Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-29
CROPS HARD HIT
BY WINTERS VISIT
Growers in Some Sections Say
Fruit Orchards Have
Been Ruined
COLD AGAIN T0NIGH 7

b
by rain. hail and snow. followed by n
killing freeze, which is believed to have
blghted fruit orchards in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey and other states on the
middle Atlantic scahoard.
Tho storm, which drove the tcmpera-
turo down 81 degrees in twelve hours.
caused one death and injury 10 fvc per-
sons in and near Philadelphia.
Exact extent of the damage To or
chnrdS in southeastern Pennsylvania
and New JCNey cannot be estimated
until warm weather ensucs and the re-
action Is noted on the blossoms.
Peach, pear and cherry trees appear
10 har" been hardest hit. Moisten"d by
rain. which fell at 1 o'clock yesterday
afternoon. the fragile blossoms were
easy prey 10 the frcakish wintry blast
from the north
There was no frost. because Of the
! high winds. but ice formed on ponds.
Tonight will be fair with. freezing
! temperature. and with thr' falling OF
the wind, fruit growers fear killing
/ frost which would complete the de-
struction wrought by last nights storm,
Jersey Fruit Hard Hit
Burlington county y. j.. farmers
!
| dcres Of near and pCaCh trees will be
lost ~ result of the drop in tempera.
turc. which reached "a degrees above
zero according TO tho official observer
NJ the Stokes Seed Farms. at Moores.
| town
! The loss, il is feared. will reach sev
eral hundred Thousand dollars.
| There was no actual frost. but the
full blossoms of the peach and pear
trees. first moistened by the rainstorm.
are believed 70 have been frozen during
the night Ice one quarter of an inch
thick was reported throughout Bur
| lington county.
Apple trees had not yet blossompd and
are believed to have escaped damage.
Vegetables raised on q large scale
in the Burlington section. also are be-
liNved safe. n the fruit trees are dam.
aged farmers plan 10 put out acres of
additional vegetables 70 make up their
losa.
Reports from Atlantic City indicate
heavy damage TO peach trees in all soc.
tiOns of Atlantic county. and particu-
lsrly in the vicinity of Hammonton.
Nineand and Egg Harbor. The trees
were reported in bloom three weeks
earlier than usual II is feared the loss
hy tho freeze will be- heavy. Ice formed
on pools in various parts Of tho county.
Optimistic on Crops
Gassboro. center Of largo fruit
| growing area. reports that farmers are
, fearful Of their yield Of plums. cherries,
pears and peaches.
High winds, which prevented frost,
|. are believed TO have saved some fruit.
Fruit growers in the vicinity OF
Glasshoro take an optimistic view Of the
/ situation and declare that even though
: three fourthS Of rho blossoms have been
highted there will atill be a profitable
Weld provided one fourth the blossoms
are saved
At 2:15 o'clock Yesterday afternoon
March was AZ the proverbial lamb
haSking in the unreasonable warmth Of
So degrees Two hours LATER, The lamb 5
clothes had been shuntcd OF, and March
! was n roaring lion with the teeth and
> claws nf winter.
Tho abnormal temperature began fall
: ing about 2 o'clock, and by O'clock
n had reached IS degrees. In the next hall
: hour. during which the fnll fore" of the
n storm struck the city, the mercury fei
- to II degrees. and continued its down
. ward progress at an alarming rate. BY
n S:IJ q clock last night the thermometer
showed ~. and 80 at l o'clock this
morning.
, Railroad. trolley and vehicular trafiC
was greatly impcdcd and the driving
gsIn mndo navigation OF the river vir
q tually Impossible.
Some Snow Fril
. snow fell in several towns along thu
q Main Line for three quarters OF III
= hour lasr nigh. and this morning
r Temperature Of 20 degrees above 2er'
u was recorded.
gardeners in suburban sections calle'
d their men together. and working witt
= lanterns. covered with burlap and news
:: napprs many gardens in which cost.
II plantS had been set out.
q One Main Line fruit grower report"t
that examination of = cherry tree. whiC'
was in full blossom yesterday. revealct
y n had been dpnuded Of it, blossoms b,
u ,ho sudden frost. He declared that IN
damage to orchards will he enormous.
The death caused hcrr was that u
william J Lewis. Of 1920 South Oar
len street, member of the crew OF m
/. : : ChenangO. lie was swept b
, III. wind from THO deck 0f the vesS"I
. which lay at Pier g. South NharveS, ,
the Delaware, and was given up as los,
Ur had placed n shirt on line on III
h dock t0 dry and when the storm arriN"
n ne sought to save II II" was bowl"
d inrn the river and was last seen as =
. tide carried him toward the New Jer
Y ~ry side.
4 4 beam dis'odgrd by IN" wind strur
Jnseph Bicn, of G433 Lambert stree"
+, Germantown, working on q building op
=. eratton ~ broadway and Royden stree
! in Camden He was treated at CoOp'
- Hospital
y Five year.old Milton Katz. Of sc
u Sourh Ffth street, was swept into Il
' Oupu rcl,nrway near his home He
y in a ,orniOus CONDITION from COnCussio
> uf fhr brain at the Pennsylvania Hos
10 pirnI. a
Mrs Madeline Romberg of 22l
~ South Fourth street was knocked do"
ii nv an automohI" ar Fourth and Moo
:, g'rnpr at the height Of the storm VIII
@" atrempting 10 recover her hat. She vi
.v taken 10 Mount Sinair Hospital. II
~ left arm was broken and her head AZ
II body cut.
~ Rliudrd by the storm. drivers of "
~ automobiles rushed head on into ca
i'm other AZ full speed on tho state hiRl
way east ~ Burlington. The autos we
driven by John Harris, II Burlngto
u and Charles Friday, Of Florence, y. j
n Harris and his son, Norman, were II
iur"d, the boy seriously They We
~ taken 10 the Burlington Emergen
Hospital
l MORE DIVORCES GRANTED
I" Court 20 granted the following d
II, H.a,rI, Young from william
a. Young
"N + '~rmuo M Mayer from Jutsph T. May'
or Aru,1n n Iangwav tom Emma LanFwa
,LI ~tola NJ Hewitt from John I. H"witt