66 FLORIDA FRUITS ORANGES. 



year still more have been dug out in disgrace, while the 

 few stumps that nourished their foster children, the sweet 

 buds, are only now, after four years, beginning to make a 

 respectable growth. Had these sour stumps been stock of 

 the proper kind they would have grown right along and 

 accepted the bud in due time. The grove then set out 

 would now have been a bearing one, beginning to pay 

 back the money, care, and time expended on it. As it is, 

 four years are totally lost. So much for setting out the 

 wrong kind of stock. 



The stocks that are now coming into competition with 

 the once universal sour orange are lemon, lime, grape fruit, 

 and the sweet seedling. The three former are stronger 

 growing trees than the latter, but this also is as thrifty as 

 need be, and is becoming a great favorite with many 

 growers. 



One of Florida's foremost nurserymen, Mr. A. J. Beach, 

 of Palatka, takes a decided stand in favor of the sweet 

 seedling for stock, especially because, in the event of a 

 frost severe enough to kill orange trees to the ground, 

 the sweet seedling sprouting from the ground would still 

 bear a sweet orange without requiring to be again bud- 

 ded; supposing, of course, that its roots had attained a 

 bearing age. 



But what then ? The fruit would still be only a seed- 

 ling orange of no special variety, and more likely poor 

 than good ; so that budding would be just as desirable 

 for the same reasons as it was at first. Consequently, 

 while we acknowledge the sweet seedling to be good 

 stock, we can not admit that it would not require re-bud- 

 ding, the same as any other, in the event of its being killed 

 to the ground. 



In consequence, the sweet seedling is preferred to any 

 other stock, it having been shown by various experiments 



