Rocky Ford enterprise., 1916-11-03

temperature of n 2OO-acre orchard ten to ff-
teen degrees with much certainty the
Janitor heat the city mans fiat. 1t takes some
what more labor than the last mentioned process.
but the satisfaction and the profits of heating all
outdoors" are surprisingly greater. Frost insur-
nnce for the fruit crop is now just practicable.
just as certain. and vastly more profitable for the
money expended than either fire life insurance.
Insurance by fire for the fruit grower makes
vastly greater profits at much smaller expense
than insurance against fire does for the merchant
or manufacturer The little outdoor oil stoves and
con furnaces that have been sold by the millions
orchard owners In the last yea" and half have
banished from the fruit grower that annual early
spring nervous prostration from fear of FROST
periodic, pnrayzing fear that he may go to bed at
night and awaken TO find his whole years labor
chilled to death by sudden frost. The cumulative
despair of losing three four fruit crops in sue
cesson that has put fruit growers out of business
and made them dependent on charity day labor
is past. An orchard with reasonably industrious
and provident owner can be made to yield an aver
age crop every season far the frost is con-
cerned. Scientific frost fighting with fire is
much fact seed testing irrigation, fertilizng,
spraying or pruning. 1t is the last and greatest
advance in systematic horticulture, and has placed
the fruit grower abreast of the scientific farmer.
Since the beginning of commercial horticulture.
the fruit grower has been at the mercy of the ele
mentS. He made nll his calculations all his plans.
all his business arrangements contingent the
hope that the frost would miss him. And before
the development of orchard heating the chances
against him getting in the frost belt.
In the modern, commercial orchard, the land, ma
chinery, labor, spraying equipment and cultivation
total us heavy an Investment many manufactur-
ing enterprises. And when two three crops in
succession were wiped out by frost. the average
grower was completely bankrupt
SmudginE the formation of n dense blanket
of smoke over the orchard had been practiced with
varying degrees of success in some parts of Europe
Orchard heating proper was first used in Califor-
nn. and the original California smudge pot is still
In,
spring of 1910 several growers in the Grand valley
of Colorado experimental with the burning of oil
in simple pots of the lard pail' type. with the
result that they saved their entire crop the heat
ed areas and lost it on the unhented tracts. The
spring of 1911 the adoption of the smudge pots
on every fruit section of the state, and they
reached the experimental stage in several other
states. In the spring of 1912 there not fruit
growing state without them and many sections
of several states were ms fully equipped ms Colo
RADIO.
Frost fighting is not easy job. 1t is neces-
sary to have II force of men, industrious and care
full and observing the last degree. And il is no
pleasant task to rush out into the STILL cold dark
ness to drudge the better part Of the night TO save
your own your neighbOrs orchard. In the enrly
days of orchard heating, man was detailed TO
watch the tested thermometers that We're hung In
different parts of the orchard and at the iarih-
house some distance away from the fruit trees.
If the temperature was not sinking fast, perhaps
the rancher went bed for brief nap setting his
narm clock to wake him ut intervals through the
night. Nowadays he can go to bed with feeling
of security leaving the frost alarm thermometer
10 watch for him This electric watchman has for
its business end In the orchard n specially made
thermometer with fine platinum wire fused into
the mercury at the freezing point or ut whatever
is considered the danger point As soon the
mercury sinks below this wire, the circuit is broken
and the ulgrrn at the head Of the orchard boss
he'd rings out its warning. Any interruption of
rho current cuuScs the bell to ring 50 that il the
rnpor,,tus should he put out Of order 1t nutomat-
lcgl.y tells ON itself
unr the orchar,list Is usually forewnrned. even
before he goes to bed and makes ready for the
FRAY Lute in the afternoon he houceS great ueecy