THE ORANGE IN CALIFORNIA— CDLTIVATION. 109 



filled. These are sometimes filled two or three times, until the 

 soil will absorb no more water. By this method care must be 

 taken to prevent the water coming in contact with the trunks 

 of the trees, or they will become scalded and gum disease will 

 result. A cone of earth is usually banked up around each tree to 

 prevent this, but it must be broken and leveled oti' after each 

 application of water; if not, bad results follow, such as the 

 breaking out of gum, etc. 



CULTIVATION. 



Much of the success of the orange orchard depends upon 

 cultivation. If this be carelessly done or entirely neglected 

 the best results from the trees are not to be expected. Culti- 

 vation is imperatively needed by the orange grove, from the 

 fact that the orange does best upon irrigated lands, and irriga- 

 tion and cultivation must go hand in hand. If water is 

 applied to the orchard and it is left without cultivation the 

 soil bakes hard, cracks, the moisture escapes, and the trees 

 suffer. It is the rule, and one established by experience, to 

 cultivate after each irrigation, just as soim as the ground is 

 sufficiently dry to permit a horse to travel over it, usually in 

 two or three days after the application of water. The soil 

 must be kept mellow and free from weeds at all times. i\Iany 

 of the leading orange-growers plow in the fall before the 

 winter rains, turning the furrows toward the trees, and harrow- 

 ing the land after. This leaves the trees on a ridge with the 

 dead furrow in the middle of the rows and serves to drain the 

 surplus water from the trees. During the winter season the 

 ground is naturally cold, and allowing the tree to stand in 

 water is very detrimental to it. In the spring a second plow- 

 ing from the trees to the middle fills up the dead furrow and 

 leaves the ground smooth for the summer. 



The ground should be cultivated close to the trees, which 

 can easily be effected by the use of a short whiffletree. Care 

 must be taken, however, not to damage or wound the trees, and 

 it is a wise precaution to wrap the ends of the singletree with 

 cloth — a barley sack or something similar — to keep it from 

 barking the trees in case of contact. A careful driver and a 

 steady horse should do the work, and the danger of damage to 

 the trees will be reduced to a minimum. 



