96 CITRUS CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



A REVISION. 



I hope to revise this edition at an early date. In the mean- 

 time I would be glad to be informed of any error or omission 

 that unintentionally I may have made. 



CONCLUSION. 



I regret exceedingly that I have not been able to visit the 

 citrus orchards that in recent years have been planted in the 

 northern and central part of the State. 



I had the pleasure, however, of viewing (last year and this 

 year) two exhibits from that section that were exceedingly 

 fine. The fruit was large and bright, and entirely free from 

 smut, but not ripe, as in December there are no ripe oranges in 

 this State; but being highly colored, they reminded me of 

 about fifteen or twenty years ago, when we gathered such fruit 

 from our trees in Los Angeles, which was in those days sold 

 to dealers at from $30 to $50 per thousand. 



Such a thing as an orange box was then unknown to us. 

 The fruit was gathered and piled into heaps ; from these heaps 

 they were counted and packed into whatever boxes the deal- 

 ers could obtain. The fruit was very bright and large. Grow- 

 ers desiring to improve the quality of their fruits imported 

 foreign varieties, and in so doing introduced many insect pests 

 that were unknown to us, and which soon found a home in our 

 groves. They were left to increase, as we did not know what 

 they were, and their presence was only felt when our trees no 

 longer produced the fine and large bright fruit once borne by 

 them. 



The utmost care should be exercised in taking nursery stock 

 from infested localities to places not infested. To be safe no 

 man should ever take a tree to his home except it be from dis- 

 tricts entirely free from all insect pests. 



If my investigations, and the task that I imposed upon my- 

 self in the preparation of these chapters, shall aid the progress 

 of horticulture in this State, I am happy and satisfied. 



