April, 1910,1 



335 



Horticulture. 



rainy weather. It is advisable to cover 

 up the plants lor some time; this is 

 easily done with baskets made from the 

 half of a green coconut leaf, the basket 

 being placed over three stakes driven in 

 round the young tree. The basket need 

 not come down to the ground. There 

 shoud be a few inches of space between 

 the basket and the ground, to allow the 

 free circulation of air. The covering is 

 necessary at first so as to give the trees a 

 chance to recover and establish them- 

 selves in the soil. It also acts as a pro- 

 tection of the stock from the fierce rays 

 of the sun, which is always detrimental 

 to citrus trees. It is advisable to prune 

 back the young trees. It will give the 

 trees a better chance of recovering. In 

 fact, a young tree pruned will recover 

 sooner than one un-pruned. Mauure 

 must not be applied too close to the 

 young trees. 



Distance Apart. 

 Distance apart mostly depends on 

 the soil in which the trees are to be 

 planted and the kind of trees. Seedlings 

 can be planted 30 feet apart and budded 

 or grafted ti*ees 25 feet apart. Trees 

 planted a good distance apart can al- 

 ways withstand the dry seasons more 

 so than those planted close. It is a 

 mistake to grow other produce in the 

 orange grove, except when the trees are 

 very young, Some vegetables or maize 

 might be grown at this period without 

 doing any material injury. They must 

 not, however, be grown too close to the 

 orange trees. 



Fertilisers. 

 For supplying what the soil is lacking 

 and what the orange takes out of it, 

 one must be guided by the analysis of 

 both — the soil and the ashes of the fruit. 

 It has been found by analysis that the 

 fruit ash chiefly contains phosphoric 

 acid, lime and potash. By a proper 

 combination of various elements used in 

 fertilisation one can undoubtedly large- 

 ly govern the quality and flavour of 

 the fruit. Free use of potash thickens 

 and toughens the rind, increasing the 

 value of the fruit for storing and trans- 

 porting long distances, but this is accom- 

 plished at the expense of the sugar in 

 the fruit. To sweeten the fruit use 

 sulphate of ammonia in large quantities 

 and decrease the amount of potash. To 

 obtain fruit with thin rind use nitrogen 

 from inorganic sources in moderate 

 quantities with considerable potash and 

 lime. 



Farmyard manure can also be used 

 with excellent results, only it is not 

 possible to regulate it and use it lor the 

 special purposes indicated above. But 



it must not be forgotteu that the 

 continued use of artificials alone tends 

 to exhaust the soil, and does not affect 

 any mechanical action in the soil ; so 

 that it is always advisable to use both 

 manures at different times. 



A very good manure for a fairly 

 strong soil is : — Nitrate of soda, cwt.; 

 Concentrated superphosphate, 1^ cwt.; 

 and Sulphate of potash, 1 cwt. 4 cwts. 

 would be a heavy dressing ; less could be 

 ased with good results. Nitrate of soda 

 contains from 15 to 16 percent, of nitro- 

 gen, concentrated superphosphate about 

 40 to 45 per cent, of phosphoric acid, and 

 sulphate of potash (high grade) contains 

 from 50 to 55 per cent, of pure potash. 



Pruning the Orange. 

 Once the trees are planted out it is 

 advisable to let everything grow for the 

 first year, as we have already just before 

 planting cut the trees back to enable 

 them to more quickly recover from the 

 shock they received in having their 

 roots cut, etc. In the second year take 

 off the bottom shoots as high up as from 

 12 to 15 inches from the ground, and 

 the third year form your tree by start- 

 ing the crown about 21 inches from the 

 ground. This is very important, for as a 

 rule we have in Ceylon trees starting 

 their crowns 5 to 6 feet or more from the 

 ground, and in course of time balloons 

 will be required to pick the fruit from 

 such trees ! Never allow your trees to 

 go up like coconut palms, start them 

 low, and make them spread out, don't 

 forget that we have allowed 25 feet 

 between the rows. Orange trees planted 

 under other trees will never do much 

 good, they always have a tendency to 

 go up, and they hardly bear any fruit. 



If a branch has a tendency to go up 

 cut it back during the rainy weather, 

 always making a clean cut. The best 

 tool for this purpose is the French 

 pruning shears with a spiral spring. 

 They are being sold by the Fort iron- 

 mongers at R. 2 each- In cutting a 

 branch always cut it at an angle, hold- 

 ing the branch with your left hand and 

 slightly pressing the branch away from 

 the cut. Cutting the branch at an angle 

 prevents any water settling, and it makes 

 a quick recovery. If the branch is a 

 big one use a 'saw, and trim the bark 

 round the cut with a sharp knife. 



When ouce we have a well-balanced 

 tree with branches evenly distributed 

 around it, and it has started bearing, 

 it is advisable to clean any rubbish, or 

 small branches in the centre of the tree 

 to enable a free circulation of air. 

 When the tree has attained any size 

 say in its fifth year, any laterals 



