NAT. ORDER. POMACES. 57 



Propagation and CnUnre. All the species of Cit'! us may be pro- 

 pagated by seeds, cuttings, layers, by grafting or budding. The ob- 

 ject of raisuig plants from seed, is stock for grafting or budding, or 

 for new varieties. To attempt raising new varieties from seed, in 

 this country, woidd be too tedious, as the plants raised from seed in 

 Italy do not produce fruit under seven or eight years. Citrons or 

 Seville Oranges, Miller considers the best to raise for stocks, as they 

 are of more robust and quicker gi-owth. In Italy the plants are bud- 

 ded at from two to five feet high on the stem, according to the in- 

 tention of the trees ; a bud is commonly inserted on each side of the 

 stock. Grafting is occasionally resorted to in Italy, and is most gen- 

 erally adopted in the nurseries in this coimtry. The stocks, when 

 of two years growth, and not much thicker than a scion, are cut off 

 and grafted in the whip manner. Most of the gardeners consider 

 cuttings as the quickest mode of getting plants. Cuttings with wood 

 of two years old, will strike as freely as young wood. They may be 

 put in at any time of the year, except wlien the plants are making 

 young shoots. They generally strike in about six 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. 



Medical Properties and Uses. The juice of the orange is a 

 grateful acid liquor, which, by allaying heat, quenching thirst, pro- 

 moting various excretions, and diminishing the action of the sangui- 

 ferous system, proves of considerable use in all febrile and inflam- 

 matory disorders. It is also a powerful antiseptic, and of great 

 efficacy in preventing and curing the scurvy. The outer yellow 

 rind of the fruit is a grateful aromatic bitter, and is considerably 

 employed by some physicians as a stomachic, a character in which 

 it is deservedly much esteemed. It is however used in connection 

 with other medi ernes, in preparing the various kinds of stomach 

 bitters. 



