CHAPTER XXIX. 

 LOCATING THE CITRUS GROVE. 



In selecting a location for planting a grove of citrus 

 trees a number of points have to be carefully considered. 

 The facilities for transportation, the susceptibility of the 

 region to frosts, the nature and direction of the prevailing 

 winds, the exposure and the insect problem must all be 

 studied in their relation to the prospective gains, the wel- 

 fare of the trees and the quality of the output. 



Citrus fruits have a great advantage over many other 

 kinds of fruit. They are not perishable in the same sense 

 that plums and peaches are, and after being removed from 

 the trees they may be kept for weeks, even with ordinary 

 care. Their ability to withstand the inroads of decay 

 producing organisms is not dependent upon the resist- 

 ant power of the inner portion of the fruit, but upon the 

 leathery nature of the cured rind. Their keeping quality 

 has an important bearing on the transportation problem. 

 With proper care they may be shipped to any of the 

 world's great markets. 



The susceptibility of citrus trees to injury from frost 

 decrees that they must be grown in regions far from the 

 effects of rigorous cold and such sections are far distant 

 from the great markets of the United States in the North- 

 east and Middle West. Consequently, it is impossible 

 to produce the fruit in proximity to the markets and this 

 phase of the question may be dismissed. 



But in regions where the fruit is grown it is best, other 

 things being equal, to locate the grove in proximity to a 

 railroad station or steamboat landing. Transportation 

 by team is expensive and a distance of five, ten or fifteen 



