28 
Pasco, Polk, St. John’s, Volusia. Nine other counties were traversed 
and visited during the winter. 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
(1) The cultivation of the orange in America is of comparatively 
recent origin. The very oldest groves in Florida do not reach a half 
century, and there are few groves of even half that age. As the orange 
trees do not usually show disease until they reach full bearing it is 
natural to suppose that the absence of diseases in certain localities is 
due to the fact that the groves are too young to show the effects of 
disease; it is also natural to expect that as the groves grow older cer¬ 
tain diseases will become more and more prevalent. Certain it is that 
the greatest ravages of disease are to be seen among the oldest groves. 
The fact that the orange industry is comparatively a new one is the 
cause of much injury to many orange groves because of lack of experi¬ 
ence in cultivation and fertilization. 
The method and time of cultivation are an important matter for 
orange-growers. Judging from observation in many places there is 
more of a tendency in the direction of overcultivation than the reverse. 
Moreover, the method, time, and extent of application of fertilizers are 
exceedingly important, as well as the adaptation of the kind of fertil¬ 
izers used to the varying conditions and necessities of the soil. Much 
injury results to groves by (a) overcultivation and ( b ) unfortunate treat¬ 
ment with fertilizers in quantity, quality, and method of application. 
Unfortunately for the orange-growers the State experiment station 
is located too far north to be within the belt of profitable orange-grow¬ 
ing. There is pressing need of more organized experimental work in 
this direction in order to attain the best method of treatment and thus 
avoid many of the causes of injury from the sources above mentioned. 
(2) There exists in Florida a great diversity of soil and a large pro¬ 
portion of the State is not adapted to orange-culture. In fact, only a 
few favored localities are likely to long maintain their reputation for 
the cultivation of citrus fruits. Many groves now pi anted will never 
reach maturity, or, if so, will require more artificial fertilizing to mature 
a crop than will be profitable to the owner. One source of disease is 
the starved condition of certain groves, owing to natural deficiencies of 
soil, for weakened vitality increases the liability to become the prey of 
organic troubles. 
(3) Many orange groves were started in regions where the trees are 
subjected to low temperature during the winter months. Even where 
frosts do not kill the young twigs outright the vitality of the tree is 
much weakened by the effect of either a cold snap or continued cold 
weather, and consequently more likely to be preyed upon by organic 
diseases. The great frost of 1386 and the unexpected late frosts of 1890 
and 1891 (occurring in March in the former and in April in the latter 
year) have left their marks on the orange groves in many quarters, not 
