8 



" r The Santra and HfosamK plants are grown on a large scale. It is, 

 "therefore, necessary to examine the details of propagation of these two 

 plants with more care. These two are propagated, as said above by what 

 is called the budding proces*, which consists of inserting a bud of Santra 

 or Mosambi (ca 1 led the scion) ou to another plant (called the stock), it 

 often happens that a plant is put out in good soil, is receiving the best 

 ol attention as regards water and manure, still it is not making good 

 progress and never yields good fruit. It is difficult to account for its bad 

 health In such cases the trouble may be due to either a b*d scion or a bad 

 stock. Thus arises the nece.seity not only of budding but of choosing the 

 right kind of stoc and scion. 



The next question that arises is: what stosk should be used for budding 

 on. We have attempted budding mainly on four different kinds of stocks, 

 namely, mahaturtg, jawbttri, rishmi Orauge, and Nagpuv Oraugr- The 

 essential conditions required in a stock are that it must remain in sap-flow ng 

 condition for a considerable time to facilitate the budding operation at any 

 suitable time ; that it must ^row fant ; that the bark when ben g loosened 

 from the wood below must separate readily; that it should not tear 

 irregularly; aud that it must feel very watery t> the flag T inside, ^uch 

 & stock is to be found in jamburi which may be safely used for 

 budding on. 



Whatever stock is chosen, the best fruits ripened on the tree should 

 be collected and allowed to rot fot some ten days. Wh-n sufficiently soft, 

 the seed-* should be extracted and the pulp buried in a manure pit. < >f th 

 seeds only the plump and well developed ones should be selected. A good 

 method of selection is to place the seed-* in water. Those that come to the 

 surface should be rejected. Thost? that fall to the bottom are most'y safe 

 for sowing The seeds should be sown as early as possible, for their 

 germinating power does not last long If the seed is to be kept for a week 

 or so it sh >uld be dried in the shade, smeared with ash and kept in a dry 

 place. The seed is sown eir.her >n boxes or beds that should be protected 

 from the heat of the sun. Seedlings when about four to five inches high 

 ehould be transplanted in open sunny beds. Here the seedlings are plauted 

 fairly closely at a distance of six to eight inches, to induce the plants to 

 grow without branches on the lower part of the stem for about eight inches. 

 This distance is sufficient for the budding operation. When transplanting, 

 roots may be trimmed short. If the beds are properly worked by deep 

 digging and adding a good quantity of old farm yard manure with occasional 

 stirrrinj$ of the soil the plants grow fast and become ready for budding on 

 in about eight to ten months; but ordinarily the plants take twelve to 

 fourteen months. 



For budding purposes the stock should be of the thickness of a lead 

 pencil. The bark should be easily separable from the wood below, it should 

 re soft and pliable and the inside mucilaginous. The external colour of 

 such abari is deep green closely streaked with whitish gray lines. These 

 conditions are found when the sap is vigorously flowing in the plant. When 

 the bark cannot be readily separated from the wood below or when it is dry 

 inside it is futile to attempt to bad. Desirable conditions are to be seen in 

 the stock from the commencement of the rains (the third w^ek of June) till 

 the end of the cold weather (February). However, the budding operation 

 may be done at any time of the year, provided other conditions are f tvour- 

 able. If the stock is not in condition for budding on it can be made so in 

 about ten days time with a light digging of the beds and light manuring 

 followed by watering. 



