ORANGE — PEACH 435 
of water that must be applied by irrigation, and that frequent tillage 
and a little water will give better results than little or no cultivation 
and a large amount of water. The amount of water required will 
also depend on the season and the character of the soil. Thus on strong 
soils and after a heavy rainfall no irrigation will be required, while 
sandy soils will need irrigating as often as once in three or four weeks 
from May to October. As a general rule, two or three irrigations in 
a season will be ample. When used at all, water should be applied in 
sufficient quantities to wet down to the roots of the trees. Frequent 
scanty waterings may do much harm. The water is usually applied 
in furrows, and for young trees there should be one on either side of 
each row, but as the roots extend the number should be increased, 
until when five or six years old the entire orchard should be irrigated 
from furrows 4 or 5 feet apart. In Florida, irrigation is not prac- 
ticed. ; 
Cover-cropping in winter is now common in Florida and California, 
some of the leguminous crops being used. 
Varieties of the orange. 
Among the best varieties are: Bahia, commonly known as Wash- 
ington Navel, Thompson Improved, Maltese Blood, Mediterranean 
Sweet, Paper Rind St. Michael, and Valencia. Homosassa, Magnum 
Bonum, Nonpareil, Boone, Parson Brown, Pineapple, and Hart are 
favorites in Florida. The tangerines and mandarins, or the “ kid- 
glove ” oranges, have a thin rind that is easily detached from the rather 
dry pulp. Orange trees are frequently injured by various scale in- 
sects, but for several of the most troublesome kinds, insect parasites 
have been found that keep them partially or wholly in check, and for 
others the trees are sprayed, or fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas. 
Peach. — Given the proper exposure, peaches may be fruited in 
many sections where now it is thought impossible to have a crop. It 
is usually the practice of the amateur to set peach trees in the shelter 
of some building, exposed on the south or east to the sun, and “in a 
pocket’ as regards winds. This should be reversed, except in the 
close vicinity of large bodies of water. The fruit-buds of peaches will 
stand very cold weather when perfectly dormant, often as low as 12° 
