IRRIGATION IN FLORIDA. 39 



ing a plant. On the other hand, many farmers have paid large sums 

 for irrigation plants and seem to be well satisfied with the investment. 

 There is, of course, room for much study of methods of applying 

 water, amounts of water required, and proper times of application. 

 These questions can be partly solved by the aid of the portable plant 

 mentioned above. The question of methods of construction for both 

 pumping machinery and distributing lines also is important, and will 

 be taken up in detail elsewhere. 



The annual growth of orange and grapefruit trees may be divided 

 into four periods. The first period is in the spring when the blos- 

 soms appear and the young fruit forms ; the second in the rainy sum- 

 mer months when the fruit takes on size ; the third in the fall and 

 early winter when the fruit is maturing and harvest begins ; and the 

 fourth in the dormant season, usually through the months of Decem- 

 ber and January. The winter and spring seasons also are the har- 

 vesting seasons in most sections of the State. The first period is the 

 most critical from an irrigation standpoint, as dry weather may cause 

 the young fruit to drop. The rains usually are abundant in the sum- 

 mer months and irrigation is not needed. The second dry period, 

 which usually occurs in the fall, may do serious harm by preventing 

 the fruit from attaining full size and color, as well as causing it to 

 drop. This dry season occurs throughout the entire winter and 

 spring months in some cases, as may be seen from the rainfall charts. 

 Some orchardists believe that irrigation never should be practiced in 

 the dormant season for fear of starting new growth too early, which 

 may be killed by frost. Rainfall, however, is quite common through 

 December and January and seems to do no harm unless accompanied 

 by warm weather, which will start the young growth early even 

 though the ground be dry. Generally speaking, it probably is well 

 to wait until signs of new growth appear in the spring before begin- 

 ning irrigation in frost areas, unless trees are in a wilty condition 

 due to lack of moisture. 



The amounts of water needed depend upon the condition of the soil 

 at the time of irrigation, and will be discussed in connection with 

 soil tests during irrigation. 



HOSE IRRIGATION FOR CITRUS GROVES. 



By far the most common practice in irrigating citrus groves is by 

 the hose method, which may amount to a simple spraying by hand in 

 connection with sprinkling systems, or in combination with furrow 

 methods. There are two large groves where this form of irrigation 

 is used in Manatee County, within a few miles of the town of 

 Palmetto. One covers 240 acres and the other 370. 



The latter property is located about 2 miles below Palmetto, which 

 is on the Manatee River about 25 miles south of Tampa. The topog- 



