26 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
surprising, the profits of orange growing 
after that freeze. That means that nc 
one should be discouraged because they 
are cut back. Get your growth just as 
soon as you can so as to get your share 
in the high prices and market conditions 
that will follow for those who were for¬ 
tunate enough to escape serious injury. 
Mr. Dade: Nitrate of soda will stim¬ 
ulate a tree just as a drink of whiskey will 
stimulate a man. It makes a tree cheerful 
and makes it feel good. I think it should 
be applied first. That should be followed 
by some organic fertilizer; bone is one of 
the best things you can use. That should 
be applied when there is considerable 
moisture in the soil. 
Mr. Dade: I agree with Mr. Hart in 
his idea of waiting for the June growth, 
but I don’t think he mentioned how far to 
cut back. That should be watched close¬ 
ly. You should cut back to green wood, 
and then cut back at least two good eyes 
in the green wood, and be sure you get all 
the dead wood cut out. 
But I think a general stimulation should 
be urged, and then something to keep the 
tree moving. 
Mr. Skinner: I would like to hear 
from Mr. Sampson. 
Mr. Sampson: I can say nothing, ex¬ 
cept that I agree with Mr. Hart. Don’t 
touch your trees now. You don’t know 
where to prune. 
Mr. Poole: My experience has been 
with small trees. What the gentlemen have 
been talking about is in regard to large, 
bearing trees. I agree that it is not wise 
to cut out anything until you are sure 
where the life line is going to settle. But 
on small trees the damage has shown up 
quite plainly in a short time. I have found 
trees cut down to the banks are the trees 
coming back with the best and most 
healthy tops. 
Mr. Stevens: I have listened with a 
good deal of interest to these experiences. 
At the meeting after the ’95 freeze, I re¬ 
member Mr. Adams was in the chair. He 
showed us a picture of the buds he put in 
as soon as he could get them. He put 
them in and had pictures to show us at our 
meeting. 
I thought I would copy after him, but 
was unable to get the buds. 
So many people want to know what to 
do with the sprouts that come out of the 
top of the tree. I say, let them alone. They 
will take care of themselves after awhile. 
If you take off any, you are going to find 
out later that you took off the one you 
should have let remain there. 
I am like Mr. Dade; I believe in cutting 
back into the living wood. Do not leave 
a piece of dead wood to breed wither-tip. 
I cut back into live wood and then paint 
it with Bordeaux paste. It seems to be a 
tonic and stays on as well as coal tar. I 
have tried both and find it better and 
cheaper to handle. 
I had a singular experience with bank¬ 
ing trees I never had before. After the 
freeze in ’95 I had some young buds come 
along; a little cool spell hit us and I had 
not banked these buds, so I banked them 
afterwards. The bark all came off and 
we lost every bud. Last year I did the 
same thing, and we lost them all. 
This year I had some buds I was anx¬ 
ious to save, and when we learned the cold 
spell was coming, I sent down and had 
them banked a day or two before the cold 
