530 



Bulletin 316 



of the State. An examination of temperatures at Appleton for the month 

 of May in the past twenty years shows that temperatures occurred pos- 

 sibly in three, and certainly in two, years, 

 that in all probability resulted in a total 

 loss of crop. In 1890 the temperature 

 fell to 27° on the night of May 9, and in 

 1902 to 26 on May 11. Damaging frosts 

 occurred also in May in 189 1, 1895, 1903. 

 and 1907. (Fig. 149.) Assuming that 

 the value of a normal crop in this 

 orchard was $125 per acre, and that 

 there was a total loss of crop in two 

 years and a loss of one half the crop in 

 four other years, the total loss in the 

 twenty years would amount to $500 per 

 acre, which is an annual loss of $2 5 per 

 acre and represents the annual frost risk 

 carried. In May in the past twenty 

 years the temperature at Appleton fell to 

 freezing or below (the lowest being 26 ) 

 thirty-four times, and, while a tem- 

 perature of 32° is not necessarily injuri- 

 ous to orchard fruits, it indicates such 



.„ „ ^ . . . ~, ,T a critical condition that a grower, if 

 Fig. 148. — Frost injury m western New . ._c j • 



York, twenty-five years, 1887 to 191 1. prepared, would not be justihed m wait- 



A partialloss shown for 1907 is not j^g longer before starting the fires. 

 tnduded m Hedrick s statement ° . ^,_ , . . ^. 



Acceptmg O Gara s experience 01 the 



cost of heating as $3 per acre per night, the total cost for the twenty 



years, heating thirty-four times, would amount to $102, or an annual cost 



of $5.10 per 



acre. This 



with the cost 



of the plant, 



$19.20 (60 



heaters at 32 



cents each) , 



would make a 



total outlay Fig. i/[g.— Lowest May temperatures at Appleton, N. Y., with number of 



tViP fircf c(^Q times freezing temperatures were recorded in each year. No record 



me iirst sea- ^^^^ .^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ -^ ^j^^^ ^^^^ 



son of $24.30. 



Thus, the risk for a single year, $25, would more than pay for the cost 



of the plant plus the cost of heating in the first season. 



