1158 



ORANGE 



this line Has been the banking of tree-trunks with soil 

 up to a height of 1-4 ft., which in the event of freezing 

 carries the budded stem safely through the winter and 

 saves considerable growth. This is only a makeshift, 

 however, to preserve the budded variety and does not 

 protect the top or bearing part of the tree, so that many 

 forms of tents for covering the whole tree have been 

 devised, with heating apparatus. Sheds have also been 

 made with tight walls, covering large areas of trees and 

 having either slatted or movable roofs : during severe 

 cold, open fires, aided by the high walls, keep the 

 temperature above the freezing point. There is also 

 the possibility of warming the air by means of sprays 

 of water, forced from set nozzles by a steam pump, as 

 the temperature of well water in Florida is constantly 

 about 75° Fahr. or warmer. Under sheds trees may be 

 set closer and kept at the very highest state of growth, 

 removing crowded trees from time to time as it may be 

 CKpedient. 



The gathering of the Orange crop may proceed some- 

 what at the will of the owner; picking, of course, pro- 

 ceeds with the ripening of the different varieties, the 

 early sorts being fit to gather in October, weeks or 

 months before medium and late ripening sorts : all 

 varieties will keep in perfection for several weeks while 



never pulled, as a rough treatment would cause early 

 decay. Packing is carried on quite uniformly in a 

 great degree of perfection through all the Orange sec- 

 tions of the country; the main essentials to success 

 are a slight wilting of the fruit (two or three days), 

 and a firm, but not extreme degree of pressure, in each 

 package. E. N. Reasoner. 



OrangeCultuee in the Mississippi Delta. — From the 

 early settlement of Li.uisianii to the present day Orange 

 culture has roi-i i X c M iii.nii-i, in the lower Mississippi 

 valley. Until rc<^ : - .f sweet Oranges were 



planted and tli. > i _ n -planted in and around 



the yards and ru \ , n-ive groves were grown 



until aft'T til.- r|. I ii., cj.ilwar. At first groves of 

 seedliTiL' 11 I I ■ !'■ planted and these proved ex- 



ceediiiL-i .i- to the very cold spell of 189,'), 



which .!■ I .!,, i-very one in the state. In the 



meanwlnli r\i,n,i\. .vperiments had been made in 

 budding thi- choice varieties of sweet Oranges on various 

 kinds of stocks, and many of the experiments demon- 

 strated the power of resisting the cold by certain kinds 

 of stocks, notably the Citrus trifoUafa. Accordingly 

 many of the old groves and a number of new ones 



.ibina 



ifoli. 



it was found that the 

 lese varieties njion the 



ence caused an adoption of th.' (',/,„ ihc 



chief stock for future groves. .\. ',-.,,■, \, u j i :! , ' .if 

 the groves planted since that time ii;i\<' Im.h w ihi ilns 

 stock. 



But there is a frost limit beyond which this combina- 

 tion is destroyed. This was evidenced by the unprece- 

 dented freeze of February, 3899, which again destroyed 

 nearly every grove in the state. Since that time Orange 

 planting has made very slow progress, and only a few 

 large groves are to-day to be found in the state. The 

 industry is, however, so profitable that a renaissance 

 may be expected at an early day. The budded trees 

 bear early and yield profitable returns in three to five 

 years after being transplanted iu the grove. The city 

 of New Orleans furnishes a home market for all that 

 can be raised, and the Louisiana Or;nii.^»^ is about one 

 month ahead of those of FInri. 1.1 :,im1 -. . i,,l ii,..i,il,~ nli. ad 

 of California in ri|iiiiiii^'. ,ii ' i • ■!,.. 



marketwhen, on account I.I .:. I ul. 



These facts, coupled with till n ;,. ml, 



requiring no fertilizers, ami tin ai.;.:, : : 1,- 



pensing with irrigation, make OraiiL-i il- 



ingly profitable in Louisiana, and tin ■ is 



an occasional blizzard frotn the northw I i ; i is 



gulf-ward the usually balmy climatr ,iiiil 1 1 tni" in ily 

 chills the groves. At rare intervals these blizzards are 

 so intense as to destroy tree and fruit. 



How to protect groves against these destructive 

 frosts is to-day the "burning question "with the Orange 

 growers. Flooding the orchard with water from the 

 river upon the approach of a freeze has been practiced 

 upon a large scale without complete success. 



The practice of banking the tree — piling the soil around 

 the stem to a height of a few fi-rt iFis!-. l.')i;il)-on the 

 approach of a blizzard whose intinsity ;iiid time of coming 

 are usually predicted by the gov. rnmiiit \vi;itber bureau, 

 is now almost universally adopt. -.1 as tin- b.st jirotection 

 against excessive cold. This baukiuj,' retains vitality inthe 

 main trunk, and while the outer limbs are killed young 

 shoots will start from the tree when the soil is removed 

 and spring advances. This practice gives only partial 

 protection. The tree is virtually destroyed, but new 

 si Is from till- i.rol.-i-t.-.l trunk will s.h.ti appear and 



were planted in budded stocks, using the buds of se- 

 lected trees of sweet Oranges and establishing them 

 upon the Citrus trifoliata. 



Budded stock has thus entirely superseded sweet seed- 

 lings. The sour Orange, the bitter-sweet Orange, the 

 rough lemons, the grape-fruit or pomelo and the Citrus 

 trifoliata have all been used successfully as stock for 

 the sweet Orange. In the meanwhile several hardy 

 Japanese varieties, including the .Satsuma. Mandarins 

 and Tangerines, were introduced and budded upon va- 

 rious kinds of stock. In 1895, with the temperature going 



fruit, the Kui.i.|.i,-.t ami iIh- iril..liata, are all 

 grown quite laiyely in L.-uisiana. The .Myrtle 

 and the Otaheite are occasionally found as orna- 

 mental trees. 



directly 

 done at 

 any time of the year from early spring to late 

 fall. When performed in the fall, the buds re- 

 main dormant through the winter. The various 

 stocks have particular merits for special s^.ils 

 and other conditions, and seviralliiil :ii. i-..!, 

 as already said; but when tie I ' to 



successful Oraua-e culture i- Ir 



considerations must be dispell-. 'i -in il\ 



the most resistant stocks us..l. Th. -. are, 

 first. Citrus trifoliata, and, second, sour Orange. 

 Hence nearly all the Louisiana groves are on 

 these two stocks, a large majority being on the 

 former. 



Planting a grove is always preceded by a nur- 

 sery. The latter is made by planting the seed of the 

 Citrus trifoliiila or sour Orange. When the young 

 trees are one to two years old they are shield-budded 

 with buds from selected varieties. One year after, 

 these buds are large enough to be transplanted to the 

 grove. 



The soil of the grove is thoroughlv prepared and pul- 

 verized, and well drained. The tree's are plaiite.l at in- 

 ti-rvals .if -^^^ T'l 4" feet apart both ways, an.l tli.- L^rl.^-e is 

 ,-\iltiv,-ii.il until the trees are large em.iiL'li t.. -Innl.- the 

 griiumi. Afi. r that only the weeds an.l liti-!ii - ai-. kef.t 



