8 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTUPJST. 
[July 1, 1898. 
Land of Ginprer— Jamaica.*— -/ou;/(«i of tin: America 
Agricultural Soc.iclij. 
ORANGE CULTIVATION IN MEXICO. 
It is generally supposed that the Spaniards in- 
troduced several vnrieties of fruit trees ii^to Mexico, 
among them perhups the sweet orange, but I he 
traveller in that coujitry, after seeing tne numerous 
forests of wild oranges inclines to the theory that the 
ancients knew of this fruit, and that perhaps it 
was cultivated before the time of Cortez. However, 
woiks treating on the history of old or ancient 
Mexico do not describe oranges; yet it is to be 
presumed that the existing wild stock, found generally 
iu obscure and inaccessible regions of the tropics, was 
placed there originally by the hand of man, and 
nature spread it widely, but gradually changed it 
from a sweet to a eour or bitter orange. The United 
States Consul-General in the city of Mexico says 
that the Mexican orange comes under the family 
Aurantiacea, genus citrus. Although fifty varieties 
are known to exist, there are but three kinds of 
oranges found in the markets of the country, classified 
as follows : — The sweet orange, "naranja dulce;" 
the Chinese orange "naranja de China;" and the 
Bour orange, " naranja de agria." The naranja de 
China" is a small fruit, a little over two inches 
in diameter, spherical, slightly depressed at the 
apex, deep yellow in colour, thin, with minute oil 
cells, and very delicious; its tree is somewhat d« ar- 
fish, having small leaves, one inch to one inch and- 
a-half long, and resembling those of the myrtle. 
The sour orange has a roughish rind, rather thick, 
acrid, bitter pulp, and is generally large in size ; its 
tree is large, having a hard wood, and in many 
places develops a trunk of great dimensions; the 
leaves are of a brilliant, agreeable green colour, 
aromatic, lanoeolated, and with a broadly-winged 
petiole. The sweet orange could be greatly improved 
and much could be accomplished with it by careful 
selection in its propagation — for instance, selecting 
shoots, cuttings, or seeds from trees, or budding, or 
grafting with sound stock from California and Florida. 
There are few countries that possess the natural 
advantages which subtropical and tropical Mexico 
enjoys, and hardly any are gifted with the immense 
proportion of territory comprising two-thirds of the 
Republic, suitable for orange culture. The greatest 
producing and most important districts, having easy 
means of transportation, are La Larca, Oootlan, 
and Guadal-ajara, in the state of Jalisco ; I'autepec, 
Morelos, Linares and Montemorelos, Nurvo Leon ; 
Rio Verde and San Antonio, San Luis Potosi, Guay- 
mas and Hermosello, Sanora; Jula, Tamaulipas, and 
Coatepeo and Cordoba, Veracruz. In Montemorelos 
and Linares, during the last three years, more than 
60,000 trees have been planted with several hundred 
grafted and budded with California and Florida 
stock. The Mexican people relish the fruit, and 
especially on the occasion of the holydays — All Saints' 
Day and the Posasdas — vast quantities of it are 
brought into the principal cities for home consump- 
tion. Mexico city alone consumes annually more 
than 300 car-loads of sweet, Chinese, and sour oranges, 
while Puebla consumes 70, and Guadalajara 30 car- 
loads. As regards the by-products of the Mexican 
orange, the leaves (hojar) are used for the tea of 
the Indians and of the poor, and in large cities 
where they are sold in the streets and in the markets 
in small bunches for one hnlf penny each, are con- 
sumed in large quantities. They are considered the 
best remedy for insomnia and restlessness, and are 
highly commended for children, A wine is manu- 
* In preparing this paper, valuable assistance has 
been rendred the writer by chose whose names are 
mentioned therein. In addition, he feels indebted 
to His Excellency, Sir A. Blake, Governor of 
Jamaica; to the Hon. Q. O. Eoliford, ex-United 
States Consul ; to Geo. A. Douet, Esq., Secretary 
of the Jamaica Agricultural Society ; to L. Frazer, 
of Montego Bay, and many others. 
factured from the refuse oranges, purchnsed at about 
one shilling a hundred in Cuantla. Morelas. and 
Guadalajara, which retails at two shillingB a bottle. 
