PREPARATIONS FOR PLANTING. 235 



erally give excellent results on new ground. Mr. W. S. 

 Hart, of Hawks' Park, Fla., a successful grower of 

 more than twenty-five years' experience, makes the follow- 

 ing statement regarding this method of preparation : "The 

 quickest profits that I ever realized from an orange grove 

 was where I thoroughly worked the soil and planted it 

 in cowpeas the first year after clearing, and before I set 

 the trees." 



Cultivation. Before planting the trees the ground 

 should be put in thorough tilth. It should be loosened 

 up and stirred. It is not advisable to turn the top soil 

 under unless the sub-soil brought to the surface is quite 

 rich. But the soil should be stirred to a good depth in 

 all cases. If the lower soil is firm and compact, a sub- 

 soil plow should be used to loosen the soil sufficiently to 

 allow the roots to penetrate. After the plowing, the cul- 

 tivator or harrow should be used. This followed by the 

 float or planker will leave the ground smooth and mellow, 

 in excellent condition, both for staking off and for plant- 

 ing. 



Dead furrows should be avoided unless it is desired 

 to use them as open ditches afterward. To do this the 

 plowing should be done from a line down the center of 

 the field, two furrows being first thrown together, then 

 others added on either side until the work is completed. 



GROVE PLANS. 



A number of different systems may be used in the 

 planting of citrus groves. The most important of these 

 are triangular, square or rectangular, hexagonal or sep- 

 tuple, quincunx and double or mixed plantings. 



