THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



157 



Otaheite O/ange, in Gilt Basket, Tied with Ribbon. 



fall, so the ideal treatment would be 

 to store them in October, after flower 

 ing, in a very cool house, or a light 

 shed will do, but no frost must touch 

 them. In early April prune back the 

 growths that have borne flowers, and 

 with more heat and more water en 

 courage them to make their growth, 

 which by June will be fairly matured, 

 and they will then soon flower. Dur 

 ing the winter months they will do with 

 very little water unless kept in a warm 

 greenhouse, when, naturally, they want 

 more. 



The correct name of our common 

 oleander is Xerium Oleander, and sev 

 eral handsome varieties exist: Album 

 plenum, double white; Henri Mares, 

 pink, double; Madonna grandiflornm, 

 creamy white, large and double; Pro 

 fessor Durand, pale yellow, free; rose 

 double, bright rose; splendens, bright 

 red, double and several others. 



The oleander is pestered with mealy 

 bug, and much more by a white scale. 

 There is no excuse for the bug on a 

 plant that will enjoy the hose as does 

 the oleander. When you see the signs 

 of scale, sponge the whole plant with 

 kerosene emulsion. In California the 

 oleander is very popular, but a const. -nn 

 warfare must be waged against the ever- 

 present scale. 



ORANGE. 



The writer s first experience in gar 

 dening, or that for which there was 

 any pay, was in an old-fashioned con 

 servatory in the curious roof of which 

 there was enough lead to make sink 

 ers&quot; for all the fishermen of the great 

 lakes. It was very dark at all times, 

 aud more than one winter can I re 

 member that the old heating flues which 

 ran beneath the white and spotless paths 

 were never lighted. Such is, or was, 

 the climate of the south coast of Eng 

 land. The frost never entered this 

 house, for a venerable heliotrope grew 

 against the south wall, a beautiful plant 

 of Acacia pubescens flourished at the 

 east end, a Phormium tenax grew strong 

 and bushy in the northeast corner, close 

 by a veteran Fuchsia fulgens; opposite 

 them were two bushes of the tea tree, 

 a n&amp;lt; I not far off a beautiful tree of the 

 Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria excelsa) 

 that had to be sunk in the border to 

 keep its top from the roof, and there 

 were huge camellia trees that bore thou 

 sands of blossoms, the single red a more 

 beautiful tree than any of them. 



But the chief feature of this old 

 house, that was torn down about forty 

 years ago, Avas the large orange trees 

 which were planted out in the borders. 



There were flowers or oranges in some 

 degree of ripeness all the year around, 

 and there were several varieties. Per 

 haps it was the cool, dark house that 

 Avas accountable for the flavor and 

 texture of these oranges, for I must 

 say that inferior as most tropical fruit 

 is when picked green and sent to us, 

 that the oranges we bought in the shops 

 Avere much superior to those that ripened 

 on those old trees. Quantity there Avas 

 by the bushel, but the quality was not 

 tempting, and the writer was at that 

 age when anything good to eat Avas 

 tempting. An accidental (?) shake of a 

 tree Avould ahvays bring a few of the 

 big yelloAv felloAVS to the ground, but 

 they suffered less from the omnivorous 

 appetite of a fifteen-year-old than the 

 peaches and nectarines in the same gar 

 den. Yet we hear travelers and resi 

 dents of our orange-groAving states de 

 clare that the ripe fruit, freshly picked, 

 is far superior to that picked prema 

 turely and sent to our northern markets. 

 This little diversion on oranges is not 

 Avhat Ave are after, and Ave must cease. 



Small dwarf oranges in pots have 

 been grown for several years past, and 

 are now seen in all the florists stores 

 at Christmas. A plant in an 8- 

 inch pot and tAvo feet high, well cov 

 ered Avith fruit, is very attractive, and 

 many people Avant one. We have not 

 found them to hold their foliage as 

 could be Avished in a parlor or sitting- 

 room, but the golden fruit hangs on. 

 It is surprising to how many people 

 the orange tree is yet a stranger. The 

 majority of our people don t know 

 Avhether they grow like a muskmelon or 

 a chestnut. 



The varieties of the orange are said 

 to be almost as numerous as those of 

 the apple, and tne large, fine flavored 

 kinds, such as the navel, would not be 

 precocious and free fruiting enough to 

 make very small specimens in pots bear 

 ing tAvo or three dozen fruits. The 

 variety or species grown for this pur 

 pose is, I believe, the Otaheite, which 

 floAvers and fruits very young. As 

 might be expected, the fruit is small, 

 but none the less ornamental on that 

 account. 



You had much better leave the groAv- 

 ing of the plant to a specialist, Avho 

 Avill or can supply you with small plants 

 in pots and with fruit about ready to 

 color or colored, from one foot to thirty 

 inches high, and perhaps larger. I shall 

 merely attempt to tell you how to pro 

 duce another crop of fruit for the fol- 

 loAving AA-inter on any that you may 

 happen to have left oA er. 



You can keep them anywhere in a 

 cool house till the first of March, then 

 cut them back a few inches and put 

 into more heat. Keep them syringed 

 and in the full light. They will soon 

 make a good growth and in May will 

 flower. Give air without a cold draft, 

 and be careful not to let their hand 

 some leaves burn. The fruit Avill soon 

 set, and from that on they want a 

 light, airy house, plenty of water and 

 only shade enough to keep the leaA-es 

 from burning. Many growers, as soon 

 as they haA*e flowered and the young 



