One farmer had kept his barn from being burned down by telephoning for his neighbors; another had cleared five hundred dollars extra profit on the sale of his cattle, by telephoning to the best market; a third had rescued a flock of sheep by sending quick news of an approaching blizzard; a fourth had saved his son's life by getting an instantaneous message to the doctor; and so on.
How the telephone saved a three million dollar fruit crop in Colorado, in 1909, is the story that is oftenest told in the West.

Until that year, the frosts in the Spring nipped the buds.

No farmer could be sure of his harvest.

But in 1909, the fruit-growers bought smudge-pots--three hundred thousand or more.

These were placed in the orchards, ready to be lit at a moment's notice.