16 



BULLETIN 3 3, PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION 



will then be comparatively free from damping-off fungi, growth will 

 be rapid, and the plants stocky. (Fig. 7.) The seed should be 

 scattered on top of the soil at the rate of about four per square 

 inch and covered with a thin layer of soil. This in turn should 

 be topped with a thin layer of fine coconut fiber. The soil should 

 be kept constantly moist until the plants are ready for transplanting. 



If fresh seeds are planted the resulting seedlings will be large 

 enough for removal into other boxes in three months. All seedlings 

 below medium size should be discarded. The young plants should 

 be set one-half inch apart in boxes containing 8 inches of prefer- 

 ably a rich loam soil. They may be left in the boxes for six 

 months, during which time they will require less attention than 

 would similar plants in the nursery. 



In the nursery the seedlings may be planted 12 inches apart in 

 rows &y 2 to 4 feet apart. When the soil is clayey the plants should 

 be set at least 18 inches apart in the row to permit of removing a 

 ball of earth with the tree in transplanting. Preparatory to the 

 removal of the plants from the propagating boxes a shovel should 

 be run along the bottom to loosen the earth. After this they can 

 be taken up with less likelihood of breaking the roots. All under- 

 sized plants should again be discarded. It is a good practice to 

 remove only a few trees at a time, dip the roots in a slurry consist- 

 ing of clay and cow dung, and place them in a covered basket from 

 which they can readily be removed for transplanting. Holes large 

 enough to accommodate all the roots without cramping should be 

 made in a straight line across the field. The plants should then be 

 set and the soil firmed around the roots. Water should be applied 

 immediately. 



After planting is clone the soil should be kept constantly moist, 

 mellow, and fertile. It is well to use fertilizers two weeks after 

 planting and then at intervals of two months; applications of 1 

 ounce per plant of about a 4-6-6 mixture will produce stocky plants 

 which should be ready to bud in about 12 months from seed. 



BUD SELECTION 



In bud selection the main points for consideration are the tree 

 and the fruit. The tree should have a branching habit with a 

 spread as great as, or greater than, the height. It should be large 

 in order that the bearing area may be large, and free from imperfec- 

 tions that may be attributed to inheritance. The fruit produced 

 should be large and evenly distributed and advantageously placed. 

 Grapefruit, for example, should hang singly, or nearly so, rather 

 than in large clusters. 



The most essential points to be considered in regard to fruit are 

 time and degree of maturity, form, size, weight in proportion to 

 size, color and smoothness of rind, thickness of rind, flavor and con- 

 sistency of pulp, number of seeds, fiber and number of sections, and 

 finally uniformity of all these points in a large number of fruits. 

 Special attention should be paid to uniformity of characters. The 

 fruit from a certain tree may be generally desirable, but when indi- 

 vidual specimens differ much in regard to any one character the 

 indications are that the character is not stable and may not be 



