Los Angeles herald., 1891-01-19
ORANGES AND VINES.
Late Pruning Now Practiced
in the Vineyards.
Low Pruning and Little Plow-
ing the Style in Oranges.
Fertilizing the Orange Groves Gen.
orally Being Recommended.
Great Beds of Phosphates Found in
Florida Being Used for Tertilizing.
Large Capital Invested. y

While in the San Gabriel valley last
week the writer observed that great
many vineyards are still unpruned. 1t
used to be that this work was done as
early as November, and nearly all the
vines were trimmed before the middle
Of January. Mr.. Brigden says this is
now very generally changed. Fewprune
their vines earlier than the first weeks
of January, and many do not begin un-
til near the end Of that month. 1t is
pretty generally conceded that late
pruning is better for the vines. The
cold snap OF the past ten days has put
the vines in excellent shape for trim
ming. The sap is all in the roots and
the wood is dormant.
PLANT SOUND CUTTINGS.
There is good deal of talk in this
section about planting vines this spring.
There are two things to consider with
care in this connection. One is, get
best varieties. Experience has taught
bAAC NISHCIOuS vi IiliS 6cCJlOu Wlltt Vlu66
do best here, and what make the best
varieties of wine. The Malvoisie grape
gives port q very rich color, but the wine
IS likely to be rank. 1t may do in small
amounts to give color, but the Trusseau
is far better.
. As to sound cuttings, no vine ought
to be planted that comes from diseased
vineyard, or from badly infected Sec
ton. The cuttings are likely to be more
or less infected. Go out and make in
quiry where there is piece OF vineyard
that is free from the disease and has
been 80, and get your cuttings there.
FERTILIzING THE ORANGE GROVES.
During the trip Of last week in San
Gabriel, Mr.. Brigden read the reporter
letter he had just received from rel
alive In Florida, who is engaged in or
ange growing. After explaining how
generally and literally the orange groves
OF that state are fertilized, he goes on to
speak OF the phosphate beds discovered
in Florida. these are found in two
forms, pebble deposits in the beds of
ancient streams, and solid rock forma-
tions. The pebbles ale small black for
nations that lie along the forsaken
couASOo " eh0 SooiokiCdi IfvOie. Ah0y
are supposed to be the bones and
other remains of fish and other animal
matter. They contain an average OF
20 per cent. pure phosphates. The mat
ter is gotten out, screened and otherwise
cleaned, and then ground to powder.
The solid rock formation is still richer in
phosphates. 1t is quarried and treated
pretty much the same way as the peb-
bles. The demand for this fertilizer is
go great in Florida, that English capi-
talists have gone in there and purchased
wide areas of the land containing these
pebbles and rock. The letter estimates
that as much as S28, 100000 has been
invested in these lands and plants to
grind up the pebbles and rock. The
ground phosphates have been selling at
$40, but are now sold at 500.
This letter states that the orange crop
OF Florida this year amounts to 100000
boxes, which will average the growers
81 per box.
To return to fertilizing. it says bone
meal, hardwood ashes ana oil-cake
meal are used as fertilizers for orange
trees. After the trees have been brought
to state OF perfection manifested
by the dark green hue of the
foliage, fourteen pounds of the oil-cake
a year per tree with some bone
meal will keep them in good condition.
These are scattered broadcast on the
ground while dry. and then narrowed in.
Phosphates OF potash is used too, the
amount generally applied being two
pounds to the tree. The linseed cake
costs $28 per ton in Florida. The best
results are obtained by the use of gen.
eral mixture OF fertilizers,
Of course there is no comparison be-
tween the soils of the San Gabriel valley
and those OF the pine lands, or even the
hummock lands of Florida. Ours are
incomparably the richest. But the or
ange tree is a surface feeder; it is gen.
erous feeder, as is usual with free bear
ers. A good full-grown Seeding tree
will yield as much as ten to fifteen boxes
of oranges year. These will weigh
sixty pounds net of fruit. Here is 600
to 1900 pounds taken from each tree per
year, and as there are rs to 100 trees
to the acre, the land is stripped of 49,.
600 to 90, 900 pounds yeari if every tree
is at the perfection Of bearing. This is
2219 to As tons. The exhaustion of the
soil is great. This must be supplied by
fertilizing.
It will not require any argument to
one who will look over the orange
groves of Riverside, where thorough
cultivation and liberal fertilizing are
common practices, and those of San
Gabriel, where the cultivation is fair to
bad, and fertilizing the exception, rather
than the rule. In fact there is much
room Tor improvement in most OF the
orange groves of San Gabriel valley. In
the first place high pruning, blowing up
to the trees, and little or no fertiliz-
ing are practiced.
PRUNING, FLOWING AND FERTILIzINa.
Riverside is no doubt our model
orange district. 1t is we'll to observe
the practices of those who are succeed
ing so we'll. It's all the more worthy
of note when similar practices produce
similar results in other districts, and
most 30 when opposite practices result
less successfully wherever tried. Low
pruning, no plowing and plenty Of fer
tilizing seem to be the three most inn