THE LOQUAT OR JAPANESE MEDLAR ] 299 



The seedlings are transplanted in the following 

 February or March, when they are about 15 c. m. high, 

 but may be allowed to remain in the bed for another 

 year to grow stronger. They are planted in the nursery 

 50 c. m. to i metre apart, according to the size to which 

 it is proposed to allow the young trees to grow before 

 transplanting them to their final destination. No manure 

 or other fermentable material is given to the soil, but 

 some wood ashes may be strewn lightly, on the surface 

 of the ground before watering. The natural tendency of 

 the loquat seedling is to grow straight, and occasional side 

 shoots are removed in order to obtain a clean straight stem 

 of at least one metre. The young trees are transplanted 

 to their final destination when they have reached a height 

 of i ^ to 2 metres. The operation is best performed in 

 February or March, but can be done also later until May, 

 or in autumn. The young trees are taken up with a ball 

 of earth, with as many rootlets as possible. The soil 

 should be packed firmly about the roots when the tree is 

 planted, but no manure should be used, the loquat being 

 always averse to the presence of fermentable matter 

 about the roots, particularly when young. The trees are 

 planted at a distance of 6 to 8 metres apart, and the soil 

 is well ' soaked with water as soon as the operation is 

 completed. 



The loquat is also propagated by budding or grafting. 

 The seedless loquat is of course propagated exclusively in 

 this way, but all loquats can be grafted or budded on the 

 azarole, the hawthorn and on Photinia serrulata 

 ( Crataegus glabra], as well as on the pear and on the 

 quince. For use as stock preference should be given to 

 loquat seedlings, two or three years old, for budding, and 

 older stock for cleft-grafting. The propagation of the 

 loquat by layers or cuttings is a difficult undertaking and 

 generally gives negative results. The best varieties are 

 usually multiplied directly from seed, but the loquat is as 

 variable as most fruit trees, and few seedlings will come 



