ORANGE — PEACH ' 435 



of water that must be applied by irrigation, and that frequent tillage 

 and a little water will give better results than little or no cultivation 

 and a large amount of water. The amount of water required will 

 also depend on the season and the character of the soil. Thus on strong 

 soils and after a heavy rainfall no irrigation will be required, while 

 sandy soils will need irrigating as often as once in three or four weeks 

 from May to October. As a general rule, two or three irrigations in 

 a season will be ample. When used at all, water should be applied in 

 sufficient quantities to wet down to the roots of the trees. Frequent 

 scanty waterings may do much harm. The water is usually applied 

 in furrows, and for young trees there should be one on either side of 

 each row, but as the roots extend the number should be increased, 

 until when five or six years old the entire orchard should be irrigated 

 from furrows 4 or 5 feet apart. In Florida, irrigation is not prac- 

 ticed. 



Cover-cropping in winter is now common in Florida and California, 

 some of the leguminous crops being used. 



Varieties of the orange. 



Among the best varieties are: Bahia, commonly known as Wash- 

 ington Navel, Thompson Improved, Maltese Blood, Mediterranean 

 Sweet, Paper Rind St. Michael, and Valencia. Homosassa, Magnum 

 Bonum, Nonpareil, Boone, Parson Brown, Pineapple, and Hart are 

 favorites in Florida. The tangerines and mandarins, or the '' kid- 

 glove " oranges, have a thin rind that is easily detached from the rather 

 dry pulp. Orange trees are frequently injured by various scale in- 

 sects, but for several of the most troublesome kinds, insect parasites 

 have been found that keep them partially or wholly in check, and for 

 others the trees are sprayed, or furaigated with hydrocyanic acid gas. 



Peach. — Given the proper exposure, peaches may be fruited in 

 many sections where now it is thought impossible to have a crop. It 

 is usually the practice of the amateur to set peach trees in the shelter 

 of some building, exposed on the south or east to the sun, and " m a 

 pocket" as regards winds. This should be reversed, except in the 

 close vicinity of large bodies of water. The fruit-buds of peaches will 

 stand very cold weather when perfectly dormant, often as low as 12*^ 



