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supply of congenial food. Their requirements are greater than those of 

 other fruit trees in this respect, there being always a steady drain upon 

 their energies. No sooner has one crop matured than another requires 

 support. This severe drain upon the trees must be compensated by an 

 ample supply of congenial food ; otherwise the plants will become 

 weakened and liable to the attacks of disease and insects. Trees must 

 necessarily pine away and die if they do not obtain sufficient nourish- 

 ment to support healthy growth. Cultivators too frequently make 

 the mistake of expecting their trees to remain healthy and bear 

 heavy crops year after year without anything being returned to the soil in 

 the shape of manure. It is chiefly owing to this unreasonable mode of 

 treatment that so many trees fail while comparatively young, whereas 

 they ought to live and flourish for lengthened periods. An ample supply 

 of nourishment is also essential to the quality of the fruit, which will 

 necessarily be inferior if the trees lack vigour owing to an impoverished 

 soil. In many of the old Orange orchards in New South Wales the 

 quality of the fruit has materially deteriorated of late years through the 

 neglect of the owners in not maintaining the fertility of the land. In 

 fact, owing to this neglect, a large proportion of the Oranges grown in 

 the Parramatta and other districts have been so inferior in size and 

 quality as to be almost useless for market purposes. Such a state of 

 affairs is due entirely to neglect and carelessness, and could be avoided by 

 rational cultivation. No fruit will respond to good treatment better than 

 the Orange, but it will not stand neglect. But, on the other hand, 

 cultivators must bear in mind that though Orange trees require plenty of 

 nourishment to keep them in a healthy vigorous condition, yet manure 

 should not be given in excess, as under such circumstances a rank and 

 unhealthy growth is stimulated for a short period that is followed by a 

 reaction which is injurious. Whatever manure is used ought not to be of 

 a forcing character or violent in its action, but should yield a gradual, 

 regular, and lasting supply of nourishment to the trees. As regards the 

 most effective and economical way of supplying food to the trees of the 

 Citrus family, the writer has arrived at the conclusion, from his experience, 

 that surface feeding is the best plan for mature trees. The best general 

 fertilizer is stable manure. This should be applied as a mulching over 

 the surface as far as the roots extend. Lay it on in a layer three or four 

 inches deep, and as the manure decays add fresh material from time to 

 time. The main dressing should be applied in September or October, 

 and, as a matter of course, the layer ought to be thicker during the 

 summer than in the winter, When this system is adopted, the trees not 

 only get the benefit of a continuous supply of nourishment, but also the 

 advantage of having their roots effectively protected by mulching. If the 

 soil is deficient in lime, potash, or other essential materials, its wants 

 must, as a matter of course, be supplied by special manures. Very 

 frequently, and more especially ir old orchards, the supplies of lime or 

 potash will have become exhausted, and cultivators should not fail to find 

 out these deficiencies before the trees suffer to any material extent. An 

 occasional dressing of bonedust or lime under the layer of mulch will 

 generally prove serviceable to the trees. In the case of young trees the 



