Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-08-16
W. D. TOLAND
GROWS ONLY
QUALITY FRUIT
BY II III
Herald Staff CORRESPONDENT

ht III z
Herald Staff Correspondent
MISSION, Aug. 15.-Working or
the theory that the Valley must .gro-
duce quality citrus fruit IN order
TO sell 1t. particularly in view OF
increasing production, w. d. Toland.
north OF here, Is giving outstanding
car not only TO his own orchard
but a number Of neighboring ones
in his charge.
Although Mr.. Toland has been IN
the Valley a little over two seas
ons, he has absorbed a great amount
OF Information regarding the PROC
er carr Of trees and those In his
orchard reflect the pet" cart which
he has given them.
Improves Fruit.
1t is Mr.. Toland's intention 70
produce as much thin skinned fruit
free from blemishes as possible and
he spares neither trouble nor ex-
pense in carrying out this program,
He same to the Valley June II,
1929 TO stay. He had invested heavl-
1y in an orchard near Mission and
although at one time he had no
intention Of moving to this section
ne though 1t best to stay and pro-
ect his investment.
Before ] went into this thing
] thought citrus fruit just grew and
all you had to do was go fishing and
wait for 1t to ripen but / have dis
covered that citriculture Is one OF
the most exacting sciences" said
Mr.. Toland who has been In the
dairy business on a large scale most
OF his life.
at do not pretend TO knov any
thing for certain; all l have had is
some experience. I can only tell
you what my experience has BEEN
he said.
However modest Mr.. Toland was
I'm this statement, his orchards and
those of his partners reflect the in
tensive care which has been given
them. His trees have responded to
the exceptional care and arc among
the heaviest loaded In the Valley.
And most OF the fruit will grade
golden"
Learned Citrus.
Nj. Toland did not know the first
thing about growing citrus fruit
when he arrived, according to his
" admission. but he was no diff
ferent in that respect from hundreds
OF other Valley citrus fruit grow
ers.
He said that he read everything
that he could get on the subject of
citriculture, attended citrus schools
held at various points in the Valley
from time to time, and consulted
experts and other growers. He tried
to apply what he learned and
through careful observation Of the
results he obtained he gathered o
wealth OF information.
He has As acres OF his own. 135
acres in partnership and is taking
care OF additional acreage making
n totai NJ 300. Out OF those 800 acres
there IS one which Is his pride. 1t
produced $500 T. c. X. field boxes
OF fruit following the frost last year
or about 800 packed boxes OF fruit.
This year this acre of trees. which
are Is years old, Is expected TO
bear even more
The orchards have been named the
Famous Blue Ribbon Citrus Groves.
Mr.. Toland Is very careful in the
matter of pruning. He said that all
cuts should be treated like wounds
on the human body. They should be
svabbed with any good diSinfectant
TO prevent infection. They then
should be permitted to dry ten min
utes and receive an application Of
Bordeaux mixture.
Prunes Early.
He tries to prune right after the
trees have put on a new growth and
f. has had time TO harden. He does
lot approve Of pruning In the win
ter because 1t stimulates new growth
which is more susceptible to frost
damage. A few trees pruned jus.
before the last frost were killed last
winter while unpruned trees all
around them survived In excellent
condition. It also is a good idea TO
prune Just before the a. rises ic
the blooming season. Pruning can
be resumed when the fruit has all
set good.
He has found that every good
primer should have a pair Of very
sharp shears, a saw with an adj
Unstable blade. a mallet ard chiSel.
Dull shears damage trees, he dis
covered. Blades which can be adj
justed to any angle In q saw permit
the primer TO prune evenly with
the limb. This permits the wound
TO grow over more easily. All cuts
should be treated in the manner
already described. The mallet and
chisel are used for hewing out dead
wood.
Separate Limbs
In pruning. It not only Is the
purpose to remove dead wood of
various kinds but also 10 separate
fnterlocking limbs. Such limbs
should be removed while the tree
Is still young and can be properly
crowned. Limbs should be pruned
SO that they do not hang lower
than a foot or a foot and a half
from the ground because fruit
otherwise viii hang into the earth
and insects such as ants will be
able to crawl into the tree more
easily. Citrus branches naturally
however. and they cannot
be trained to grow straight out,
he has found.
MI. Toland believes that many
growers water too much. He watch
es the moisture in his soil very
carefully. There should be enough