334 



MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



The last two classes correspond most nearly to the averajje citrus lands 

 in Florida. 



Cultivation and Noncultivation. 



The method of cultivation varies a great deal from clean cultivation 

 the entire year to no cultivation at all, and these extremes vary with 

 ditferent degrees to mulching and growing of cover grops. The writer 

 was much impressed M'ith the effects of a heavy vegetable mulch over 

 the soil in several places where this had been continued for a number 

 of years in succession. 



At Herradura, Professor F. S. Earle showed the writer a grapefruit 

 grove on clay loam soil underlaid with stiff clay where part of the grove 

 had been mulched all over the ground. The soil in this orchard was 

 uniform and the trees were all of the same age — seven years. Part of 

 the rows had been heavily mulched all over the ground with vegetable 



Fig. 116. — Grapefruit grove ten years old at Santiago de las Vegas on heavy 

 red soil. The ground has been covered with a thick vegetable mulch for the past 

 five years, during which time no cultivation has been carried on. (Original.) 



matter, grass and weeds for three years, part of it for two years, part 

 for one and a half years, and another part for nine months only. A 

 few rows in the middle of the orchard had not been mulched at all, 

 but had been plowed and cultivated to conserve moisture during the 

 dry season, during the whole period of seven years. The difference 

 between the mulched and unmulched trees Avas very marked and almost 

 beyond belief. The trees mulched for three years past without cultiva- 

 tion had foliage of good color, were vigorous, comparatively free from 

 scale insects, bearing a large amount of smooth skinned, bright fruit, 

 and the trees were two to four times as large in diameter of trunk and 

 two to four times as large in spread of l)ranches. The trees were also 

 free from Chlorosis. On the unmiilclied tract the trees were small, 

 stunted, with small yellow, starved looking leaves, with limbs dying 



