112 



ORANGE CULTURE. 



soothed his feeliugs by giving their tree-namesakes a tremendous 

 drubbino-. This was in the summer; the trees did not grow 

 €[uite as fast as usual, and the next season, for the first time, 

 they bore lai'ge crops of fine fruit. Investigation proved that 

 the whipping they had received had bruised the bark so as to 

 retard the flow of sap, just as if they had been girdled. 



Girdling orange trees by any of these methods should be 

 done from June to September, when fruit is wanted for tbe next 

 year ; and to make large and early fruit, late in March or early 

 in April. 



The China berry tree is said to be a great fertilizer, when 

 planted in the " diamonds," between the orange trees. It pro- 

 fusely drops its foliage, adding a rich humus to the soih It will 

 abundantly fertilize the soil for a space of thirty or forty feet 

 around it. 



From Australia comes a voice that is echoed from many 

 parts of Florida, saying, " We have found, not the remedy, but 

 better still, the preventive for the scale insect." What is it ? A 

 tree that has been making considerable stir in the world of late, be- 

 cause of its anti-malarial and draining properties, the Eucalyptus. 



It is a well known fact that insects dislike the smell and 

 taste of this remarkable tree, and it has never been known to be 

 attacked by any of their mischievous race. 



Who does not know the peculiar aromatic odor of the 

 Eucalyptus; and from afar the winds waft its perfume? Place 

 some of these trees among your orange trees — the more the 

 better — if your land is inclined to be too moist, and whatever 

 orange trees are near enough to get the benefit of their odor, will be 

 free from insects, even though others around them may be infested 

 with them. This is especially true as regards the scale insect, 

 Avhich appears to have a very great dislike to the Eucalyptus tree. 



It is also claimed that strips of the bal'k of this tree, tied 

 around the trunks of other trees, will keep insects at bay, just as 

 a few of its leaves scattered about the floor wdll drive fleas away. 



These assertions being true, we should judge that a w^ash 

 made of a strong effusion of Eucalyptus leaves, or bark, would be 

 a very effectual weapon wherewith to fight our insect enemies. 



