PROPAGATION OF CITRUS TREES. 173 



The seedlings should usually be allowed to remain in 

 the seed-bed until they have had one or two season's 

 growth They may be transplanted to the nursery rows 

 when a quarter of an inch or so in diameter at the ground. 

 The best time for transplanting is in winter though the 

 same general laws apply as in transplanting larger trees. 



In digging the seedlings from the seed-bed, the spade 

 should be shoved down beside them to a depth of eight 

 or ten inches. After they are loosened and the tap-root 

 has been severed at about that depth, they may be lifted 

 out readily. Before setting them in the nursery row, the 

 tap-root should be trimmed back to insure a well-branched 

 root system. 



THE NURSERY AND ITS CARE. 



The ground for the nursery should be carefully se- 

 lected. A piece of ground with a rather heavy sub-soil 

 and light, mellow surface scil is best. A good prepa- 

 ration for the nursery is to plant it in beggarweed 

 or velvet beans the year previous to planting, and in reg- 

 ular nursery work, one of these legumes should always be 

 planted after a block of trees is removed. 



Seedlings may be transplanted from the seed-bed to 

 the nursery in November and December. In frosty reg- 

 ions, a furrow may be plowed against each side of the 

 row to protect them from frost. 



Cultivate the ground thoroughly before transplanting 

 and apply commercial fertilizer in rather liberal quanti- 

 ties. One application should be given some time before 

 the seedlings are set out, a second in June and a third in 

 August, about one ton in all per acre. The rows should be 



