278 NUTS AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



it contains causes it to be used as a salad fruit; but it is used in 

 many other ways. 



Propagation of the Avocado. — Trees have been propagated 

 chiefly by seed until recent years. They are now more commonly 

 budded by shield budding on young seedling stocks. Improved 

 varieties are thus perpetuated and the results are more satisfactory. 



The Avocado Orchard. — Trees are usually transplanted to the 

 orchard in early spring. If they then have many leaves these are 

 sometimes partly stripped off to reduce the evaporation. A large 

 ball of soil should be kept about the roots, or they may be care- 

 fully shifted into boxes which hold the soil to the roots while 

 being moved. 



Set the trees in rows twenty feet or more apart, in soil that has 

 good drainage. The trees should be fertilized, cultivated, and in 

 some regions irrigated, as is done with oranges and lemons. Try to 

 " harden off " the trees for winter. 



Yields and Harvest. — Yields are very apt to reach thousands of 

 fruits per tree in case of large seedling trees, but they are more apt 

 to be counted by the dozens on trees of the large budded varieties. 



The fruit is picked by hand and sorted before packing and ship- 

 ping. The fruits vary in size, color, and shape. Each fruit should 

 be wrapped in paper. For best shipping Georgia peach carriers 

 are used. See figures in Peach Chapter. 



CITRUS FRUITS 



Under this head are included such fruits as oranges, lemons, 

 grapefruits and limes. None of these are grown in regions of severe 

 frosts. All of them are grown in the warmer parts of Florida, 

 California, and the borders of the gulf. They all find ready 

 markets in all the states and elsewhere. The United States pro- 

 duces about one-third of the world's product (Fig. 194). 



Oranges are by far the most important of the citrus fruits. 

 There are three regions in this country where the crop is grown: 

 The central belt of Florida; the western and southern slopes of the 

 foothills of the Coast Range in California; along the Gulf coast 

 from Florida to Texas. In the first two regions are grown all 

 types of oranges including the round and the Satsuma. The round 

 oranges of both navel and seed types (Fig. 195) are here most 

 grown for market. The Satsuma or flattened type, is the chief one 

 grown along the north coast of the gulf. In Louisiana below New 

 Orleans, and in the lower Rio Grande Valley and along the coast 



