154 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
grove quicker and make more fruit. You 
bud the trees after they are transplanted 
and your buds start right to growing and 
in three years you have profitable bearing 
trees. I would not cut the old stock down 
close to the bud until the buds get to 
growing rapidly, then cut them off and 
wax them and the wound will soon be 
covered over and a smooth trunk result. 
You will get thrifty bearing trees from 
large stock, while the small stock will 
give away to drouth or any of the ills to 
which the trees are heir. 
Mr. Connor.—Did you ever try trans¬ 
planting smaller trees from the nursery? 
Mr. Hart.—I certainly have. Have 
you ever planted four inch stock? That 
is well worth trying. 
Mr Connor.—Take a good tree and at 
the end of three years you cannot reach 
the tops of them. I have some now that 
I tried this with and I cannot reach the 
tops of them. I have never seen finer 
trees than I have in my grove planted 
three years, and I used the ordinary four 
or five foot bud, one year old in nursery. 
Mr. Longley.—It makes a great differ¬ 
ence in conditions. I suppose Mr. Hart’s 
place is on hammock land. On my pine 
land I have taken stock three eights of an 
inch thick and planted between trees that 
had been planted two years, that had 
grown from one and a half to two inches. 
In three years from that time the small 
trees were the finest by far and all planted 
in the same row. 
Mr. Chilton.—In the past few years 
I have set out in groves about 20,000 trees 
of different varieties and I certainly must 
bear out the view of Mr. Hart in refer¬ 
ence to a good large thrifty stock with a 
two year old bud in preference to a small 
stock and bud. I have been in the busi¬ 
ness for the past thirty years 'and came to 
this State in the old time, which Mr. Hart 
speaks of when we had large wild groves 
of the orange scattered all through our 
hammocks and know the time when we 
set those large sour stumps, six and eight 
inches in diameter and after budding they 
made a quick bearing grove. 
In three years we could count on a good 
crop. It takes too long to wait with 
small stock. I prefer a good thrifty four 
year old stock with a two years old bud 
of not less than three inches in diameter 
to start with and a two year bud. The 
stock should be vigorous which is one of 
the main points to beginners. 
Mr. Blackman.—Is it possible to lay 
down any iron clad rules that will govern 
all conditions in the different parts of the 
state ? 
Mr. McCarty.—No, of course not. 
Mr. Blackman.—The first two years is 
the critical time with orange and grape¬ 
fruit trees in Dade county and my exper¬ 
ience is that a year old bud is the best 
for planting in that climate and soil. In 
Marion county I used three year old 
buds with good success; but not so at 
Miami. 
Mr. Hart.—Mr. President, I have a 
few government hybrid buds here that I 
cut last winter, if I remember correctly 
about six hundred. I now-have permis¬ 
sion to distribute these and if any one 
present would like to try these oranges 
I will be glad to give them some buds. 
Many people have been writing and ask¬ 
ing me for these varieties and some seem 
inclined to go into these new varieties 
heavily. I would not advise that yet, we 
do not know enough about them. Or¬ 
ange trees when they first bear do not 
