NEW GUIDE TO ORANGE CULTURE. 



land, may be permanently stunted. Soil intended for orange trees should 

 be thoroughly broken up and pulverized before the trees are planted. If 

 the soil is not naturally dry, it requires draining. Where there is sufficient 

 descent, under-dralnage should be used it is more effectual and less ex- 

 pensive in the end. 



Season for Transplanting. Orange trees should be transplanted during the 

 winter, when they are not making new wood. We begin moving nursery 

 stock and large trees on our own place as soon as they stop growing in the 

 fall usually in November and continue the operation until they show 

 signs of starting in the spring. Thousands of trees are lost annually by 

 being moved late in the season, when they are full of sap and growing rap- 

 idly. The most favorable time is during the month of January and the 

 early part of February. Trees commence growing in February, and should 

 never be moved after the fifteenth of this month. Some years small trees 

 can be safely transplanted in the rainy season of the summer, but it is bet- 

 ter to defer it until winter. 



Choice of Trees. Young, transplanted trees from the nursery should be se- 

 lected ; they have well-developed fibrous roots, are little retarded by mov- 

 ing, and easily adapt themselves to the various circumstances of soil, loca- 

 tion, etc. The orange does not reproduce itself with certainty from the seed. 

 Seedling trees are much longer in attaining maturity than budded trees, and 

 have no advantages over the latter. Budded trees should therefore be se- 

 lected in all cases. So-called "sour stocks" are more hardy and vigorous 

 than the sweet ; they are especially adapted to low land, where the latter 

 do not thrive. Sweet stocks are admissible on the high lands, and are pre- 

 ferred by some. A bud of one or two years' growth on a stock three or 

 four years old, is the most profitable and convenient size and age, 



Varieties.- The Navel ranks first, in our opinion, among the different va- 

 rieties of the orange. It possesses all the desirable qualities of our native 

 fruit ; its distinguishing mark will always give it a high market value, and 

 prevent deception on the part of dealers. While not as prolific as some 

 varieties, it is unusually large. The Du Roi, if marketed early in the sea- 

 son before its ribs become indistinct, like the above, has the advantage of a 

 distinguishing mark. During the past few years many fine native varieties 

 have been brought to public notice. These are all very similar, the differ- 

 ence between them being too slight to distinguish them in market, and of 

 little importance to growers generally, though of interest to amateurs. 

 The Peerless, which stands first in our list of native varieties, has no su- 

 perior among those which have been produced in the State. It has been in- 

 troduced by ourselves, and, after testing its merits for several years, we 

 recommend it for general culture. The Magnum Bonum, Ilomosassa, and 

 Nonpareil, named and classified by the Nomenclature Committee of the 

 Florida Fruit Growers' Association, have acquired a deservedly high repu- 



