HORTICULTURE 95 



danger and safety is usually small, the thermometer at such times 

 varying for a few hours at a time from 28 to 20 F. The tempera- 

 ture can be raised by the oil pots at least 12 to 14 degrees. 



The necessity for being prepared for frost fighting can not be 

 too strongly urged upon orchardists. Changes in the weather are 

 sudden and often the unexpected happens. A balmy spring morn- 

 ing with a southerly wind and an April shower will cause the fruit 

 buds to burst forth prematurely; then suddenly the wind changes 

 to the north or northwest, the clouds disperse, and a clear, cloudless 

 night follows, when a dangerous frost will probably occur and do 

 much damage unless the orchardist is prepared to save the crop by 

 raising the temperature above the danger point. The freezing of the 

 blossoms is likely to occur in the early hours before sunrise, a time 

 when the temperature usually reaches the lowest mark. To guard 

 against such emergencies everything should be provided for weeks 

 in advance. 



Thermometers should be placed in the orchard at convenient 

 distances apart in order to maintain a uniform system of tempera- 

 ture readings, and a thermometer should also be located in an ac- 

 cessible spot near the house, where it may be readily seen at all times. 

 It should not, however, be placed on the house, as the heat from the 

 building will modify the temperature several degrees. A device for 

 sounding an alarm of approaching danger which is said to be in use 

 by some orchardists consists of a specially constructed thermometer 

 connected by wire with an electric bell located in the house. When 

 the mercury drops to near the freezing point the bell sounds the 

 alarm in time to arouse the inmates for immediate action. One of 

 these thermometers, or thermostats, costs about $20. Another elec- 

 tric appliance that has been used in California is the orchard heater 

 lighter. The heaters are placed at uniform distances apart in the 

 orchard, as previously stated, about 100 heaters to the acre. By a 

 system of electric wiring and by means of a spark plug it is possible 

 to light every oil heater simultaneously and almost instantly. In 

 the areas which are visited by killing frdsts this method of insuring 

 against possible injury is a necessity, for if the apparatus is needed 

 it is usually at some unexpected time and it is then needed very 

 promptly. The saving of a single crop more than compensates for 

 the expenditure for apparatus many times over. 



A rapid lighter for lighting smudge pots is a recent invention, 

 costing about $4. It consists of a can holding about five quarts, made 

 of heavy enameled tin, the tubes, ratchet, lever, and valves being 

 made of brass. One gallon of liquid, consisting of half kerosene and 

 half gasoline, or all gasoline, is put into the can. The can is carried 

 in the left hand and a torch in the right. The torch can be so ar- 

 ranged as to knock or pull off the cover of the previously filled oil 

 pot; then with the index finger of the left hand the spring-acting 

 lever on top of the gasoline can is moved over the smudge oil pot 

 and instantly there drops a small teaspoonful of gasoline on top of 

 the oil. The torch is immediately applied to the dropped gasoline, 

 which ignites and starts the gas in the smudge oil. It requires so 



