CULTIVATION. 77 



from this cause, while others in the immediate vi- 

 cinity were unhurt. Mulching during the winter 

 has a similar effect. In this immediate neighbor- 

 hood an old and beautiful orange tree w r as heavily 

 mulched during winter. It was the only tree hurt 

 by the frost in the grove that was hurt very badly, 

 taking two or three years to recover. While the 

 trees are young, keep the grove clear of grass and 

 weeds, summer and winter. If you mulch during 

 the summer, bury the mulching as the winter ap- 

 proaches ; dig holes and bury the litter. This in- 

 struction is for young and tender trees. When the 

 surface of the ground is well shaded by older trees, 

 general mulching is recommended, as will be seen 

 in another chapter. 



In cultivating the grove with the plow there is a 

 constant tendency of the soil to pile up around the 

 trunk of the tree. This should be watched, and if 

 the crown of the lateral surface roots is a half inch 

 below the surface, from this or from deep planting, 

 the soil should be drawn from around the trunk till 

 the upper sides of these roots are brought to the top 

 of the ground. If the upper parts of these roots 

 are left bare for one or two inches, where trees are 

 five or six years old, and for a greater distance 

 where the trees are older, these roots develop very 

 rapidly, and not only furnish stout braces to the 

 trunk, but great arteries for conveying life and 

 food from the soil. This point is so little under- 

 stood and attended to by many cultivators that it 



