128 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
pounds and ounces, as the case might be. 
I very much doubt if I could make out 
one of my own certificates today as I took 
them down in my book at the time. So 
now let the Experiment Station give us 
one, two or three analyses of a box of 
citrus fruit from different sections of the 
state, grown on different soils and, as I 
said, give it to us in plain English; just 
say right out: box No. i, for instance, 
contains so many pounds and ounces of 
each of the ingredients, then we will 
know what we are doing. 
We will know for every box of oranges 
we expect to get from a tree we must ap¬ 
ply to the soil so much Nitrogen, Phos¬ 
phoric Acid and so much Potash. Of 
course, we must give the soil enough to 
supply not only the fruit, but the natural 
growth of the tree as well. After we 
have learned just how much to apply, we 
can soon find out when to apply it. I 
used to think I knew just what to apply 
to make my fruit small or large, sweet 
or sour, or to make it bright or other¬ 
wise. I am not so sure now, so we will 
pass that by. 
Again, as to the time when to apply, 
if the season is normal I prefer November 
for the fall application, and of late I have 
been using a fertilizer heavy in Phos¬ 
phoric Acid and Potash, with a low per 
cent, in Ammonia; in the fall this has 
given me quite satisfactory results. But 
so many questions spring up that I am 
loath to set any cast-iron rule. But if I 
were going to apply it myself, little and 
often, first when the tree seemed to need 
it; but if I were going to hire it done, 
and only give one application, then I 
should give it in November. For one 
application, I think, this would give the 
best satisfaction. 
Here in South Florida, if you apply 
the fertilizer much earlier and weather 
continues warm, the trees are likely to 
start to grow and in the end cause an 
injury. Farther north it might be ap¬ 
plied earlier, but as I said before, there 
are so many sides to< this question that it 
is hard to give any iron-bound rule that 
will apply to every section or locality. The 
seasons often are so different that what 
would suit one year might not the next; 
then again there is so much we don't 
know for sure, as intimated at first; we 
are-just in the a b c department as to 
fertilizers and fertilizing. But I must 
draw this, to me, interesting subject to 
a close, and yet I have just begun. But 
the time is precious. You notice I have 
departed somewhat from the beaten track 
usually followed on this subject and gone 
out into the by-ways, so to speak, think¬ 
ing a little variety might not be amiss to 
one and all. 
I am like the Pilgrim Fathers, still 
seeking light on this most vital question 
up before the American farmer and fruit 
grower of today. 
So, thanking you for your kind atten¬ 
tion, I am sincerely yours, seeking for 
more exact knowledge on this subject. 
