CITRUS CULTURE IN HAWAII 



7 



and undesirable trash, then broken up, and harrowed. The rows 

 should be staked out and the holes for planting dug. 



There are several ways of arranging citrus trees in rows. 

 The most important of these are the square, triangle, hexagonal, 

 and quincunx. These methods are described in popular horti- 

 cultural books. Trees occupying considerable areas of hilly land 

 may be set along contour lines to facilitate irrigation and culti- 

 vation. Large areas may be laid out with the help of a survey- 

 or's transit, and medium and small areas with a strong wire 

 cable. This is measured at desirable intervals by knobs soldered 

 to it for each tree row. The wire is stretched across the orchard 

 and a stake is set at each place to be occupied by a tree. Some 

 kinds of citrus require more space than others, because of their 

 ultimate size ; hence, different distances apart in orchard planting 

 are recommended. Mandarin and lime trees require areas 20 

 feet across ; oranges, grapefruit, and pomelo, 22 to 24 feet ; and 

 lemons and shaddocks, 25 to 28 feet. 



When the orchard site is comparatively level the trees may 

 be planted on the square. They should be set in straight rows at 

 right angles. In an orange orchard, for example, the trees are 

 set 22 by 22 feet each way, which permits the growing of 90 

 trees to the acre.- Under this arrangement the trees will not 

 become crowded for 40 or 50 years, and they will make profitable 

 yields during this time. In planting the trees 22 by 22 feet each 

 way, the first row should be laid out as a base, parallel with, and 

 at a distance of about 11 feet from, one of the straight boundary 

 lines. Along this row the spaces should be measured off and the 

 stakes set 22 feet apart. From these stakes the cross rows are 

 laid out at right angles to the base, stakes being set 22 feet apart 

 along each row. When the holes are dug the stakes should be 

 removed and a planting board (fig. 2, B, g) should be used to 

 indicate the exact place the tree is to occupy. This is made of 

 1-inch board about 5 inches wide and 6 feet long. A li/o-inch 

 hole is bored about 4 inches from each end and exactly midway 

 between these two holes and on the edge of the board a notch 

 is cut. This board is placed on the ground with the tree stake 

 in the central notch. Then a wooden pin about 1 foot long is 

 firmly driven into the ground in the holes near the ends of the 

 board. The board next is raised, and the projecting pins are 

 left in the ground until after the tree is planted. Before the 

 tree stake is removed the size of the hole about it should be 

 roughly marked out. 



The tree holes, preferably square, should be at least 3 feet 

 across and 2 feet deep. Surface soil containing some sand and 

 enriched with well-decomposed barnyard manure should be 

 placed in the bottom of the holes before the trees are set. A 

 considerable amount of coarse sand should be mixed with heavy 

 soil. Coral sand from the seashore is suitable for the purpose, 

 because it contains calcium. Each tree is removed from the 



2 To find the number of trees required to set an acre, multiply the two 

 distances in feet at which the trees stand apart, and divide the product 

 into 43,560 (square feet in an acre). The quotient will be the number of 

 trees required. 



