Orchard Heating 
B. C. Skinner 
The members of this Association are 
probably more interested at the present 
time in the results obtained from orchard 
heating during the past freeze, than any 
other phase of the subject. The writer, 
has, therefore, endeavored to collect in¬ 
formation on the results obtained and the 
methods employed in some of the lead¬ 
ing groves. 
The results obtained have generally 
been excellent and have shown conclu¬ 
sively that firing pays. Preparing for a 
freeze is really a form of insurance and 
the grower does not expect a return of 
ten per cent per year, but rather a large 
return at long intervals. During the past 
thirty years the records show the freezes 
of more or less intensity occur at inter¬ 
vals averaging six to seven years. The 
saving from freeze damage will, if ade¬ 
quate preparation is made, pay for the 
initial investment, pay the cost of taking 
care of the wood, fire pots or coke stoves, 
and pay the interest on the investment 
and a handsome profit besides. 
The average up-to-date grower insures 
his house, barn and other buildings and 
his own life, but it is surprising what a 
small percentage of growers have in the 
past insured their groves and crops by 
preparing for freezes. It is probable, 
however, that this percentage will be 
much increased in the future. 
The examples of the effects of the 
freeze stand out prominently; Mr. L. B. 
Skinner’s groves which were very well 
protected and the Floweree groves which 
were not protected at all owing to the 
fact that Fort Myers was considered too 
far south to be hurt by any cold no matter 
how severe. In the first case the fruit 
saved by firing amounted to about twenty 
thousand boxes. It is probable that many 
of these could have been shipped though 
frozen and some money received per box, 
but it is safe to state that the return would 
probably be a dollar less per box, on the 
average. Then, to this saving can be 
added the crop which Mr. Skinner will get 
next year. As the average expected crop 
over the State is generally considered to 
be less than half the usual crop, it would 
be fair to state that half of the crop he 
will get can be credited to the firing,—or 
probably not less than thirty thousand 
boxes. The State crop will be short; 
prices will be high, and the returns for 
these thirty thousand boxes will be large. 
The investment in firepots and fuel is ap¬ 
proximately thirty thousand dollars, so it 
can be readily seen that the saving will 
pay for this equipment and the compound 
interest for the past seven years. 
The Floweree grove had removed 
practically all their fruit and the loss there 
can be measured only by the loss of the 
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