48 CULTIVATION OF EXOTIC FKUITS. 



greatest success in a temperate house in England, the house 

 being supplied with sufficient heating apparatus to exclude the 

 chill of winter. 



I might here state, by way of inducement to cultivate the more 

 useful Orange-trees, especially the Tangerine, in England, that 

 the trees in the countries from whence we derive our principal 

 supplies are infested by a kind of Coccus, which is annually 

 destroying acres of Orange-gardens and rendering the fruit of 

 others worthless. We have heard of the sad effects of the Vine- 

 blight in France, Spain, Portugal, and the Island of Madeira. The 

 Coccus might as easily extend to the other countries from which 

 the rest of our Oranges come, and thus cause a scarcity of this 

 deservedly much esteemed fruit. Even at the present time I 

 believe that, owing to the small quantity sent to this country, 

 the Tangerine Orange could be produced at a less cost than that 

 for which they can be bought in our markets. I would recommend 

 those who may be desirous of cultivating the fruits I have enu- 

 merated to have borders formed for their reception, as the success 

 likely to attend their culture will be greater if planted in the open 

 soil than it would be in tubs or boxes. By tasteful arrangement, 

 too, a house of exotic fruits could be made at once useful and 

 highly enjoyable. The borders must not be too deep ; from two 

 to three feet will be ample, and good drainage will be requisite. 



A suitable soil for forming borders would be two-thirds strong 

 turfy loam and one-third old and well decayed manure, liberally 

 mixed with a quantity of brickbats and broken sandstone, which 

 would permit superabundant water to pass off and maintain a 

 healthy medium for the roots. It has been customary for Orange- 

 growers to use strong and powerful manures, as garbage and other 

 decayed animal substances. The late Mr. Ayres, a most successful 

 cultivator of Citronworts, employed such stimulants at Shipley 

 Hall in Derbyshire, but then his trees were in tubs, and con- 

 sequently such applications were necessary. Growing in the natural 

 way, however, in borders, the use of garbage, &c. is not required, 

 and the frequent and troublesome business of re-tubbing is thus 

 done away with. It has also been a long-acknowledged axiom 

 that Orangeries, to grow fine trees, must be heavy, shady, and 

 sombre-looking buildings, inside and out. In the present advanced 

 state of gardening, however, but few illustrations will be required 

 I imagine to subvert this notion. Look, for instance, at tbe sunny 

 climes and cloudless skies in countries where Orange-trees succeed 

 best. I was in Lisbon a fortnight in May, 1849, and I never once 

 during my stay saw a cloud on the face of the sun. I was informed 



