200 HORTICULTURAL MANUAL. 



All shoots that start above the bud are allowed to grow at 

 first. This gives shade and favors the growth of the lower 

 part of the stem. As a rule, the young tree is also shaded 

 at first by stakes stuck on 'the south side. With a thick 

 top the lower branches always give the first fruit. But as 

 the top spreads the lower branches cease to bear or to 

 increase in length and are gradually cut away so as to give 

 a well-defined stem two to three feet in height. The after 

 pruning is mainly in the way of taking out dead or sickly 

 inner wood to let in the air and to favor getting into the 

 tree. 



The best time for pruning is when growth starts in the 

 spring. At this time the vital forces are most active and 

 the wounds heal over soonest. The greatest need of prun- 

 ing is in the nursery, where care is needed to bring the 

 tree into shape, as with the deciduous fruits (150). 



196. The Lemon. This is closely related to the orange, 

 as is indicated in horticultural practice in the choice of 

 stocks. The lemon is often budded on the orange and 

 the orange on the lemon on an extensive commercial scale. 

 In the great lemon-growing centres on the Mediterranean 

 the rough lemon is the favorite stock for the orange. 



Lemon and orange hybrids are also frequently produced, 

 but they have no commercial status, as they do not answer 

 the purposes for which either oranges or lemons are grown. 

 The lemons of the old California missions were of large 

 size, the juice was low in acidity, and the rinds were more 

 or less bitter. It was not until varieties were brought 

 from the Mediterranean lemon-growing centres with 

 fruit of proper size, percentage of acids, thinness of skin, 

 and freedom from bitter rinds, that growers were able 

 to compete successfully with those shipped from Sicily, 

 Sardinia, and Spain. During the past fifteen years the 

 output from the west coast of lemons has been a surprise 



