15 



CULTIVATION AND TRAINING. 



For the first two or three years vegetables may be 

 grown among the trees, but should never be planted nearer 

 than four or five feet from the tree. No crop should be 

 cultivated without first applying plenty of fertilizers, and , 

 the whole ground sKould be kept clean and free from 

 weeds. Very little pruning will be required the first year, 

 but water sprouts must be dealt with on their appearance. 

 In case dormant budded trees are planted, only one shoot 

 should be trained ; and this grows so rapidly, under favor- 

 able circumstances, and the wood is so succulent and ten- 

 der, that it needs some support to keep it in an erect 

 position. A common lath placed in the ground near the 

 tree, and the shoot tied to it, will furnish sufficient support 

 until it hardens. When the shoot has made a growth of 

 three or four feet, pinch off the top and allow lateral 

 branches to form. In this manner a fine branching top 

 may be formed with a body three or four feet high. 



No cultivation should be allowed after the first of 

 October until February, when a dressing of manure should 

 be spread over the surface about the trees and lightly 

 worked into the soil with hoe, harrcw or cultivator. The 

 after treatment will be to keep the ground light and mel- 

 low throughout the season, and if the grove can be worked 

 over every three or four weeks, so much the better. We 

 prefer the cultivator rather than the plow, as it lightens 

 and stirs the soil better and leaves the ground level. 



PROTECTION FROM COLD. 



The tree is young and tender now, and should cold 

 weather set in and the thermometer go down to 30 or 28 

 as frequently happens in many parts of Florida, the sap 

 vessels may freeze, expand and crack the bark on the body 

 of the tree, which is likely to kill it. In order to prevent 



