CHAPTER III 



RAIN MAKING How PLANTS AKE FED -PEAR BLIGHT AND OTHER 

 BLIGHTS BLIGHTS THE RESULT OF PREVIOUS INJURIES PEACH 

 YELLOWS AND OTHER TROUBLES PREVENTION NOT CURE 

 PRUNING THE PEACH -THE GRAPE VINE DESTRUC- 

 TION OF THOUSANDS OF TONS OF GRAPES ANNU- 

 ALLYIMPROPER AND PROPER METHODS 

 OF PRUNING THE " RESERVOIR ' 

 SYSTEM FOR SUPPLYING TREES 

 WITH WATER THE RATH- 

 BONE ELM WONDERS 

 OF CREATIVE 

 FORESTS. 



RAIN MAKING. 



I predict not only "a New Era in Tree Growing" but a New 

 Epoch in Agriculture. As discussed toward the end of this 

 work, the people, probably fifty per cent, of them, must "go back 

 to the land." Whether we undertake to grow garden or field 

 crops, flowers, shrubs or trees, next to the life-giving rays of the 

 sun, rain is the one essential thing on which we depend. What 

 is rain? "Why, falling drops of water from the clouds." Fool- 

 ish question to ask, is it not? No, not entirely, because rain 

 can be better defined by saying, "it is condensation of moisture." 

 Fog, vapor, steam in the kitchen or from the locomotive, mists, 

 etc., are essentially the same as thunder-storms. They are all 

 formed in the same way, viz ; the moisture in the air comes in 

 contact with a cold substance and is condensed. Whether it be 

 the almost invisible drop in steam, or the larger drop in mist, 

 or the half ounce, pelting little globes in the thunder-storm, they 

 were all formed in the same way, by condensing invisible mois- 

 ture. The size of the drop depends on other combined agencies. 

 On every square inch of the earth's surface at sea-level we are 

 told, there is about fifteen pounds of atmospheric pressure. Go 



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