172 



CITRU8 FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



The seed should be sowed as soon as all danger of 

 frost is past. Generally the seed is placed in the ground 

 about the first of March, though it may sometimes be 

 safely done a week or two earlier. Much depends upon 

 the location. If a comparatively small number of seed- 

 lings are required, the rows may be placed quite close 

 together, but where seedlings are raised by the thousands, 

 hand labor is too expensive. Cultivation must then be 

 done with a horse or mule and the space between the rows 

 should be sufficiently great to admit of this, two and a 

 half to three feet being about right. The seed should be 

 planted quite thickly, at a depth of three-quarters of an 

 inch or an inch. The ground should be moist at the time 

 of planting to secure the best results. 



Throughout the season the ground 

 should be cultivated thoroughly and fre- 

 quently, and weeds should not be allowed 

 to spring up. In many sections one or 

 two additional applications of commercial 

 fertilizer should be made during the sum- 

 mer. Care must be taken that the seed- 

 lings do not dry out. To prevent this it 

 may be necessary to irrigate, but frequent 

 shallow cultivation, to preserve an earth- 

 mulch will help very materially. Some 

 resort to mulching to prevent the 

 escape of moisture. Both in California 

 and Florida seed-beds are frequently made 

 under lath sheds. These keep the scorch- 

 ing rays of the sun from striking the 

 plants, prevent rapid evaporation and 

 t F ion of pom^eTd afford protection to the young plants 



showing two plant- PO-QITKS+ 

 lets from one seed. Against 



