Arizona republican., 1916-03-04
Written for California CuItivator By A. w. Merrill, Arizona State Ento- moIosst.

moIosist.
 Citrus fruit growing distructs of Arizona are adapted to specialties Arizona cannot compete with Colifor- mia in the production of navel or anges for sale in eastern markets at seasons when the California navels , are in their prime, nor can she grow | grapefruit to ship east at d profit i when Florida and Cuban grapefruit ! are on the market in abundance
 Arizona citrus specialties are: First. the earliest fully matured nay | els and grape fruit and second, fruit !. which externally is free from scales. smut and disease blemishes As to the inner quality Arizona navels are unquestionably good and the best available for the earliest markets. Compared with California navels when the latter are in their prime the AliZona navels, in the writers opinion, is not superior in quality. Arizona citrus growers would perhaps have no excuse for growing navel oranges on a commercial scale were il not for the advantage of early maturity. This, in locality where the orchards are free from scale in sect pests, is dn advantage which is much sought for Arizona's old navel orchards, of which there are ahout 500 acres. consist as q rule of scrub trees. In other words they, like the average old orange orchard in other sections. consist of trees of uncertain pedigree. some are undoubtedly profitable. Others are probably not profitable. Very likely they might all or nearly all be made profitable i by right management. Right man | agement does not mean the same in Arizona that it does in California. It l does not include much attention to l cleln cultivation. There are 200 or 300 acres of young navel trees in | Arizona but these have not had an
 opportunity to demonstrate their yalue.
 |. The general opinion in Arizona k tEat the outlook for grapefruit is bet ter than for oranges. Scme varieties of grapefruit as grown in Arizona are unsurpassed in quality and are 1 fully equal to the best Florida grape | fruit IL is practically impossible,
 however, to find Florida grapefruit on the market which can compare
 with the Arizona grown grapefruit
 in appearance. No one who can
 rightfully claim to be d connoisseur
 of grapefruit would not rank the
 Arizona grown fruit far ahead of
 thar which is grown in California
 The two leading varieties of grape
 fruit grown in Arizona are the Marsh
 See@Iess and the ClaNson. The Marsh
 Seedless is a well known variety and
 is at it's best Tn the citrus districts
 of Arizona. However, it is not as
 well adapted to extensive commercial production in this state as is the Clayson variety The Clayson ripens
 fully six weeks earlier than the Marsh Seedless and the Arizona
 grown Clayson is probably the ear
 Hest marketable grapefruit grown in
 the United States. When properly
 cared for this fruit grows to a good
 shipping size, mostly siXty-fours The trees produce heavily and regularly
 The Clayson grapefruit is preeml- | nertly the Arizona variety It origi- mated in the Salt River valley. Some | 15 CT 16 years ago, during period
 of water shortage before the Roose- welt storage dam was built, a grove
 owned by a man by the name of 1 Clayson is said to have died from lack of water with the exception of one choice tree which was kept alive | by hauling water in barrels This | tree was subsequently used for a | supply of budwood for propagating | purposes and in the course of time q | Sraefruit orchard was established
 which has since been divided by the sale of one-half These trees are now producing to their full capacity
 Some navals and Marsh Seedless 1 grapefruit were planted with the | Clayson grapefruit but the trees of these varieties are comparatively few
 in number They offer favorable
 opportunity for a direct comparison
 with the Clayson grapefruit in the
 point of productiveness and profit 1 tt'-Nit99 Nll' tilt dQN tlldSc SlIlk- ingly in favor of the latter.
 | IE addition to this Clavson grove
 there are scattered in different cit
 rus orchards in the Salt River valley
 a few grapefruit trees of unknown
 origin but possibly from the Clayson
 nursery and produced from the orig
 inal Clay tree. one of these pro
 duces fruit which averages above SEQ a year in value and in one instance
 sold for $S7, Other grapefruit trees.