16 



this occurrence it ma} 7 be necessary to protect the body by 

 wrapping it with moss, or binding it with pine boughs, or 

 setting a shingle or barrel stave close to the tree on the 

 south side, which will shade the tree from the direct rays 

 of the sun at midday. An orange tree will stand ten or 

 fifteen degrees of frost, provided the sun's rays may be 

 excluded from the frozen surface. We have tried several 

 modes of shading the bodies during the winter and prefer 

 the shingle ; as in this manner the circulation of air is not 

 interfered with, and this we regard as important. It may 

 be observed that when the tree is frozen and exposed to the 

 sun, the mischief is done to the tree on the south side from 

 three to six inches from the ground. The bark soon turns 

 black, becomes spongy and soft ; and when this occurs, the 

 sooner the tree is sawed off near the ground the better. 

 But if properly shaded, nothing of the kind will occur in 

 an ordinary cold snap. The treatment is not always neces- 

 sary, but it is little trouble to do it and then you feel safe 

 from harm by frost. We recommend this precaution for 

 the first two or three years, or until the top has grown suffi- 

 cient to shade and protect the body of the tree. 



MANURES. 



The orange tree is a great feeder and requires a soil 

 rich in plant food, and if the locality chosen for the 

 grove does not contain this naturally, the want will have 

 to be supplied. 



Owing to the porosity of most of the soils of Florida, 

 it will be better to give the grove a light annual dressing 

 than to apply a large quantity at once. 



The growing tree, before it comes into bearing, requires 

 more of the nitrogenous manures than it does after matu- 

 rity. This fact should be strictly borne in mind, and then 

 there will be no cause for getting the matter mixed. 



