HINTS ON ORANGE CULTURE. 



Orange culture having received so much attention these last few 

 years, a few words on the subject will I hope be beneficial to many who 

 contemplate planting an orange grove. 



The first and most important point is to select the best situation for 

 an orchard, which should be rolling land or have surface drainage 

 with Northern protection, either water or wood. I much prefer the 

 latter. These conditions obtained, the land should be ploughed into 

 ridges, so that the trees may be planted sufficiently high from the evil 

 influence of wet subsoil. When this is done the way is to get trees from 

 a reliable nursery-man or to raise from seeds, the latter is the cheapest 

 way. I earnestly recommend sour orange seeds, and when two years 

 old have them either grafted or budded with choice varieties, by this 

 process you will have trees much hardier, entirely free from collar 

 disease and in bearing in less than half the time it takes sweet seedlings 

 to come into bearing ; also you will have such kinds as you may choose 

 to select, thus giving a treble advantage over the planting of sweet 

 seedlings. A bed prepared in the same way as for cabbage seeds will 

 best answer the purpose, plant seeds \ inch deep in the early spring, 

 and best to take the seeds out of the orange just before planting, press 

 the earth well, water once or twice and they will be up in a few days. 

 They can be transplanted in early summer or spring and will be fit for 

 budding next year. When planting in rows plant one foot apart and 

 have 3 feet between the rows, this will give plenty room for cultivation. 

 After one or two years you may plant in the orchard, at such distance 

 apart as the nature of soil and taste of the owner may determine. 

 Grafted trees require much less space than seedlings as they commence 

 bearing fruit in two or three years after grafting, growing more fruit 

 and less wood than seedlings. Great care should be taken not to plant 

 too deep, as more injury arises from this than any other cause. It is 

 best to have the service of a man who understands the business than to 

 run the risk of having the work badly done. If it is necessary to trans- 

 plant large trees, care must be taken to take up a good ball of earth 

 with the roots ; the spade ought to be sharp so the roots may be cut 

 readily, and if any of them are too strong, should be sawed off; the 

 same in regard to the tape root. The best time to transplant orange 

 trees, and especially large trees, is in the spring of the year just when 

 the sap commences to raise. Always select a warm day ; never when 

 there is a sharp north-wind blowing. Small plants, seedlings, can be 

 transplanted almost anytime during summer and fall, and to advantage 

 in August when the second sap sets in. By transplanting large trees 

 never put them lower as they have stood before, tramp the ground 

 around the roots hard so the air cannot penetrate, and mulch the trees 

 for the first season, and if the season should be dry, give copious 

 watering. 