There are other valuable products which could be 
obtained, such as the distilled water of the blossomb, 
used for toilet purposes, worth about l'J«. a gallon ; 
citric acid from the pulp of the sour orangea ; oil 
from the leavfs and rind ; and the essential uilii from 
the blooboms, leaves, and uuiipe fruit. AUxicun (jrowerB 
propagate the or»uj;e from bc.-ri, but it can be ri« 
produced more advantageously by budding, grafting, 
layering, and from cuttings. Thw fruit appears iii 
the latter case, in from four to five yeare. Budding 
and grafting have to be practised on ^rowu trees. 
Propagation by cuttings can be tfifccted from both 
immature and mature growth. In Propagating by 
seed, a well ventilited place, yet free from cold 
winds, is Helfcted : the soil must be deep and suscepti- 
ble of being irrigated. For this procpss, good vigorous 
large seeds must be chosen from healtny fruits and 
best plants. In May the seed beds are made and 
in June the seeds, which have previously been kept 
in earth, are sown -1 inches apart by 8 inches between 
the rows. The rows can be ruu with the length of 
each seed bsd, theieby producing 427 seedlings to 
the seed bed. Having soaked the seeds from 12 to 
20 hours in lukewarm water, previous to sowing 
them the plants should come up in fifteen to twenty 
days. If the rainy season, has not set in, and on 
dry days during that season, the seed beds aie 
sprinkled every two days, but when the nlant has 
niade its appearance a generous application of water 
is necessary every day, the amount beinij decreased 
as the plant grows. In May the grouud is ploughed, 
cleared of ull weeds, and fertilised with cheap manure, 
having plenty of nitrogenous matter. After the land 
has been well worked, ditches are ruu at a distance 
of about \A feet apart, and then cross ditches of 
the same distance. At the intersection of these ditcher 
hole 2 feet deep are made for the reception of the 
young trees; this will give 21.j trees to the acre, 
which can be decreased on a very rich soil, making 
the distance IG feet apart. Great care is taken iu 
transferring the young plants that they are not in 
any way injured either in leaf or root. A ring (cajele) 
is hoed round each tree, wide enough to admit 
manure, and in connection with the ditches referred 
to above, for irrigation purposes. If it does not 
rain all day following the transplanting, the plants 
are iirigatcd, iiid aiierw irds -so often as they require 
it. Tivo or three days after, if iht- e irth around the 
plant has settled loose soil niix<rd with leaf mould 
or manure is used to make up the loss When the 
trees are mature, dead and ill-shaped branches are 
removed with the pruning saw, the wound being 
trimmed with a knife and ihen tarred over. Wax 
can be substituted for the tar if the former is not 
obtainable, and this is done to prevent decay entering 
into the heart of the tree. Maturity of crop varies 
very much in Mexico. In Canipeachy. Chiapas Oaxaca, 
Guerrero, Atlixo (Puebla) and Yautepec (Moreles) 
the fruit ripens as early as July, and the season 
lasts until December 1, while in Cordoba and Coatepec 
(Veracruz), in Michoacau and Jalisco until September, 
Rio Verde and Montemorelos following, and the 
Sonora crop comes in last, about November 10. The 
yield in Mexico varies very much — soil, climate, proper 
irrigation, pruning, and cultivation being important 
factors in determining the extent of the crops- In 
Atlixo, Yauteppc, and Tacambaro the trees average 
860 oranges each, but in Atolonilco, Montemorelos, 
and Herniosillo, the average yield is from l.VOO to 
9,200 oranges a year. With the advantages of climate 
and soil the tree in Mexico should yield from 5.000 
to 8,000 oranges. The tree i> -lot generally subject 
to any pest, nor is it affected by any disease.— 
Indian Agriculturist. 
Jav.v Shipping Men infentl, say.s the "Liver- 
ool .lournal of Commerce," to try and benefit 
y the war owing to the extra demand for quinine 
and the check to the trade in Cuban and Philip. 
pine sugars. 
