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

~ A@G - ltl1 .4AO
duce quality citrus fruit in o-de
to sell 1t, particularly in view o
increasing production, w. d. TolanC
north Of here, is giving outstandin
care not only to his own orcharl
but a number Of neighboring one
in his charge.
Although Mr.. Toland has been II
the Valley a little over two seas
ons. he has absorbed a great amour
Of Information regarding the prop
er care Of trees and those in hi
orchard reflect the pet" care which
he has given them.
Improves Fruit.
1t Is Mr.. Toland's intention 3
produce as much thin skinned frui
free from blemishes as possible an
he spares neither trouble nor ex
pense in carrying out this program
He same to the Valley June II
1929 10 stay. He had invested heau
ly in an orchard near Mission am
although at one time he had Z,
intention OF moving to this section
he though it best to stay and pro
ect his Investment.
Before I went into this thini
] thought citrus fruit just grew ant
all you had to do was 90 fishing ant
wait for 1t to ripen but / have dis
covered that citriculture Is n o
the most exacting sciences" SAX
Mr.. Toland VINO has been in thu
dairy business on a large scale mos
OF his life.
Il do not pretend to knov any
thing for certain: all I have had !
some experience. I can only tel
you what my experience has been,
he said.
However modest Mr.. Toland wa
in this statement, his orchards aac
those Of his partners reflect the in
tensive care which has been giver
them. His trees have responded x
the exceptional care and r amor;
the heaviest loaded in the VALLEY
And most OF the fruit will grade
golden"
Learned Citrus.
Mr.. Toland did not know the frs
thing about growing citrus fruit
when he arrived, according to hi:
own admission, but he was no diff
ferent in that respect from hundred:
OF other Valley citrus fruit grow
ers.
He said that he read everything
that he could get on the subject Of
~citriculture. attended citrus school!
held at various points in the Valley
from time to time, and consulted
experts and other growers. He triec
to apply what he learned ans
through careful observation OF tho
results he obtained he gathered Q
wealth OF information.
He has As acres Of his own, l3S
acres in partnership and is takine
care Of additional acreage making
n total n 300. Out of those 800 acres
there Is one which Is his pride. II
produced $500 T. c. X. field boxe:
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 u
bear even more.
The orchards have been named tho
Famous Blue Ribbon Citrus Groves
Mr.. Toland is very careful in the
matter OF pruning. He said that al
cuts should be treated like wounds
on the human body. They should be
svabbed with any good d~isinfectant
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
L. has had time TO harden. He does
hot approve OF pruning in the win
ter because 1t stimulates new growth
Is more susceptible to frost
damage. A few trees pruned jus.
before the last frost were killed las
winter while unpruned trees all
around them survived in excellent
condition. II also is a good idea TO
prune Just before the sap rises Il:
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 ad-
Unstable blade. a mallet and chisel.
Dull shears damage trees. he dis
covered. Blades which can be ad-
justed to any angle in a 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 maIlet and
chisel r used for hewing out dead
wood.
Separate Limbs
In pruning. 1t not only Is the
purpose TO remove dead wood OF
various kinds but also TO separate
interlocking 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 will hang into the earth
and insects such as ants will be
able TO crawl into the tree more
easily. Citrus branches naturally
droop. however. and they cannot
oe trained 10 grow straight out,
he has found.
Mr.. Toland believes that many
growers water too much. He watch
es the moisture in his soil very
carefully. There should be enough
that the earth will ball in the
hands. Trees should be kept we'll
watered from the time the fruit
is one and one-half inches In
until IL Is matured.
BY watering evenly in June. July
and August. one can get a thin
skinned fruit. Mr.. Toland said. June
waterings usually are not neces-
sary because that Is a rainy month.
II trees suffer from lack OF water