NEW GUIDE TO ORANGE CULTURE. 



tation. Old Yini, Arcadia, Sweet Seville, etc., are also excellent varieties. 

 The Egg and Tardiff are especially valuable for home consumption, the 

 former being very early and the latter very late. No grove is complete with- 

 out a few Mandarin trees. The Bijou is the best for general culture and 

 home use. The China is very ornamental, and may be regarded as the 

 type of the species. We regard the French's Seedling Lemon as being the 

 best grown in the State. It is in no way inferior to the European fruit, and 

 we have no hesitancy in recommending its culture for market. The Lamb 

 Lemon is an excellent fruit, regarded by many as the best. The Florida 

 lime is superior to the lemon as an acid fruit for home use ; it is also a profi- 

 table market fruit. 



Distance Apart. Sweet Seedlings grow larger than budded trees, and bud- 

 ded trees on sweet stocks than those on sour. Sweet seedlings should be 

 set thirty feet apart ; budded trees on sweet stocks, twenty-five feet, and on 

 sour, twenty feet apart. Trees can be set much closer in garden culture, 

 where root pruning is periodically practiced, or where dwarf trees are used. 



Planting. In its normal condition the large brace roots of the orange tree 

 are exposed above the ground at the collar. Deep planting is a prolific 

 source of disease, and, if the tree survives, there is little prospect of its ever 

 becoming vigorous. This occasions more of loss and failure in orange cul- 

 ture than all other causes combined. After the trees have been set out they 

 will settle several inches, and should therefore be raised three or four inches 

 above the surface, even on the highest land. On low land they should 

 be raised even higher, and it is a good plan to place the trees on a ridge 

 sloping down gradually to a water furrow in the center of the row. In our 

 practice, we never dig a hole for a tree, but thoroughly pulverize the soil 

 and spread the lateral roots above the surface ; when the trees have settled 

 they remain but little, if any, above their former level. Before planting, 

 the broken roots should be removed with a sharp knife, and the branches 

 cut back fully half their length. Immediately before putting the trees in 

 the ground it is well to dip the roots in a thin mud made of rich soil. The 

 earth should be pressed carefully and firmly about the roots with the hand, 

 giving them as nearly as possible their former position. The use of water 

 while planting hinders the operation, but if the ground is dry, should be 

 plentifully applied when the work is finished. It is better to select a cool, 

 wet time than to depend on watering. Trees from the nursery should be 

 "healed in " when received, and planted out at leisure. In the winter they 

 will remain safely in this condition for several weeks. 



Mulching. Whether the season be wet or dry, the trees should be well 

 mulched at the time of planting. This is always a benefit to newly-planted 

 trees, and in dry seasons, serves to keep the ground moist and the trees 

 fresh until they are firmly established. Grass, leaves, or other light litter, 

 makes the best mulch. Nothing containing woody fiber will do, as it breeds 



