ORANGE 



ORANGE 



1157* 



Another prominent stock for citrous trees is the wild 

 hardy Citrus triflinta of Japan. It is a very thorny 

 deciduous tree of somewhat dwarf habit, succeeding 

 well on good Orange land not too dry. It influences the 

 cion growing upon it to a great extent and causes a 

 considerable increase of hardiness against cold, as well 

 as earlier ripening of fruit ; the tree itself blooms very 

 late in the spring and ripens its fruit comparatively 

 early. In north Florida and along the Gulf coast it is 

 now being largely planted, worked to all varieties of 

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

 lihood of successful fruition. It will probably never 

 he 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 sweet seedlings intended for orchard 

 planting, the seed is carefully selected from the fruit 

 of very best qualities, and only the vigorous plants are 

 saved ; for the nursery, to be worked by budding or 

 grafting to various sorts, the seed is taken from any 

 fruit available, whether 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 sunshine if 

 only mulched, but require more attention in watering. 

 After two to six weeks, according to the warmth of the 

 weather, the seedlings will appear above the surface 

 and must be kept as free as possible from weeds, in- 

 sects and fungous diseases. "Damping off" causes 

 much trouble, and whole beds may be lost unless 

 sprayed in time to check the spread of this fungous 

 trouble. Bordeaux mixture seems to be the best prepa- 

 ration to use, although thorough dusting with flowers 

 of sulfur sometimes is effectual. 



The seedlings 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, how- 

 ever, results when transplanting is done in midwinter 

 with one-year-old plants, which at this age should be 

 6-18 in. high, according to variety. Watering is neces- 

 sary both at time of setting and occasionally afterward, 

 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 tillage is a necessity to 

 produce healthy trees quickly. At the age of three or 

 four years the seedlings are usually budded to the 

 desired varieties just before the growth ceases in the 

 autumn. In spring the tops are cut off a few inches 

 above the live buds, which quickly push out and grow 

 strongly the first few months. Care is now essential in 

 keeping down sprouts from the stock and in training 

 the young bud. Most growers drive a small stake at 

 ach stem and tie the shoot thereto with soft twine, 

 topping it to induce branching at the desired height. 

 After a full season's growth the young budded trees 

 will be well hardened and available for planting out in 

 the permanent orchard during the winter months. 



Grafting the Orange, as well as all citrous trees, is 

 not so certain a process as budding, the hardness of the 

 wood and heat of a warm climate being against success. 

 Bark-grafting, or sprig-budding, is practiced on old 

 stumps fairly successfully, but other forms of grafting 

 usually fail. 



In starting an orchard, the character of soil and 

 drainage must determine the kind of stock to be used. 



The distance apart for standard trees should be, ample, 

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

 set closer. The land must be staked off and holes thor- 

 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 



1559. Mandarin, a Kid-glove Orange. 



nonths, after which it may be thrown back and the 

 surface fertilized (if necessary) a week or more before 

 setting trees. 



The young trees ought to be judiciously pruned at 

 the top to counterbalance loss of roots in digging, and 

 part or all of the 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 

 hot sunshine makes it advisable to leave on some 

 foliage to avoid burning or scalding. Winter trans- 

 planting is preferable in almost every case. 



After transplanting, the trees will be greatly benefited 

 by a mulching of straw, leaves, or trash, which will 

 keep the ground cooler and moister, and in rotting add 

 humus to the soil. Fertilizer during the first years may 

 not be needed if the natural soil is rich, but by the time 

 fruiting commences some elements will probably be 

 needed. If the grower is undecided as to what his soil 

 lacks, a series of soil analyses may be useful in giving 

 a suggestion. Potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen are 

 the main elements in manures, and the formulae used 

 in mixing chemical fertilizers may be readily varied to 

 suit each particular orchard. The fertilizer may be 

 purchased ready mixed, or the grower by care and study 

 can make his own mixtures, buying the various ingre- 

 dients to best advantage. 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 

 spring and early summer, keeping weeds and grass well 

 under, and conserving the moisture through the spring 

 drought. After the rains settle down in earnest, all cul- 

 tivation is suspended and the orchard is sown to various 

 soil-enriching forage-plants, or allowed to develop crab- 

 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 



