Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-11-07
PROJECTION TO TREES.

The question of protection to ssmi-troplcai
trees is one of much interest at this season Oh
the year. especially since the severe injury
attending the cold weather of the past two or
three winters. s. Il. Gerrish, OF this clsy.
makes the following statement upon this sub
iect:
The early rains this season aYs fortunate
for fruit-raisers-excsp perhaps grapes and
f;es. which require dry weather. / have read
for several years past with great interest
articles on the causes OF damage TO the orange
trees in this State by frost, and there seems
to be love feast on the subject, each one re-
lating hiz experience as TO the manner OF pre-
tecting them by the time they cease irrigation
in autumn. Now as my experiments have
led me to directly opposite conclusion on
this subject. [ will stand up and ralate my
experience. l. have satisfied myself by actual
experiment th3t the orange tres will stand .
temperature OF l6' below freezing point with
out suffering any great damage. l have
tested this with thermometer hung near the
trees, and it seems strange to me 20 read CT
trees dying Of cold at g. below ireezing-i0o
warmer-as some have asserted.
The orange is a tree that is a surface feeder
and also an evergreen, AID only declines to
continue its growth when the temperature
IS low. Now ii a severe northwest wind
blows, it absorbs all the moisture everywhere,
and the tree suffers if the ground is allowed
to be dry, as it then affects the roots, and no
moisture can be supplied to the bark of the
tree to keep up the circulation OF electricity,
which is being drawn from it by the negative
current, the north wind. The tree is thus
weakened, and if any one will observe he will
see that it is Immediately after severe dry
norther that the trees begin to wilt. noticed
this in 1873, and acting on the hint, tried the
experiment of not irrigating Jew orange
trees after September. The result was that
these trees were killed to the ground. while
others which were the same. two years old.
and not protected but were irrigated, all
escaped uniniured. DaIiag December, 1873,
we had but .4SS of an inch of rain, and
severe fros!s, with north winds, prevailed all
that month, the temperature falling as low cs
160. That year I selected three trees in diff
ferent situations in my garden and gave them
no water. The remaining sixteen trees were
well watered all the time. the same as in sum-
mer. As a result, the trees not irrigated
were killed to the roots, while the trees kept
well watered were not damaged. The FROST
bitten trees sprung up the next summer and
grey three or four feet high from the old
root. The next winter l left one without
irrigation, the others l watered. The trees
watered were not damaged, the one not wa
tered was killed again, and never after grew.
An article 10 the Los Angeles Express that
winter stated that trees grown on moist
ground were least injured in that county. Ia
December 1879, we had 2 93S inches Of rain
ak times as much as the preceding Decem-
ber-and although we had severe frosts and
protrac.ed cold weather, no damage Of conse-
quence resulted, because there was moisture
Ia November, 1880, we had no rain until
the 29d, which WAS the first rain Of that
seazon. Severe north winds prevailed TO that
time, and orange trees suffered everywhere,
when not properly irrigated and although
it was not as long or as severe q period OF
frosty weather as the previous fail, the dam
age 10 orange trees never was worse In the
history of the State. Great interest is now
manifested by the scientific departments OF
many European and American colleges on
the influence CT the electrical north winds,
and it is being Investigated by experiments
The results when reached viii no doubt
prove Of much value. Orange trees, to be
hardy, should be raised from hardy seed.
The Louisiana orange is seeding from the
Havana, and is the result Of years Of plant
heavy frosts, and frost thai would kill an
injure these trees. The same method should
be adopted in the Sacramento valley, AID by
planting the seeds of our hardy trees we shall
have successful orange groves. The orange
tree, unlike most fruits, is true TO It's seed,
aud we get the same fruit the seed came from.
AT ths Southern California citrus fruit fair
in 1S79 of ten tests of oranges six resulted in
favor of the seedlings.