IMPROVEMENT OF CITRUS FRUITS THROUGH BUD SELECTION. 5 



importance of this line of work. In response to the general desire of 

 citrus g-rowers and others for information regarding the object and 

 plan of the work, this brief prclimiiiarj report is presentc^d. The 

 data are presented only in an illustrative wa}', so that an intelligent 

 idea ma_y be gained of the methods used. While these investigations 

 must, as a matter of necessity, cover a long period of time, it is not 

 unreasonable to expect that the data obtained from the second and 

 successive years will 3Meld interesting and valuable results, and reports 

 giving the data secured and the progress of the work in all its aspects 

 will be issued. 



The writer hopes that this circular will lead more citrus growers to 

 interest themselves in the investigations to the extent of securing data 

 on the yield of individual trees in their groves where the conditions 

 of soil and other factors are uniform and comparative. All the 

 equipment that is needed is a fairly accurate scale that can be taken 

 into the orchard and moved readily from tree to tree, a set of rings 

 corresponding to the sizes of the fruit studied for aid in dividing the 

 product of each tree into commercial sizes, and a notebook arranged 

 for keeping the data in a systematic manner. All of the fruit of an 

 orange tree may be picked at one time, and the sizing, grading, and 

 note taking should be done, as soon as the fruit is picked, b}' the 

 grower or some one who can do this woi'k consistently and continu- 

 ously for a period of several years. The method used by the writer 

 of securing data of individual trees will be outlined in the following 

 pages as a suggestion foi- a practicable method of note keeping. If 

 this method is not suitable for any reason, it can probably be modified 

 or changed so as to permit of satisfactory practical use by the grower. 



OBJECT OF THE INVESTIGATIONS. 



The first object of these investigations is to determine definitely 

 the performance of indi\idual citrus trees of the same variet}', in the 

 same grove, and under uniform conditions for a period of at least five 

 years. 



If, as the data obtained during the past season show, it is found 

 that there is consistently a great variation in the quantity, quality, 

 and value of the fruit borne by different trees of the same variety 

 under like conditions, it will be determined whether these crop char- 

 acteristics are ti-ansmissible and whether the progeny of these trees 

 behave liUe their parents. 



If it is found that one tree of a given variety yields consistentl}^ 

 larger crops of more valuable fruit than other trees of the same vari- 

 ety under comparative conditions and that trees propagated from this 

 tree inherit this tendency, it follows that the propagation of an im- 

 proved type of the variety from the desirable tree should be both 

 possible and practicable. 



r»"ir. 77] 



