70 ORANGE CULTURE IN FLORIDA. 



soon perish. Should they die before setting, cut 

 them off, for if left on after they have died they will 

 only impede the starting of new rootlets. Keep 

 them protected up to the moment of setting, taking 

 but one tree at a time from its covering of moss. 

 To insure still further against damage to the tender 

 roots, have on hand a half barrel of muck made 

 into a thin paste, and as fast as the trees are lifted 

 and the roots trimmed, plunge the roots into this 

 paste, take them out, and wrap in moss. 



The holes for the trees should be freshly dug. 

 The work of setting is easily and rapidly done by 

 three hands working together one to dig the holes, 

 one to prune and set the tree, and a third to fill in. 

 The holes should be dug in the shape of an invert- 

 ed saucer or truncated cone with about two inches 

 of the top cut off. Proceed thus : Around the 

 stake which marks the place for the tap-root, with 

 a shovel or hoe take away the soil, letting the tool 

 strike the top of the soil at the stake, and continue 

 to dig deeper into the soil until at a distance of 

 eighteen inches from the stake it has penetrated six 

 inches below the surface. Proceed thus around the 

 stake until it is completed. This gives the greatest 

 depth of the hole on the outer edge or perimeter 

 of the circle. Now take up the stake, and cut two 

 inches of the top off the cone. Where the stake 

 stood, push down the spade by working it back and 

 forth until it has penetrated the ground about 

 eighteen inches, or the full length of the tap-root 



