FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
59 
middle of February the banking is car¬ 
ried to a height of fifteen to eighteen 
inches as protection for the trunk against 
a possible severe cold. 
On light land we plant twenty-five feet 
apart, thirty feet or further in rich soil. 
We like cultivation to commence about 
the middle of February, the first work 
being done with Cutaway harrow in or¬ 
der to thoroughly subdue trash and weeds 
so that the Acme harrow can be used. 
Harrowing is continued every ten days 
% 
to two weeks until June, or when the 
rainy season is well started, after which 
grass and weeds are permitted to grow 
in the middles during the balance of the 
summer. The hoe is used to keep down 
growth in the fertilized circle about the 
trees. 
If the land is particularly lacking in 
humus we plant Velvet Beans in the mid¬ 
dles the first year, but when there is suf¬ 
ficient natural growth to afford a fair 
covering for the soil after suspension of 
general cultivation we prefer such, as 
we are enabled to carry on team work 
both ways, decreasing the amount of hoe 
work about the trees. During the sum¬ 
mer we run the mowing machine one to 
three times to keep down growth, so 
that a fair job of plowing may be pos¬ 
sible in the fall. This fall plowing I will 
say is for the purpose of getting rid of 
the dried vegetation as a fire menace rath¬ 
er than cultivation of the trees. 
Believing in the homeopathic practice 
of small doses frequently taken, we make 
light applications of fertilizer to the 
young trees four to five times per year, 
amount dependent on the apparent needs 
of the trees, aiming to push development 
all possible. 
The plowing in November, running the 
plow as shallow as possible to mix the 
grass with the soil^ and an application 
of fertilizer at this time closes the sea¬ 
son’s work in the young grove. 
Our fertilizer for young trees is de¬ 
rived from sulphate ammonia and blood 
and bone, sulphate potash and bone black, 
and is harrowed in. No change in the 
formula is made until fruit production 
requires, except lagging trees are given 
a light dose of nitrate of soda to hasten 
them along. 
Handling of the bearing groves is a 
delicate accomplishment, and careful ef¬ 
fort is made for such adaptation of meth¬ 
ods as to secure proper amount of wood 
growth and best quality of fruit. Com¬ 
mencing: cultivation much in the same 
manner as for the young grove, the use 
of the harrow is continued at intervals 
of two to three weeks from February 
to the latter part of May, after which 
the work is continued with the mowing 
machine only. Fertilizer is applied four 
times per year, February, June, about 
September ist and November, mostly 
with a McWhorter distributer run as 
close to the trees as the branches admit. 
Once a year an application is made by 
hand to such parts as the distributer can 
not reach. The spring and fall applica¬ 
tion analyzes about 5 per cent, ammo¬ 
nia, 6 per cent, potash, 6 per cent, phos¬ 
phoric acid. For summer application 
when the supply of organic matter is 
abundant we decrease the ammonia and 
increase the potash, and we also vary these 
materials according to the character of 
