CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



other variety may be propagated with certainty and multiplied 

 rapidly. Under favorable circumstances each bud will become 

 a tree. Budding does not, in itself, change anything. If a bud 

 be taken from a tree of an inferior fruit, that inferior property 

 will be propagated ; if superior, then there will be an improve- 

 ment. It follows, then, that there must be a better variety to 

 bud from, or there will be no improvement. The important 

 question then arises, have we a better orange than the seedling? 

 I have extensively examined many varieties, and. have carefully 

 observed and studied the seedling, but I have failed as yet to 

 find one better than the Los Angeles orange, or, of budded va- 

 rieties, equal to it. I have found no marked difference among 

 the Los Angeles seedlings. I find a difference in fruit of dif- 

 ferent localities, even in those very near together say within 

 twenty feet. There is always a difference, however, in the soil, 

 or the exposure of the tree, it being less crowded, or sheltered 

 from wind, in its water supply, or its general health which can 

 be seen by the careful observer. Overbearing, or the reverse, 

 and the age of the tree have a marked effect upon the fruit. 



"The advantages of budding the orange are illustrated by 

 many by reference to the peach, apple, pear, etc., but there is 

 no analogy between them. If seeds be planted of any of the 

 above-mentioned deciduous fruits, they will come in all varieties, 

 and almost all inferior to the standard varieties of these fruits. 

 The standard varieties are the production of centuries of se- 

 lection. They have been originated from a very inferior parent. 

 This has not been the case with the orange. The Tahiti orange, 

 or the Mexican orange from Acapulco or Panama, is the same 

 as the original fruit, as nature produces it in its native woods. 

 Both of these are the parents of our oranges. Both of these 

 are yet very different from the Los Angeles, even to the eye. 

 Both have a lemon-colored and much thinner rind; while one is 

 oval, the other is round ; yet, when the seeds of these oranges 

 are planted here, the product (the Los Angeles orange) is very- 

 different in flavor and appearance. The rind thick and rough, 

 and red in color ; the flavor of the orange has more acid with 

 ts sweet (very different from the insipid sweet), and it is of a 

 much higher quality and aroma. All this would prove that 



