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an inverted cone, and the latter is pushed below the bark of the stock 

 unlil the bud is actually upon the naked wood of the stock ; the upper 

 lips of the wound in the stock and that of the bud are made to coincide, 

 and the whole fastened down together by a ligature." Experience shows 

 that the be^t time for carrying on this operation is from M ai ch to Sep- 

 tember, on a fine cloudless morning, when the sap is circulating freely 

 under the bark. After two or three weeks, when the graft has suc- 

 ceeded w^e may loosen the ligature and the J'oung shoot which springs 

 from the bud tied to the upper end of the stock. 



The orange tree continues to grow long after the blooming season 

 is over, and thro;^ s out new shoots, and sometimes fresh blossoms 

 throughout the summer, being checked only by the approach of win- 

 ter. It is therefore a tree ^!\hich requires a large amount of l umidity, 

 "without which, it not only ceases to grow, but cannot ripen the fruit 

 or even keep it 1 anging on the branches. It is a surface feeder re- 

 quirii g a large allowance of air for its roc ts, I ut at the same time 

 cannot tohrate protracted dry weather, and the necessity of well 

 regulated irrigation is a prominent feature in our orange groves. It 

 is usual to I egin wat( ring the trees about the middle of June. But 

 when we have a sandy soil or a ver} open subsoil, or when we have a 

 lainh ss and windy spring we cannot slick to this date, v\ithout risk- 

 ing the crop, nay the life of the trees In a d( ep soil it is ei ough to 

 water the tiees once every three weeks, but in a shallow and particu- 

 larly in a sandy soil the intervals between one irrigation and anoiher 

 fhould not be longer than fifteen days, and the water should be dis- 

 tributed 0^ er a larger area. It was said that slightly brackish water 

 is not suited for the orange tree. Certainly, pure, well serated fresh 

 water is much better, but it l as been proved that bi ackish water is not 

 dangerous, and that it does in no way interfere, w^ith the quantity or 

 quality of the crop. 



The orange tree should be tilled at least twice a year. The first 

 tillage should be performed some time after the first rain^^, to remove 

 the weeds and open the earth to enable it to receive better the suc- 

 ceeding showers. The second tillage should take place in April or 

 early in May to remove the lingering w^eeds and to loosen the surface 

 of the soil ISO as to prevent a too rapid escape of the moisture. But 

 when the weeds are very abundant, the grove should be tilled a third 

 time early in March to prevent the weeds from running to seed. 



In well regulated orange groves, pruning is attended to at least 

 once every three years. In this important gardening operation we 

 must take care not to be too free with the pi uning knife so as to 

 make the tree a cripple. All branches situated within the tree are 

 fruitless and should be removed. The small dry twigs although trou- 

 blesome to deal with, should not be suffered to remain. Besides 

 being unsightly they are the source of much mischief to the young 

 fruit and twigs. Diseased branches having the symptoms of gummo- 

 sis should be removed in order to save the tree. Too many wounds 

 on the same branch should be avoided. But a large wound is worse 

 than several small ones, because it cannot close and usually forms the 

 starting point of canker which ultimately kills the tree. When the 

 wound is of some size it should be covered by some impermeable mix- 

 ture which keeps off rain water and at the same time keeps the wound 



