288 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



cessfully as the most expensive patented heater on the market. A great 

 deal of heat, however, goes ofE of such a pot in unburned carbon, making 

 a denser smoke, and by actual tests it has been proved that such a 

 device will require at least 50 per cent more fuel to create the same 

 amount of heat as some other heaters equipped with an oxygen supply. 



ADAPTABILITY OF HEATERS TO SMALL FRUIT PLANTATIONS AND GARDENS. 



This is a new phase of orchard heating and one that was not thor- 

 oughly developed until a year ago. It has, however, in the past twelve 

 months been thoroughly demonstrated that orchard heating was of untold 

 benefit to truck gardens and small fruits of all kinds. Under ordinary 

 conditions it is more difficult to heat truck gardens and small fruits, as 

 there are no overhang limbs to hold the heat and 90 per cent of the heat 

 escapes before filling its mission. 



There are several devices on the market, however, that are so de- 

 vised that the heat is deflected and spread over the ground in such a 

 manner as to make the heating of small fruits just as effectual and 

 economical as the heating of large orchards. The benefit is really more 

 marked, as a light frost will affect small fruits and truck gardens quicker 

 than it will tree fruits. Prom personal experience I can heartily recom- 

 mend this system for the protection of currants, strawberries, raspberries, 

 grapes, etc. / 



FUEL STORAGE. ' 



Coal, if exposed to the air and left in the open, will deteriorate and 

 within a year be worthless for any purpose whatever. On this account 

 it needs to be stored in a shed. 



In the case of oil the best way to store is in a cement cistern. Oil 

 reservoirs made by the following formula have been successfully used in 

 Colorado and elsewhere: "For cisterns of not over 5,500-gallon capacity 

 (10x10 feet), six-inch walls; one sack of cement to eight of sand. First 

 coat of plaster, one cement to S^^ sand; second coat plaster, one cement 

 to 2^■ sand. Between the coats of plaster, or on inside of all, give a 

 brush coat of hot tar. This prevents leakage of the oil. Allow the cistern 

 to stand thirty days before filling, if possible, two weeks at the shortest." 



A great many people use galvanized iron tanks either on the ground 

 or suspended in the air. Some have the latter so arranged that they can 

 both fill and unload their tank wagons by gravity. This is not the ad- 

 vantage it appears, as the oil when above ground becomes very heavy in 

 cold weather and the flow by gravity is not as fast as when pumped. 

 Unloading from tank cars into the cisterns by gravity is satisfactory, but 

 in loading the oil into the tank wagons for use in the orchard, the 

 quickest and most practical way is to pump it out of the cistern with a 

 double-action harvester pump. By this means a man can fill a 600-gallon 

 tank wagon in about twenty-five minutes. Some use power pumps for 

 this purpose, others use small pitcher pumps. All have been found 

 satisfactory. 



