628 THE ORANGE. 



These should be worked into the soil beyond if used at all, to 

 be sought after and appropriated as needed. The hungry 

 tree will scent out a compost or muck-heap many feet away, 

 and, in an incredibly short time, fill it with the yellow root- 

 lets. The tap-root starts first, sending down a whorl of slender 

 threads, which soon coalesce in a single spike, replacing the 

 severed portion. Nothing is lost by pruning away most of 

 the branches, cutting back the top severely. A new head 

 will form more quickly and the growth be more rapid and 

 healthy if the leafage is diminished to correspond with the 

 shortened roots. 



Cuttings and Layers. All of the citrus tribe grow readily 

 from cuttings or layers, particularly lemons and citrons, the 

 branches of which often strike root as they rest upon the 

 ground, weighed down with fruit. It might reasonably be 

 supposed that seedlings of the lemon and citron would live 

 longer and have better stamina than cuttings and layers, but 

 the latter appear to do equally well, and have the advantage, 

 if killed to the ground, of growing up true to kind without the 

 trouble of grafting. The orange may be quickly propagated 

 from the side-roots of large trees, which, having been cut 

 through and air and light admitted to the severed portions, 

 soon throw out rank sprouts and can be dug up as separate 

 plants. This method and also by layers is a common mode 

 of increasing the Otaheite for dwarfing. 



Soil. The orange readily accommodates itself to any 

 reasonably fertile soil, and although it will grow and produce 

 fair crops on land too poor for grain, no other fruit-tree re- 

 sponds more readily to generous treatment. It is found thriv- 

 ing in the dryest situations, wherever the roots can extend 

 down to the moisture beneath, and it also flourishes on alluvial 

 soil subject at times to overflow, provided the water does not 

 stand too long and is kept cool by the shade of overhanging 

 forests. During seasons of active growth, an abundance of 

 water, either from rain or irrigation, is a necessity. In many 

 cases, besides what is drawn up by the roots from hidden 

 sources, copious dews or the seepage of artesian wells are of 

 material assistance. Dr. Bennett mentions an extensive grove 

 in an alluvial valley of Sardinia, through which runs a never- 

 failing rivulet of mountain water. No manure is ever given, 



