164 ORANGE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



sell at remunerative figures the oranges of only the best varie- 

 ties. To obtain these, budding is our only method. 



"Time alone can determine whether budding shortens the life 

 of orange trees or not. But, granting that it does, will the fact 

 that it causes them to fruit earlier not more than compensate 

 for this ? 



"Nearly every orchardist would succeed, even with very lim- 

 ited means, if his trees could be made to yield him a return in 

 three or five years, but who would go down to ruin and into 

 bankruptcy were he compelled to wait from seven to ten years 

 for his income. I believe it is universally recognized that bud- 

 ding shortens the period before fruiting. Is not this, then, a 

 strong reason, financially, why we should adopt the budding 

 system? Leaving generalities, my own experience teaches me 

 the necessity of budding. I can see no dwarfing tendency or 

 results ; on the contrary, my budded trees are larger than seed- 

 lings of the same age, and the fruit is certainly as good. I have 

 not been able to observe that the production is fewer in numbers. 



"I will say, in conclusion, that budding enables us to grow 

 a uniformly good fruit, not otherwise obtainable, of different 

 chosen varieties. It shortens the time before fruiting, and re- 

 lieves the orchardist of several years of care and expense, and, 

 oftentimes, grinding poverty. Meanwhile it cannot work any 

 detriment, except, possibly, to shorten the life of the tree, and 

 this is otherwise compensated for. I therefore give my unquali- 

 fied opinion that it will not only pay to bud the orange, but that, 

 as intelligent men, we cannot afford to do otherwise." 



Mr. L. J. Rose believed budding might be a good thing, but 

 he did not consider it of so much importance as Mr. Shorb did. 

 He does not think the comparison between the apple and the 

 orange a good one. It is true that budded trees do not grow so 

 large as seedlings, or yield so many oranges per tree. 



Mr. Berry said he would be willing to endorse budding if he 

 could see as good oranges from a budded tree as Messrs. Rose 

 and Wilson's best seedlings. 



Mr. Rose stated that as the trees become older, the skin be- 

 comes thinner, and the oranges better. Trees on clay or stiff 

 soil, in his locality, did not produce oranges so sweet' as those 



