Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-02-19

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month, but much depends upon aA
mospheric conditions such as humlc-
ity and wind, the two principal pc
tors affecting the rate Of evap('ra-
ton of soil moisture and it's !" knS-
piration by plants. When Their lruit
crop is growing at a rapidadye as
1t does during the month"; theJuly,
August and September, tH withs re-
quire more water than v~ahllother
period and delays arthis st&se of
the game are often very costly.t Gov
err cropped orchards require vbout
twice as much water as clean tllti-
waited orchards. but the differenvs is
reflected in larger yielt OF mai ct
able fruit. Cover eros make MS
sible the better use irrigAo,n
water and maintain Tie humus oxl-
tent Of the soil. Sq&s depleted IF
humus will not take irrigation W.
ter readily, and it y very difficIt
to properly irrigate an orchaf
where the humus content has bed \
depleted by continuous clean cnltiva.
ton. 1,
Pest control is probably the moJ
costly of all grove operations viii,
possible exception of orchard heatl
ing. As coverage is all important in
all pest control work, sufficient ma
terial should be used to insure COW
erage, and yet be economical. II
should not be necessary TO state
that directions in regard TO dilu-
ton, method of application, and time
Of application should be closely fol-
lowed, but many growers have al
ready made the mistake Of failing 70
follow directions. Much depends up
on the skill Of the operator but
weather is equally important. FIRE.
~quently. the best Of materials W.
produce serious injury if applied
under unfsvorable conditions. For
~safety's sake, it is always best to
precede an oil emulsion spray with
an irrigation. Also, il is highly i'm
portant that spraying with oil emul-
sion be done under the proper at
mospheric conditions. II is much
better to spray on a cool moist day
than when the air is hot and dry
and the sun shining brightly.
Pruning is an important operation
in the management Of an aged cit
rus orchard, and there is evidence Of
neglect, and over enthusiast ~ in re.
spect to this orchard practice. Prun'
ing is largely q matter Of commor
sense and attention TO details. IL il
not necessary or desirable to pruns
a tree so that cultural implement:
can almost touch the trunk Of the
tree. The ground under a properly
pruned tree should not require any
cultivation. The shade afforded by
the lower limbs will tend to cheek
weed growth to such an extent that
cultivation near the trunk of the tree
will be unnecessary. There Is no OBJ
jcct in stirring the soil near the
trunk Of the tree except for suppress.
ing weed growth. In pruning sgec
trees all dead and all interfering
limbs should be removed and al
Sucker" growth and all willcSy
growth suppressed before il reache:
a very large size. All branches that
come in contact with the ground
should be cut back to the main
framework limb, but an effort
should be made to save as many OF
these lower limbs as possible. Some
Of these lower limbs can be saved
by properly supporting them by
system of cross wire bracing. IL is
impossible TO properly spray a tree
that has a large number of its low
er limbs and lower fruit touching
the ground. No matter how thor
oughly the tops Of the trees are
sprayed and no matter how effec'
tive the treatment to the tops OF
the trees IL, unless the lower limbs