44G FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



seedling. All these, except the la&t, are grafted upon the wild or bitter 

 orange, and in two or three years after grafting begin to bear fruit. No 

 limit is recognized to the period of fruit-bearing, but the trees attain a 

 very old age without deteriorating. Only one variety grows directly 

 from the seed ; the others are all grafted, which is considered a better 

 method than budding. 



Soil. The order of the soils best adapted to orange culture is as fol- 

 lows : the best being light red earth, then dark loam, then sandy, and 

 finally clayey. 



Pests. Until the past year nothing had troubled the trees except the 

 attacks of moles on the roots of the trees. But now a fungus has ap- 

 peared, which is spreading rapidly, and seems likely to do great damage. 

 No remedy for it has been discovered as yet. 



Position. All the oranges and lemons of Syria are grown very near 

 the sea-coast, whether at Tripoli, Sidon, or Jaffa; and I know of no ex- 

 tensive successful cultivation more than 4 miles from the sea, and some 

 of the orchards are within 20 rods of salt water. When the trees are 

 set out they are placed 18 feet apart every way when the soil is good, 

 16 feet when the soil is only average ; trees placed behind a shelter, as 

 another line of trees, prosper better than those exposed to severe wind. 



Irrigation. As there is no rain from May 1 till October 1, irrigation 

 is the only means of keeping the trees, alive. Each tree is surrounded 

 by a little bank of earth to keep the water about the tree. The trees 

 are left without irrigation till the last of June, till the leaves curl a lit- 

 tle, then they are watered three times for periods of seven days, and 

 after this every fifteen days. The irrigation of the river coming from 

 Mount Lebanon is better than that from the wells, as the last has a taste 

 of brackishness. 



Yield. In good orchards it is estimated that the average yield is 

 from 1,500 oranges to 2,000 per tree, and in poor orchards about 600 

 per tree. The yield is annnal, but every other year the crop is lighter. 



SHIBLY ABELA, 



Consular Agent. 



UNITED STATES CONSULAR AGENCY, 



Sidon, February 21, 1884. 



TARSUS. 



REPORT BY ACTING CONSULAR AGENT AVANIA. 

 (Republished from Consular Report No. 41|.) 



There are four kinds of trees more or less productive : The sour lemons, 

 the sweet lemons, the sour oranges, and the sweet oranges. The most 

 yielding of these trees are the sweet lemons, but the most valuable are 

 the sour lemon and the sweet orange fruits, the usual value of which 



