C I T S F I T S 
PLANTING INFORMATION 
PREPARING THE LAND 
Before planting, the land should be thoroughly cleared of all the native gro^\■th. After clearing, 
the land should be plowed moderately deep, harrowed, leveled, and the soil put in as good condition 
as possible. It is advisable to fence the land as a protection from live-stock. It is an excellent plan 
to sow a cover-crop on new land the summer before the trees are planted. The cover-crop shades the 
bare land from the sun and when turned under in the fall it adds humus and greatly Improves the 
condition of the soil. W hen the ground is already in good condition, however, the trees may be planted 
at once and cover-crop sown later between the tree rows. 
THE PLANTING SEASON 
In Florida, planting is usually done either in the winter, from December 15 to March 15, or in the 
summer after the rainy season starts. The winter is preferred, as at that season the ground is cool and 
moist and the trees become well established before the spring drought begins. W'e are in position to 
offer our customers expert assistance in the planting and care of young trees, and in many cases wc 
actually arrange all details of the planting work where the grower is inexperienced and prefers to 
have us plan the work. 
SETTING THE TREES 
It is best to plant the trees as soon as possible after they are received from the nursery. If planting 
must be delayed, the trees should be removed from the box or bales in which they are shipped and 
heeled in to prevent the roots from drying out. The roots should never be permitted to become dry, 
even for a short time. Wdien they are taken to the field for planting they should be kept covered with 
wet packing or carried in a barrel half filled with water. The holes dug for the trees should be of ample 
size to receive the roots without crowding and should be dug at planting-time, as otherwise the soil 
will dry out too much. Just before they are planted, all bruised or broken roots should be trimmed 
from the trees with a sharp knife. The trees should be set at the same level or an inch or so higher 
than they stood in the nursery. If set deeper, the topmost feeder roots are smothered and the tree 
fails to make proper growth. The roots should be evenly spread out and surface soil packed among 
them until they are well covered. Not more than 1 or Ip^ inches of soil need be placed over the top¬ 
most roots. It is very essential that the soil be well firmed and packed so that it is in close contact 
with the roots. WJiile some growers mix about a half pound of good commercial fertilizer with the soil 
used for filling tree-holes, we recommend that fertilizer be placed around the tree a week or ten days 
after the tree has been set. However, in marl soils, manure well worked into the tree-mounds before 
planting has proved decidedly beneficial. After the hole is filled with well-packed soil, a shallow basin 
should be made around the tree and five or ten gallons of water applied. To prevent evaporation of 
moisture, this basin should then be covered with a mulch of dry soil. When there is danger of frost, 
the basin should be omitted and the trees mounded or banked with soil so that the lower portion of 
the tree, up to a point well above where it was budded on the stock, is protected from the cold. Dry, 
clean soil, free from waste or litter, should be used, as trash or decayed matter frequently attracts 
wood-lice. As soon as the danger from cold is over, the mounds should be removed, as soil left mounded 
about the trunk in warm weather may favor bark diseases or cause the bark to become heated. The 
trees should be watered from time to time whenever their appearance indicates the need. In the ab¬ 
sence of sufficient rain or during a protracted dry spell it is well to water the young trees every ten 
days. By examining the top-soil around the trees it may be determined whether or not the moisture- 
level has receded sufficiently to make watering necessary. Except during the rainy season, the ground 
in the tree-rows should be cultivated so that a dust-mulch is formed and evaporation checked as 
much as possible. 
In shipping trees from our nursery, we cut back the tops to a point which by experience we have 
found w'ill give the best results in the grove. Tops must be cut back to make up 
for the pruning w'hich the roots receive at transplanting. The balance between 
the root-system and the top must always be maintained. Trees that are headed 
at planting-time will need very little pruning for the first two or three years. 
After the grove is planted, it is an excellent plan to make an accurate diagram 
showing the location of each tree and variety. 
THE CULTIVATION OF CITRUS FRUITS. By H. Harold Hume 
This citrus book covers aU phases of citrus fruit-growing. It deals ex¬ 
haustively with varieties, propagation, nursery practices, planting, fertilizing, 
pruning, and frost protection, and covers the details of orchard management 
and harvesting and marketing the crop. Insects and diseases are described 
and methods for their control are discussed. It contains 561 pages and 237 
illustrations from drawings and photographs. Price $3.50 per copy, postpaid. 
14 
