24 



of work and carry it throiio;]! to a finish, or, as far as practicable, leav- 

 ing other work in such sha])e that it can be developed at the first 

 opportunity. 



This year more than half the time was devoted to vegetable grow- 

 ing, on which subject a bulletin has been ])ublished. The experi- 

 ments with pineapples are well forwarded and will be made the 

 main subject for the coming year, after which the propagation of 

 the mango and avocado should be far enough advanced to take the 

 lead. Work on citrus culture has naturally required considerable 

 time and no doubt will for a number of years, though with the addi- 

 tion of an entomologist and a plant pathologist to the station staff 

 the horticultural side of this work will be reduced. 



CITRUS FRUITS. 



The growers who started orange groves in Porto Rico three to five 

 years ago followed the methods prevailing in Florida and California, 

 and the general results have been unsatisfactory, but the experience 

 gained is invaluable. This report, giving a brief statement of the 

 experiments at this station, as well as field notes obtained when visit- 

 ing groves in all parts of the island, is intended to serve as a guide for 

 the beginner, with the hope that it will carry him over many of the 

 old pitfalls. 



THE OLD METHOD. 



In planting an orange tree l:)y the usual method of trimming many 

 of the roots and a corresponding number of branches and leaves, 

 the tree is severely checked, especially if it is shipped some distance. 

 If the weather is not very favorable the top is liable to die back more 

 or less after planting, and it will be some time before the new growth 

 starts. If the grove is exposed to high winds this new growth will be 

 forced in one direction, giving the tree a lopsided appearance which 

 is difficult to overcome. This is not the worst feature, however, but 

 the high wind and hot sun retard the growth of the tree. If the tree 

 is planted in uncultivated ground with just a hoed circle around 

 and not well fertilized, which is often the case, the growth is sure to 

 be anything but rapid. If, then. May beetles and the orange leaf- 

 weevil begin to eat the foliage, which they often do, the tree will have 

 made but little growth the first six months after planting. 



The nursery trees are seldom entirely free from the purple scale, and 

 as this pest increases rapidly, es])ecially when the tree is not in a vigorous 

 growing condition, the consequence is that, six to eight months after 

 planting, the tree will be covered with scales before the grower realizes 

 what to do. Spraying is the next thing; but a continuous spraying 

 with mixtures strong enough to kill the j^urple scale is sure to cause 

 injury to the half-starved, wind-swept, scale-sapped tree. If, after 



