270 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



Avithin the region needing protection, which seems to be a reasonable esti- 

 mate, ample protection would be obtained for almost any ordinary condi- 

 tions. 



Bales of wet straw — Mr. T. A. Morrison of Riverside, California, suggested 

 the use of a similar plan, in which bales of wet straw were substituted for 

 manure. This plan has been tried with fair success. One hundred pound 

 bales were cut in four pieces, a tie-wire being left about each piece, and, if 

 properly dampened, will burn with but little care, causing a small smoulder- 

 ing fire. 



Pruninys — The prunings of the trees, which are usually removed shortly 

 before the period when frosts are likely to do their greatest injury, are ex- 

 cellent smudge material, and should always be preserved for this use. They 

 should be piled in open spaces throughout the orchard or vineyard, and 

 burned at times when protection may be needed. The best results will be 

 obtained from as small fires as will result in burning the prunings. 



PORTABLE SMUDGE FIRES. 



A number of excellent devices have been tried, in which the fires were 

 built upon some vehicle by which they could be moved about the orchard. 

 The advantages of this plan are several: 



First — The fire can be moved to the section where most needed, generally 

 along the windward side of the orchard. 



Second — The loss of heat by an upward draft is almost entirely prevented, 

 since the fire does not remain in one position long enough to establish such 

 a draft. On this account much larger and, consequently, fewer fires, with 

 equal efficiency, are possible. 



Third — There is much more uniform distribution of heat throughout the 

 orchard. 



The Fleming Fruit Company's process — One of the first to adopt this plan 



was the Fleming Fruit Company of Visalia, California, the manager of 



which thus describes his method : 



''We built wire frames (chicken-yard fencing) on our low truck wagons, 

 stretching them from four wagon stakes and heaping over with wet manure. 

 Dirt was then thrown on the wagon beds to protect them, and pots of burn- 

 ing tar were set underneath the straw roof. A barrel of water on the wagon 

 was used to keep the straw wet. These wagons were driven about and did 

 the best work, as they could go wherever most needed. The smoke and 

 vapor were carried to the rear as the wagon moved, and. being carried at 

 once out of the rising heat, fell close to the ground in a long, white trail. 

 At daylight our whole four hundred acres of orchard were covered with a 

 white fog, extending from the ground to about twenty feet high." 



They also used similar fires as stationary smudges, the wire netting being 

 stretched between four stakes driven in the ground, and a similar plan has 

 been since experimented with by Meacham Brothers of Riverside, Califor- 

 nia. These latter proved much less efficient. 



The plan of the Eio Benito Orchard Company— A modified form of the 

 Fleming process was used with excellent results by this company at Biggs, 

 California. In this case rough sleds were constructed at a cost of less than 

 $2 each. The runners were of 2x4 scantling, which were connected by a 



