DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 105, 25 July 1927, Page 12

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

THE SMUDGE POT

(Copyright, 11)27.) 'J’HE smudge pot is the triumph of the scientific farmer. Occasionally there is a cold snap in Florida or California such as has been recently experienced in California. This menaces the entire citrus industry. Temperatures got as low as 23 degrees above zero. Warnings issued by the Weather Bureau advised farmers of the approach of a cold snap. Time was when they used to fill their smudge pots with heavy oil and create a dense pall of smoke over the orchards to exclude cold. Sometimes that worked. Sometimes it didn’t. Then along came the scientific farmer burning lighter oil with less smoke and he actually raised the temperature around the orange trees. That works always. It is possible to raise the temperature of an orchard at least nine degrees, which is sufficient for the most severe cold snaps in California. You wouldn’t think that people would be able to warm up the atmosphere with outdoor stoves, but that is what is actually being done, and the saving of the citrus is considerable. Altogether the smudge pot is a triumph for *the application of science to the business of farming. Too often the matter of farming has been by rule of thumb, and the introduction of scientific methods can only increase the products of the soil. That the climate can be affected by an outdoor fire is rather a startling proposition, but experience has proven that it is practical.

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