to stays for, during the last three
years, it has been thoroughly tested in
hundreds of orchards throughout tbe
West and Middle West. The results
show that orchard heating is scien.
tific fact and paying adjunct in
profitable fruit raising During the
last two decades frost has been damao-
ing the fruit industry to the extent of
about $100,000,000 annually.
In both Europe and America in wears
past there have been many attempts
made to protect the delicate fruit binds
from frost. The common method was
to use brush, straw, or piles of manure
In an attempt to create dense smoke
or smudge, which would envelope the
orchards thereby checking the frost
action. However, it was but few
years ago that the orchardists made
any great advance in the use of orchard
heating as fruit protection. Some
California growers conceived the idea
Of confirming the fires in so-called
smudge-pots, having the heat well dis
tributed throughout the orchard. In
certain cases these experiments pro
duced marked results and the idea
came to be well established in the
minds of a few growers.
The growing demand for fruit and
the increased visitations of severe frost
during the last few years have hast
ened the perfection and general appli-
cation of these little frost fighters.
During the season of 1911 there were
three million smudge pots or heaters of
dozen or so styles used for orchard
heating. Some of these heaters gave
excellent service, while a number of
them are put on the market simply for
the large profits that accrued from
their sale, having no practical value
whatever. The pots are of various
shapes and are usually made of sheet
iron, having a capacity of one to two
cubic feet.
The merits and faults of each kind
Of fuel will here be considered as they
have been developed in actual prac
lice. Where the oil is stored in a tank
and handled by gravity it is great
deal faster and easier to handle than
coal The great drawback here is the
expense of the storage tank, which is
lot necessary for coal. 1t is an undls-
outed fact that oil pots can be more
rapidly lighted and heated up than
IAN coal pots, this being a very essen
lal step in orchard heating when the
BOTS have to be refilled during a pro-
racted fight. Oil gives an intense
leat from small bulk and can be cas-
ly regulated while burning, which is
specially useful during temperature
fluctuations, thereby saving the fuel
heaper in the initial cost than is oil 1t
undoubtedly wise to use coal heaters.
I coal can be had at So to So per ton
is cheaper than oil at So to So per
hundred gallons. But above these
comparative prices it has been found
nat, owing to the extra cost OF hand
ing and the less amount OF heat pro-
uced by the coal, oil is in the end the
lore economical fuel.
Cord wood has been very success
llly used in some orchards where the