ORCHARD HEATING 45 



and one-hallf degrees F. 



13. Figuring that it would be necessary to heat twelve nights 

 in ten years, we have compared the cost of heating with the oil 

 and coal. With oil costing 9 cts. a gallon and coal selling at $7 a 

 ton, it would cost $21 a year an acre to heat with oil and $17 with 

 coal. With coal at $7 a ton, oil must be purchased at 7c a gallon 

 to compete with it, but labor costs are less with oil. The smudge 

 from the two fuels is about equally valuable. 



14. The equipment necessary, and the best method of orchard 

 heating, the forecasting of frost, and the cooperation of the 

 Weather Bureau, are given with considerable detail. 



15. Tables are given showing the results of our experi- 

 ments on hardiness of fruit buds to frost. It is a fact that most 

 people start their fires too soon and too often because they think 

 buds more sensitive to cold than they really are. 



16. Tables are given showing average dates of the blooming 

 periods of apples and peaches in the five leading horticultural 

 counties of Utah. Data are given to show the number of nights 

 each year that heating would have been necessary in the past 16 

 years. 



17. A careful study of the data on fruit yields, selling price, 

 and frost damage shows that by the most economical heating the 

 value of the fruit saved is approximately equal to the cost of 

 saving it assuming the heating will always save the crop no 

 matter how much or how severe the frost. There is also to be 

 considered the worry of watching for the frost, although in 

 Utah in nine cases out of ten the crops can be saved, yet finan- 

 cially it does not pay when peaches sell at 55c or less and apples 

 at 75c a bushel or less. 



18. Mathematical equations are worked out, graphed, and 

 explained in words that express the following facts : 



Considering a farm as an investment, when the general cost 

 of producing the fruit and the interest on the investment are 

 subtracted from the money received from the sale of the fruit, 

 there is usually expected a small profit. (Many farmers con- 

 sidering their place as a home that provides employment for the 

 (family expect only a small interest, saying 1 nothing about a 

 profit.) If in the production of the above yield orchard heating 

 was resorted to in order to save it from killing frost, then this 

 heating cost should be added to the general cost of production 

 in calculating the profit. For the business to be profitable, the 

 receipts from the sale of the fruit should be high and the gen- 



