13 



rows should be made 4 feet apart, with the plants 1£ feet apart in 

 the row, to allow room for grafting and for the removal of a ball 

 of earth with the roots in transplanting. Where the soil is not per- 

 fectly drained, as at the station, ridges sufficiently high to insure 

 good drainage should be made. Only the largest and best seed should 

 be planted. If the soil is fertile, an occasional cultivation will be the 

 only care needed until grafting time — that is, in 7 to 9 months. 

 Where all conditions are favorable, the grafted plants may be trans- 

 planted within a few weeks or, if desired, they may remain in the 

 nursery for many months. 



Mango trees may be successfully transplanted if rainfall is abun- 

 dant or irrigation water is at hand and the branches are all well 

 hardened. A large percentage of loss has resulted from transplant- 

 ing when the trees were in a growing condition or the new growth 

 was not well matured, although all branches were well cut back. In 

 transplanting, a ball of earth should be removed with the tree and the 

 top cut back severely. Where this practice was followed, not only 

 nursery stock, but grafted trees of East Indian varieties with trunks 

 from 4 to 6 inches in diameter which had borne two crops of fruit, 

 were moved without loss. As newly transplanted trees are very sus- 

 ceptible to excessive moisture, they should, unless the subsoil is very 

 well drained, be planted as high as they grew in the nursery, or 

 higher. They must, however, be watered artificially if a drought 

 occurs soon after transplanting. 



IMPORTANCE OF CLASSIFICATION. 



The present -confusion in classification as to groups and varieties 

 of mangoes is so great that, although considerable interest is being 

 shown in the work, a long period will be required before a satisfac- 

 tory adjustment is reached. As comparatively few imported varie- 

 ties have so far fruited in Porto Rico no attempt at classification is 

 made in this bulletin, only a detailed description of the fruit being 

 given under the names received with trees from the United States 

 Department of Agriculture and from other reliable sources. As 

 the East Indian mango is almost unknown in Porto Pico except by 

 name, and as there are few individuals who are familiar with any of 

 the varieties the descriptions given below should be of value, since 

 the cultivation of the mango will, doubtless, become important in a 

 few years. The distinguishing characters of the several varieties 

 are so pronounced that a knowledge of the differences is very impor- 

 tant to merchants and planters who wish to satisfy the needs and 

 fancies of domestic and foreign markets. Fortunately, most im- 

 ported varieties are easily identified, there being a wide range of 

 thrift and productiveness among them and still greater differences in 

 the qualities of the fruits and the uses to which they can be put. 



