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GUARDING GLASS 



FROM HAIL LOSSES 



Where hail storms are frequent and insurance conseq^iently high, 

 screening greenhouses from the large stones is a protection cheap hy com- 

 parison. How it is done m Colorado, where storms of great damage are 

 customary spring visitors, is described for florists in the "hail belt." 



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T IS. exciting, but it could 

 hardly be called a pleasure, 

 to stand and watch hail- 

 stones from the size of 

 cherries up to the size of 

 baseballs drop from the 

 skies with an awful roar 

 and bring with them the 

 roof in splintered glass, 

 which falls on the benches 

 and aisles. Sometimes, when the storm 

 continues for fifteen or thirty minutes, 

 the damage to plants by the hail coming 

 Ihrough the open roof is also serious. 

 Many florists in sections of extra hail 

 risk have had their enthusiasm as well 

 as their glass smashed by hail, wh«ri' 

 they might easily have been protected 

 with screening. One of the best florists ' 

 organizations in existence is the Florists ' 

 Hail Association, but even it does not 

 pick up the splintered glass and repair 

 the broken lights and plants. 



Screen Prevent Severe Losses. 



Somewhat over a year ago a severo 

 hail storm cut down the outside crop and 

 broke over two tons of glass in less than 

 thirty minutes at the greenhouses of the 

 Morgan Floral Co., at Fort Morgan, 

 Colo. Part of this firm 's houses are 

 screened and part not screened. There 

 was no loss of glass where the liouses 



were properly screened with %-incli 

 mesh ' ' rabbit wire. ' ' 



At the time L. J. Beid, the proprietor, 

 was on a vacation in the Eocky Moun- 

 tain national park and af the very hour 

 of the storm he was visiting C. A. Espe- 

 lin, at Fort Collins, Colo., discussing the 

 frequency of hail in different sections. 

 Mr. Eeid remarked that he had seen more 

 than his share of hail damage and did 

 not expect as frequent hails in the future 

 as he had experienced in the past. It 

 was not until three days later that he 

 learned that while he was uttering those 

 worils the hail was hammering the glass 

 out of liis roof. 



It may be of interest to other florists 

 to know the method adopted by the Mor- 

 gan Floral Co. to screen for hail. The 

 illustration herewith shows the effect of 

 the hail and also shows the absolute 

 protection afforded by a %-inch mesh 

 of woven wire when used as a soreen by 

 being stretched from ridge to ridge. Only 

 a small section of the place is shown, so 

 as to give a close-up view, but through- 

 out the whole place the same results 

 were obtained by screening. 



How Screen Is Placed. 



On the left of the picture it will be 

 noted there are some lath shades lying 

 on the roof. These were being used as a 



temporary shade when the hail occurred, 

 and they acted as a partial protection 

 from hail, lessening the damage by about 

 one-half. On the right in the foreground 

 it will be noted that the hail broke prac- 

 tically every light on this, the west, side 

 of the house, but just beyond, wherever 

 the woven wire screen covered the glass, 

 there was- not a single pane broken. If 

 you look carefully you can see the screen 

 stretching from ridge to ridge over tht 

 glass. 



Overcoming Objections. 



The greatest objection to screen- 

 ing of this nature is that a damp, heavy 

 snow will collect on it and weigh it 

 down, thus making it necessary during a 

 heavy storm to shake the snow through 

 the screen with a pole. Also, if the 

 screen is supported above the ridge with 

 a framework of pipe, as on the ridge of 

 the house at the right in the illustration, 

 there is danger of this weight caueii^ 

 the framework to tip over |Unless 

 thoroughly braced. If the framework 

 should give way, there might be much 

 damage by splitting the ridge and break- 

 ing the glass. Where the ventilators are 

 hinged at the ridge the screen can be 

 allowed simply to rest on the ridges, of 

 a ridge and furrow type of range, and if 

 llie screen is nailed thoroughly to the 



Where the Hail Screen Saved the Glass and Where There Wijis No ^recn, at Fort Morgan Range 



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