286 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



HEATING THE ORCHARD. 



p. H. TKOXJTMAN, COLORADO. 



Some of the important points to be considered in connection with suc- 

 cessful orchard heating are the movement of cold waves; suitable fuels, 

 and means of handling them; number and distribution of fires; relation 

 of the smoke to the prevention of frost; adaptability of heaters to small 

 fruit plantations and gardens; fuel storage; lighters and lighting; danger 

 points to various fruits, and effective means of preventing oils from 

 boiling over. 



MOVEMENT OF COLD WAVES. 



Bulletins from the government and various agricultural colleges have 

 discussed this movement in a general and scientific way in such a 

 thorough manner that it is useless to elaborate upon it in this article. 

 The one point which I wish to bring out is the fact that the movement 

 of cold waves, or more properly speaking in this Cbnnection, cold spots 

 or pools, is very irregular. It is very dangerous to depend upon one 

 central watchman in a valley covering an area of several square miles 

 to sound the alarm when the temperature reaches the danger point. 

 Here in the Canon City district of Colorado we have known a difference 

 of temperature of from six to seven degrees within one-half mile. The 

 cold in many of our Colorado valleys runs in streaks. You may be per- 

 fectly safe in your own orchard, while your neighbor's crop will be en- 

 tirely destroyed, or vice versa. It is therefore very important that a 

 number of watchmen or automatic alarms be scattered throughout the 

 valley, and in the case of large orchards it is much safer to have a 

 watchman in each orchard. This is a slight additional expense, but the 

 growers who adopt this system will benefit from it. 



SUITABLE FUELS AND MEANS OF HANDLING. 



Three fuels are principally used in orchard heating, namely oil, coal 

 and briquettes, the latter being a mixture of sawdust, coal tar and other 

 refuse material. Some growers are still using the latter two fuels, but 

 by far the majority of growers in nearly every section of the United 

 States have adopted oil as the best and most economical. 



Coal is best handled for first installment of heaters by loading from a 

 central storage shed or on wagons driven through the orchard and 

 shoveled directly into the heaters, and for second, third and fourth in- 

 stallments required throughout the night, the best method is to have 

 boxes filled with coal distributed throughout the orchard in close prox- 

 imity to the heaters. In using coal the best that can be obtained should 

 be used. Slack or inferior grades will cause nothing but failure. Where 

 coal can be procured for from $2 to $3 per ton, it has been found cheaper 



