FRUIT CULTURE. 805 



selves this area of deep cultivation should be lessened. After the roots have extended them 

 selves well over the ground, the best plow to be used is the sweep. A single thirty-two inch 

 sweep, or a gang plow, the middle or front plow twenty -two inches wide, and the two side 

 plows, fourteen inches each, does excellent work. It is better than the turning plow or cul 

 tivator. The sweep is much more uniform in the depth of its cutting than either. It is 

 much more rapid in its work than the single plow. It is more apt to cut off the weeds below 

 the surface and destroy them, than the cultivator. With such an implement, a grove free 

 from stumps and litter is easily and cheaply kept in fine condition. 



While the orange trees are young, it is of advantage to keep the ground planted in 

 garden crops peas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, anything that requires frequent work and will 

 mature within a few weeks, partially shading the ground. Of course nothing should be taken 

 from the ground without making adequate return in the form of manures. 



Where the trees are planted far apart and ten or twelve years will elapse before the 

 ground will be all occupied by the orange, grapes and peaches will do well and prove profita 

 ble, provided the soil is well drained. At no time should the roots of grass and weeds be 

 allowed to mat themselves on land growing the orange. Not only will they draw heavily 

 upon the soil while they are growing, but when turned over the turf and matted roots will 

 necessarily leave the surface very irregular, causing the ground to dry rapidly under the 

 influence of the sun and wind. 



In cultivating the grove with the plow there is a constant tendency of the soil to pile up 

 around the trunk of the tree. This should be watched, and if the crown of the lateral surface 

 roots is a half inch below the surface, from this or from deep planting, the soil should be 

 drawn from around the trunk till the upper sides of these roots are brought to the top of the 

 ground. If the upper parts of these roots are left bare, for one or two inches, where trees 

 are five or six years old, and for a greater distance where the trees are older, these roots 

 develop very rapidly and not only furnish stout braces to the trunk, but great arteries for 

 conveying life and food from the soil. 



Pruning. Do the principal pruning in the spring. By all means avoid fall or winter 

 pruning, as it is apt to start new wood at a time when it is most exposed to damage from 

 frost. Cut off all dead wood, and up to, or a little into the living wood. Thereby the 

 wound heals more readily. As a general rule, cut off all diseased branches; especially if 

 they have become so far diseased as to fail to develop healthy leaves. Do not trim up the 

 trunk too high. Encourage the lower branches to extend themselves well around the trunk 

 and far over the surface of the ground. If they do not touch the ground they are not too 

 low. As the tree grows these branches will continue to droop nearer the ground until the 

 lowest may have to be cut off after a while; but this late cutting off is much better than to 

 have the trunk exposed either to sun or cold. 



Give and keep an open head to the tree. To do this, select the most vigorous lateral 

 branches, leaving some on all sides of the tree so as to obtain a head as uniformly balanced as 

 possible. After cutting off the other branches close to the trunk, trim up these selected 

 branches almost to a point, leaving only a few of the terminal smaller branches. When this 

 is done the tree will look like a skeleton, and you will likely conclude you have used the 

 knife too freely. But if this pruning has been done in the spring and you keep the &amp;lt; water 

 shoots pulled off the trunk, and cultivate well, you will find the trunk by winter enclosed by 

 a beautiful head with a dense wall of foliage on the outside. The next spring trim these 

 laterals in a similar manner, allowing the first laterals to rebranch a little distance from the 

 trunk so as to be able to fill up the larger area by fall. Continue this method till your 

 tree is large enough to bear its first crop. You can then slacken your pruning so as to 

 encourage the fruiting. 



