232 AGRICULTURE 



field or a vegetable garden. The irrigated orchards of the 

 Southwest require a little different type of management 

 owing to the peculiar conditions under which the land is 

 handled. Most of the irrigation of citrus orchards is done 

 by surface irrigation, bringing the water from its source 

 to the head of the orchard by means of lateral ditches and 

 then distributing by sublaterals, furrows or corrugations. 

 The water is conveyed from this head ditch down through 

 the orchard and is absorbed by the root system by means 

 of radiation. 



Annual pruning, thinning and spraying of the orchards 

 is of greatest importance in the management of citrus fruits. 

 The neglect of these usually means not only a defeat for 

 the following year, but an enormous loss for a number of 

 succeeding years. 



Picking and packing. Great care and skill are re- 

 quired in the picking and packing of all citrus fruit. In 

 the best commercial orchards we find great packing plants 

 erected at considerable expense where the fruit is not only 

 sorted and carefully crated, but washed and polished and 

 then wrapped and placed in neat packages or in boxes 

 ready for the market. Those who would make a success 

 of citrus fruit production need to give a great deal of time 

 and attention to this particular phase of the work. 



Marketing. Most of the citrus fruit at the present 

 time is marketed through various associations. The indi- 

 vidual grower is at a disadvantage when it comes to mar- 

 keting his products, first, because he does not have enough 

 in quantity to command the attention of leading buyers ; 

 second, because he can not secure the same transportation 

 rates given to larger concerns ; third, because he does not 

 have time to study the markets and so exercise the best busi- 

 ness judgment in a matter so essential to a profitable return 

 from his fruit. The importance of the marketing end of this 



