26 The Connecticut Pomological Society 



small fruit growers for some time to come. We were confronted 

 in the early spring, just as strawberries were coming into blos- 

 som, with a frost which, although it proved not to be very de- 

 structive in most localities, caused us considerable alarm as well 

 as quite a little expense. I, for one, went to a large outlay in 

 covering several acres; but those that were not covered came 

 out better than expected, as the atmosphere was so unusually 

 dry scarcely any dew formed, although it was cold enough to 

 crust the ground. We still continued to cover the second day, 

 as the local weather station predicted another cold night, and 

 all appearances indicated the same, but we were happily mis- 

 taken, as it warmed up during the night. This is one of the 

 unpleasant features in small fruit growing, but one we all have 

 to face every few seasons in common with all tillers of the soil. 

 "The subject of frost carries me back several years to an 

 experience that may be of benefit to some. Several years ago 

 I had a field of strawberries in form nearly square, containing 

 some three or four acres. The indications were that there 

 would be a hard frost, and it proved to be so, ruining most of 

 the crop. Towards night we hastily prepared to try and ward 

 ofi the frost by building fires on the two sides of the field from 

 which we thought the wind would carry the smoke across the 

 patch. We lighted the fires in the evening, keeping them going 

 until we found it to be useless, as the vines were stiff from frost. 

 I think it was two years later when it looked like frost again, 

 and we talked it over and concluded to try fires on all four sides 

 of the field, which was situated about as the other field was, 

 except that it contained nearly twice the amount of ground. 

 We carted stumps, and brush, and a lot of old tar roofing paper, 

 also getting a good supply of coal-tar and kerosene, designing to 

 make a thorough job of it. We lighted the fires, of which 

 there were twenty-six in number, about lO P. M., and after a 

 time we tried to make more of a smudge in order to produce 

 more dense smoke by using salt hay and coarse stable manure, 

 and we did make it roll of? in great black clouds; but all to no 

 purpose so far as the frost was concerned. The smoke rapidly 

 passed upward, it being comparatively still, as most frosty nights 

 are. After so thorough a trial I decided that fires were useless 

 as well as quite expensive, as aside from the expense of the 



