12 
Citrus and Tropical Fruit Culture 
the best trees. The buds from each tree are kept 
separate and given the number of the parent tree 
and they are delivered to the purchaser under that 
number. We keep all of these numbers separate in 
our nurseries and in delivering trees to our customers 
they come under the same tree numbers, so that if a 
purchaser gets trees marked "Tree No. 3002," he can 
go to the Fruit Growers' Supply Company's records 
and ascertain just what the parent tree record of 
production was. 
do not suffer either from lack of water or cultivation. 
Trees that have been stunted for water usually show 
a lack of fibre roots, a condition that is not desirable 
in young stock and one that tends to make them much 
harder to start when transplanted. We take up our 
trees either balled or open roots, according to the 
wishes of our customers. Before starting to dig we 
cut back the tops to within about six or eight inches 
of the trunk. Too much foliage cannot be left or it 
will cause a greater evaporation than the roots can 
A block of one hundred thousand one-year-old budded citrus trees. 
TRAINING THE YOUNG BUDS 
All of our trees are firmly staked as soon as the 
buds begin to grow and before the new growth has 
hardened, so that they can be tied up perfectly 
straight. The training of the young buds is given 
very close attention so as to insure straight stock. 
Every few days men go over the nursery taking off 
any suckers or sprouts that may appear and tying up 
such new growth as has been made since the preced- 
ing trip. When the trees have reached a heighth of 
thirty or more inches and the wood is well rounded 
out, they are topped at a uniform height of thirty 
inches and allowed to form a head. This tends to 
make the tree fill out and get more stocky, enabling 
it to withstand the wind much better. A low-headed 
tree also has the advantage of shading its own trunk 
from the sun's rays while it is young and tender and 
susceptible to sunburn.. 
During all the time our trees are growing in the 
nursery row we take particular pains to see that they 
stand. In balling extreme care is used in cutting out 
the ball so as not to disturb the root system contained 
therein. As soon as the ball is cut out it is placed in 
a burlap sack and firmly tied so that in handling the 
soil will not be shattered. As soon as this is done 
they are placed in the shade or taken to the lath house 
where they are wet down and heeled in wet shavings 
until wanted by the planter. We advise our cus- 
tomers to let us hold balled stock in the lath house 
for a few days after balling in order to give it a 
chance to recover from the shock of digging. This 
also gives the roots a chance to heel over and the 
tree is in condition to start right off growing as soon 
as set out in the orchard. This is especially advisable 
in late summer planting. 
In taking up open root trees, it is necessary to use 
even more precaution than with balled ones. The 
soil is well irrigated before hand, so that all the fibre 
roots possible may be saved. By careful trenching on 
one side and cutting the tap root, then forcing the 
