CULTIVATION OF THE ORANGE. I'EACH TREES. 



275 



Distances. — The distances at which or- 

 ange trees are planted vary considerably. In 

 a thri\'ing grove I have seen them growing 

 about IG feet apart. It appears that in the 

 iieigliborhood of Seville tliey are planted at 

 the distance of 21 or 2'2 feet. We are in- 

 formed that onuige trees do best when plant- 

 ed rather wide asunder ; lemons are better 

 for being crowded together. This obsena- 

 tion, iiovvever, is rather vague. For oranges 

 against walls or trellises, plant about ten or 

 twelve feet distance, allowing a hirger s]>acc 

 for the citron, lemon, and shaddock. I would 

 say, then, having no infonnation as to tiie dis- 

 tances of others of the species in open com- 

 partments, that any of them may be placed 

 at K)^ feet aport each way, which will tiike 

 IfiO trees to the acre. This would give plenty 

 oi" room for any of tlie sorts for a number of 

 years, and if found too crowded, the supera- 

 bundant trees — say the alternate rows — might 

 be cut out. The distance for planting them 

 appears to vary from 6 to 22 feet, accorduig 

 to circumstances. So long as plants may be 

 obtainable at the low rate at which they now 



the lower Tasfus, and that of the maritime Alps, and 

 the Appenines, in Provence and Liguria, with that 

 of Andalusia. At t^t. Augustine, in Florida, the fruit 

 is generally of a superior quality, owing to some 

 peculiar induence of the soil and climate. The mean 

 annual temperature of that place in ]84;i was "3° K., 

 and in 184:5, 72°. The extreme heats from June to 

 September are usually as high as 9'20; but they 

 have been known to reach 97". The extremes of 

 cold generally range from 38 to4(P ; but sometimes 

 the mercury has fallen as low as 3(P. On the 9th of 

 Fcljruary, 1835, the time that nearly all the orange 

 trees of Florida were cut oti' by frost, it is said that 

 tlie thermometer indicated a temperature of 10 to 

 150. In February, 18"33, as well as in the same 

 month in 1839, the trees also suffered in their ex- 

 treme branches, from the etfect of frost. On the 

 morning of the 9th of Januar)-, 170.5, the thermome- 

 ter stood at 260 at r^t. .Augustine, and the around 



may, I shoiJd say that it could not be wrong 

 to set them ttt the shorter of these distances 

 one way at least, say 6 by 6, or C by 12 ; 

 when found too crow<led, each alternate plant 

 or row iniirht be taken out. I would, how- 

 ever, do this, only where the natural soil is 

 siiittible to the plant, or at least with the ad- 

 dition of manure, and with low-priced trees. 

 Where much e.xpense is required, as in dig- 

 ging dee|) holes, and bringing stiil or compost 

 fiom a distance; or in case of expensive 

 worked |)lants, I would take IG or IG^ feet 

 as the distance. Under waUs, also, or wheiv*- 

 the situation ))roper for them is very confined, 

 I would adopt the plan of short disUmces for 

 obvious rea.sons. The (|uincunx iiiaimer, the 

 plants in one row being opposite the spaces 

 in the ne.xt, seetiis preteinble for plants at 

 short distances at least. 



Beaiii.vg Age. — In Europe the orange be- 

 gins to bear fruit w-hen about 6 or 8 years 

 old. I am not aware of the age at wliich 

 otliers of the species begin to produce. In 

 Western Australia lemons have fniited in 

 several gardens, and I am infoniied they are 

 looking most promising this season. Probably 

 the lemon, when not worked, is the more 

 ])recocions of the two. The writer has had, 

 during the seasons of 1842 and 1843, in his 

 gai(l(;n on the Swan, no less than five orange 

 trees in tlower or liiiit. He believes these are 

 the only oranges which have yet fruited in 

 the Colony, though others have trees very 

 mnch older and larger. This is attiibut<ible 

 entirely to their having been worked. Two 

 of these trees flowered within two years from 

 the bud ! the stocks not being an inch in di- 

 ameter. Nothing can show more clearly the 

 great cflect of working trees — a circumstance 

 lar too little attended to in this coinitry with 

 all fruit trees. He has also liad a hme under 



was frozen to the depth of an inch, on the banks of j two feet hisrh ui flower, and has a citron now 

 the St. John's. This extreme cold proved fatal to the i „, t„ i^ , -.u „ e » r •» 



orange and many other tree.=. bending down With magmiiceut truit. ^ 



[ Browne — Trees of America. I 



"Wc must here stop short with our extracts. The subject will be concluded 

 in the next number, in Avhich it will be treated under the heads of Propagation, 

 Budding, Grafting, Seed and Seedlings, Layers, Cuttings, Training an» 

 Pruning, Insects ; together with a list of the varieties of the sweet orange, un- 

 der the head Desiderata — concluding with a note on the subject of Insects 

 which have proved so destructive to orange orchards in Florida. True, we 

 have not as many readers as we could wish, in a region to which we plead 

 guilty to the charge of partiality ; but that is no reason why we should not have 

 more ; at all events, those we have there, are " some," in quality at least ! 



RENOVATION OF PEACH TREES.— The peach tree, in this climate, is liable to ser- 

 end diseases. When it is obser\-ed to sicken, no time should be lost in carefully removing 

 the soil from the roots, and sujiplying its place with charcoal. A fiiend infonns us that 

 during the past season a veiy healthy tree in his garden sviddenly sickened and began to 

 cast its foliage. He adopted the measure above prescribed, and was stuprised at the sud- 

 denness of its renovation. 

 (563) 



