THE NAVEL ORANGE OF BAHIA. 4 
CULTURE OF THE NAVEL ORANGE IN BAHIA. 
CLIMATE. 
The climate of Bahia is warm and humid, with more or less well- 
defined wet and dry seasons, the wet season beginning in February or 
March and lasting until June or July, when the dry season normally 
commences and continues until the following January. The rainfall 
is not, however, limited to the wet season, although it is much heavier 
at that time than during the remainder of the year. The size of the 
orange crop and the quality of the fruit are said by the orchardists 
to be affected materially by the amount of rainfall, the largest crops 
and the best fruit being produced when the rains are unusually heavy. 
The annual precipitation for the last nine years has varied from 
40 to 73.35 inches, both these extremes being unusual; ordinarily 
there is a rainfall of 55 to 65 inches. The temperature of this 
region is more or less uniform throughout the year and compara- 
tively constant during the entire 24 hours. Frost is unheard of, the 
lowest recorded temperature during the last nine years being 63° F. 
The highest temperature for the same period is 101° and the mean 
temperature 76.4° F. From January to June the mean temperature 
usually ranges from 75° to 80° F.; from June to September there 
is a Slight drop, the average being 72° to 75° F. October, November, 
and December are slightly warmer, varying from 77° to 80° F. 
These figures are based upon data obtained at the State meteorologi- 
cal station, near the city of Bahia (Table I). 
TABLE I.—Temperature and precipitation at Bahia, Brazil, 1904 to 1912, 
inclusive. 
Temperature (° F.). Temperature (° F.). 
: Total Total 
Year. i “ previpic Year. a = precipi- 
axi- ini- ation. axi- ini- tation 
mum. | Mum. Mean. mum. | mum. Mean 
Inches. Inches. 
OQ 4a ee es 101 64 76 59.1 ASO Sse e kazer se iearetin 93 66 76 59.4 
TQQD sey Gee 91 64- 76 67.5 TROIS a ea eee ae 92 66 16 63.5 
TOO Ge eae eh 95 63 76 625255] Olesen eer oan 92 67 77 73.35 
TAS DYESS nek We Reteaeteae 92 63 76 40.0 OUD Re tte se 95 67 77 71.9 
NG0SS Se 92 64 78 56.5 
SITUATION OF THE ORANGE ORCHARDS AND THE SOIL CONDITIONS. 
The land in the immediate vicinity of Bahia is, for the most part, 
a series of low, rambling hills, not over 100 or 200 feet in height, with 
intervening level valleys where the soil is frequently wet and best 
suited to the cultivation of such plants as Angola grass (Panicum 
barbinode Trin.), an important forage crop both for horses and for 
