96 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
audience of the size of the Florida “boot,” which from 
extremity of heel to, tip of toe extends westward from the 
Atlantic nearly four hundred miles; from the heel to the 
bootstrap north and south the leg is something over four 
hundred miles in length; while the strap of the boot has 
now become an integral part of the boot proper, being sewn 
thereto by the recently constructed Key railway, running 
from the East Coast to Key West. Mr. Taber made the 
point that of the citrus family sixty-two varieties were 
adapted to cultivation in various parts of this immense boot. 
With the draining of the everglades, a project now in 
process of completion, a vast area of fertile land would be 
made available, which undoubtedly in a few years would 
add tremendously to the crop output of the state. 
FERTILIZERS FOR CITRUS FRUITS 
One of the most interesting and instructive papers was 
on “Fertilizers for Citrus Fruits,” by E. O. Painter of Jack¬ 
sonville. The speaker outlined the various phases through 
which the fertilizing practice of the orange orchardists had 
passed in the history of citrus culture in Florida. This was * 
as varied as interesting. The first era was the muck era, 
when muck from the lowlands was carted to large holes on 
the sandy lands dug for the reception of the trees. This 
was unsuccessful. The turning under of cowpeas and green 
cover crops had frequently been overdone with the result 
that the land was soured. After these initial attempts, the 
fertilizer agent arrived with his perfect plant food. Among 
the first fertilizers used was cotton seed meal, and the land 
was fairly painted with this mixture, once and sometimes 
twice a year; the result—coarse fruit of poor quality. 
Following cotton seed meal, came tobacco stems, slaughter¬ 
house refuse, as tankage, etc. Then came the hard wood 
ash era, and this amounted to a craze, for as much as $50 a 
ton was paid for ashes analyzing not more than five per cent 
of potash. The ash craze subsided and was followed “by 
the Thomas slag mania, the gas-house lime delusion, and the 
soft phosphate hallucination. They all had their day, were 
found wanting, and dropped.” As a result of these spas¬ 
modic and unsystematic trials, the Florida Orange was in 
the way of acquiring a bad reputation for carrying qualities; 
but recent more careful experiments instituted by the 
agricultural college and investigating orange growers have 
brought about new systems and new methods which seem 
destined to remain as permanent practices. Sulphate of 
potash, in the writer’s opinion, had come to stay. He cited 
the fact that twenty-five years ago probably not more than 
twenty-five tons of this material were used in the entire 
state. At the present time over thirty thousand tons of 
different brands of potash will be used this year. Most 
orange tree fertilizers now contain from eight to fifteen per 
cent of potash. “It is generally conceded that an all around 
fertilizer for bearing orange trees is one containing four per 
cent ammonia, six per cent available phosphoric acid, and 
twelve per cent potash; but these amounts must be varied 
with the location and condition of the soil. If the land is 
low or of the hammock type, the ammonia should be 
reduced and the potash and phosphoric acid increased. 
For young growing trees the potash can be reduced two- 
thirds, and the ammonia increased one unit. For early 
maturity of fruit, reduce the percentage of ammonia to two 
per cent or even less, and increase the available phosphoric 
acid to ten per cent. In connection, do not cultivate the 
grove after the first of February. Use pure chemicals and 
scatter them broadcast around the trees.” 
Pomelo, grape fruit, is a heavier consumer of fertilizer 
than the round orange. The lemon is also a gross feeder. 
Mr. Painter emphasized the fact that the flavor and charac¬ 
ter of an orange can be so much changed by fertilizing that 
one would not recognize the fruit two different seasons as 
coming from the same tree. He recommended for ammonia, 
sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, nitrate of potash, and 
possibly cyanamid; for potash, sulphate of potash, high 
grade, double manure salts, or low grade; for phosphoric 
acid, dissolved bone, or acid phosphate, the former being 
best, but the latter being cheaper. 
DISTRIBUTION OF PEACH YELLOWS IN NURSERY 
STOCK 
By M. a. Blake 
Mr. Blake made the point that nursery trees may often 
be affected with peach yellows and yet not show it the first 
season. Inasmuch as thousands of peach trees are sold at 
the end of the first season’s growth, the possibility of dis¬ 
seminating the disease directly from the nursery is obvious. 
The difficulty is aggravated by the fact that it is sometimes 
quite impossible to detect the disease in the one year old 
tree. Occasionally the one year old shows the presence of 
the disease, in which case it may and should be promptly 
destroyed. Mr. Blake cited the case of where a single tree 
from a certain nursery was the means of contaminating an 
entire orchard. The only abnormal condition in the case of 
these nursery trees observable was the peculiar character of 
the foliage, which, in some cases, had a tendency to drop. 
Otherwise the trees were fairly normal. 
The point of these studies in yellows infestation from the 
nursery was that nurserymen should not use buds from the 
nursery row. Only healthy buds from known healthy 
orchard trees should be selected. Otherwise there was the 
continuous possibility of propagating from diseased stock. 
When we consider that only virulent cases in the nursery 
become apparent, the danger in the situation is emphasized. 
Augusta, Ga.—According to a despatch in the Charleston, S. C., 
Post, Fruitlands, the famed nursery owned by the late Prosper J. 
Berckmans, is to pass out of the control of his sons into the hands of 
his widow, who was Mr. Berckmans’ second wife, the sons being by 
the first. Several years ago Mr. Berckmans retired from active 
business and the sons took over the control of Fruitlands through a 
holding company in which Mr. Berckmans retained a large interest, 
however. No will has been filed, but a deed has been recorded in the 
clerk’s office, whereby the entire Fruitlands property is made over 
to the widow. The lease of the company will not expire until 1918 . 
— Florists' Exchange. 
The National Nurseryman: 
We enclose a dollar for another year’s subscription to the 
Nation al Nurseryman, as we could hardly do without it. 
Kansas. Worden & Co. 
