MONTIIIA' BULLETIN. 



329 



Perhaps the most (oiiiukii Miniincf cover ero[) vised ;it llie present 

 time in Florida is Beggarweed {Meihomia tortuosum) a native legume. 

 This usually reseeds itself each year and does not ref|uire resovving 

 after it is once Avell established. Velvet beans (Mucu)ia uiilis) and 

 cowpeas (Vigna catjang) are also sometimes used, l)ut tiu; former is not 

 liked by the growers because of the tendency of the vines to grow into 

 and over the trees. On some of the lower hammock lands, no cultiva- 

 tion is practiced the year around aside from merely hoeing the weeds 

 that come up under the spread of the trees. Many groves grown in 

 such situations without any cultivation are thrifty and profitable (Fig. 

 115). Professor P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Florida Experiment 

 Station, says: "Some of the be-t groves in the state are heavily sodded 



Fig. 114. — Cover ci'op of beggarweeds and sandspurs between rows of four-year- 

 old citrus trees on rolling pine land. (Original.) 



to Bermuda grass and are not cultivated." This is quite different in 

 many respects from the general cultivation practice in California 

 where in the summer th(» ground is prepared for irrigation every 30 

 to 80 days and then worked down again to conserve the moisture. Then, 

 unless water is abundant, instead of a cover crop being grown in 

 California in summer, it is usually grown in winter during the period 

 of rains. Most of the cultivation of the soil, therefore, in Florida is 

 in late fall, winter and early spring (a comparatively dry period) 

 while in California, during this same time, cover crops are grown and 

 practically no cultivation is done. 



Varieties of Citrus. 



The varieties of citrus fruits generally preferred differ greatly in 

 the two places. In Florida, there are probably 20 to 30 or more dif- 

 ferent standard varieties of oranges, but in California, there are only 



