262 TOBA.CCO LEAF. 



thermometers placed on stakes in various parts of the 

 field, especially in the most exposed places. If the mer- 

 cury drops to 35 by one or two in the morning, it is 

 likely to mean a frost of more or less severity before sun- 

 rise. Then call up the folks, light the torches, and let 

 each person take torch and oil can (previously filled) 

 and set fire to the row of rubbish heaps previously 

 assigned him. If the wind blows the smoke away from 

 the field, carry some rubbish over to that side, so the 

 smoke will be blown on to instead of off from the field. 

 If the danger never comes, no expense worth mention- 

 ing has been incurred, as the piles can be scattered and 

 plowed under for manure, or burned, the ashes making 

 excellent fertilizer. No prudent person thinks of leav- 

 ing his buildings uninsured against fire. Certainly it is 

 just as important to insure against frosts, so far as it 

 can be done, by such simple means as smoke coverings, 

 or water. Mr. E. P. Powell, a successful and brainy 

 horticulturist in western New York writes : "The very 

 best preventive against frost is not fires, but thorough 

 spraying with water during the evening and night. 

 When this can be done, we can overcome the danger 

 from a fall of two or three degrees. This will often 

 save our whole crop. This last spring I lost my grapes 

 by a margin of not more than two degrees, but on a pre- 

 ceding night anticipated the frost by deluging the 

 trellises with water." The same plan will work equally 

 well on tobacco. 



