11 



a planter will of course have to be considered, and still 

 another consideration is the capital necessary for the 

 undertaking. 



Exposure is a factor seldom considered, but experience 

 has s'hown that it is a very important one. Cyclones and 

 storms are difficult to guard against, because such dis- 

 turbances may occur in places reported to be free from 

 them, it is well however to look up the weather records, 

 if such are available. What the prospective orange 

 grower is more interested in is the ordinary wind, its 

 velocity, general direction and the lay of the land in re- 

 lation to forests or mountains which may serve as a wind 

 protection. 



Soils, roughly speaking, are composed of sand, clay 

 and vegetable matter. If a soil does not stick together 

 when wet it contains mostly sand and is called a sandy 

 soil. If it is sticky when wet and becomes hard and 

 lumpy in drying, it is called a clay soil. A peaty soil 

 does the same, but peaty soils are -practically unknown 

 in the West Indies. The vegetable matter in a soil, us- 

 ually called humus, can be recognized by its dark color 

 when it is wet. When found in large deposits it is called 

 peat, but we are interested only in tBat contained in the 

 upper 6 to 12 inches of soil. It is that which makes the 

 soil dark and distinguishes the top soil from the sub- 

 soil. A mixture of sand and clay, about six to one, is called 

 a sandy loam. One part clay to four parts sand is termed 

 a clay loam, and with diminishing sand the soil is said 

 to be clay or heavy clay. 



The subsoil is of no less importance than the top soil. 

 The roots of a citrus tree extend under normal conditions 

 ten to fifteen feet downwards and the subsoil should be 



