Fruit Growing 57 



to be continuous. It would be better to do this than to undertake 

 any radical removal of the lower branches. Tlic progressive re- 

 moval as becomes necessary will not appreciably reduce the fruit- 

 ing and will be in many wa3'S desirable. 



Keeping Citrus Trees Low. 



My tangerines last fall shot %it> like lemon trees — a dozen to twenty 

 shoots two or three feet high. The trees are eight years old and are 

 loaded zvith bloom and some of the shoots have buds and bloom clear to 

 the top. Some shoots have no bloom. What should I do with these 

 shoots? Cut them back like lemons or let them remain? 



You must shorten the shoots if you desire to have a low tree. 

 This will cause their branching and it will be necessary, therefore, 

 to remove some of the shoots entirely, either now or later, in order 

 that the tree will not become too compact. 



Dying Back of Fruit Trees. 



/ have a fetv orange and lemon frees that are starting to die. One 

 tree has died on the top. What kind of spray shall I nsef 



The dying back of a tree at the top indicates that the trouble 

 is in the roots, and it is usually due to standing water in the soil, 

 resulting either from excessive application of water or because the 

 soil is too retentive to distribute an amount of water which might 

 not be excessive on a lighter soil which would allow of its freer 

 movement. Dig down near the tree and see if you have not a muddy 

 subsoil. The same trouble would result if the subsoil is too dry, 

 and that also you can ascertain by digging. If you find moisture ample, 

 and yet not excessive, the injury to the root might be due to the presence 

 of alkali, or to excessive use of fertilizers. The cause of the trouble 

 has to be determined by local examination and cannot be prescribed 

 on the basis of a description of the plant. It cannot be cured by 

 spraying unless specific parasite is found which can be killed by it. 



Young Trees Dropping Fruit. 



/ have a fezv citrus fruit trees about three years old. They have made 

 a good growth and are between seven and eight feet high with a good 

 shaped top or head. I did not expect any fruit last year and did not have 

 any. This spring they blossomed irregularly at blooming time, but quite 

 an amount of fruit set and grew as large as marbles, some of it the size 

 of a walnut, but lately it has about all fallen off the trees. 



There is always more or less dropping from fruit trees. Some 

 years large numbers of oranges drop. There may be many causes, 

 and the trouble has thus far not been found preventable. When the 

 foliage is good and the growth satisfactory, the young tree is cer- 

 tainly not in need of anything. It is rather more likely that fruit 

 is dropped by the young trees owing to their excessive vegetative 

 vigor, for it is a general fact that fruit trees which are growing 



