ITS CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 



19 



and separate it along the membranes into 

 its various segments, yon will have before 

 you these seed pods in something like 

 their original form. Doubtless as it first 

 grew, the pulp was much less than we find 

 in our abnormally developed fruit; 

 there may have been little of the pod ex- 

 cept the seeds and the leathery skin 

 which enclosed them. But finally this 

 hunch of seed pods adhered at their 

 bases, and the union extended to the 

 apex, uniting all the segments into a sin- 

 gle fruit of spherical form. With this 

 union, the portions of the thick rind 

 which came within the sphere degener- 

 ated into the thin membranes which we 

 now lind. The development of the pulp 

 into the full, juicy tissues of the perfect 

 fruit is largely the work of man, in care- 

 fully selecting the best species, improving 

 them by cultivation, and transmitting the 

 good qualities by the process .of budding. 

 Note the fact that the development of 

 these juicy tissues has been at the expense 

 of the seeds and cuticle. The highest type 

 of budded orange* is nearly seedless and 

 has a thin rind. 



When you find an orange "sport" 

 which shows a tendency to split at the 

 bloom end into a number of pod-like seg- 

 ments, or to show decided creases in the 

 rind along the lines of the segments, as 

 though it had half a notion to divide itself 

 up, remember that the tree which bore 

 ihis fruit was thinking of its great, great, 

 great grandmother, that passed away a 

 couple of thousand years ago. This 

 "sport," as well as all others, illustrates 

 the natural tendency of all organisms, 

 plant or animal, to revert to an earlier 

 rendition. The primitive form of the or- 

 ange was what scientists term "apocar- 

 pous." 



The orange tree, compared with many 

 other trees that are adapted to a sub-trop- 

 ical climate, is of slow growth. It requires 

 about sixteen years for the seedling to at- 

 tain what might be called its full normal 

 proportions. It then stands about twerjty- 

 tive feet high,* with a spread of branches 



*The size of bndded trees varies so much from 

 the standard seedling that I do not attempt to can- 

 vass the matter in this article. There are dwarf, 

 *eini-dwarf and ftandard buds, all of which follow 

 their respective Habits when set upon a seedling 

 s-tock, and make trees from five to twenty-five feet 

 in height. 



of about the same distance, and a circum- 

 ference of trunk, near the ground, of 

 nearly three feet. The seventy-year old 

 orange tree of the Mission orchard, Sai\ 

 Gabriel, which I measured, showed a girth 

 of forty-two inches. The inference is fail- 

 that, between the ages of sixteen and sev- 

 enty, it had increased its circumference of 

 trunk only six inches. As the orange 

 tree attains its maturity, its cylindrical 

 trunk changes to one of eccentric longitu- 

 dinal corrugations, although, if healthy, 

 the bark still remains smooth. 



The wood of the orange tree is close- 

 grained, hard and susceptible to a fine 

 polish. It is of a clear, yellow color, em- 

 bodying a suggestion of the fruit itself. 

 The top of the tree contains another sug- 

 gestion of the fruit, for, if allowed to take 

 its natural bent, with little pruning, its 

 contour is almost spherical, like the 

 orange.. 



The leaves are ovate in form, slightly 

 serrated, and of thick, leathery texture. 

 When newly forming they are of a bright 

 yellow hue, but as they mature they 

 change to a dark green, with the upper 

 surface presenting a decided gloss. The 

 tree is an evergreen, and it has numerous 

 seasons of growth during the year, with 

 slight dormant intermissions. I once took 

 careful note of a tree at my place, with the 

 following result : On the first of January 

 there was a little new growth already 

 formed. This made some progress dur- 

 ing the month, and hardened up about 

 the middle of February. In April another 

 growth began, and matured in May. 

 About the middle of July the third grow- 

 ing period commenced, and this time the 

 tree made more wood than in both pre- 

 vious growths combined. By the last of 

 August the yellow leaves had all turned 

 to their normal shade, and the stems were 

 hardened. In October there was a slight 

 growth. In December the shoots started 

 again, but this was the same growtii I had 

 noted at the beginning of the year. Thus 

 I found four distinct growing periods. It 

 is riot unusual for trees to make even nve 

 growths in a year under favorable circum- 

 stances, while w r ith retarding causes they 

 may make only one or two. TUP. times of 

 starting and maturing may also vary al- 

 most a month, according to circumstances 



