480 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



epochs : First, to press the growth of the young tree with manure 

 speedily decomposed, which will furnish strong nutriment at once to 

 the roots, such as oil-meal cakes, guano, dried blood, stable manures. 

 Second, for the support of the mature tree with manures of slower de- 

 composition, such as horn shavings, bones, woolen rags, hair, hide, and 

 even leather. These are placed around the tree as far from the trunk as 

 the roots extend during the autumn, and covered with earth to the 

 depth of a foot. 



The object aimed at in pruning is to bring the greatest surface pos- 

 sible of the tree to direct action of air and light. The spherical form 

 is considered best. To keep this form shoots are pinched off in June 

 each year. In the early spring weak and dead wood, forgotten useless 

 shoots, are cut out to let light and air in among the branches; a sharp 

 knife must be used. 



Oranges are picked first when just beginning to turn yellow, in Oc- 

 tober, for distant shipment, next in December for a nearer shipment 

 when half yellow, finally in the spring when fully ripe for home mar- 

 ket. They are sold by the thousand, the caisse or patronue. The best 

 are wrapped in gray paper and packed 360 in a box, and called caisses 

 flandrines. The second quality are packed in the same way, 500 to the 

 box, and called simply caisse. The third quality packed the same way 

 is called caisse de Menton. The fourth quality are called Patronnes de 

 Magasin, and the fifth Patronne de barque. These latter are shipped 

 by boat in bulk. Those poorer than the above five qualities have no 

 commercial value, excepting for the peel, which is taken off and dried. 

 Oranges as a rule grow sweeter with the age of the tree. 



Lemon trees blossom from the earliest spring to late fall, and even 

 during the winter. From the few fertile flowers of late winter comes a 

 large thick-skinned fruit with but little juice, called Testassa. The 

 early spring flowers from which good fruit ripens in about six mouths 

 or in October and November are the ones most depended on for a 

 crop. These lemons are called here Primo Fiore or Maraviglia. The 

 next flowers of May and June only ripen their fruit after ten months 

 which are called Secundo Fiore or Granetta. These are generally 

 inferior to the primo but if for any reason those fail, nature tries to 

 make up for it by putting all the good qualities lost with primo^ into 

 the secundo, The flowers of July and August mature the following 

 April and produce the Verdame which is said to keep well for ship- 

 ment. After the rain of September and October, a few flowers are fer- 

 tile and give a coarse fruit called Septembrine. 



The fruit, carefully picked, is spread on straw, where the different 

 commercial qualities are selected. They are wrapped in absorbent 

 paper and packed according to size and given the following commercial 

 names : Caisse Flandrine, 400 of the best size in a box ; Caisse Lyon- 

 naise, 500 in a box, and Petites Caisses, where three boxes hold 1,000 

 of the smaller ones. The lemons of the first class in size must be at 

 Least 55 millimeters in diameter. 



