eRe er 
AURANTIACEZ. XIV. Cirrus. 
will have made shoots 2 feet long, then harden them before the 
cold sets in by exposing them to the air by degrees. In Italy the 
plants are budded at from 2 to 5 feet high on the stem, accord- 
ing to the intention of the trees; a bud is commonly inserted on 
each side of the stock. The Maltese make a sloping section and 
bud on one side only, which is a much better method than the 
Italian, as the sloping section becomes covered with bark, which 
the horizontal ones never do, but a dead stump or rotten hole 
may be observed during the whole period of their existence. 
Grafting is occasionally resorted to in Italy, and is that most 
generally adopted in the nurseries at Paris, The stocks when 
of 2 years growth, and not much thicker than a scion, are cut 
off and grafted in the whip manner. This manner, as well as 
approach grafting, is frequently practised in England, as well as 
another manner of grafting, by taking a slice out of the stock 
without taking off the head, tying the scion as neatly and firmly 
as possible, without tongueing it, and claying it over. Mr. John 
Nairn places his stocks in a hot-bed for a fortnight, in order to 
rise the sap, that the bark may easily separate from the wood ; 
the stocks are then cut off about 2 inches above the surface, and 
a longitudinal incision made with a sharp knife as in budding, 
separating the bark from the wood oneachside. Let the scion, 
whether in fruit or flower, be cut thin, in a sloping direction, and 
thrust between the bark and the wood ; it should then be care- 
fully tied with woollen yarn and clayed, then place a glass of 
proper size over each, pressing it firmly into the mould to pre- 
vent the damp from dropping on the scion. These stocks should 
then be placed on a brisk hot-bed of dung, and in about 6 weeks 
the glasses may be taken off, and the clay and binding re- 
moved, but it will be necessary to tie a little damp moss on in 
lieu of the clay, and keep the glasses on in the heat of the day, 
removing them at night, when in about 3 weeks they will be 
fit to put into the greenhouse, where they will be a great orna- 
ment, being either in flower or fruit. He prefers the Mandarine 
Orange for this trial, as the fruit is more firmly fixed than in any 
other sort. 
Mr. Henderson of Woodhall near Hamilton, a superior cul- 
tivator of the Citrus tribe, considers cuttings as the quickest 
mode of getting plants. The cuttings should be from 9 to 18 
inches long, taking the lower leaves off to the extent of 5 inches, 
then cut them right across, make a small incision in an angular 
direction at the bottom of the cutting, then plant in a pot of 
sand 5 inches deep, sorting them according to their size, then 
give them a good watering overhead to settle the sand about 
them; he lets them stand a day or two in the shade, then 
plunges the pots to the brim in a hot-bed, and shades them well 
until they have struck root. After they are rooted they should be 
planted separately into pots ina proper compost, place them again 
in a hot-bed, and shade them for some weeks, then gradually 
expose them to the air. Cuttings with wood of 2 years old he 
finds strike as freely as young wood. They may be put in at 
any time of the year except when the plants are making young 
shoots. They generally strike in about 6 weeks with a hand- 
glass over them, in a gentle heat. The Citron strikes easiest, 
and makes much better stocks for grafting than any other kind. 
By layers. This method is practised both on the continent 
and in England. In laying, the plants may either be laid down 
on their sides and laid as stools, or pots may be raised and sup- 
ported under the branches to be propagated from. Shoots of 1 
or 2 years growth may be then cut or ringed, and bent into the 
pot, or drawn through the hole at the bottom, and treated in the 
usual manner, taking care to supply water with the greatest re- 
gularity. Shoots layered in March will be fit to separate in 
September. In general the Citron tribe, like most other fruit 
trees, do not succeed so well from cuttings or layers as they do 
by grafting or budding on seedling stocks. 
597 
Compost. At Genoa and Florence they are grown in a strong 
yellow clay, richly manured ; this is considered by Italian gar- 
deners to be best suited to the Orange tribe. The French use equal 
parts of clayey loam, rotten vegetable matter, and half-rotten 
dung. In the succeeding year they add a portion of decomposed 
horse-dung, equal to the half of its bulk, turned over 2 or 3 
times, and many other ingredients, as pigeons’ dung and sheep’s 
dung. 
Mr. James Mean (Hort. trans. 2. p. 295.) makes his com- 
pound as follows : Well rotted cow-dung, 2 or 3 years old, one- 
fourth, well prepared rotten leaves, 2 or 3 years old, one-half, 
mellow loam one-fourth, with a small quantity of sand or road- 
grit added to the compost, which ought not to be sifted too fine. 
Henderson (Cal. hort. mem. 3. p. 302.) takes one part of 
light brown mould from a piece of ground that has not been 
cropped or manured for many years, one part of peat earth, two 
parts of river sand or pit sand, and one part of rotted hot-bed 
dung, with one part of rotted leaves of trees; mixes them all 
well together, so as to form a compost of uniform quality. 
R. Ayres (Hort. trans. 4. p. 310.) uses ten parts of strong 
turfy loam, seven of pigeons’-dung, seven of good rotten horse- 
dung, and 10 of old vegetable mould, mixed and prepared a 
twelvemonth before using. 
Temperature. The standard temperature for the Citrus tribe 
is 48”, but in the growing season they require at least 10 degrees 
higher to force them to produce luxuriant shoots, but the air of 
the house should never be allowed to fall under 40°. Although 
the Orange will endure a severe degree of cold for a few hours 
without injury, yet, as Mean has observed, the leaves once in- 
jured, the trees will require 3 years to recover their appearance. 
Ayres never suffers his Orangery to be heated above 50° by fire, 
until the end of February, when the trees show blossom; it is 
increased to 55°, but never allowed to exceed 60° by sun heat, 
the excess of which he checks by the admission of air till the 
early part of June, when he begins to force the trees by keeping 
the heat in the house up as near as possible to 75°. For, be 
says, that neither Citrons, Oranges, Lemons, or Limes, can be 
grown fine and good without less heat (Hort. trans. 4. p. 311.). 
The Orange, Humboldt observes (De Distrib. Plant. 158.), 
which requires an average temperature of 64° degrees, will bear 
a very great degree of cold, if continued only for a short time. 
Dr. Sicklers says, ‘ it is remarkable how much cold and snow 
the common Lemons and Oranges will bear at Rome, provided 
they are planted in a sheltered situation, not much exposed to 
the sun. He saw at Monte Pincio 3 standard trees in the open 
ground heavily covered with snow for more than a week. ‘The 
green leaves, but still more the golden fruit, looked singular and 
beautiful amidst the snow. Neither fruit nor leaves had suf- 
fered, being in a sheltered place, while those that were exposed 
to the sun turned black and died, rendering the whole tree at 
once sickly. This proves that it is more the sudden transition-of 
heat to cold or cold to heat, than the degree of either which de- 
stroys vegetation, as it appears that the snow had been thawed 
gradually from off these trees, and more by the temperature of 
the atmosphere than by the direct rays of the sun. Oranges 
will stand the climate of Devonshire and Cornwall, and perhaps 
the south of Ireland, in the open air in sheltered situations. All 
the species endure the open air at Nice, Genoa, and Naples ; but 
at Florence and Milan, and often at Rome, they require protec- 
tion during winter by placing the trees in conservatories, or 
under sheds. But the finest orange orchards are in the vicinity 
of Genoa. 
Air. Orange trees require a large share of air when the 
weather is favourable; the prevention of damp is as essential 
to the perfection of the plants as the exclusion of cold. Where 
these trees are kept in old-fashioned opaque-roofed green- 
