ORANGE 



Anotlier promiin-nt stock for citrous trees is the wild 

 harily C'.V, ■ • ', , /. r/.; of Japau. It is a very thorny 

 deciiiii'M In. I -iiuewhat dwarf habit, succeeding 



well ":i I _. land not too dry. It influences the 



cion ^lw^\lu^ :,,' ii it to a great extent and causes a 

 considt.ial.il; iii._ica.>c uf harciine^ss iiL'-ain^t i^nld, as well 

 as earlier ripening of fruit ; tin- i iv, it-, ir 1, 1... mis very 



late in the spring and ripens ii- it.n > |. natively 



early. In north Florida and uLm ; ili. i.iiH . ..asi, it is 

 now being largely planted, W..1L..I 1.. all \ari,.|ies of 

 Orange, pomelo, kumquat, etc., with more or less like- 

 lihood of successful fruition. It will probably never 

 be wanted as a stock in localities free from frosts. The 

 Orange tree is also worked to a small extent on the 

 roots of other citrous trees, as pomelo, lime, bitter-sweet 

 Orange, etc., with more or less success, as the nature 

 of the land determines. 



Propagation of these various trees is usually effected 

 by seed. For s\v...'t s.^'.-lliiigs intended for orchard 

 planting, the ^...1 i- . 1 i.inlly selected from the fruit 

 of very best <|ii .1 I ii .i 1 1 >■ the vigorous plants are 



saved; for tli. , I"- worked by budding or 



grafting to vari .m ..n . li..- seed is taken from any 

 fruit available, whctlur good in quality or not. The 

 seeds are squeezed out of the fruit by hand, after cut- 

 ting the skin, and not allowed to dry. The seed of 

 Citrus trifoliata may be dried, as it keeps longer 

 without loss of vitality. 



Seed-beds are prepared by thoroughly digging and 

 pulverizing the soil, which should be of a light or 

 sandy nature, and, unless of very good quality nat- 

 urally, should be manured slightly with composted 

 stable manure or chemical fertilizer. Seed should be 

 sown thickly on the loose soil and pressed down well 

 before covering ; soil of the same light nature should 

 now be thrown evenly over the surface to a depth of 

 about an inch, and if the bed is considerably exposed to 

 the sun should be mulched lightly with straw or leaves. 

 Planters usually provide a temporary shading for the 

 beds or else select a situation shaded by trees or walls, 

 although the .seedlings will grow in full sunsliin. if 

 only mulched, but require more attention in wal. iiul- 

 After two to six weeks, according to the warmth ..f th.' 

 weather, the seedlings will appear above the siiila ■.' 

 and must be kept as free as possible from wee.N. in 

 sects and fungous diseases. "Damping off" cans. - 

 much trouble, and whole beds may be lost tuiI.- — 

 sprayed in time to check the spread of this fun-.u- 

 trouble. Bordeaux mixture seems to be the best [m pa 



of sulfu 



The sei-dliiiirs at the age of six months, or say during 

 the summer rainy season, may be planted in nursery 

 rows, about 10 x 48 in. apart. Less risk of loss, h. w 

 ever, results when transplanting is done in niidw im. r 

 with one-year-old plants, which at this age shoul.l i- 

 6-18 in. high, according to variety. Watering is \k-i-v-- 

 sary both at time of setting and occasionally afterwunl. 

 unless rains are frequent enough to keep the ground 

 well moistened. 



Fertilizer is used on poor soil about three times per 

 year in the nursery, and clean tillaire is a m-.-i-ssity to 

 produce healthy trees quickly. .\ ( ili. .l-. .1 three or 

 four years the seedlings ar.- 1. , . 1. ,| i., the 



desired varieties just before 111- in the 



autumn. In spring the tops a.. . im-lu-s 



above the live Im.ls, whi.'h .|iii. ■ .1 -r..v 



strongly the lirst ('..«■ III.. ntli-. ( I 



keeping down B|.ri.iits I'n.iii th. n ii . ■: 



the young bud. .Must f,'i-,,w.r- .h: . • -1 : , -i,.!.. :ii 



topping it to i 

 After a full s. 

 will be well li; 

 the : 



ORANGE 



1157 



af the 



permanent .m-liar.l .luniii; tli.. wml. r 



(irtifiing the Orange, as w. II a- till .-i 



not SCI cirtiiin a process as bnd.liiiL'. III. h 



wood and hi^at of a warm climat.. I., iti- tiLMin-i sm^cess. 



