CULTIVATION OF CITRUS GROVES. 273 



cations of fertilizers to citrus trees unless the soil be 

 plentifully supplied with humus. 



DEPTH OF CULTIVATION. 



It is always preferable to prepare the ground well 

 before the trees are planted. The earth should be well 

 stirred and free from roots and stumps. During the first 

 years of the life of the young grove, the ground may be 

 plowed, if deemed advisable, provided always that the 

 plow is not run deep close up to the trees. The tree rows 

 should be cultivated comparatively shallow. This treat- 

 ment Avill have a tendency to send the roots deeper into 

 the soil as they spread out from the tree. If plowing is 

 resorted to, the depth should be varied from year to year, 

 so that the soil may not become hard and compact at a 

 certain fixed depth, as is likely to be the case if the plow 

 is always run at the same distance from the surface. 



Florida. When the trees have attained considerable 

 size and the roots have occupied the whole space between 

 the tree rows, the plowing should be very shallow, or 

 should be abandoned entirely, the plow giving place to 

 the cultivator. The method followed in the old groves 

 around Orange Lake was to give three or four hoeings 

 during the year, all the cultivation the trees received, and 

 results were highly satisfactory. The plow as an imple- 

 ment for continuous cultivation should not be used. If 

 used at all, plowing should be done only during the dor- 

 mant period, early in spring or late in autumn. Its use 

 after this time should not be resorted to. Large numbers 

 of roots are broken or torn by the plow as a result of 

 which new ones are formed rapidly, food is absorbed in 

 great quantities and a die-back condition only too fre- 

 quently results. 



