CULTIVATION OF THE ORANGE TREE IN SPAIN. 545 



outcome of tbe plantation does not only depend on the nature of the 

 soil, but also on the age of the trees transplanted, as the younger they 

 are there is much greater probability of their taking root. A soil well 

 broken up is better for a plantation of trees than any other ; but very 

 few persons take this trouble, contenting themselves with opening holes 

 at regular intervals in a slightly worked soil. The trees with horizontal 

 branches, or curved at the tip, give fruit sooner than those that have 

 vertical or nearly vertical ones. As a general rule the holes made in 

 virgin earth and of the best soil are about a meter in diameter by one 

 in depth, but in dry and hot soils they should be two meters in diame- 

 ter by 1.30 in depth. These are made the winter previous to planting, 

 in order that the earth extended and deposited round the edges, as also 

 the sides of the holes, may improve from the action of the air; and in 

 the neighborhood of each hole is placed about a cubic decimeter of well- 

 rotted manure, or, should this not be obtainable, it may be substituted 

 by 4 pounds of dried and pulverized blood or 6 pounds of guano. 

 Should the soil where the planting is to be effected be of bad quality, 

 the half of the earth extracted from the hole is replaced with a similar 

 quantity of clayey silicious or chalky clay soil. The manure must be 

 perfectly mixed with the half of the best earth extracted from the holes, 

 and the half of this is deposited at the bottom of the hole in the form 

 of a spreading cone. The tree is then placed on said cone in such a man- 

 ner that the neck of the root when the hole is filled in will not be 

 deeper than it was in the nursery, as should that limit be surpassed the 

 root, being deprived of the action of the air, would only work imper- 

 fectly. The only exceptions to this rule are the transplantations to dry, 

 arable ground, and in this case the neck of the root is placed at about 

 5 centimeters below the surface. Being thus placed, the roots are cov- 

 ered with the remaining earth that had been extracted, and the holes 

 should be so filled up that the soil thrown in them should reach the 

 height of six or eight centimeters above that of the surrounding surface, 

 so that on settling down and becoming firm there should be no profund- 

 ity at the foot of each tree, and the earth thus raised is arranged in a 

 hollow. When the plantation is thus made it should be immediately 

 irrigated, so that the earth should remain in immediate contact with 

 the whole of the roots, and tliis irrigation should be several times re- 

 peated during the months of April and May, conformably as the weather 

 may be more or less dry. 



In this province the custom is to make the holes at the time of trans- 

 planting, there being few that anticipate this operation, and then the 

 holes are only made of sufficient size to conveniently plant the young 

 trees, for, the soil not being virgin, it is neither necessary to work it so 

 much nor for the soil or hole to receive the beneficial effect of atmos- 

 pheric influence, as in the first case, which is indispensable. Accord- 

 ing to experts, orange trees do not require very deep holes, it being 

 preferable for their roots to be near the surface. Plantations of little 



