206 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



PROTECTION FROM FROST. 



SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS IX CALIFORXIA. 



Georg-e A. Fleming-, of Visalia, profiting b}' a paper recentl}' writ- 

 ten by W. H. Hammon, forecast official of the United States Weather 

 Bureau here, made an experiment during the recent cold snap and 

 succeeded in protecting- the fruit growing on his 400-acre farm from 

 any damage by frost. His neighbors' crops, which were unprotected, 

 suffered quite seriously. 



Hammon's method was somewhat of an improvement over the one 

 recommended b}"- Finkle, of San Bernardino. The latter advised the 

 use of large vats of water with fires built around theni to produce con- 

 densation. Hammon suggested the use of small fires, spraj^edfrom 

 tiine to time. The large fires recommended by Finkle, he thought* 

 would produce an up draft carrj'ing the moisture too high to do any 

 good. In turn Fleming has improved on Hammon's idea. His 

 method is described in a letter written to Hammon and received 

 yesterday. The letter reads as follow.*: 



''Dear Sir: — Your valued favor of the 3d inst. relative to protection 

 from frost received. Thanks for valuable information conveyed. 

 Have made use of it to our great advantage three times during the 

 latter part of last week. Damage is reported within a few miles of 

 us where no effort at protection was made, but can discover no evi- 

 dence of frost here at all. Almonds, earl3^ plums, apricots and 

 peaches, all of which either in blossom or already formed, escaped 

 the slightest injury. 



In endeavoring to carry out your idea of evaporating as much 

 water as possible with the least amount of rising- heat, we used sev- 

 eral plans. We could not spray water on our fires, as, in order to 

 make evaporation continuous, it required a man to attend to each 

 fire. We burned brush beforehand on our avenues and open spaces, 

 and the beds of live coals formed were smudged with wet straw and 

 manure several hours before sunrise and kept wet. This could not 

 be done among the trees without danger of burning them. We 

 therefore heaped wet straw on a wire network four feet square, 

 stretched from four stakes driven into the ground, the straw being 

 abo\it one and a half feet from the ground. Sinall fires were built 

 under them, and a man could attend to several, occasionally replen- 

 ishing the fire and wetting the straw. 



But we finally hit on a still better scheme. We built similar wire 

 frames on our low truck wagons, stretching them from four wagon 

 stakes and heaping wet manure over them. Dirt was thrown on the 

 wagon beds to protect them, and pots of burning tar were set under- 

 neath 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 va- 

 por were carried to the rear as the wagon moved, and being at once 

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

 At daylight our whole 400 acres of orchard was coverd with a white 

 fog extending from the ground about twenty feet high. 



It looks now as if one could absolutely protect against any ordi- 

 nary frost,and if so you will have earned our everlasting gratitude." 

 —San Francisco Weekly Chronicle, March IL'th, 1896. 



The above selection was contributed by Chas. Y. Lacy, whom our 

 old members will remenber as secretary of this society during the 

 five years from 1880 to 1885. His present residence is at a postoffice 

 in Montana bearing his name. We hope to hear further of him. — 

 Secv. 



