ORANGE 



Another prominent stock for citrous trees is the wild 

 liurcly Citrus trifoliata 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 agiiinst iuld, as well 

 as earlier ripening of fruit ; the tni- it-, if 1.1. .mhi- very 



now being largely planted, worki-.l t.. all \an.tiis of 

 Orange, pomelo, kumquat, etc., with more or li->s like- 

 lihood of successful fruition. It will probably never 

 be wanted as a stock in localities fiee fiom frosts The 

 Orange tree is also worked to a small extent on the 

 roots of othei 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 usuallj effected 

 by seed For sweet seedlings intended for orchard 

 planting the seed is < iiefuUj "elected fi jiii the fiuit 

 of ^ery best qualities and only the M.;orous pUiits are 

 saved fir the nurserj to be worked h^, liu Unig oi 

 grafting n vimus sorts the seed is tikm turn an\ 

 fruit a\ 111 II \\h th i gcod in quilitv or not The 

 seeds 11 |M / 1 It t the fiuit b-i hand ifter cut 

 ting th 1 lilt illowed to dn The seed of 



Citru!, till 111 \ 1 dried as it keeps longer 

 without 1 t Mt lin t 



beed-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 .■h.ini.al f.rtilizer. Seed should be 

 sown thickly on tin- 1...-. -.il an.l pressed down well 

 before covering ; s.il ..t tl..- -aioe light nature should 

 now be thrown ev.nly ..v.r th.- surface to a depth of 

 about an inch, and if the be.l 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 bv trees or walls, 

 although the seedlings will grow in full sunshine if 

 only mulched, but require more atteiiti.in in wati-riug. 

 After two to six weeks, according t.. tin warniih ..f tiie 

 weather, the seedlings will appear al...\. tli.' -urface 

 and must be kept as free as possil.l.- if.ini «. . .is, in- 

 sects and fungous diseases. "Daiii|>iti:: ..tV" .'auses 

 much troulile, and whole beds ina\ )..■ L.-t iitiless 

 sprayed in time to check the spr.-a.l ..f tlii- t'iiiii,'..us 



ration to us,., a'ltli. 



of sulfur s,.,,i..tini.s is pffectual. 



The s ihii-- at rii.' a^re of six months, or say during 



the suniiia 1- raiii\ s.as..n, may be planted in nursery 

 rows, about HI X 46 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 

 C-IS in. high, according to variety. Watering i.s 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 tirst 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 

 each 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 budiled 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 biuMing. the hardness of the 

 wood and heat of a warm climate being against success. 

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

 stumps fairly successfull.v, but other forms of grafting 

 usually fail." 



In starting an orchard, the character of soil and 

 drainage niusi; determine the kind of stock to be used. 



ORANGE 



1157 



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 



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, whi-li will 



keep the ground cool. ■!■ an. I si..', m,.] ii. r.,ilni:: arl.l 



humus to the soil. F. i : . - i ! . .■ i . v 

 not be needed if the iia .i ' i i.- 



fruiting commences s..m.' .aiit.in i.- 



needed. If the grower is icii.li-.i.lc.l a~ : . i.; ' il 



lacks, a series of soil analyses may !..■ .. ' . 

 a suggestion. Potash, phosphoric aci.l a i _ . r. 



the main elements in manures, and th. ; . l 



in mixing chemical fertilizers may be r.i.i'l: \:.ii. i t.. 

 suit each particular orchard. The fertilizer may be 

 purchased ready mixed, or the growerby care and study 

 can make his own mixtures, buying the various ingre- 

 dients to best advantage. Sulfate of potash, bone- 

 black, and sulfat.- ..f ,aiiiiii..i.ia ai.' s;,|-,. ;,,i,i favorite 

 chemicals f..r all .■iir..ii- ti. . • I _ is usually 

 done in Dec'iiil..!- aii.l auai.i r M. - ■ : some- 

 times a thir.l a|.|.!i.Mti..ii ma. i.. -....--a., in .-arly au- 



riiltivati..ii lias li.^.ai f..i's.,iin- \.ars along the same 



iziug foU..w.-.l l,y tli..i'..imii liari-..wing all through ue 

 spring and laily suninnr. k...|.iiig weeds and grass well 

 under, and . ..ii-.i\ in^ tin moisture through the spring 

 drought. Aft, r til.' rain- -.atle down in earnest, all cul- 

 tivation is sus|.. n.l. <l ami iln'orchard is sown to various 

 soil-enrichiu:.' t..iai;. i.lanis. or allowed to develop crab- 

 grass. The al. umlaut f..lia-.. of the forage-plants keeps 

 the ground c....!. i ami r.ti.l. is the treeless liable to scald 

 during extritm- ..I In at ami moisture; the forage may 

 be cut and cur.-.l fnr iia\-. I.ut 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 fonns of protection against 

 frost, for Orange trees. The most general work along 



