FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
49 
to be obtained, but the primary object is 
to keep health, vigor and growth in the 
most economic way. Now, the point is, 
how can we procure these primary ends? 
But before undertaking the discussion, 
would say the subject assigned us is too 
broad to be covered with one paper, or 
even one phase of it, for the entire citrus 
fruit producing section of Florida. So I 
desire to limit my discussion to soil man¬ 
agement in the grove, and further to that 
class of soils in Florida known as the up¬ 
lands, such as are found in Lake, Orange 
and Polk counties. That this class of land 
is ideal citrus fruit land I am sure no¬ 
body would question, but they are lands 
that are usually wanting in organic mat¬ 
ter, and often not well supplied with any 
kind of plant food. They are especially 
a class of soil that is wanting in the basic 
elements, and when made to grow crops 
will soon become more and more acid. 
Being acquainted with these facts, 
then, when a man begins a grove in this 
class of land, it becomes necessary to start 
building the soil by growing the legumes 
of velvet beans, cow peas and beggar 
weeds, and the cutting and turning these 
back into the soil annually and progres¬ 
sively deeper. In addition to this it seems 
it would not be extravagant to state that 
during the formative period of a grove, 
one should persistently grow cover crops, 
rye, oats or rape, in the winter time, and 
turn them in shallow in early spring. It 
is evident that this course would soon 
make the soil intolerably sour, but by use 
of the basic materials of lime, etc., this 
condition is corrected, and so by the time 
the grove comes into bearing, a deep 
stratum of soil has been formed, filled 
with humus, capable of retaining much 
plant food and storing a great quantity 
of water to be used by the trees as they 
need it, and thus supplying regularly the 
moisture and the plant food as it is 
needed. 
As it is true of stock, so is it true with 
a plant; if you are to keep it healthy and 
all its vital processes active, you must see 
that its food and water supply is regular, 
plentiful and in proper condition. The 
deep stratum of soil, the abundant supply 
of humus, with the chemical and mechan¬ 
ical changes wrought, the soil is prepared 
to give a regular supply, and with this 
regular supply, famishing and starving 
can be largely prevented. And indeed in 
Florida, a means of prevention is neces¬ 
sary, because the spring drouth is a char¬ 
acteristic of our climate, and unless some 
means have been employed to store up 
the fall and winter rains, the moisture sup¬ 
ply will get low and the tree must suffer; 
likewise is the rainy season a characteristic 
of our climate, and if the soil is not pre¬ 
pared to absorb and retain the nitrogen 
and other fertilizing properties, they will 
soon be leached out, and though much 
fertilizer has been applied, the trees suffer 
because the food supply is abnormally low. 
With the food supply abundant at one 
time, and wanting at another, and with 
the moisture excessive at one time, and 
the earth extremely dry at another, it is 
but natural to suppose, and absolutely nat¬ 
ural in effect, that the tree is at one time 
all vigorous, gorging itself with food, only 
to have a reaction, and become vitally low 
when the moisture and food supply are 
wasted. 
These conditions retard the maturity of 
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