ii8 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



March, 1910 



fires in the adjoining territory. 



As previously stated, there were 



a great many different kinds of 



pots used in this work. The 



number used per acre depends 



upon the size. Forty, sixty or 



eighty pots per acre was the 



average. When coal is used, it 



Is usually lump or nut. With 



coal at $4 a ton, some one has 



figured that it cost him $4 per 



acre to heat his orchard for a 



six-hour run. Some of the oil 



heaters are used to the number 



of sixty or eighty to the acre. In the opinion of some, it is 



better to have a small-sized pot and use more to the acre, 



say sixty or eighty, as just stated. Taking one of the many 



kinds of pots as an example, and figuring coal at $4 a ton, 



the cost of 



One of the many different styles of pots used in 

 smudging 



or 15 deg. over a large area has 

 been settled beyond doubt, the 

 next problem facing the fruit 

 growers is that of regulating the 

 temperature and economy of 

 fuel and labor. For example, 

 there is no need of raising the 

 temperature 10 deg. when rais- 

 ing it 2 deg. will put the blos- 

 soms out of danger. Some are 

 planning to meet this problem 

 by having a large number of 

 small pots and only light enough 

 in them to keep the temperature 

 above the danger point. Others have devised pots with a 

 system of drafts, so that the heat may be increased or de- 

 creased as is necessary. 



The fruit ranches of the (jrand Valley are very exten- 

 sive. One, for 

 example, con- 

 tains 243 acres, 

 and is valued 

 at a quarter of 

 a million 

 dollars. Its 

 crops include 

 peaches, ap- 

 ples, pears, 

 plums, cherries 

 and soft-shell 

 almonds. An 

 army of people 



for the second 

 year $186.25. 

 This provides 



in the initial An oil pot with hood in place 



cost for 800 



heaters, or 80 to the acre. It also provides for 40 tons of is required to pick the fruit. By another season it is ex- 

 coal, kindling lighters, 50 pounds of waste, 200 gallons of pected electric lines will be running out to the orchards all 

 oil for lighting, the storage for oil, and the building of a over the valley, and refrigerator cars will be carried right 

 coal house. For the first year's equipment for oil pots, in- to the orchards. 



eluding 800 pots for ten acres, and fuel at 5 cents a gallon, The system of heating an orchard, as described herewith, 



the cost is estimated at $494.25, and for the second year is applicable for any orchard of any climate, and is particularly 



$ 1 53-75 • interesting for the fruit growers of Florida, or any climate 



Now that the question of raising the temperature even 10 which is liable to he visited by a sudden and unexpected frost. 



equipping 

 heaters an 



with 

 d all 



other 



fac 



lities 



for 



the 



first 



year 



for 



ten 



acres 



is 



esti- 



mat 



ed 



a t 



$449 



25. 



and 



Another type of pot in which oil is used 



A Combined Forcing Bed and Storage Pit 



By Richard Maxwell Winans 



OR anyone growing and storing vegetables, 

 whether living In the suburbs with only a 

 "handkerchief" garden, or on a large 

 country estate with hundreds of acres, the 

 following plan for a combined hot bed, 

 cold frame and storage pit will have ad- 

 vantages not to be secured in any similar 

 arrangement. As a hot bed or cold frame it has the ad- 

 vantage of the air space and head room of a hot-house, 

 with morning and afternoon light reaching every inch of 

 bed space, and in which cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, egg 

 plant, etc., may be grown from planting of seed to fruiting 

 maturity. As a storage pit after the growing season, it is 

 perfect; the crops are easily stored, covered for protection 

 with little trouble, and are accessible in any weather. It is 

 simple of construction, inexpensive and permanent. It may 

 be of any length desired; to hold a few hot bed sash or a 

 hundred or more feet long. 



Select a location for the bed that is elevated rather than 

 depressed, having good drainage. If sheltered from north 

 winds, all the better. The length of the bed should run 

 north and south, to insure an equal distribution of light to 

 the plants from both sides. 



First "lay out" the bed roughly, but with accuracy as to 

 "lines," fourteen feet wide, the length desired. Inside 

 measurement of the bed is 1 1 feet 6 inches. The extra 

 two feet width allows posts to be easily set on a true line 

 without interfering with sides or banks. Plow off in layers 

 and remove with wheel or slip scrapers to a depth of two 

 to four feet, or deeper if desired, where elevation and 

 drainage are good. Where tomatoes are to be fruited in 

 the frame, the bottom should be at least three feet below 

 the ground level, allowing for six to eight inches of "soil" 

 filling. 



With spirit-level and "straight-edge," or line, get the 

 floor of the bed level lengthwise, with a slight slope from 



