White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1929-02-15
EVERYBODY PRAYING
FOR A CHANGE

The recent cold spell has broken al
endurance records in this valley. /,
is not any local favorite either, for it,
scope was extended to include all o.
the Unired States. hardly spot es
Gaping without having sub-zero wea-
Their or at least lower temperatures
than haG been recorded for severa
years.
In many places storms and Billiards
accompanied the cold, blocking high.
ways and railroads and causing loss
of life and property damage. Ever
California, that winter home of sun
shine and warm weather, had its tus-
sic with the cold wave. Growers Of
citrus fruits there were compelled to
resort to their smudge pots n an effor'
to save their crops when the tiler-
mometers dropped to new low marks
The long continued cold wave also
took its toll from the sheepmen. Out
at Cold Greek, where between $4,000
and 10000 sheep are wintering, the
loss in both old sheep and newly born
lambs is said to have been heavy. Not
all of the bands that are wintering
there are lambing yet but in those
bands where the lambs have begun to
arrive the loss has been severe.
There is some anxiety among fruit
growers in the valley about how the
fruit buds and even the trees have
stood the extreme cold. There is little
doubt but that some of the buds have
been killed but whether this damage
will be sufficient to affect the COM
mercial crop will not be determined
until later. 1t will not be known until
later, either, whether there has been
any damage to the trees.
The last cold winter we had was in
1919. 1t will be remembered that there
was some damage to the trees that
winter but the loss through freezing Of
the buds was overestimated in the
spring, for there was fair sized fruit
crop, even soft fruit, that year.
While the cold snap in 1919 was no
as long as the one this year
there was one night at least when thu
thermometers registered "a below zert
while the lowest this year at thu
weather station at Wahluke was II
below. The cold wave that year alst
occurred at much earlier period in thu
winter while there was still a posi-
bility of some sap in the trees.
IF there has been any damage K
either the fruit buc1s orstrees it will b.
general instead of local for all Of tn
surrounding districts in the Yakim
and Wenatchee valleys have had
low temperatures as that in this vale.
| and in some places it was even lower
Aside from the terrible inroads OF
the wood and coal piles the cold spell
has not brought any great discomtor
to the valley except that a good man.
have had trouble with frozen pipes
The continued cold has driven tn
frost downward with the result tina
the ground is frozen to an unusua
depth.
The ice in the river is still jannmet
and none Of the ferries can operate
The travel otherwise is about up t.
normal, there being about three inches
Of snow on the ground and the road
generally in good shape.
Growers, however, are getting ).
little impatient about the spring worn
Not great deal of pruning has bee
done and with all of the other wor
that must be done in the orchards be
fore the water is turned on every on
will be pressed for time. This is tn
middle Of February and the irrigatloo
season begins April l, leaving oni
six weeks yet in which to do tn
necessary work.