BUDDED TREES OR SEEDLINGS. 55 



and then stand still for months, or even years, the vitality of the 

 trunk being exhausted and the roots not having sufficient life to 

 supply further nutriment. 



As an example, we give an instance of our own personal 

 experience : Five years ago we set out a grove of sour stocks, 

 taken from the hammock — to be budded in due time — on pine 

 land, at an expense of one dollar each. A few of the transplanted 

 stumps died almost immediately. The others lingered on, just 

 alive, most of them too feeble to take a bud. After two years 

 of lost time and patience, the majority were pulled up and thrown 

 away, to be replaced by thrifty budded trees from the nursery. 

 This year still more have been dug out in disgrace, while the few 

 stumps that nourished their foster children, the sweet buds, are 

 only now, after four years, beginning to make a respectable 

 growth. 



Had these sour stamps been stock of the proper kind, they 

 would have grown right along and accepted the bud in due 

 time. The grove then set out would now have been a bearing 

 one, beginning to pay back the money, care and time expended 

 on it. As it is, four years are totally lost. So much for setting 

 out the wrong kind of stock. 



The stock that is now coming into competition with the once 

 universal sour orange, are lemon, lime, grape-fruit, and the sweet 

 seedling. 



The three former are stronger growing trees than the latter, 

 but this also is as thrifty as need be, and is becoming a great 

 favorite with many growers. 



One of Florida's foremost nurserymen, Mr. A. G. Beach, of 

 Palatka, takes a decided stand in favor of the sweet seedling 

 for stocks ; especially, because in the event of a repetition of the 

 frost of 1835, that killed orange trees to the ground, the sweet 

 seedling sprouting from the ground would still bear a sweet 

 orange without requiring to be again budded ; supposing, of 

 course, that its roots had attained a bearing age. 



But what then ? The fruit would still be only a seedling orange, 

 of no special variety, and more likely poor than good ; so that 



