450 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Jan. 1, 1901. 
pectedly. Of course, you see the necessity of clear- 
ins away plenty of soil to allow the top of the tree 
10 fall into a hollow space. If this is not done the 
tree when down, will lie at an angle which will 
make it very awkward to tri*n off the soil and roots. 
We will suppose th'' tree, with the cube inside the 
box is now lying on its broad side. Then proceed 
to cut away all the soil that is protruding beyond 
the bottom edges of the box. Cut the soil off nicely 
square across, and then whatever roots there are 
can be sawn off level with the soil The bottom 
may now be nailed on and the tree up-ended. 
If the sun is hot it soon suffers while lying down, 
for the under surfaces of the leaves are tender and 
quickly scald. Hence the necessity of getting the 
tree upright again as expeditiously as possible. Be- 
fore beginning operations, it will be as well to have 
a look round to see how near you can get to the 
tree and which position will be best for getting it 
into the dray. You will want strong hardwood 
skids- 4 inches by 4 inches by 18 feet long will 
do I'he ends of these may b3 placed under the 
box before the tree is up-ended, with ihe other ends 
of the skids resting about 18 inches on the dray; 
a roller is placed on the bottom of the dray at 
the ends of the skids, it will land the.box well forward 
with little effort. 
The dray must be well propped up fore and aft, 
and the wheels can be left down into the soil to 
reduce the incline. If the ruts are dug out the 
shape of the wheels, it will keep all steady. The 
soil can be cut away from the front of the wheels 
when you are ready to start away with the tree. 
Greasing the skids will help considerably. All lever 
movements must be made with great steadiness and 
Tirecaution, especially when the tree is about midway 
on the skids, for if too much play is allowed, and 
B eust of wind comes along at the same time, an 
accident may result. Pieces of 3 by 1 hardwood 
battens nailed on the bottom flush with the outside 
edges will keep the box nicely square on the skids 
while you are levering the tree into the dray, which 
to the uninitiated looks a dangerous job. These 
Tjieces of battens are just as useful to subsequently 
guide the tree down the skids off the dray. 
To Plant tie Tree.— Having placed the dray within 
about 15 feet of the spot where the tree is to be 
Blanted put one end of each skid under the box, 
the other ends to reach the hole, but to one side 
of it then slide the box gently down the skids till 
it reaches the ground. Now turn it over on its 
broad side with the bottom of the box presented to 
the hole it is to be planted in, with 2 or .3 inches 
hanging over. Prise the bottom off with the crowbar, 
and up-end the tree. This requires small effort, as 
the top will about balance the box. The tree being 
now upright in its new home, you can take the 
nuts off the bolts, and prise the box asunder with 
the bar Lift the pieces ouN and fill in the hole 
round the tree. If, when you are prising the box 
anart you see the cube of earth is likely to fall to 
nieces remove one side only, fill in that side, then 
take out another, and fill that in till it is all done* 
It a number of trees are to be shifted, the top and 
bottom of the box should be bolted together instead 
of nailing, For this purpose use i-inch iron rods 
screwed down 2 inches at each end with nuts and 
washers to fit. The rods will need to be M inches 
long The bottom, in this case, should be hard- 
w, od and the battens before mentioned can be 
narm'anently fixed on the outside boards. Whether the 
ton and bottom are nailed or bolted on, it will be neces- 
sarv to cut the boards longer than the width of the box 
to allow for any bulging that may possibly occur. 
If holts are to be used, the holes should be slotted 
(luite 1 inch long. Now, as the top and bottom 
cannot be put on at the same time, it will be best 
to screw "n the top, temporarily putting the screws 
between the slots. The total cost of taking up and 
eplanting a tree such as shown on the dray (box 
included amounted to £2. One man succeeded in 
doing all the work of the tree on the dray with« 
out any help whatever. 
[A precisely similar interesting process is adopted 
in Paris, where very large trees are often trans- 
planted. The Fi-ench foresters think nothing of 
transplanting trees 20 to 30 feet high with a corres- 
ponding diameter. — Ed. Q.A.J."] 
ORANGE GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 
To those who are interested in fruit-growing, one of 
the most interesting sights in one of the two great 
horticultural tents in the late Paris Exhibition, was 
the display of fruit staged by the ArlingtoQ Heights 
Fruit Company. If one can believe literally every 
thing which has been said and written about Riverside 
" the greatest Orange growing district on earth," this 
place comes nearest to the earthly paradise of which 
the medieval poets and prose writers dreamed and 
spoke. Its advantages are bewilderingly numerous, 
and, infer alia. " it has no millionaires and no pau- 
pers." The delights of Eiverside, and the enterprise 
of the Arlington Heights Fruit Company are duly 
set forth in a dainty little pamphlet, and when oar 
dear cousins across the water take up the cudgel — in 
this case it ia a pen, we know that they are not going 
to be uupleasantly modest about their own achieve- 
ments. The present writer would gladly respond to 
the " Greeting and invitation from Eiverside," but the 
little pamphlet is silent on the " incidentals " of 
passage-money and hotel bills ! But the facts quoted 
in the pamphlet are of very great interest, and Cali- 
fornia is undoubtedly a wonderful country, whilst 
" Riverside is the exponent and example of the highest 
development in California — material, moral, social, 
intellectual." He must be a cantankerous person 
who wants more than this. Mr. Chaunoy M. Depew 
tells us that a man who owns 30 acres in California 
is a country gentleman. "He does just about work 
enough to keep himself in good physical condition 
and class from 3,000 dollars to 4,000 dollars a year. I 
know one man who makes 3,000 dollars a year on 10 
acres of ground. They press the button, and Nature 
does the rest." 
The orchard area of Riverside is 30 square miles, or 
19,200 acres, in which are growing 1,536,000 Orange- 
trees, so that until some other district can adduce 
figures in excess of these, the claim of Riverside to be 
the greatest Orange-groA'ing locality in the world 
must remain undisputed. These trees planted 20 feet 
apart, aud the produce for this season is estimated 
at about 318,024,000 Oranges, and the product of this 
district is stated to be one-third of the output of the 
State. The money value of this enormous quantity is 
calculated at 6,000,000 dollars, or an average of over 
671 dollars for every man, woman, and child, iu the 
district- Although Oranges are chipped from River- 
side every month in the year, the bulk of the crop is 
exported between Dec. 1 and May 1. Riverside is 
especially favourable for the cultivation of the Orange 
for it has all the essential elements ot success ; an 
ample water supply, the proper soil, the right altitude, 
and the absence of fogs. The selling value of Orange 
(bearing) groves vary from 500 to 2000 dollars per 
acre. The most favoured variety in the Riverside 
district — where indeed it may be said to have been 
raised — is the Riverside Washington Navel, the king 
of Oranges ; it has stood the test of twenty-five years 
cultivation, and maintains its superiority. 
Biverside, in its Magnolia and Victoria Avenues, 
possesses •' two of the most famous avenues in the 
world ;" their combined length is 20 miles, mostly 
through continuous Orange-groves, and within the 
limits of the city ; whilst in the city park may be 
seen the largest and finest collection of Cacti in 
America, "if not in the world." U . Roberts. — 
The Gardeners' Chronicle, 
