ITS CULTUEE IN CALIFOKNIA. 



51 



Number of Trees to the Acre. — To 

 ascertain the number of trees to the acre, 

 Septuple planting. 



Rule. — Calculate the number set the 

 same distance apart on the Square system, 

 and add fifteen per cent. 



NUMBER OF TREES TO THE ACRE. 



Square. Septuple. 



10 feet apart 435 500 



12 " 302 347 



14 " 222 255 



16 feet apart 170 195 



18 " 134.. 154 



20 " 109 125 



21 " 99 114 



22 " 90 103 



24 " 75.... 86 



*N0TE— This system, with equal propriety, might 

 be termed the Triangular system. I have preferred, 

 however, to denominate it the Septuple, following 

 the analogy of the Quincunx— a group about a cen- 

 tral tree. 



CHAPTER XII, 



TAKING TREES FROM NURSERY. 



Time. — In determining the time for 

 transplanting orange trees we should con- 

 sider, first, the condition of the trees: 

 second, the season. 



The orange tree has several periods of 

 growth during the year. It would be im- 

 possible to define exactly these growing- 

 seasons, or even to state their number, so 

 much do they vary in different trees and 

 under different conditions of health and 

 vigor, irrigation, cultivation, etc.; but 

 there are certain times when nearly all 

 orange trees are dormant, and other times 

 when nearly all are growing. 



The Dormant Stage.— In transplant- 

 ing orange trees it is best to take them in 

 their dormant stage, as they do not then 

 feel the shock of removal as much as 

 when they are active. Approaching a 

 general rule as nearly as possible I may 

 give the dormant periods as follows: 



Middle of March to the middle of April. 



The month of June. 



The month of September. 



Middle of November to the middle of 

 December. 



The Various Seasons.— Many people 

 transplant trees in March-April season 

 with excellent results. The danger to be 

 provided against at that time is in the cold 

 weather which is likely to prevail. If the 

 roots suffer a chill the tree is irretrievably 

 stunted if not killed outright. June is 

 the most popular time for planting, and, 

 all things considered, the best, as neither 

 excessive cool nor hot weather is en- 

 countered, and the season of strongest 



growth following, exercises a powerful in 

 fluence in starting the tree upon its new 

 life. I have known trees planted in Sep- 

 tember to thrive finely, though few peo- 

 ple plant at that time. November and De- 

 cember planting is not in vogue at all. 



Trimming Trees before Transplant- 

 ING. — It is a good plan to prune nursery 

 stock quite heavily a week or ten days 

 before transplanting. This gives the trees 

 a chance to recover from one shock before 

 encountering the second. The shock of 

 pruning has a tendency also to throw the 

 tree into a more complete dormant condi- 

 tion, when it suffers least from the lacera- 

 tion of the roots. 



It is a universal rule in horticulture that 

 in transijlanting a tree, the top should be 

 cut away in proportion to the loss of roots. 

 With orange trees this is almost a sine qua 

 non. If the trees are not pruned before 

 removal they should be pruned directly 

 afterwards, and the knife should be used 

 vigorously. I know an experienced grow- 

 er who follows the rule of depriving his 

 lemon trees of every leaf at the time of 

 transplanting. He claims that they start 

 more readily for this heroic treatment, 

 and I am not prepared to dispute his hy- 

 pothesis. 



Three Methods of Transplanting.— 

 There are three common methods of trans- 

 planting citrus trees: 



1st. Balling or sacking the roots. 



2d. Puddling the roots. 



3d. Packing the roots in damp straw. 



