Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-02-12

alike from the deesicating winds OF
Africa and the cold northers that pre-
vail throughout Southern Europe, the
citrus fruits are produced here readily,
without irrigation, in great quantities,
and of the best quality.
The Isothemal lines that indicate
the limit of the growth of the citrus
fruits along the northern shores of
the Mediterranean, under which
name l indicate all its arms or
branches, such as the Egean and
Adriatic seas, etc., show a much
greater diversity of location than
those along the Pacific coast, and a
greater range of temperature than the
climate of the: Azores. At Jappa, on
the coast Of Syria, in latitude 32 de-
gres north, the orange is grown prof
itably near the sea shore, and inland
to an elevation Of about 800 feet
above the sea level, but only extend
ing about four miles distant from it.
This narrow belt follows the shore
line around the Egean and Adriatic
seas in latitude As degrees to Venice,
Italy, where, however, the orange is
not grown successfully for market,
but what few are grown require ex.
tensive winter protection.
At Lake Garda, the largest Of the
Italian lakes, and in latitude 46 de-
grees north, having peculiar and ex-
ceedingly sheltered position, the or
ange and lemon have been profitably
grown for centuries. This, l believe,
is the extreme northern limit of prof
table citrus fruit growing in the
world.
The eastern shore of Italy is too
cold for the citrus fruits, and only in
favored spots along the western shore
from Calabria north to Genoa can they
be successfully grown.
From Genoa the line passes west
erly and southerly along the coast OF
France 70 Barcelona, Spain, in lati-
tude 49 degrees, thence in narrow
belt along the sea coast to latitude 81
degrees, and thence west along that
parallel of latitude to the Atlantic
ocean, thence north up the coast of
Portugal to latitude Al degrees. Near
the southern limits of this isothermal
line there are large areas of country in
Asia Minor, Thessaly Calabria, and
even Sicily, not adapted to citrus fruit
culture, on account of the extremes of
heat and cold prevalent.
Experienced cultivators in this
country claim that q maximum tenn
perature Of over 1O4 degrees, and a
minimum below % degrees Farenheit,
are both injurious to the growth of
the orange.
While the limit OF safety as to tenn
perature may be considered as locat.
ed within this range of the Thermom.
eter, orange growers in Southern
California have found that under
favorable conditions both the tree and
fruit will bear much higher temper
ature and for a brief period a tenn
perature of % degrees without serious
injury. Shelter from strong winds
from any quarter is also condition
of successful culture of this fruit,
while sufficient moisture to keep the
tree in healthy vigorous growth is a
necessity.
Although the orange tree is famed
to flourish we'll in warm, fertile soils,
composed principally of sand and
loam, or sand and clay, it will not
continue production for even a brief
period, without maintaining its vigor
and strength by liberal al plications of
manure, hence the limit of profit
iu this direction is very soon
reached 55y the decrease Of the crop
produced and the increased cost of
fertilizers. Orchards depending en-
tirely up IN irrigation for their supply
OF moisture have, think, decided
advantage over those dependent upon
the rain, as the water used in irriga-
ton, both winter and summer, espe-
cially in open bitches, carry with
them a large amount of fertilizing
matter, which can easily be placed by
this systemic use common express
sion-"where it will do the most
good"
VARIETIES.
It i'd only within comparatively a
brief period that horticulturists have
recognized the necessity of adapting
varieties to localities to make sue
cess in fruit growing, and to-day there
are many intelligent people who do
not know that there is any material
difference in oranges, and that they
are not ripe and edible as soon as they
take on their yellow color.
1t is now we'll known that the whole
citrus family is prone to change from
differences in soil and climate, as well
as from its natural tendency to "spot, +"
when cultivated from seeds after the
manner Of most of our orchard fruits.
1t is said that in may parts of the
West indies and South America, the
whole orange tribe is found growing
wild, springing up spontaneously from
the seeds of the trees originally plant
ed by the Spandiards, varying in size,
form, and in every graduation, from
the lime to the shaddock. Oranges
are often found there equal in flavor
to those of the Azores, though ofmuch
larger size, while others in the same
grove vary from those to a degree OF
sourness and acrid bitterness suffi-
cient to draw blood from the mouth
accompanied by severe pain.
There you may see the lemon,
citron, lime, shaddock and sour,
sweet and bitter oRanges growing in.
Discriminatory together in the same
forest. They are round, flattened,
rough, smooth, obovate, pear shaped,
thick and thin skinned, juicy. dry,
some with and others without seeds,
some bearing seed at the end outside
of the fruit, while others present a
Navel-like protruberance at the same
point with no seeds, and in passing
through these groves it will be OBJ
served that some trees contain but
little fruit, while others will be loaded
to excess.
/ 1 consider this tendency of the
citrus fruitn to sport, and its adapta-
ton to localities as one of the most
promising aids, in the hands of intel
ligent horticulturists to the gradual
extension of citrus fruit growing into
regions now thought to be unfavora-
h1a n, - Mo Il oIuno H.