ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



59 



A section of the six-year-old Valencia Late Orange Orchard belonging to the author, located in Exeter. The trees 

 are loaded with a very heavy crop of fruit. They have been pruned regularly every year. 



fifteen to twenty feet apart. The tree likes a moist 

 soil, and in California a lime grove should be liberally 

 irrigated. The tendency to form a dense bushy head 

 should be encouraged. 



The citron is more tender than the lemon, there- 

 fore it should be planted where there is very little 

 danger from damage by frost. The trees are very 

 striking when loaded down with their long, rough- 

 skinned fruits in contrast with the large crinkled 

 leaves of the trees. The only use for the fruit is for its 

 candied rind. The method for preparing this fruit is 

 as follows: Place the citron whole in strong brine for 

 one month; take the fruit out and parboil it in clear 

 water until it comes to a boiling point; then cut in 

 halves lengthwise and remove the pulp and seeds. 

 Place these halves in clear water for about three days 

 until the salt is soaked out; then make a hot syrup of 

 sugar and pour over the fruit, completely covering it. 

 Allow it to stand in this for a period of twenty-four 

 hours. Draw off the syrup, boil it as before, and again 

 pour over the fruit. It remains in this syrup for a 

 period of three weeks. The syrup is then again drawn 

 off, the fruit is dropped into it and boiled for five min- 

 utes. It should remain in this syrup for a period of two 

 days, when the citron is taken out, sugar is sprinkled 

 over it, and it is allowed to dry. No one has ever 

 deemed it worth while to engage in the business of pro- 



cessing the citron commercially, although very fine 

 experimental lots have been produced. Experts have 

 pronounced the local article as being very meritorious. 

 The tree grows very much like the lemon except that it 

 is of dwarf habit. 



SOIL AND SITUATION 



An ideal location for a citrus grove may be defined as 

 a piece of land having a westerly slope with a range of 

 hills to the east. The advantage of such a location is 

 that in the winter months, when there is a spell of cold 

 weather, the ground absorbs the heat more rapidly 

 from the sun's rays (due to its slope), and in the morn- 

 ing, in the case of a severe frost, the shadow from the 

 hills to the eastward causes a thawing out of the foliage 

 and the fruit to be very gradual, thus reducing the in- 

 jury to a minimum. The serious injury to tender plant 

 growth, in case of a heavy frost, is due to the sudden 

 changes in temperature when the sun's rays strike the 

 trees, causing a sudden thawing out and thus injuring 

 the sap cells. It is only within the last few years that 

 we are beginning to appreciate the important part that 

 air currents play in the growing of the tender fruits. 

 Where such currents are known to exist they have a 

 very important bearing in the development of a grove. 

 For a number of years I have observed the difference in 

 climate in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, 



