1 lO The Orange for Health, Pleasure and Profit. 



inferior soils, if well manured and not stinted for water in the 

 summer. The soil which it seems to take to most kindly, in 

 southern California, is a reddish loam, consisting of disintegrated 

 granite, such as forms a good proportion of our mesa lands near 

 the coast. Some varieties will doubtless thrive better in the rich 

 black loam of our larger valleys. The Japanese varieties are said 

 to prefer a sandy or yellow clay loam, richly manured, in open 

 ground or on a hillside, with a southeastern exposure. Valleys 

 are colder and more liable to damaging frosts than the uplands, 

 and therefore less adapted for orange planting. The soil should 

 be kept moist, but not wet, as the tree will stand a considerable 

 drouth. 



The orange arrives at maturity at nine years or less from the 

 seed. Seedlings will remain fruitful and profitable for over a 

 hundred years, but grafted or budded trees are supposed to be- 

 come unprofitable at half that age. The tree has been known 

 to live and bear fruit tor four hundred years, and a tree at Nice is 

 said to be over six hundred years old. Some of the trees, planted 

 over a century ago, around the missions of California are still liv- 

 ing in spite of the neglect of fifty years. The experience of orange 

 growers at Riverside, California, shows conclusively that an 

 orange orchard may become profitable at four years. The navel 

 orange will bear, under favorable circumstances, on an average 

 two and one-half boxes per tree at four years from the nursery. 



An orange grove of selected, carefully cultivated trees will 

 yield a greater income, for the investment and current expenses, 

 than almost any other horticultural industry. Unimproved 

 orange lands, with water, at Riverside, California, are considered 

 worth from $250 to $600 per acre, according to location, but in 

 other sections can be bought at lower prices. The same lands 

 improved are valued at $1,000 to $3,000 per acre, according to 

 the size of the trees and other circumstances. 



One hundred to one hundred and fifty trees may be planted 

 to the acre, fifteen or twenty feet apart. Riverside orange grow- 

 ers generally prefer to plant twenty feet apart, as giving better 

 and more lasting results. The expenses connected with cultivat- 

 ing an old orchard is estimated at not less than $35 annually, if 

 properly cared for; and to secure the best results an expense of 

 $25 additional per annum, for fertilizers, should be incurred. At 

 present prices for California fruit an orchard five years old wilt 

 yield from $200 to $400 per acre net. One box to the tree is a 

 moderate estimate of the yield of the navel orange at 

 the end of five years, and at the rate of one hundred trees to the 

 acre the product would sell for $300 readily. At ten years of age 

 an orchard will net as high, as $[,000 to $1,500 to the acre. 

 Such returns have actually been realized by more than one Cali- 

 fornia orange grower, but $300 to $500 is probably nearer the 

 average return to the producer. The industry, however, is still 

 in its infancy. 



