7 



NOTES ON THE ORANGE. 



Pruning. 



The operation of pruning a full-grown Orange tree is beat done as 

 soon as the fruit is picked, and before the tree is in full blossom. 



All dead and diseased wood should be cut out. The cut should be 

 made, if possible, just into the living healthy wood, so that no canker 

 be left. Branches which rub against each other should also be 

 removed. 



The head of the Orange tree should be encouraged to grow open, so 

 as to allow light and air free access, otherwise moss, lichens, and other 

 injurious growths accumulate on the stem and branches. 



An open head also encourages the extension of the iower branches, so 

 that the tree can produce more fruit. The small inner branches are of 

 no use, as they produce no fruit, and steal away the sap from the fertile 

 terminal branches. 



"G-ormandiGcrs" should be cut off as soon as they appear, unless 

 they are required to fill up vacant spaces, or to shelter the lower part of 

 the stem. In these cases they require bending carefully into the proper 

 positions, and tying down to stakes. 



Any branches which actually touch the ground should be trimmed or 

 removed. 



It is well to commence pruning while the plants are still young, 2 or 

 3 years old, as it is much more easy to get the tree to grow into proper 

 shape, and it is possible then, to shorten the branches without injury. 



The tools necessary for pruning are a knife, a small saw, and a pair of 

 shears — a cutlass should not be allowed under any pretence. The in- 

 struments should be kept very sharp, as a clean cut heals quickly, and a 

 jagged one may only do harm by starting canker. The saw is used in 

 removing large branches. The knife can then be applied to make the 

 saw cut smooth ; it is also used in removing small branches. The shears 

 may be used for removing dead wood, thorns, and some of the smaller 

 branches. 



Green Dressing. 

 Dr. Grrabham writes as follows : — 



" Now that Orange cultivation is so much to the front, I intended 

 to have mentioned to you how useful the employment of a green dress- 

 ing had proved in the plantations in the Azores and Madeira. 



" The plants most commonly used are the Lupine which is allowed to 

 grow under the trees, and then dug into the ground ; and the Broom 

 (Sarothamnus scoparius) branches of which cut off are buried in the 

 ground." 



Lupines grow remarkably well in J amaica, and are a weed in some 

 coffee estates in the Blue Mountains. The flowers are very ornamental, 

 and it is doubtful whether any native plant would answer the purpose 

 better. 



The advantage of green dressing with lupines is that they will supply 

 nitrogen from the ait to the soil (see i ' Assimilation of Nitrogen by 

 plants" in Bulletin for August, 1895) ; and will also serve the purpose 

 of humus in the soil which not only also provides nitrogen, but 

 assists in the preparation of the soil as plant food. 



