((UNIVERSITY JJ 



\^UFORN}^^ 



MISCELLANEOUS. * 147 



return to the farmer? except, perhaps, a specialty like 

 cranberry raising, for which but little land, comparatively, 

 is available. 



Italy has 4,800,000 lemon trees, which now produce 

 1,200,000,000 lemons per annum, while Florida has not 

 reached the a b c's of orange culture, and virtually has 

 not touched lemon growing; yet we hear no complaint 

 that Italy has even reached the * * alarming " point of over- 

 production. 



Having, as we trust, laid the ghost of overproduction 

 to rest, the next point for consideration is a method of in- 

 ducing barren trees to bear, that has only lately come 

 into vogue among our more progressive orange growers, 

 and is still undreamed of by those who prefer the old time- 

 worn grooves. It is not a new method, having been prac- 

 ticed for years past in many places, and upon many kinds 

 of fruit trees, with uniform success. 



In all groves or orchards, of whatsoever kind, will be 

 found here and there trees that flourish and grow thriftily, 

 yet bear little or no fruit. These are termed barren trees ; 

 and the method we have referred to is designed to produce 

 fruitfulness in these lazy, ne'er-do-wells of the vegetable 

 kingdom. 



There are a good many orange trees at the present time, 

 scattered about, which are old enough and thrifty enough, 

 but never bear a crop. 



Girdling a non-productive tree in order to retard the 

 flow of sap, and encourage the formation of fruit buds 

 rather than wood, is the method we have mentioned, and 

 though only now coming into extensive use, has been 

 known and practiced by pomologists for the last hundred 

 years. 



It is rather curious that we girdle a tree to kill it and 

 girdle it to make it live and be useful. But in the one 



