Arizona citizen., 1874-04-25
THE CITIZEN.
SATURDAY April 25. 1874.
Orange Culture.


 article published in the California Farmer and written by J. Strenzel on the subject of orange culture:
 Orange trees can be bought now by the thousand at very low price, thus parties wishing to plant extensively can be easily supplied, and without a loss of time; but courage the newcomer, the man of little
 means but sturdy of arm and will, and more so our spoiled girls, panting for eX
 tended fields of labor. To those l would say, obtain few of the best favored and
 largest ripe oranges, select the plumpest seed, and plant them fresh in boxes with perforated bottoms and sides about eight inches high, filled with rich, mellow soil that will not bake, dropping the seed five inches apart and covering one inch-keep the box in warm room and the soil damp. When the young plants appear, give plenty of air and sunshine and sprin- kle them every evening with slightly te- pid water. If there are no frosts appre hended and the nights are warm. keep your boxes out Of doors, sheltered from the wind and burning sun; screen made of unbleached muslin will answer for both. Fork over the surface between the plants occasionally, and mulch, if towards midsummer, with well decompOS9d ma nure. The seedlings should attain the height Of twelve or eighteen inches during the season, but be not too anxious to stim- ulate an eXuberant growth. During the winter keep them in dry, airy place with a temperature never less than 800 and not over 60o, and in the Spring transplant them to larger and deeper boxes. This is the time to graft them Over-if you know of tree bearing superior fruit or partic- ular foreign variety from which you can obtain sciOns-Otherwise let them be, as the fruit is reproduced trees from seed. Seedlings are the thriftiest and hardest, make larger and finer trees, and if care fully shortened in and the forming of fruit buds promoted by Dipping the ends of shoots, will bear early enough; all the grafted foreign varieties are more tender, of slender and stunted growth, and the few oranges they bear year or two earlier do not amount to much generally. EX- cept in very favorable locations the seed lings should remain in boxes the second year, affording a greater facility for shel tering them during the second winter, and be transplanted out in the open air the third year. The tune Of the year for trans planting small trees is immaterial, pro- vided it is not done during scorching mid summer days; but like other evergreens they should always be lifted with the earth adhering to them and covering the roots in a lump. After transplanting they should be watered cOpiously to settle the ground and the trees shaded from the sun for week or more. In choosing the site for an orange grove, former observations are necessary to indicate the spot exempt from hard freezing; few feet of elevation above the surrounding surface, a few feet to the right or left of the prevailing cur rents, make a vast difference in the eli mate peculiarities of given location. This was well understood by the Digger Indians; their ancient camps along the banks of creeks, in the innumerable little valleys among the hills are justine places. They invariably combine mellow soil, en- riched by the Offal of the camp, with near ness to water and are always the most cosy and sheltered hooks in all the cOun- try. In these hooks vines, tomatoes and melons will remain green nearly all win ter, and young plants are not injured by Spring froSts. Next a supply of water is essential. The holes for the reception of orange trees should be four feet in depth and the same in diameter, with layer of old bones at the bottom six or eight inches deep, filled up half way with the richest top soil, well pulveriZed, and all drenched with water until thoroughly settled. The tree with the adherent ball of earth is placed in the center couple of inches higher than it stood before, and the hole filled in. The general rules as to further treatment and pruning must be adhered to. In most parts of our State the trees when young will require more or less shel- ter during cold spells; anything that will prevent current of air around plant af- ter sunset, and consequent reduction of temperature, or sudden thawing after the freeze will 'answer-thus bOughs of ever greens or even brush stuck around, or a frame of poles covered over with discarded sacks, the shelter Of a wall with an over topping roof,Acan all be made use of and answer the purpose. The cOpiOus sprinl1- ling of the trees at sunrise, after Q cold, freeZy night is also most effective, also the planting between in alternate rows of ev- ergreenS, for which purpose the different varieties of the Eucalyptus are eminently adapted.
 The above article is highly commended by those who are engaged in the orange culture in California and we believe with proper care Arizona can soon be made to produce oranges in abundance. It is not many years ago when the experiment in California was considered a doubtful one, but close, careful attention to the business has made it one of the most profitable businesses in the State.