21 



After the tent is sewed up it is given a coat of black paint, as it lias 

 been ascertained that tents treated in this manner last longer than 

 those which have been simply oiled with linseed oil. Some persons mix 

 a small quantity of soap suds with the paint in order to render the lat- 

 ter more pliable when dry, and therefore less liable to crack. Instead 

 of thus painting the tent some persons simply give it a coating made of 

 an inferior grade of glue called " size," first dissolving this in water and 

 then covering the tent with it, using a whitewash brush for this pur- 

 pose. Sometimes a small quantity of whiting or chalk (carbonate of 

 lime, Oa Co 3 ),is added to this sizing with or without the addition of lamp- 

 black. A few make use of the mucilaginous juice of the common Cactus 

 {Opuntia engelmanni Salm.) for this purpose; to obtain this the Cactus 

 leaves or stems are cut or broken up into pieces, thrown into a barrel 

 and covered with water, after which they are allowed to soak for three 

 or four days ; the liquid portion is then drawn off and is ready for use 

 without further preparation. Tents which I saw that had been pre- 

 pared with this substance were to all appearances as air-tight and pli- 

 able as when prepared in any other manner. 



A tent 26 feet tall by 60 feet in circumference — a size large enough to 

 cover the largest orange tree now growing in this State — if made out of 

 drilling, and either painted or sized, as described above, will cost com- 

 pleted about $60. Where the trees to be treated are not more than 12 

 feet tall the tent can be placed over them by means of poles in the 

 hands of three persons ; to accomplish this, three iron rings are sewed to 

 the tent at equal distances around aud 6 or 7 feet from the bottom of 

 the tent ; immediately under each of these rings an iron hook is attached 

 to the lower edge of the tent. When the latter is to be placed over a 

 tree each of the hooks is fastened into the corresponding ring above it ; 

 one end of a pole is then inserted into each of these rings and the tent 

 raised up and placed on the tree. The hooks are then released from the 

 rings and the lower edge of the tent allowed to drop upon the ground. 



Instead of allowing the tent to rest directly on the tree some growers 

 use an umbrella-like arrangement, the handle of which is in two pieces, 

 which are fastened together with clamps provided with pins ; this 

 allows the handle to be lengthened or shortened according to the height 

 of the tree. This apparatus is put up over the tree and the tent allowed 

 to rest upon it. By the use of this simple device the danger of break- 

 ing off the small twigs on the upper part of the tree by the weight of 

 the tent is avoided. Mr. Leslie, of Orange, used four tents and tent- 

 rests of this kind, and he informs me that with the aid of two men he 

 fumigated 120 trees in one night. To remove the tent from one tree, 

 place it over another, and charge the generator required only one minute 

 and a half. In the place of poles some persons attach a circle of gas 

 pipe to the lower edge of the tent ; then two men, each taking hold of 

 opposite sides of this circle, throw the tent over the tree. Dr. J. H. 

 Dunn, of Pomona, informs me that four men, using six tents like the 



