PROPAGATION OF THE ORANGE 359 



plump seed will sink if thrown into water, and the imperfect can be 

 skimmed from the top. The seed should never be allowed to dry, 

 and unless it is to be sown at once, should be stored by mixing with 

 moist sand, from which it can be afterwards removed by sifting ; or 

 it can be kept for a time in water, changing the water from time to 

 time to prevent souring. The best time for sowing orange seed is 

 after the ground has become warm in the spring. 



Orange seedlings are grown either in boxes or in the open 

 ground. In either case a rich sandy loam which will not bake 

 should be secured or artificially made by mixing sand with rich 

 garden loam. Boxes of about two square feet area and six inches 

 deep are convenient to handle. The bottom should have holes, or 

 sufficient crevices for good drainage. Fill the boxes about four 

 inches with the prepared soil, place the seeds about an inch and a 

 half apart each way, sift over them about an inch of the soil, or a 

 little less of the soil, and a layer of clean sand if it is at hand. It 

 is essential that the soil should be kept moist, and light sprinkling 

 daily, or every other day, with water that has been warmed by 

 standing in the sun, is desirable. Seed can be sown in boxes in the 

 house at any time if plenty of light and heat are given. If the boxes 

 are to be out-of-doors, it is best to sow in the spring, and to rig up a 

 cover of cheap cotton cloth, suspended about a foot above the sur- 

 face, to prevent effect of frost at night, and of burning by sun heat 

 by day. The seedlings usually appear in about six weeks, and with 

 good care in weeding and keeping sufficiently, but not excessively, 

 moist, they will make a growth of about a foot the first season. 

 Some growers collect the boxes in a sheltered place, and build over 

 them a lath house, tacking on old sacks or other cloth, to shield 

 them from the sun and frost. The lath house keeps animals from 

 running over the boxes, etc. 



Growing seedlings in an open bed involves about the same opera- 

 tions. To guard against intrusion, it is advisable to make board 

 sides to the bed about a foot high, and to make lath frames which 

 will reach across, resting on the edge boards. A cloth sun-and-frost 

 shade is also desirable, to be laid over the lath frames when it seems 

 needed. Beds should be made narrow enough so that one can easily 

 reach half way across from each of the long sides for weeding, etc. 

 In open seed beds it is usual to broadcast the seed evenly, using 

 about one gallon to 200 square feet, which should give about 5000 

 seedlings. 



The Orange Nursery. Planting out in nursery is usually done 

 after the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, and the seed- 

 lings are then about a year old. The preparation of nursery ground 

 and the planting out of the seedlings can be done as described in 

 Chapter VIII. Orange seedlings should, however, be given greater 

 distance apart in the nursery than is usual for deciduous trees, 

 because the orange remains longer in the nursery, and because it is 

 usually desirable, when taking up, to sack the ball of earth embrac- 

 ing the roots. If the roots are not to be sacked, about nine inches 

 will do between the plants ; if to be sacked, the distance should be 



