78 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
a burning surface of 48 square inches, 
using approximately one and one-half 
quarts of oil per hour, we held the tem¬ 
perature in this inclosure ten degrees 
higher than outside. 
I have given a great deal of thought 
and hard study to the question of oil 
heaters and consider there is room for 
vast improvement over the types now on 
the market. Some makes are faulty in 
that they admit rain, particularly is this 
the case with one of the heaters much ad¬ 
vertised in Florida the past season. An¬ 
other fault common to most of the sur¬ 
face-burning heaters is that there is a large 
amount of coke or asphalt left in the bot¬ 
tom of the heater as a result of imperfect 
combustion of oil. All the heaters rust 
badly, lasting only a few years. Some 
manufacturers offer galvanized heaters, 
but as this coating burns off quickly I can¬ 
not see that it is any advantage. 
The most satisfactory heater in its 
burning qualities I have tested is the Rich¬ 
ardson Heater. This has a six gallon res¬ 
ervoir, near the bottom of which is at¬ 
tached a quarter-inch pipe 12 or 15 inches 
in length. To the end of this pipe is at¬ 
tached the burner, a vessel about the size 
and shape of a 4-pound lard pail with the 
sides perforated, and into which the oil 
flows from the reservoir, the flow being 
controlled by an ordinary gas cock placed 
in the pipe. This heater more nearly 
consumes the oil than any other I have 
tried, there being only a slight residuum 
left in the burner. 
Since no oil is burned in the reservoir 
of this heater the extra expense of gal¬ 
vanizing should prove a good investment, 
as it could then be left in the grove indefi¬ 
nitely, saving the expense of removing 
the oil in spring and storing the heater. 
It is to be noted that at temperatures re¬ 
quiring heat in the grove this crude or 
fuel oil in small bodies thickens to such 
an extent that its flow is extremely slow. 
Under such conditions it is necessary to 
warm the reservoir of the Richardson 
heater in order to get the oil to flow 
through the small pipe to the burner. 
This may * be accomplished by * starting 
fire in the burner a few minutes in ad¬ 
vance. In the case of the Hamilton heat¬ 
er this thickening of the oil is extremely 
troublesome as it causes the cover to 
stick badly, rendering the work of open¬ 
ing the covers for lighting up very slow 
and laborious. 
Starting the fires is rapidly done with 
a can of gasoline and a torch; one man 
thus equipped can light 500 heaters an 
hour. 
A feature of the surface burning heat¬ 
ers worth knowing is that after burning, 
even though for only a short while, it is 
necessary to have fresh oil on top before 
they can be relighted. This may be ac¬ 
complished by refilling, or, if there is 
enough oil in the heaters for the purpose, 
by stirring it up. 
Every prospective smudger will find 
it greatly to his advantage to have every¬ 
thing ready to start the fires the moment 
their need is indicated. Nothing should be 
left to do after it is found the cold is 
coming that can be done in advance. 
Heaters should be placed where they are 
to burn and be filled with oil; gasoline 
cans should be filled and ready and torch- 
