400 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



bluff, perhaps from two to three hundred feet above the lower city, made 

 up largely of residences, churches, schools and administrative buildings. 

 Bahia is the capital of the state of Bahia which has a population of 

 about 2,000,000. It is also one of the leading centers of art, education 

 and letters of Brazil. 



At an early date in the history of Bahia citrus fruits were introduced 

 by the Portuguese immigrants. Among the citrus introductions was 

 the Larmija selecta variety. According to Bahian history a Portuguese, 

 the first man to propagate by budding in Bahia, originated the navel 

 orange by propagating a navel bud sport of the Laranja selecta variety 

 about 1820. The navel orange is called Laranja selecta de umbigo, or 

 the select orange with a navel. The superior quality of the navel soon 

 became recognized by the fruit growers in Bahia, who propagated it 

 exclusively. At the present time it is the only commercial variety of 

 orange grown in this district, it having supplanted the parent selecta 

 and all other varieties except Laranja de Terra which is grown for 

 stock purposes. 



PLAN OF STUDY. 



On our arrival at Bahia we were met by Dr. ArgoUo-Ferrao who 

 accompanied us in our visits to the citrus orchards and assisted us in 

 making our detailed observations during the entire period of our stay. 



The mayor of the municipality of Bahia, the governor of the state of 

 Bahia, and the representatives of the federal government stationed at 

 Bahia, cooperated in making our visit pleasant and profitable. In return 

 for the hospitality extended us we gave them such information as we 

 could as to methods of citrus culture and marketing in California. We 

 found that the Bahians take great pride in the fact that they gave to 

 California and the woHd the navel orange variety. Not only was this 

 true but every facility was given us for securing other Brazilian food 

 plants for trial in the United States. After consulting with various 

 local men w^e decided to make, first, a general survey of the citrus dis- 

 tricts of Bahia, and then with information thus obtained, select several 

 typical navel orange groves for more detailed study and observation. 



GENERAL STUDY OF BAHIAN ORANGE DISTRICTS. 



The municipality of Bahia includes not only the city proper, but also 

 about 30,000 acres of land suitable for orange culture, and a large 

 amount of land adapted for the cultivation of other crops. All of the 

 established commercial orchards are located in the municipality and are 

 centered about eight principal districts, Cabulla, Cruz do Cosme, S. Gon- 

 calo, Retiro, Matatu, Brotas, Barra and Eio Vermellio. These districts 

 are reached for the most part by electric car lines. The groves are 

 usually located on the higher lands, hilltops or hillsides. In the valleys 

 forage crops, vegetable gardens and fruits other than citrus are grown. 



The typical orange soil is a sandy loam .surface soil laid upon a heavy 

 red clay subsoil of granite origin. In several cases we observed excava- 

 tions showing the surface soil from about ten to twenty inches in depth, 

 and the subsoil from twenty to thirty-five feet in depth resting on a 

 solid granite rock. In many cases on the hillsides the surface sandy 

 loam soil had been washed off, leaving the clay soil as the surface soil. 



