BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS. 63 



trees do bear, do not increase so rapidly in wood, year 

 by year, as where the tree's whole energy is devoted to 

 making wood, but where the budded tree has become as 

 large as a seedling bearing tree, it will be seen that the 

 after-growth of the budded tree surpasses that of the 

 seedling. 



Captain Burnham, of Indian River, tells us that his 

 trees are nearly all budded except a few seedlings scattered 

 here and there in his grove, and these latter are decidedly 

 smaller and less thrifty trees, though of the same age. In 

 fact, the further one goes into the subject the more majes- 

 tically does the once maligned budded tree loom up and 

 the seedling retire into the background, to be brought for- 

 ward again simply as stock, in which character we have no 

 word to say against it. 



Seedlings versus budded trees? Why, the seedling has 

 no case at all. It has been proven that it does not grow 

 larger or bear more fruit than the budded tree, and, when 

 we look at the question financially, its case is more hope- 

 less than ever. 



Why is it that we dig and delve and toil to make an 

 orange grove ? Truly, that it may return our labor in good 

 solid coin, and that, as soon as may be. 



Did any one ever hear of a tree budded from a bearing 

 one that did not fruit until it was eight, ten, twenty years 

 from the bud ? Yet the two first dates named are those 

 the seedlings usually attain before they bear at all, while 

 it is not uncommon for them to reach the age of fifteen and 

 twenty years before bearing a single orange, and sometimes 

 they are forever barren. Very few settlers there are, even 

 with very limited means, who could not struggle along 

 somehow if their trees could be made to yield a small re- 

 turn in four or five years, but who, if compelled to wait a 

 return for ten or twelve years would fall down worsted in 



