70 General Notices. 



mend this variety. Its produce is decidedly the best of all the varieties of 

 the orange, and it ripens at a season when gardeners cannot supply a great 

 variety of fruits, on which account, alone, it is Avorth all the attention 

 which it requires. Those who know the Mandarin Orange only from sam- 

 ples purchased in shops, cannot judge of its merits ; as its skin, when ripe, 

 is too tender to bear the ordinary treatment of imported oranges, and if 

 gathered before it is ripe, it will never attain perfection ; hence it is rarely 

 met with in anything like its best condition, except where it can be gath- 

 ered from the tree and eaten. It never can be so treated as to retain the 

 full richness of its aromatic and musky flavor for many weeks after it is 

 gathered. With care it may be kept for a month or six weeks, and be 

 found a rich, sweet fruit ; but the peculiarity of flavor, which renders it 

 80 agreeable to many palates, will be wanting. Attention to the following 

 method of cultivating it, will enable any gardener, possessing the requisite 

 accommodation, to furnish a supply of its fruit during the winter months. 



As plants may be purchased at a moderate price, and true to name, in 

 most respectable nurseries, it is hardly necessary to occupy space with any 

 detailed instructions regarding its propagation. This may, however, be 

 eflfected by means of cuttings, budding or grafting ; but the latter method 

 is generally practised, and will be found the best, as well as the most ex- 

 peditious. Stocks may be obtained sufficiently strong for grafting, in the 

 course of one season, by sowing seeds of the common orange, and keeping 

 the plants growing in a moist and rather warm pit or house. With these, 

 and a supply of scions, there is as little difficulty in grafting the orange as 

 the apple. I generally perform the operation as early in the season as I 

 can make it convenient to place the plants in a gentle bottom heat, and if 

 it is desirable to have strong specimens, in the shortest possible time, this 

 should be attended to. At whatever season grafting may be performed, 

 the plants should be placed in a close damp pit, where they can be shaded 

 from the direct rays of the sun, and kept warm and moist. If treated in 

 this way, a union will be effected in the course of a month or six weeks ; 

 this will be indicated by the growth of the scions. As soon as it is evident 

 that they have taken, the plants should be gradually exposed to a freer 

 circulation of air, and they may be removed to some airy situation when 

 the first growth is accomplished. After remaining in a more exposed place 

 for a month or six weeks, in order to ripen their wood, they may be re- 

 turned to a close, moist, warm house, and encouraged to make a second 

 growth, which should be carefully ripened by gradual exposure to air and 

 sun previous to winter. With attention to shifting as they may require it, 

 and a liberal supply of manure-water, they will form nice bushy plants by 

 the end of the second season after grafting, and may be allowed to carry 

 from 18 to 24 fruit each, the third season. 



Although I have said nothing about insects, I hardly expect much pro- 

 gress Avill be made in the growth of any variety of the orange tribe without 

 trouble from these pests. They are all especial favorites with the brown 

 scale, and this variety is not exempt from its attacks. After having syr- 

 inged with water at a temperature of 170 degrees, and tried various recom- 



