48 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
fertilized. It is folly to expect that trees 
worked on this stock over-supplied with 
nitrogen, will produce good fruit, and 
especially is this true, if organic materials 
are used, with an excess of nitrogen, and a 
deficiency of phosphoric acid, and pot¬ 
ash. This is not only true of lemon stock, 
but it has been my observation, that every 
grove so treated will produce a poor grade 
of fruit, and sooner or later, develop that 
most trying disease, *‘diebacl#,'’ which 
might truly be called indigestion of the 
orange tree. There are many growers 
who have fine looking groves, that are 
bearing large quantities of a poor quality 
of fruit, who blame it all to the stock, 
when they might by taking into considera¬ 
tion the fact that this stock is an immense 
feeder, and does not require the same 
amount of nitrogen that the sour stock 
does, nor the same methods of cultivation 
as other stocks, and cultivating, and fer¬ 
tilizing them accordingly, produce a good 
quality of fruit. 
I do not advocate the use of this stock 
on any but light soils, and by those who 
have had experience in cultivating citrus 
fruits, and who understand the require¬ 
ments of their soils but those who have 
this stock already planted, and developed 
to a bearing stage, can do much to im¬ 
prove the quality of their fruit by regulat¬ 
ing their formula of fertilizer in such a 
way as to most accurately meet the re¬ 
quirements of their soils as, well as their 
methods of cultivation, etc. 
I would like to add that the late D. W. 
Adams, who was for many years president 
of this Society, and during his residence in 
this state one of our most practical Hor¬ 
ticulturists, and one who was noted for 
his success with citrus fruits, had before 
his death, decided in favor of the lemon 
stock for all his new groves, not because it 
was the best stock for universal use of 
course, but because he had solved the 
problem of its successful cultivation, and 
fertilization. His methods of cultivation 
are too well known to make mention of 
here, except to say that they mainly con¬ 
sisted of very light working with hoes, and 
plenty of mulching. I think his plan of 
mulching might have been improved upon, 
but the fact remains, that he produced the 
best fruit grown in the state, and it was 
'Seldom that a box of his Navels, or Tar- 
diffs went out of his packing house, that he 
did not get back from $5 to $10 for it. No 
matter where the lemon stock is used, it 
cannot be cultivated, and fertilized in 
same manner that other stocks can, with¬ 
out producing coarse ungainly fruit, and 
if kept highly cultivated, and fertilized 
with a formula containing over 4 per 
cent ammonia, and less than 7 to 8 per 
cent Phosphoric Acid, and 10 to 12 per 
cent potash it will naturally follow, that 
the fruit will be insipid, flavorless, coarse, 
and of light weight. 
In 'localities where sour stock thrives, 
no other stock is to be considered, and the 
less fertilizer required, the more gratifying 
will be the success of the grower, but in all 
cases I would warn you to beware of, and 
fight shy of a fertilizer formula, consist¬ 
ing of any but pure chemicals, and if once 
you are tempted, and fall into the use of a 
cheap source of the different requisite 
elements, or an organic form of fertilizer, 
you at the same time put yourself into a 
position to regret it later on, when your 
trees begin to bear, if not before. I am 
sorry to have to say that in many portions 
of Florida the balance will show up on the 
wrong side of the account this year, for 
with the condition of our markets, and the 
general falling off in quality of fruit pro¬ 
duced, the net earnings of our groves have 
