56 



Twenty-eighth fruit-growers' convention. 



has puffed oranges, too. There are two things connected with it which 

 I don't understand and which I have tried to find out. This year we 

 had very few cracked oranges; some years we have a good many — 10 

 per cent, I think, last year. This year I doubt whether there was 1 per 

 cent. But the puffed oranges this year will be more than there were last 

 year. There are two things I don't understand. Why does the inside 

 of the orange grow too fast for the outside, causing the skin to crack? 

 Another year, later in the season, the skin commences to grow and the 

 inside stops, and then there are puffy oranges. While our puffed oranges 

 are good and sweet, they will not ship to market; they will decay. 



PRESIDENT COOPER. You gave the percentage, as you supposed, 

 of the cracked oranges? 



MR. GRIFFITH. Last year we had 10 per cent. 



PRESIDENT COOPER. What would be your estimate of the puffy 

 oranges? 



MR. GRIFFITH. It depends what season the orange was picked in. 

 In February, no puffy oranges; in March, perhaps 15 per cent. In the 

 next thirty days they puffed rapidly. Purring commenced after the first 

 of March, and it proceeded with a rush. 



MR. CRAMER. I would like to say that excess of moisture will 

 cause puffy oranges. If you try to grow oranges along the coast, in a 

 damp climate, you will raise nothing but puffy oranges; so that it looks 

 like excessive moisture is too much for the trees and causes them to 

 have puffy oranges. Probably the lack of moisture will cause them to 

 crack, too. 



MR. DORE. I want to ask another question. I want to know how 

 much soil is required for the best development of an orange tree? 



PROFESSOR PAINE. This question is a good one. There occurred 

 in my experience, in the last weeks of December, a year ago,' and in 

 January, an instance in my own orchard, or a chance, in the laying of 

 a pipe, for very careful measurement and observation. The orchard is 

 laid out on the equilateral triangle system, and in the laying of this 

 pipe the trench was cut to a depth of 30 inches, and about 4-§ feet from 

 the trunks of the trees. The line was a quarter of a mile long, and 

 there was a chance to observe very closely the effect of the cutting of 

 the roots of those trees. The pipe perhaps passed within 2 feet of some 

 of the trunks of the trees. I think some of the roots of the seedling 

 trees that were cut off were as big as my leg, many as big as my arm. 

 I know of only one tree that seemed to wilt. The growth of the trees 

 didn't seem to be at all affected. I drew my conclusions by walking 

 along the row of trees cut and comparing them with the row on either 

 side. The crop of this winter was the one to judge by, and I must con- 

 fess that I was surprised to see that there was no apparent difference in 

 the result from those three rows. And I concluded that as cultivators 



