6 ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



depth of not less than nine inches, from one to four days before 

 transplanting, the length of time depending on the nature of the 

 soil. It is preferable to have the plants growing at the time of 

 their removal. Never remove the plants, under any circum- 

 stances, from a hard, dry soil. A common short-handled spade 

 is the best to loosen plants with. Press the blade perpendicu- 

 larly into the ground and draw it backwards and forwards to 

 loosen the plants. Immediately after pulling the plants put 

 them in the shade, never exposing them unnecessarily to sun- 

 shine or wind. Sort them after having pulled a few hundred, 

 or at the most a thousand or two, making three grades. Prune 

 the roots and tops, leaving about six inches in length of each. 

 Dip the roots into a bucket of soil wet to a proper consistency 

 with water; this process is called puddling. This coats the 

 roots of the plants with soil, which adheres to them and pre- 

 vents damage from necessary exposure. This wet mud, known 

 among nurserymen as grout, should be composed of rich soil of 

 a sandy nature, with a very small portion of clay to make it ad- 

 hesive. The plants are frequently puddled before sorting, and 

 the sorting done at leisure. This is not usually done unless the 

 plants are to be moved a long distance, and even then it is not 

 always done. The sorting can be done more expeditiously be- 

 fore puddling. Set the plants in small boxes about a foot in 

 depth. If it be desired to set only first-class plants, the smaller 

 can advantageously remain another year in the seed-bed ; but 

 when removing all the plants, all inferior ones should be re- 

 jected; and even if allowed to remain another year before trans-, 

 planting they will not be so good as the larger plants. A poor, 

 dwarfed plant makes, as a rule, a poor, dwarfed tree, and it is 

 best to destroy such plants. Take the plants to the nursery 

 and place them in boxes of convenient size for the laborers, 

 each of whom should take a box of plants, and, getting down 

 on his knees (if he has never been on his knees before this will 

 be a good time for initiating him), he should set the box at a 

 convenient distance before him. He should take a plant in the 

 left hand, and with the right place the point of a nurseryman's 

 dibble at the intersection of the cross made by the line and the 

 implement used for marking. Press the tool down the whole 



