248 THE CHIEF SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL CROPS 



extended. So far it has been used in much less 

 quantity than in Florida. Where heavy applications 

 are required, the same precautions as in Florida will 

 doubtless be necessary. Many of the earliest com- 

 mercial plantings in these countries were made on 

 rich, heavy sugar and banana lands with the idea that 

 no fertilizers would be needed. It now seems prob- 

 able, however, that the quality of fruit produced in 

 such locations will not be such as to compete with 

 that produced on lighter soils witli intelligent fer- 

 tilization and that the cost will really be greater, 

 owing to the greater expense of cultivation in heavy 

 lands. 



Formerly nearly all oranges were grown on natural 

 or so-called seedling trees. Now, as with most other 

 fruits, commercial orchards are all planted with 

 budded trees of named varieties. A considerable 

 number of different stocks have been used on which 

 to bud oranges and the other citrus fruits, and there 

 is still considerable difference of opinion in regard to 

 this very important question. The great bulk of the 

 trees are, however, now grown on either sour orange, 

 rough lemon, or Citrus trifoliata roots, although 

 sweet seedlings (for soils not subject to foot rot) and 

 pomelo seedlings both have their advocates. The 

 trifoliata stocks are mostly used in the northern part 

 of the orange belt, since their deciduous nature seems 

 to check winter growth, rendering the trees more nearly 

 dormant, and therefore more resistant to cold. Trees 

 on this stock do not grow as rapidly as on the others, 

 and some claim that this partial dwarfing makes the 

 fruit thinner skinned and better in quality. The 



