I 



September, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



207 



Protection from Frosts 



In the Pacific Coast States fruit grow- 

 ers have experimented extensively to dis- 

 cover means of protecting their crops 

 from early frosts. Last season, growers 

 in the Rogue River Valley saved many 

 acres of crops valued at $500 to $1 ,000 an 

 acre at a total expenditure of not more 

 than $15 to $20 an acre for firing. Ad- 

 joining orchards that were not smudged 

 bore no fruit. This has led the United 

 States Department of Agriculture to pre- 

 pare a helpful bulletin dealing with this 

 subject. 



Frost prc^entio^, the bulletin states, 

 requires considerable preparation. It is 

 impossible to get the material for fuel on 

 the ground and have it distributed, es- 

 pecially where the orchards are large, 

 after frost warnings are given out, since 

 these warnings can not be given suffic- 

 iently in advance of the time necessary 

 for firing in the orchards. Whatever the 

 material to be used may be, it should be so 

 placed that it may be readily distributed, 

 and a sufficient quantity of it should be 

 on hand in case it may become necessary 

 to fire for a considerable length of time or 

 in case several firings are required during 

 the season. Usually it is never necessary 



I to fire more than once or twice during the 

 season, but during certain seasons it may 

 become necessary to fire four or five times. 

 The material for building these fires, 

 especially where brush and wood are to 

 be the fuel used, should be piled up along 

 the side of the field and, if necessary, cov- 

 ered to keep it dry so that it will ignite 

 readily. This work may be done at any 

 time during the summer or winter, when- 

 ever there is any spare time. Usually 

 there are times when this work can be 

 done without any real loss of time, since 

 the men may not be able to do anything 

 else with profit. i\t any rate, one should 

 1^^ have a plentiful supply of fuel on hand 

 ^Kand be sure that it is near by where it c;m 

 ^Kbe readily distributed and that it is in a 

 ^mdry condition so that it can be readily ig- 

 - ' nited. Failures in firing have been known 

 where the grower failed to keep his ma- 

 terial in shape for immediate use. 

 MATERIALS FOR FUEL 

 The materials which may be used for 

 fuel depend largely upon local conditions. 

 In some places the use of wood may be 

 entirely out of the question. There is a 

 choice in the use of coal, crude oil, straw, 

 stable manure, or any rubbish which us- 

 ually accumulates around the farm. In 

 the experiments in the Rogue River Val- 

 ley, while there was some variety in the 

 matter of fuel, )j'Ood was principally 

 used. In some cases good fir and even 

 oak cordwood was used. In other cases 

 old rails from fences which had been torn 

 down, and even prunings from the or- 

 chard were used. In the Bartlett pear 

 orchard of Mr. J. (i. (iore the crops were 

 saved for two years in succession by the 



use of old fence rails. Old rails were also 

 successfully used in saving the crop of a 

 7-year-old apple orchard. There are us- 

 ually not enough prunings in any one or- 

 chard to be worth anything except for use 

 in starting the fires quickly, for which 

 purpose they are valuable if kept very dry. 



USE SMALL FIRES 



Experience has shown that the fires 

 should not be large, since large fires tend 

 to produce convective currents that are 

 apt to bring in cold air ; hence the quan- 

 tity of material for each heap need not be 



in the orchard. The value of the smudge, 

 or dense smoke, is more to protect the 

 trees from the early morning sun where 

 some slight freezing of the blossoms and 

 the fruit has occurred during the night. 



(6) The cost of firing with wood and 

 coal, including labor, should not average 

 more than $3 a night per acre, even where 

 it may be necessary to keep the fires burn- 

 ing five or six hours. In some localities 

 where wood can be had without expense 

 except for the hauling, these figures 

 might be reduced somewhat. However, 

 in localities where wood is rather scarce 

 they v;ould probably be somewhat higher. 



How Some Fruit Growers are Forced by the Express Companies to Market their Crops 



Clarkson is only some sixteen miles from Toronto. Immense quantities of fruit are grown in 

 tlie section. The express charges on fruit to Toronto, however, are bo high that considerable quan- 

 tities are hauled to the city. Several dollars a load are frequently saved in this way. A saving 

 of nine dollars was made by Mr. Jas. Pengelley, on the load of farm produce here shown. So far 

 the frequent complaints of the fruit growers to the railway commission have not been successful 

 in righting these conditions. 



K 



very great. Large fires also might scorch 

 the blossoms. From four to five pieces of 

 cordwood, or its equivalent in any other 

 kind of wood or old rails, are suffic- 

 ient for a single fire ; very often when the 

 low temperature is of short duration all 

 of this material will not be consumed in 

 a single firing. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The following conclusions are given 

 in the bulletin : 



(i) F'rost injury may be prexented by 

 the u.se of fires and smudges. 



(2) Wood and coal have proved to be 

 the best fuel. 



(3) When the temperature drops to 20 

 degrees F., it would seem that fifty fires 

 per acre are necessary. Only half as 

 many are needed when the temperature 

 reaches, say, 25 to 26 degrees I". 



(4) .Shavings, chips, or other fine ma- 

 terial in paper sacks saturated with crude 

 oil or kerosene have been found best for 

 starting the fires quickly. Kerosene 

 torches for lighting the fires have also 

 proved to be very .serviceable as compared 

 with matches. 



(5) .Straw and stable manure are valua- 

 ble for producing dense smudges but are 

 not effective in raising thp temperature 



Floral Notes 



F. Wise, Peterboro', Ont. 



September is the month of the first 

 frost which as a rule continues for only 

 one or two nights near the middle of the 

 month. If a little protection is given 

 to your flower beds and tender plants, 

 they will continue to bloom and thrive 

 until October. 



Cannas and dahlias should be labelled 

 and at the end of the month dug up and 

 stored in a dry cellar. "By this I do 

 not mean your furnace cellar, as it is 

 usually too hot." Leave as much soil as 

 possible on your canna roots when dig- 



(ieraniums. Petunias and fuschias, 

 propagated early this month, will make 

 good flowering plants for your late win- 

 ter and early spring window decoration. 



Roses should have a good thick mulch- 

 ing with green manure from the horse 

 stable before protecting for the winter, 

 which latter must not be done until hard 

 frost. 



All winter How ering bulbs for house 

 decoration can be planted as they arrive 

 from the seedsman. Place in pots with 

 lots of drainage. Water thoroughly and 

 place in a dark cellar and bring up as 



