GUARDING AGAINST FROSTS. 203 



have to do — as soon as you get them they want to be dipped 

 in crude oil and they will last for years without rusting. You 

 are at no loss outside of the original investment, even if you 

 don't use them. 



In many parts of the country smudging has been tried by 

 burning manure. We tried smudging one year and saved a 

 crop of peaches. We didn't have the only peaches, but we 

 had about the only peaches on the same level and many oth- 

 ers on that same level were killed. It was conclusive to us 

 and we were satisfied to invest in enough oil heaters to equip 

 our orchard. One should be placed between every four trees 

 filled with oil and a cover or shield laid over it, so that when 

 the time comes when you need it you will be ready. If you 

 wait for the time to come you are not going to do it. The 

 lighting of the pots is accomplished by a man taking a burn- 

 ing gasoline torch, like those used for burning off paint, or 

 a blow torch. Three or four men can light 1,000 pots in a 

 very short time. A little instrument which the fruit growers 

 of Colorado are using is an automatic thermometer which 

 can be placed at various parts of the orchard connected with 

 a telephone in your own house which will ring a bell ; the cost 

 is not very great, about |10, for the apparatus. This will give 

 you absolute warning of any local conditions ; oftentimes you 

 can not get the weather reports soon enough. 



A Member: Have you the address where this can be 

 gotten? 



Mr. Mincer : Peter Henderson Company, Courtland Street, 

 New York City. The more detailed apparatus is imported, 

 but if you will correspond with them you can get all the in- 

 formation you require; these people are well known. They 

 are advertised by different firms in the florists' papers. 



I don't believe in planting things in certain phases of the 

 Moon, but I have noticed that there is not much danger from 

 frost to the trees in the late of the moon, and we have had 

 some severe frosts. 



We have used manure in smudging by putting a pile be- 



