12 



CITRUS FRUITS IN CALIFORNIA: 



In filling in the hole around a balled 

 tree, never tramp on top of the ball, 

 as it will break it, dislodge the fibrous 

 roots, and in many instances cause the 

 tree to die. After the hole in which 

 the balled tree is planted is partially 

 filled, cut the cord at the top of the 

 ball and turn down the burlap so that 

 it will be completely buried when the 

 remainder of the hole is filled in. If 

 this is not done, the cultivator teeth, 

 when cultivating, are apt to catch on 

 the burlap and will oftentimes pull the 

 tree out of the ground or disturb it to 

 such an extent that it will die before 

 the trouble is detected. It is not nec- 

 essary to remove the burlap from the 

 ball; if properly turned down it will 

 soon rot. 



After the trees are planted and irri- 

 gated and before the earth has be- 

 come firm around them, they should 

 be carefully gone over and straight- 

 ened up, as more or less of them will 

 settle to one side or the other, and un- 

 less straightened up right away will 

 give the orchard a bad appearance. It 

 will also be found that some of the 

 trees have settled more than others; 

 these should be raised before the earth 

 becomes firm around them. 



Newly planted trees should be given 

 a light irrigation every ten days or two 

 weeks until they begin to make some 

 growth. After that it is not necessary 

 to irrigate quite as often. They may 

 be left from three to four weeks, ac- 

 cording to the weather. 



Never allow young trees to want for 

 water. If they should show signs of 

 being dry, give them a light irrigation 

 right away. After the first year from 

 planting the trees should not be irri- 

 gated quite so often. If properly culti- 

 vated, one irrigation every month or six 

 weeks is sufficient. In fact, trees will 

 do better if only irrigated once every 

 six weeks, provided the ground is kept 

 thoroughly cultivated between irriga- 

 tions. The planter should bear in mind 

 the fact that thorough cultivation is 

 just as essential as irrigation. Care 

 should be exercised to prevent the wa- 

 ter from standing any length of time 

 around the stem of the tree. In heavy 

 soil this is almost sure to cause gum 

 disease. In addition to cultivation for 

 the purpose of filling in the irrigation 

 furrows, newly planted trees should be 

 carefully hoed after each watering, so 

 as to avoid the possibility of the 

 ground baking or cracking. 



The Tree, the Soil, the Care. 



Our citrus trees are headed about 26 

 inches from the ground, hence all that 

 is necessary in planting is to shorten 

 the branches forming the head to eight 

 inches. Trees headed at four feet or 

 more should be cut back to 28 inches 

 for the purpose of forming a new head. 

 High headed trees are always objec- 

 tionable, for they not only expose 

 much of the stem, causing sunburn, 

 but in addition to this the tree is re- 

 tarded in acquiring a sturdy, compact 

 growth. Never neglect to protect the 

 stem of young trees. Wrap them with 

 burlap, paper or tules, but the best and 

 most serviceable tree protector is one 

 made from yucca fibre. This allows 

 the free circulation of air around the 

 stem of the tree. The protection of 

 the stem prevents the development of 

 suckers and obviates the danger from 

 sunburn, while the top growth is stim- 

 ulated. 



In order to meet soil and climatic 

 conditions in different sections, we bud 

 our citrus trees on the following 

 stocks: Sweet Orange (Citrus Auran- 

 tium Dulcis), Sour Orange (Citrus Au- 

 rantium Amara) and Deciduous Or- 

 ange (Citrus Trifoliata). On the first 

 named sort the budded trees outgrow 

 those on any other root, and practi- 

 cally all the old groves of the state 

 are worked on this stock and are 

 thrifty and healthy, except when sit- 

 uated on soils where there is an ex- 

 cess of moisture during certain sea- 

 sons. Sweet Orange seedlings are 

 grown from the seed of the common 

 sweet seedling orange. Sour orange 

 seedlings are grown from the seed of 

 the sour orange so extensively grown 

 in Florida as a stock for budding prac- 

 tically all types of citrus fruits. Al- 

 though the buds do not grow as rap- 

 idly or attain as large a size in mature 

 trees, this stock is much more resist- 

 ant to gum disease, hence it has been 

 in much demand in recent years for 

 heavy soils, where water was apt to 

 stand for any length of time, either 

 because of summer irrigation or a 

 heavv rainfall in the winter months. 



There has been an increasing de- 

 mand for trees budded on sour orange 

 root for planting in the heavier soils 

 on account of the prevalence of gum 

 disease. However, it has been our ex- 

 perience that this is of little benefit on 

 account of the prevailing custom of 

 budding trees within two or four 



