FRUITS—SETTING AND DROPPING 
it may fail to adhere and grow since 
the rain also washes off and dilutes the 
adhesive, stimulating secretion upon the 
stigmas. Provided neither of these 
causes prevents the journey and proper 
placing of the pollen, the cold of such 
storms often so lessens the vitality of 
the grains that they germinate very 
slowly or not at all. 
The cold and the rain also check the 
activities of bees and other insects, and 
as these are the effective carriers of pol- 
len grains, the possibility of successful 
pollination is still further lessened. 
Dampness is favorable to the growth 
of most fungi—which cause our leading 
leaf and fruit diseases—and such fungi 
frequently attack and ruin flowers dur- 
ing May storms. 
Winds, alone, do comparatively slight 
harm to fruits early in the season, but 
occasionally are strong enough to whip 
blossoms from the trees and to prevent 
the flight or active work of insects. If 
they are drying and long continued they 
may evaporate the secretion from the 
stigmas and thereby prevent the reten- 
tion and germination of the pollen; while 
cold, dry winds from the north at bloom- 
ing time chill vegetation and retard all 
plant activities. On the other hand, 
light breezes on nights when frosts would 
otherwise occur may sweep away the set- 
tling chill and prevent damage; or, in 
favorable localities beside large bodies 
of water, may bring in clouds or fogs 
to check heat radiation and prevent 
freezing. 
Unfortunately, at least in a narrow 
sense, man cannot control the weather 
to any great extent. Orchard heaters are 
now used to warm the temperature of an 
orchard and prevent frosts. By small 
fires, especially of damp, smouldering, 
smoke-producing materials, orchards and 
vineyards may occasionally be protected 
from light frosts. By proper placing of 
windbreaks—not so simple a matter as 
it may at first appear—some advantage 
may be given tender fruits. By white- 
washing the trees in early spring, blos- 
soming may be retarded a few days. A 
definite amount of heat is necessary to 
1065 
bring buds to maturity, and since white 
objects absorb less heat than dark ones, 
such whitening of the trees may occasion- 
ally carry the buds unopened safely 
through a frost that would destroy the 
flowers. 
Aside from these comparatively un- 
important exceptions, we can do nothing, 
after the orchard is established, to pro- 
tect fruit trees from weather stresses. 
But we can do much to protect future 
fruit crops by careful study, before we 
locate the plantation, of weather condi- 
tions and crop adaptations. It would be 
most unwise to set apricots, plums and 
peaches, which are relatively tender at 
blossoming, in any locality where the 
average date for the last killing frost is 
as late as May 10; yet some late bloom- 
ing or cold resistant varieties of even 
these fruits, on some hillside rightly lo- 
cated or beside a favoring lake, might 
escape frosts often enough to make their 
culture highly profitable since they could 
be sold in near markets never glutted 
with such fruits because of general un- 
favorable conditions. 
Orchard Site 
In choosing a location for an orchard 
we must consider latitude, altitude, and 
general topographic conditions, especial- 
ly proximity to large bodies of water, 
since these all affect general climatic 
conditions. 
Perhaps fully as important as general 
location, however, is the choice of a par- 
ticular field on which to plant fruit trees 
or grape vines. Omitting all discussion 
of soil, markets, roads, and other sur- 
roundings, the lay of the land may fre- 
quently determine its value for an or- 
chard or vineyard. Every fruit planta- 
tion has a local climate varying in the 
different parts of the tracts in accordance 
with the lay of the land. Low lying spots 
show the greatest extremes—lowest tem- 
perature in cold weather and highest 
temperature in hot weather. Converse- 
ly, on the elevated portions of a tract 
the temperature is most equable—less 
cold in low temperature, less hot in high 
temperatures. The direction of the slope 
of the ground causes variation in the 
