FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
95 
question. The fruits produced from ni¬ 
trogen from this source are usually large, 
coarse, thick skinned, with abundant rag 
and inferior flavor. If barn manure is 
used and most growers have a limited 
quantity and desire to use what they have, 
it should be spread over the grove lightly 
so that each tree receives only a small 
amount. When such manure is depended 
upon as the main element of fertilization, 
liberal dressings of sulphate of potash 
should be occasionally applied. This will 
tend to correct the evils of an overbal¬ 
anced nitrogenous fertilizer. What has 
been said as to the effects of barn manure 
on the quality of the fruit applies ec{ually 
to the effects produced by muck, cotton 
seed meal, blood and bone, tankage etc. 
In general, organic fertilizers do not stim¬ 
ulate fruiting to the same extent as the 
mineral fertilizers. It is probably better 
to apply such fertilizers to annual crops, 
garden truck, etc. 
‘Tn fertilizing the orange, potash is 
most frequently used either jn the form 
of sulphate or wood ashes. 
“The noticeable effect of the potash on 
orange trees appears to be its aid in com¬ 
pleting and maturing the wood; appar¬ 
ently an insufficiency of potash is shown 
by an excessive growth of weak, imma¬ 
ture wood, which does not harden up as 
winter approaches and is liable to be in¬ 
jured by frost. 
“The phosphoric acid, which is a yery 
Florida orange lands, is mostly used in 
the form of dissolved bone, superphos¬ 
phate, bone, bone black, raw bone, guano 
etc. The immediate effect of phosphoric 
acid on the orange tree and its fruit is 
little understood. Several intelligent 
growers claim to be able to recognize the 
necessary element of fertilization on 
effect of phosphorus starvation by the ap¬ 
pearance of the new growth of leaves. If 
these, when they first push out, or while 
they are young and tender, present a 
slightly variegated appearance, mottled 
with light and dark green it is claimed 
that they are suffering from a lack of 
phosphorus and if a liberal application of 
some soluble phosphoric acid is ^ applied 
this appearance may be checked. If this 
can be shown to be the case it will prove 
a valuable index to the available quality 
of phosphorus in the soil. A similar ap¬ 
pearance may, however, appear in light 
cases of so-called frenching, a disease, or 
more properly a symptom of disease 
which is not uncommon. Phosphorus 
starvation may have some effect in in¬ 
ducing this disease.” 
Having watched the irrigation ques¬ 
tion since the dry Spring of 1890 I can 
say that not one plant in a hundred has 
paid a dividend on orange groves. If 
the trees are properly fertilized early in 
the season and kept cultivated until the 
rainy season sets in, I do not think that 
irrigation need be resorted to. 
