CHAPTER VIII. 



Transplanting to Orchard, 



Transplanting to orchard is generally considered simple and 

 easy, and, with few exceptions, it is done in too much of a 

 hurry. The question is not, as it should be, how shall I proceed 

 to plant my trees in the best manner to insure a quick and per- 

 manent growth? but, how can I plant my trees in the least pos- 

 sible time and with the least expense? 



All possible dexterity consistent with the success of the ven- 

 ture is commendable and desirable ; but when a proper degree 

 of care is sacrificed to great haste and careless planting, in 

 order to "finish the job," it is reprehensible in the extreme. 



It is as important to know what month is best in which to 

 transplant the trees as to know any other point in the business. 

 There is some diversity of opinion on this point among ex- 

 perienced orchardists. I have planted many hundreds of thou- 

 sands of orange trees, having planted in every month of the 

 year. If extreme care and caution be used, even to the minu- 

 tiae, they can be transplanted at any time, and with some degree 

 of success. I shall here remark that the orange tree is one of 

 the hardiest trees known ; they will survive very harsh and un- 

 horticultural-like treatment; they will withstand drought and 

 excess of water ; they will live and make a stunted growth, with 

 slovenly cultivation, when what are called our hardy trees would 

 die. At the same time the whole order of the genus citrus re- 

 sponds most gratefully to proper treatment. 



A glance at our own trees or those of our neighbors reveals 

 their treatment at once, even to the near-sighted. If the reader 

 doubt this statement, and he should ever visit the orange-grove 

 settlements of California, notably Orange and Pasadena, in Los 



