Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-23
SATURDAY, MARCH es, 1883.
A Terrible mistake.


In all portions of this section an amaz'
ing number of orange trees are being
planted this season. One land syndicate
near San Bernardino is credited with
setting out 81 900 trees OF this kind.
Literally thousands OF our farmers are
setting out from 200 to 1000 trees each.
This is not the mistake outlined in the
heading to this article. 1t is the very
" ;sest, by all odds, of all the
enterprises any man could go into.
But the great mistake is the source
whence the trees come to supply this
demand. 1t is sad commentary on our
lack of thrift and enterprise that the
orchards of this section are and have
been all the season almost bare of young
orange trees. We were all 80 busy
speculating in corner lots out at the
Monte or near San Juan-by-the-Sea, that
we forgot to lift shovelful of dirt or put
a seed of any sort in the ground. The
result of all this is that our planters
have to send to Florida for young trees
to set their orchards.
And the worst of all, this is that the
lack cannot be supplied at once. 1t is
an easy matter to advise orchardists to
plant q large number of seeds of the
orange this year. The advice probably
is superfluous. No doubt this will be
done in abundant measure. But the
trees will not be available for setting
next year nor the year after. A tree
four or five years from the seed is the one
desirable for planting. If we are rightly
informed tree is two years old or there
abouts before it is fit to graft. Then it
takes two years at least to get the graft
well set an d started to justify transplant
ing with an expectation Of vigorous de-
yelopment after that trying ordeal. Thus
il looks as if several seasons must inter-
yene before there will be sufficient sup
ply of homegrown orange trees in this
region.
All this would not be so bad if the inn
ported trees were likely to do nearly SO
well as those grown at home. But
Florida has climate very different from
that of Southern California. 1t is very
close and hot in the spring, summer and
fall months, and rather cold in the
winter. The frost is much more severe
than with US. Then the Florida
trees grow in damp atmosphere.
They are accustomed to frequent and
abundant rains. The roots of these trees
grow in perpetual moisture. How differ
ent all this from the influence to which
these trees will be subjected when trans-
planted to Los Angeles or other portions
of this section How different the habit
of growth which these trees have devel-
oped in their original habitat to that
which they must adapt them
selves to when they are set
here! OF course, in time this adapta-
ton will take place, but until the
trees adopt their new habits, they will
not flourish as they should. These
imported trees will require great care
and nursing in their new homes. They
will need more water, probably, than
those grown from seed here. Then the
orchards in Florida are not plowed as
with US. The constant stirring
of the ground near the tree
and the inevitable destruction of
so many of the fbrous, surface roots may
be found to be very deleterious to the
young trees. Those planting them will
do well to watch them with especial care
and see that they are kept in good health
SO rs 10 insure steady growth and robust
health.