8 PROCEEDINGS OF TWENTY-SIXTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



to the producers of this country. [Laughter.] We can then afford to 

 support our military establishments in time of peace. He says: 



The last number of the Gironde, a Bordeaux newspaper which represents the wine- 

 growers of that region, contains an article by M. Bellot de Minieres on the subject of 

 preventing frosts from injuring early fruit. His theory is that it is not the frost which 

 blasts the budding fruit, but the sun's rays following a night of' frost and finding in the 

 grape, already sensitive from the cold, an object unable to withstand their heat. After 

 many experiments, which he says have always succeeded, M. Bellot de Minieres recom- 

 mends the accumulation, at various points in the vineyard, of combustible matter, 

 capable of producing a thick, black smoke, and setting fire to these heaps of fuel at 

 sunrise, so that a veil of smoke may cover the entire ground, protecting the vine by its 

 opaqueness against the sun's rays and maintaining the general temperature of the vine- 

 yard at a point which will counteract the effects of the frost. The smoke, which acts 

 as a warm blanket, lifts gradually enough for the vine to adapt itself to the changed 

 temperature. 



Since I reported on the subject of firing cannon for the prevention of hailstorms, the 

 use of cannon for other allied purposes has been discussed in agricultural circles. Dr. 

 Marangoni, professor of physics at the Royal Lyceum of Florence, Italy, has declared 

 his belief in the efficacy of the use of cannon for the prevention of frosts. He says : 

 "There are astonishing resemblances between the state of the atmosphere which pro- 

 duces hail and frosts. * * * An absolute calm is necessary for both. * * * 

 In the phenomena of the white frost * * * the calm creates a very cold layer of 

 air near the surface of the earth, saturating the otherwise dry air, and at the coldest 

 moment the frost is formed. * * * The important object to be achieved in the 

 case of both hail and frost is to break up the calm before either is formed." 



He recommended that the cannon be fired horizontally over the ground to be pro- 

 tected. Under his direction, cannon were fired horizontally over the vineyards of 

 Count Balli, at Asti, and he relates that a strip of vineyard five hundred feet wide over 

 which two cannon were fired was entirely protected, while the vines on each side were 

 badly injured by the frosts. 



At the central office of the agricultural societies in this part of France, I was told 

 that extensive preparations are being made to test the efficacy of cannon against frost 

 this spring. 



One of the gentlemen who is working on this question said to me: "The frost is 

 formed by the stored heat of the sun combined with an excess of dampness ; * * * 

 the firing of the cannon produces perturbations in the atmosphere, causing a slow 

 transition between the coldest hour of the night and the coming of the heat of the sun." 



It has just been determined to hold an international cannon congress in Lyons next 

 November, in which this subject will be fully discussed, and I am requested to say that 

 American representatives are invited to be present and to take part in its deliberations. 



As an invasion of grasshoppers is announced for this summer in southern Algeria, 

 cannon are to be tried against them also. 



I have read that report with interest and desired to communicate it 

 to the Convention, but knew of no better way than to communicate it 

 myself. It is hardly within the lines of an address of welcome, but we 

 of the city are your friends, your interests are ours, and we follow the 

 work that interests you. We will contribute in every way possible to 

 the success of your deliberations, and bid you again a cordial welcome. 

 [Applause.] 



Upon motion, the thanks of the Convention were extended to Mayor 

 Phelan by a rising vote. 



