The Florida agriculturist., 1889-05-15


elements that have gone below the feed
ing 70 ts of the Orange-such as COW
peas, castor beans, beggar weed, etc. -
or else let the weeds and crab grass
grow. AS this grass makes good hay it
is usually cut and fed to stock and then
returned to the grove, or it is raked up to
the trees in February to serve as
mulch until it rots down and is turned
into the soil again, thereby adding the
much needed humus.
In lieu of grow ing crops on the ground
some coat the Who'll surface with leaves
from the hammock or palmetto scrub or
with rushes from the salt marshes. This
treatment gives satisfactory results, es-
ppcially the hard wood leaves, which are
a natural and perfect fertilizer as well as
a good mulch for citrus trees. Clean
culture at all times is practiced by some
here still. but seems to be rapidly going
out of favor, although the trees make
thrifty growth for the first two or three
years. 1t is generally conceded, how
ever, that to leave the ground bare to
the direct rays ut the sun for the year
round is very detrimental to it, besides
leaving much of the ground idle when it
might be growing crops that would be OF
value to the trees as fertilizer later on.
INSECT ENEMIES.
The matter of first importance to the
fruit grower is to produce strong growing,
healthy aud productive trees that yield
fine favored, handsome fruit and hold it
until ful matured and the market is
right to receive it. Although the orange
tree has strong resistant and recuperative
powers, it can always be kept up to this
standard, even under the best of sur
roundings, but set as they are in all soils
and under all conditions they often pre-
sent sorry appearance to their owner,
Notwithstanding he has taken every pre-
caution known to him to ward off dis
ease and insect enemies. OF the latter
the scale, of several varieties, and the
rust mite are the most important to con-
slider, for although the citrus family has
several other enemies, except in rare
cases, they give compare lively little
trouble and require little effort on the
lart of the grower to prevent serious
damage. Many preparations of oils,
soap, sulphur, potash, ETC., have been
concocted and offered the public as GER
tain exterminators of the scale, and as
more or less of this insect is to be found
in every grove in America, some of them
have found ready sale and proven quite
profitable to the seller DIT least. | am
satisfied, however, that there is no bet
ter emulsion in use for this class of in
sects than that given to the public by
Prof. H. G. Hubbard, through the re-
port of the Division of Entomology of
the United States Department of Agri-
culture. And, before giving the formula,
| would like to recommend this report of
Prof. Hubbard to those interested in in
sects affecting the orange as the most
complete and satisfactory work of the
kind that | have yet seen. If the edi-
tion is not exhausted they can be OBJ
tanned by addressing your Congressman
or the head of the Department at Wash
ington The formula is as follows:
Kerosene oil, gals. 81 per cent
Common soap or whale oilsoap. Y nj 80 per cent
Water.... gallOnJ - F ~
Heat the solution of soap and add it
boiling hot to the kerosene. Churn the
mixture by means of force pump and
spray nozzle for five or ten minutes. The
emulsion, if perfect, forms a cream,
which thickens on cooling, and should
adhere without oiliness to the surface of
glass. Dilute before using one part of
the emulsion to nine parts of cold water.
The above mixture is inexpensive,
costing in the diluted form about ~
cents per gallon, and if used faithfully
two or three times during the Matching
seasons will rid the trees from the scale
for the time being, but in most cases it
must be used every little while thereafter
or the insect will return just as the tree
is recovering from the first attack, and
aOOn IL ia aS had or worse than ever /