30 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES. 



This mulching of seeds is not, we believe, the usual 

 practice, but our own experience has proved again and 

 again that seeds thus kept uniformly moist will germinate 

 in one half the time required by the same seeds when sub- 

 jected to the usual alternations of dry and" wet, which is 

 the inevitable fate of those that are not thus protected. 

 But if young plants are desired by the thousands and tens 

 of thousands, then the seeds must be sown in the open 

 ground. 



Here, too, there is a right and a wrong way, a careless 

 or a systematic method of doing the work, and the latter 

 always comes out ahead. 



In laying out the seed-beds it must be borne in mind 

 that you will hereafter want to hoe and weed your young 

 plants; therefore leave a space two feet wide between 

 them, the beds themselves being three feet in width. This 

 will allow you to reach the center from each side. See 

 that the seed-beds are well cleared of trash, grass, sticks, 

 etc. , and make them level and smooth ; then make your 

 trenches six inches apart, and drop your seed as in the 

 boxes, or sow broadcast if you prefer it, being careful not 

 to sow too thickly ; press the soil down firmly, then cover 

 your beds with a mulch of pine straw, grass, well-rotted 

 sawdust, or moss ; it matters little what is used so that it 

 keeps in the moisture and shields from the hot sun. 



A barrel of oranges will furnish from four to eight 

 thousand plants. To separate the seed from the pulp, when 

 such large quantities are to be sorted, one needs a sieve 

 with a quarter-inch mesh, a good, stiff brush, and an 

 abundance of water. The ground should be moist when 

 the seeds are planted, either by rain or profuse artificial 

 watering, and should be kept so until the seed are up, 

 which will be in from ten days to two weeks; without 

 mulching they are often four or five weeks in making an 



