Shamel: Washington Navel Orange 



437 



NAVEL ORANGE TREE AT HOME 



Typical specimen in the grove of Col. Frederico da Costa, Matatu, Bahia, Brazil. The navel 

 orange of California was brought from Bahia, where it is believed to have originated as 

 a bud sport about 1826. (Fig. 1.) 



The oranges are usually picked by 

 men climbing the trees, breaking off 

 the spurs to which the fruits are at- 

 tached, and dropping them to the 

 ground. They are then collected into 

 heaps; assorted into two grades, one 

 consisting of the large, and the other of 

 the small, fruits. The fruits are then 

 loaded into boxes or packs and carried 

 on horse or mule-back to the markets; 

 or in some cases the buyers come to the 

 orchards from the city and carry baskets 

 of the fruits on their heads to the city. 

 The steamships that call at Bahia take 

 a considerable portion of the crop for 

 use on their tables. A small quantity 

 of navel oranges is now exported to Rio 

 de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, and other 

 South American cities, but not enough. 



we were informed, to supply the demand 

 in those cities for this variety. 



The navel orange orchards at Bahia 

 are located on the higher lands and are 

 given no irrigation — the annual rain- 

 fall at Bahia is about 50 inches a year, 

 so that under normal conditions irriga- 

 tion is not needed. We were told that 

 in dry seasons the crops were compara- 

 tively light, while the best crops are 

 produced during the wet seasons. The 

 principal crop ripens in May, June and 

 July, a period corresponding to our 

 winter or the California rainy season. 

 Another crop ripens in December, 

 January and February, while on some 

 of the trees ripe fruits are found the 

 entire year. Our observations in this 

 connection led us to the conclusion that 



