^OY, 1, 1900.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
311 
crops— beans, corn, cassava, potatoes, yams, etc., 
taking care always to keep round each plant clear 
■O as 10 prevent crowding. The citrus plant cannot 
stand crowding or overshading as it immediately 
under such circumstances develops disease and 
blight. Keep the soil for about four feet round tne 
plant well forked, so as to let in light and air, and 
thas procure the beat advantages of sunshine and 
showers. 
Having started your grove— set to work to get a 
nursery. Prepare a seed bed by ploughing a nice level 
piece of land free from stones. Open trenches about 
one inch deep and one foot apart. Get Seville 
orange or hog shaddock seed and drop them in the 
trenches about one inch apart, and cover lightly. 
And when the seeds begin to grow be careful to 
keep the land round about well stirred and free 
from weeds. It is well to steep your seeds the 
night before you plant out in a solution of bitter- 
wood, to prevent them being eaten by any mice and 
other pests. When these plants are about eight 
months old they will be fit to put out in the nursery. 
Prepare the nursery land carefully. I'lough deeply 
and then harrow it off. A portion of your grove 
in which you have not planted catch crops will do 
for this purpose and will effect a great economy, 
•3 whilst you are cultivating your nursery stock, 
you are also cultivating and improving your grove 
trees. Line off in rows two feet apart and drill 
out the plants six inches apart, and as they grow, 
Btire the land round about well and keep the weeds 
down so as to give your plants all the advantages to 
be derived from the soil. Twelve mouths after the 
time of planting out from the nursery the plants 
will be ready to be budded. And if your grove trees 
have got on well you will get plenty of bud-wood from 
them, by cutting back some of the superfious shoots 
which they have put out. And I think I will best 
serve the purpose by givin? you a practical lesson 
in budding— all the materials for which I have at hand. 
After the bud has been in li days— If you see it 
still green and beginning to close round the edges, 
you may be certain it has taken. Cut back the 
stock about six to nine inches from the bud. Those 
that have not taken, you leave to rebud another 
day. It is advisable not to cut the top quite off 
but half through and bend over the head, so as not to 
get an over-fiow of sap to the bud and endanger 
its existence by repletion. When the bud has grown 
about a foot, and has hardened up, remove the top 
altogether and give the bud shoot the benefit of the 
entire flow of sap, it will then be able to utilize it 
all. When the bud is about three months old, with 
the aid of a sharp strong scissors, clip the head of 
the stock quite close to the [apex of the bud, and 
this gradually heals over making for the plant one 
straight trunk, and you soon lose sight of the point 
where the bud was put in. It will surprise you how 
quickly these buds grow and how soon they outstrip 
seedlings. This grape fruit which you see here was 
only budded last November. And an important ad- 
vantage not to be lost sight of in building is, that 
it is the only method of propagating the citrus 
family to ensure getting the original variety you 
■wish, as owing to the ease with which the blossoms 
of this family are fertilized by bees and other 
insects, seedlings are always furtive and producing 
all sorts of hybrids, most of which are useless for 
any purpose. This shaddock is from a tree budded 
August gone, three years, from the far-famed Cinna- 
mon Hill Shaddock, and it has come perfectly true 
to the original in shape and quality. Here also are 
. Grape fruit budded from the Wilton Grape Fruit 
which in flavour, shape and quality, are the exact 
counterpart of the fruit from the parent tree. 
Here also are Navel Oranges, the bud of which 
came by book parcel post from the Riverside 
Groves in distant California, and not one of the trees 
from which these fruit were gathered are yet four 
years old — some of them barely three. I think these 
examples which sufficiently prove that propa- 
gation by budding is the best to adopt and vastly 
superior to all others. The next question tha 
should occupy the citrus growers attention is. wha 
are the best varieties to grow. I am quite certain that 
of oranges there is no finer variety than the ordi- 
nary Jamaica Orange; and with cnhivation, selection 
and propagation by budding, it will in time hold its 
own with any variety in the world ; but in the 
meantime as our best market is in America, we have 
to consider the taste and prejudices of the consumers 
hence it is well to calculate ^the varieties most 
highly thought of in America. Another very important 
desideratum is to have such varieties that come 
in at different periods of the season. To have a crop 
coming gradually to maturity and extending over 
the whole season, the following varieties will be 
found to meet these requisites to a great extent : — 
Boones Early — the earliest in cultivation in Florida, 
ripens in September, and I feel certain from what I 
see on my trees, this variety will be still earlier in 
Jamaica. The two next earliest are Centennial and 
Parson Brown — the Centennial is a very prolific 
bearer with a fine shaped fruit, follows close oh 
Boones Early. The Parson Brown is a very fine Orange 
indeed, large and well shaped and a heavy bearer. 
For mid-crop, the Jaffa, Washington Navel, Pine 
Apple and the blood varieties, such as Ruby Blood, 
Jaffa, Blood and Maltese Blood are the best. The 
Washington Navel is the favourite Orange in California 
and the most generally grown there. This Orange 
I have discovered growing naturally here, and 1 have 
the word of a gentleman who has eaten this fruit 
in the Riverside Groves, that our Jamaica Navel 
is as good in all respects as its valued relative in 
California, Now here is the native Orange to 
to propagate and cultivate. We in Jamaica think 
too little of these things, and the following facts 
will illustrate what I mean. Thirty years ago the 
Washington Department of Agriculture sent to Bahia 
in South America, and got 10 trees of this variety, 
when they arrived in Washington only two were 
alive - when planted, only one grew ; and it is from 
this one tree that the thousands of acre were planted 
in California now yielding million of dollare to their 
fortunate owners. Twenty-five years ago Captain 
Rivett brought from Bahia two trees of this very 
Orange and planted them at Pctersfield, in St. 
Andrew — both grew, and up to two years ago they were 
the only two trees known in -^e Island. The Jaffa 
and Pine Apple are very vigorous growers in our 
Island climate and bid fair to make large compact 
trees capable of producing heavy crops of fruit, 
and I notice in the Parson Brown and Jaffa, an 
almost entire absence of attacks of insects and 
disease of all sorts which is quite remarkable, and 
for these reasons i woulfi recommend these varieties 
for cultivation above all others. The late varieties 
— Hart's Tardift", Kings's and Californian Joppa, 
complete a list which I think, will enable the grove 
owner to have Oranges from September to June of 
the following year, without the great loss from over- 
ripe fruit which would naturally be the case if 
only the early varieties were planted — or the .long 
waiting, if only the late vari(^ies were cultivated. 
The Joppa is a comparatively new variety. It is 
quite thornless and bears a seedless fruit, and it is 
said that the fruit will remain on the trees perfectly 
sound until June. Of the fancy varieties the Daisy 
Tangerine and the Satsuma are the best to grow, as 
they have a tough, leathery skin, which makes them 
keep well and good travellers. The Satsuma has only 
recently been introduced from. Japan, and it is said 
that its keeping and travelling qualities are so good, 
whilst preserving the colour and qualities of -Tangerine 
that it will soon take the place of all other fancy 
varieties. Another variety of the citrus family that 
is much valued in the Northern markets are Lemons, 
and the varieties best for cultivation here are Genoa 
and Villa Franca. The mode of culture and propa< 
gation is the same as oranges, but much greater 
care is required in the gathering, airing, and paok- 
icg o{ the fruit. The above varieties grow her^ 
