176 STATE BOARD OP HORTICULTURE. 



go into the first or second grade. One can easily see that it pays 

 better to grow twelve boxes of lemons at $1.25 per box than to 

 grow fifteen boxes of second grade at $1, or any number of culls 

 for nothing, as the cost per box is the same in each case. 



"It is thought by some that by certain methods of pruning 

 the habits of the lemon tree can be so changed that from bear- 

 ing the bulk of its fruit in the fall and early winter it may be 

 made to bear in the summer. It would seem that in certain 

 localities that is the habit of the tree, but we speak of this as 

 we know it; that to our minds is unquestionable. The possi- 

 bility of it lies, of course, in the fact that the tree is a continu- 

 ous bearer; but supposing that it could be done, the thing of 

 itself is of doubtful benefit, especially in the localities subject 

 to injury by frost. The so-called summer crop is on the trees 

 during the winter months, and if it passes through safely, is 

 just the thing to be desired. Until we can devise some method 

 of protection (from the elements, we mean), it would seem 

 that the wisest course will be to do what we can to hasten the 

 time of maturity of our fall crop to catch as much of the early 

 market as possible, and to hold the balance of our crop over 

 until spring, if necessary. This fruit is of much better keeping 

 quality than the summer crop. 



"If this method is adopted it will be much better to begin 

 with the trees when they are young, but with old trees the 

 sooner the better. Some have the practice of rounding up their 

 trees like a billiard ball, irrespective of what may be the 

 length of the limbs in the body of the tree. This seems to us 

 to be a mistake, as it will leave the tree with too dense a growth 

 of foliage. Others cut them off like a billiard table. This is 

 open to the same objection, besides taking from the tree much 

 wood that is already in the place desired. Each limb should 

 be treated by itself and cut back to within six or eight inches 

 of the fork; when limbs spring from this, instead of cutting 

 each one off at the same distance, they should be thinned out 

 to two or three, cutting the surplus shoots right back to the 

 branch. It may be necessary to reduce the surface still further 

 each year by cutting out a portion of the bearing wood, so that 

 each limb shall not carry more fruit than it can mature. We 

 can show trees treated in this way that are now one mass 

 of bloom right through the whole body of the tree, so that one 

 could scarcely put his hand in without touching a blossom. 



