CULTURE OF FRUITS AND NUTS 225 



right time as to use the right mixture. The successful 

 gardener must understand his fruit trees and the habits of 

 their enemies. 



TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION 



1. Make a list of all your home fruits by varieties. 



2. Is your fruit garden well cultivated and free from 

 weeds? Are any of the plants sod-bound? Is mulching 

 used? 



3. Learn to identify surely and quickly each of the 

 different fruit trees, shrubs and vines, either when in 

 foliage or dormant. 



4. Go with your teacher or some expert gardener to 

 some near-by fruit garden and learn how and why the dif- 

 ferent plants should be pruned. Is your home orchard well 

 pruned ? 



5. Bring specimen branches or stems of the different 

 garden fruits and show where and how the fruit is borne. 

 Make a drawing in each case. 



6. Is your fruit garden regularly sprayed? What kind 

 of spray machine is used? What mixtures? What ene- 

 mies are most troublesome in the case of each fruit? 



7. Make a collection of all the different insects and 

 fungi you can find that damage fruit in your region. Learn 

 to identify each. What spray is used for each ? 



8. Estimate the value of the fruit produced in your 

 home garden last year. Did it pay for the ground occu- 

 pied, the expense and the time used ? How can the amount 

 of fruit and its net profit be increased? What are your 

 plans in this direction for next year ? 



2. Commercial Citrus Fruit Orchards 



The citrus fruits constitute one of our most important 

 orchard crops. The orange, the lemon and the grapefruit 

 are coming into even greater use than the apple or other 

 staple fruits. The lime and the tangarine are also growing 

 in favor, and are finding a place in the citrus orchards 



