1882.] 



69 



THE WASHINGTON NAVEL, OE RIVERSIDE 

 ORANGE. 



The impetus which the introduction of 

 varieties, specially suited to the climate of 

 California, has lately given to Orange culture 

 in that State is something marvelous. To 

 judge from the success already achieved in 

 Orange culture, and the almost limitless re- 

 sources for its extension, the time cannot be 

 far, when the " Golden State " will flood the 

 world with shiploads of her golden fruits, 

 bringing pleasure and delight to many hearts 

 and more wealth to herself than all her 

 golden ores. 



Oranges have been grown in California 

 from the time of its first settlement, but 

 none of the varieties seemed to possess suf- 

 ficient superiority over imported fruit to 

 make their cultivation on a large scale very 

 profitable. In 1873 the Agricultural De- 

 partment at Washington imported several 

 Orange trees 

 from Bahia, Bra- 

 zil. One of these 

 was sent to Mrs. 

 L. C. Tiblets, of 

 Biverside, Cal., 

 who distribiited 

 some of the buds 

 among a few 

 friends. But lit- 

 tle attention was 

 paid to the orig- 

 inal tree nor to 

 its offsprings un- 

 til 1879, when 

 some of the fruits 

 were exhibited. 

 Their beautiful 

 color, peculiar 

 form, and excel- 

 lent quality, at- 

 tracted imme- 

 diate attention 

 and stimulated 

 its propagation. 

 It was named 

 "Washington 

 Navel," to dis- 

 tinguish it from 

 the " Australian 

 Navel," intro- 

 duced about the 

 same time. The 

 latter is dis- 

 tinctly ribbed 



lengthwise, of light color and inferior qual- 

 ity, while the "Washington" is smooth, 

 of a golden bronze tint, and a fine text- 

 ured, satin-like skin ; its flavor is delicious, 

 somewhat like a combination of the best 

 qualities of the Messina and Florida Oranges, 

 and the fruit has the additional advantage 

 of having no seeds. 

 Ever since the "Washington Navel," or 



THE PEACH. 



OBSTACLES TO GROWTH, AND REMEDIES. 



In an address before the Potomac Fruit 

 Growers, Dr. G. F. Needham sums up the evils 

 which beset the Peach-tree, as follows : 



The Peach is one of our most important 

 fruits and the one most extensively culti- 

 vated. It is so easily raised, comes so early 

 into bearing, is so delicious and beautiful, 

 that it is a universal favorite. Therefore so 

 many amateur's, novices, etc., impelled by 

 the love of nature in one of her most beauti- 

 ful forms, or by the hope of fortunes rapidly 

 gained, become planters. The end is a 

 laudable one, and we should rejoice and 

 encourage the cultivator. It should enlist 

 our patriotism and benevolence. 



We now propose to say a few plain things, 

 by way of making known the difficulties in 

 Peach culture and how to remedy them, so 

 as to make the pursuit a success. 



WASHINGTON NAVEL ORANGE. 



First. The first drawback is the habit of 

 the Peach tree. The fruit grows, as is well 

 known, on the wood of last year's growth. 

 If the tree begins to bear, say in the 

 third year, the next crop will be gathered 

 some three feet beyond the first, and so 

 each year three feet further from the trunk 

 of the tree, until at length the crop hangs so 



... , far from the stem and on such slender 



Biverside," as it is now christened after branches that the tree breaks down and 

 the place of its adoption, made its first debut, perishes. This whole thing can be pre- 

 it has eclipsed all competitors, and has taken vented by cutting back one-half of the new 



first premiums wherever exhibited. The ac- 

 companying illustration is an exact represen- 

 tation of one of the premium Oranges, which, 

 together with other prize fruits of the Citrus 

 Fair at Biverside, were exhibited at our office 

 last month, where they attracted consider- 

 able attention, especially the magnificent 

 specimens of Navel Oranges from Mr. James 

 Bettner and from Mr. T. W. Cover, which 

 prominent fruit-dealers declared to be the 

 finest Oranges they had ever seen. 



wood each fall and by thinning out the fruit, 

 and thus have good-shaped trees and large, 

 luscious, and paying fruit. 



Second. Early blossoming in the spring — so 

 early that the late frosts very often destroy 

 the fruit buds. Even in the State of Georgia, 

 Peach growers have to take measures to pre- 

 vent the frost from injuring their fruit. The 

 most feasible remedy is to plant the trees 

 with a northern exposure. 



Third. Climate changes, producing curl 



of the leaf. Some have thought that this 

 trouble was caused by insects, but Mr. 

 Saunders has demonstrated that it is the 

 effect of sudden changes of the atmosphere. 

 This trouble, of course, weakens the tree, as 

 the old leaves must be replaced. 



Fourth. The grub of the JEgeria exitiosa 

 (the borer) causes great destruction of Peach 

 trees. The perfect insect, somewhat resemb- 

 ling the wasp, lays its eggs in June at the 

 base of the tree, which in a few days hatch 

 and the grub enters the bark, and lives on it 

 till September or later, and then enters on 

 its chrysalis state preparatory to appearing 

 again the next spring. If your trees are 

 already infested, dig the pests out — make 

 thorough work. If you are not quite sin e that 

 you have captured them all, pour boiling 

 water around the roots. If in May of each 

 year you make a mound of earth around each 

 tree, and in October remove it, you will be 

 no longer trou- 

 bled with this 

 insect. 



Fifth. The 

 Curculio. This 

 little turk hangs 

 his banner all 

 along the line 

 of stone fruits. 

 Many remedies 

 have been sug- 

 gested, but the 

 most simple and 

 thorough is to 

 shake the trees 

 early in the 

 morning as long 

 as the trees are 

 in blossom. The 

 best way is to 

 drive a large nail 

 into the trunk 

 among the 

 branches a n d 

 strike several 

 s h a r p blows 

 when the insects 

 will fall on to 

 the sheets you 

 have placed un- 

 der the tree, and 

 must be killed. 



Sixth. The Yel- 

 lows. This dis- 

 ease is the yel- 

 low fury of the Peach-tree. It has de- 

 stroyed and is destroying more orchards than 

 all other causes combined. The cause is not 

 known. The only remedy is to dig up the 

 trees and burn them at once, and prevent the 

 contagion from spreading. If it lie desirable 

 to replace the tree, the soil should be re- 

 moved, fresh earth that has been well limed 

 should be used in its place. 



Thus eternal vigilance is the price of fruit, 

 and the knowledge that it costs so much care, 

 labor, and effort to grow the luscious fruits 

 should make them taste all the more deli- 

 cious. 



[Becent investigations have shown that 

 the leaf -cells of trees affected with "Yel- 

 lows" are filled with a superabundance of 

 starch. The knowledge of the fact that pot- 

 ash has the power of dissolving starch led 

 to experiments in this direction. Muriate of 

 potash was applied to the roots of diseased 

 trees, after which they recovered speedily, 

 and the starch disappeared. — Ed.] 



