lOG Lessons in Fruit Growing, 



B — THE LEMON" 



143. The lemon is a bush or small tree with smooth, 

 yellowish-green shoots. It is less resistant to cold than 

 the orange, and its fruiting branches are longer and more 

 spreading. 



Cultural range. The lemon thrives best in a nearly 

 frostless climate, but requires somewhat less summer heat 

 than the sweet orange — conditions that are found in 

 the United States only in southern Florida, and in the 

 coast region and some interior valleys of southern Cali- 

 fornia. 



144. Culture Of the lemon. The trees are mostly budded 

 on seedlings of the sour orange or "rough lemon" (136). 

 They succeed best on a lighter and warmer soil than is. 

 suited to the orange. The trees are planted 20 to 25 feet 

 apart, and the planting and orchard culture are as described 

 for the orange (138, 139). In Florida the orchard is fertilized, 

 at the rate of 800 to 1,500 pounds per acre, with a mixture 

 of sulfate of potash, sulfate of ammonia and bone black. The 

 trees are pruned by shortening the slender fruiting branches 

 and thinning out the superfluous shoots. 



145. Harvesting: and curing:. The fruits are commonly 

 cut from the tree as fast as they attain a diameter of 2i 

 inches, as measured with an iron ring, usually before they 

 begin to change color. They are handled in shallow boxes, 

 which are piled, with air spaces between, in curing houses 

 arranged to give good ventilation without exposing the 

 fruit to drafts of air or great changes of temperature. The 

 crop is mostly picked in winter, but is not marketed until 

 the next summer. The fruits are packed for market as di- 

 rected for the orange (110). 



