56 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
PRODUCTION OF CITRUS FRUITS 
Eugene L. Pearce, Clearwater, Fla. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 
As the title implies, this paper will 
discuss practical considerations connected 
with the production of oranges and other 
citrus fruits. Of necessity it must be a 
condensed statement and merely suggest¬ 
ive, since the time allotted is brief and 
there are many matters of interest to 
come before the Society. 
In further explanation, I wish to con¬ 
fess with apology that no new or startling 
information will be offered, for the sim¬ 
ple reason that I possess no information 
which is not a matter of common knowl¬ 
edge to all growers who make orange pro¬ 
duction a business. The discussion will 
be in most respects academic, dealing 
with certain principles which for the pres¬ 
ent seem to be established, and of benefit 
only to the grower who has yet to produce 
his first car of oranges. 
In creating or building an orange 
grove, the first consideration, and possibly 
the most vital, is the selection of the land. 
Generally speaking, not more than one 
acre of land in twenty is suitable for the 
growth of citrus 'fruits. Reference is 
made to land in Florida within the or¬ 
ange-growing belt. 
The fact alleged arises from a number 
of conditions. Certain lands are swampy 
or do not drain readily, while other lands 
are closely underlaid with hardpan, also 
failing to drain. Some lands are covered 
with a natural growth of scrub-oak, indi¬ 
cating that these lands drain too readily. 
Lands on which live oaks or large pines 
grow usually meet the specifications. The 
better grades of Norfolk fine sand are or¬ 
ange lands. Portsmouth fine sand is to 
be avoided. However, the old pioneer 
does not care what terms we employ. He 
is able to select suitable orange land with¬ 
out the assistance of Tallahassee. 
Let this point be emphasized: Choice 
as to the land is vital. Years of painstak¬ 
ing labor will not overcome such initial 
error of judgment or inexperience. 
Thereafter it is a handicap which is al¬ 
ways present. 
In clearing the land selected, do so by 
contract if possible, making some advan¬ 
tageous disposition of the wood. In the 
contract, it is well to stipulate that the 
land be plowed by the contractor, since all 
the clearing is not above ground. After 
clearing and plowing the land, give it fur¬ 
ther preparation. Remove as many roots 
as possible by cross-plowing; also by a lib¬ 
eral use of axe and grubbing hoe. 
This preparation minimizes the danger 
from wood-lice, as these insects seriously 
injure many young citrus trees planted in 
virgin land. For a like reason, do not 
permit quantities of wood and brush to 
go to decay on the edge of the clearing. 
In the selection of the trees for plant¬ 
ing, decide on varieties which have previ¬ 
ously been grown to advantage in the sec¬ 
tion where grove is to be located. For 
instance, the Pineapple orange and the 
King cannot be grown profitably in cer- 
