THE MANGO. 



A SECOND METHOD OF ATTACHING THE BUD. 



13 



Another method of attaching the bud varying slightly in the details 

 from that given above has been practiced during the past season at 

 Miami, Fla., with an encouraging degree of success. This method is 

 shown in Plate II, tig. 2. The bud section differs from the rectangular- 

 shaped piece of bark in that one end of it is pointed instead of being 

 cut straight across, which makes it possible to push the bark of the 

 scion down tight against the bark of the stock; the top part is then 

 cut off' square with the transverse cut in the bark of the stock, and is 

 pressed firmly into position previous to tying and waxing in the 

 usual way. 



KAISIXiJ SEEDLING STOCKS. 



The mango does not readily lend itself to propagation by cuttings 

 on account of the p/reen or immature condition of the shoots while 

 the wood is still small in diameter. The writer has tried several 

 batches of cuttings under varied conditions but always with poor 

 success; they invariably callus well, but roots are slow to form, and 

 when a cutting does produce a root it is usually a single fiber of so 

 small and brittle a nature that the rooted cutting is difficult to trans- 

 plant from the sand bed into pots or to the open ground. 



It is necessary, therefore, to have recourse to seeds for the purpose 

 of supplying plants to use as stocks for budding. The seeds should 

 be sown very soon after being taken from the fruit, as they lose their 

 vitality shortly after the fruit is ripe. Especially is this the case when 

 the seeds are allowed to dry for a few days. The seed of the mango 

 resembles that of the orange in that it often contains several embryos. 

 Out of a batch of several hundred seeds sown in the Department 

 greenhouses during the past season it was common to find instances 

 where from two to five, and in a few cases no less than eleven, seed- 

 lings were produced from single seeds. Plate III shows eight plantlets 

 all springing from one seed. This condition is not desirable, however, 

 as in those cases where more than one or two seedlings sprout from 

 the same seed they are usually of weak growth, and it is questionable 

 whether they should be grown, especially when seeds are plentiful. 



From the time the seeds are sown until the plumules appear above 

 ground, the seed boxes or beets should be out of the reach of heavy 

 rains, as the subterranean seed leaves are liable to rot when the .soil is 

 kept wet for an} T length of time. 



When shallow garden flats are used in which to raise the seedlings 

 the roots are under better control for future planting than if they 

 were sprouted in beds or frames. An excellent medium in which to 

 sprout the seeds is half-decayed leaves. A layer of leaves 1 inch thick 

 is placed in the bottom of a flat; on this the seeds are deposited at 



