24 CITRUS TREES AND THEIR DISEASES 



One of the greatest causes for tree diseases is 

 perhaps overlooked by more growers than any one 

 thing, and that is soil conditions under the spread of 

 the tree. For illustration ; you certainly have common 

 sense enough to know that where soil lies dormant 

 under any covering whatsoever, it becomes puttyfied, 

 and I presume you will know that the soil contains 

 fine rootlets close to the surface running pro and con 

 in every direction, which keep the pores of the soil 

 open. You take and put a covering over this condi- 

 tion and these rootlets that keep the soil open soon 

 become dormant and lifeless. 



When your soil reaches this stage the vegetable 

 matter in the soil becomes crystalized ; this takes away 

 the life action of the soil. When this point is reached, 

 then your soil becomes infected with impurities, sour, 

 moldy and greasy-like, without life. This condition 

 existing around the tree is more serious, perhaps, than 

 under some other conditions, as the tree itself, or 

 rather the body of the tree, is like your own body ; it 

 perspires, throws out a secretion. With soil in this 

 condition this secretion acts in the manner as the se- 

 cretion from a man's body thrown into his underwear, 

 which would in due time produce a horrible odor; or 

 if continued for a period of years will absolutely, and 

 I defy contradiction, produce a disease such as would 

 be fitting to the individual, animal or tree. 



Trees have their peculiar diseases, as well as men 

 and all other families, and I am going to say right here 

 something that I am satisfied many of my readers will 

 disagree with me about, but at the same time I have 