Hark-gi-afting, or sprig-budding', i- iirafii....! on old 



sfuUy, but other forms of grafting 



The distance apart for standard trees should lie ample, 

 25-30 ft. seeming about right. Trifoliata stock may be 

 set closer. The land must be staked off and li'..les .-lor- 

 oughly prepared some time before setting trees. If 

 land is newly cleared and somewhat acid, the soil 

 thrown out of the holes may be sweetened by a liberal 

 mixture of fresh lime, and will be benefited if allowed 

 to remain exposed to sun and air for two or three 



Kid-glove Orange. 



Til. \..iiii^' tries ought to be judiciously pruned at 



til. t.,|, I.. iit..rl>alance loss of roots in digging, and 



jKirt or all uf tlie leaves may be removed if transplant- 

 ing takes place in cool weather; the removal of leaves 

 is additional security against loss, less water being 

 needed to establish the roots. In summer, however, the 

 Ih.t siiii-lilii.. Ill iK. - 11 advisable to leave on some 

 t'.iliti.'. I . . I 'ii'iiiL,' or scalding. Winter trans- 



Att. r 1 1 ,.i, ,.: 1,1 I, tii. trees will be greatly benefited 

 l.v a mill- L, 11- ..I -!i;i ., li.tiv.-s, or trash, which will 



li. .'|. til.. ;; II. 1 ..." I ml t ^trr, and in rotting add 



liiiiinist..tli..-.i;! |.. itiiig the first years may 



II. .t l„. 1I.....1...I 11 'ii. i -..! IS rich, but by the time 



iiiiititit,' ...lilt ... . .;... Lilts will probably be 



ii. . .1. .1 II ill. .....I'; 1,.,!. I. Ii'il as to what his soil 



i.'i . . .1.. .1 .1 till .; .- tiitiy be useful in giving 



- ti. I I III ill 1.- acid and nitrogen are 



1 1 . It. -. tiiid the formulae used 



i\:ii , iit/.Ts mav be readily varied to 



till .1. I .hard. The fertilizer may be 



l.iir.liti . i .: ., ..r the grower by care and study 



.till iiitiK. 111^ Hires, buying the various ingre- 



(Urtits 1.1 l.t .^i. aihaiiiago. Sulfate of potash, bone- 

 black, and sulfate of ammonia are safe and favorite 

 chemicals for all citrous trees. Fertilizing is usually 

 done in December and again in May or June; some- 

 times a third application may be necessary in early au- 

 tumn to properly fill out the fruit. 



Cultivation has been for some years along the same 

 lines: light plowing about the time of the winter fertil- 

 izing followed by thorough harrowing all through ne 



:. ' .. .■ . .... . . I : lit.. tlir..ii-h the spring 



tr ..ti..ii 1- -II- 1.. 1..1. .i tiiiil li tviitifl is sown to various 



grass. The abundant foliage of the forage-plants keeps 

 the ground cooler and renders the tree less liable to scald 

 during extremes of heat and moisture; the forage may 

 be cut and cured for hay, but when so doing a return of 

 such loss ought to be made to the orchard, to some ex- 

 tent, from the barn lots, or in applications of mulching 

 or leaf-mold. At all events the orchard should be 

 mowed previous to the time of fruit-gathering. 



Since the destructive freezes of 1894-95 and the fol- 

 lowing three cold winters, growers in the upper portion 

 of Florida have used various forms of protection against 

 frost, for Orange trees. The most general work along 



