598 



AURANTIACE^E. XIV. CITRUS. 



houses, these cautions as to air and damp deserve particular 

 attention. Ayres says, the more air orange trees have during 

 the blossoming season, the more certain they will be of setting 

 the fruit. 



Light is very essential to the growth of orange trees. Who- 

 ever intends to grow the orange in perfection, should adopt 

 houses, if not with glass on all sides, at least with glass fronts 

 and roofs. When the plants are placed in the naked ground as 

 standards, glass on all sides is highly desirable, for otherwise 

 their leaves and shoots will all be turned to the south, but not 

 so with those in tubs and boxes, as they can be turned at pleasure. 

 Water. Orange trees, like other evergreens which delight in 

 a strong soil, are not naturally fond of water ; but in this coun- 

 try those grown in boxes are often much injured for want of a 

 due supply, for the earth becoming indurated, and the roots 

 matted, the water wets only the surface, and escapes by the sides 

 of the boxes, so that while the mass of the earth is dry the sur- 

 face is moist. 



Mean. When he thinks from the appearance of a plant 

 that the water does not penetrate the earth, he uses a sharp 

 iron rod to penetrate to the bottom of the earth, and to form a 

 channel for the water, too little or too much of which is equally 

 injurious to orange trees. 



Knight (Hort. trans. 2. p. 129.) watered an orange tree with 

 very strong liquid manure, and found it to grow with equal 

 comparative vigour to the mulberry. 



Ayres (Hort. trans. 5. p. 310.), after the fruit is set, waters 

 with water, in which at the rate of 3 barrows of fresh cow-dung, 

 2 barrows of fresh sheep's-dung, and 2 pecks of quick-lime, 

 have been added to every hogshead ; when used, the water is 

 about the consistence of cream. 



The French (Nouveau cours. art. oranger,) water once after 

 shifting with a very strong lessine ; they also mulch with recent 

 cow and horse-dung, renewing these once a month or oftener 

 during summer, that there may be always abundance of soluble 

 matter for the water to convey to the roots. 



Growing the trees. All the kinds may be either grown as 

 dwarfs in moderate sized pots or boxes ; as standards, with stems 

 from 3 to 8 feet high, in large boxes or tubs ; as standards 

 planted in the naked ground, and either dwarf or standard 

 espaliers, planted or trained against a trellis, under glass. 



The three first modes are best adapted for ornament ; standards 

 combine both elegance and utility ; in a house properly con- 

 structed they will produce handsome heads and abundant crops. 

 Espaliers is a much more certain way of having large crops, as 

 every part of the plant above ground can thus be brought near 

 the glass. Though orange trees thrive exceedingly well in large 

 pots and boxes, yet to have them produce the finest crop of 

 fruit, they should be planted in the ground like peach trees, and 

 trained like them, or as standard cherry trees in a conservatory. 

 The latter has by far the best effect, especially when the stems 

 of the trees are 7 or 8 feet high, and the heads well formed ; 

 but the largest fruit is produced when the trees are planted 

 against a trellis of a narrow house, and treated like peach trees. 

 Henderson, of Woodhall, grows very large fruit in this way. 

 All the Citrus tribe when first potted or put in boxes, require to 

 be placed in heat, watered overhead occasionally, in order to 

 make them throw out fresh shoots and roots. 



Pots, boxes, and tubs, should be of a size proportionable to 

 the plants, as too much or too little room for the roots will in- 

 jure the plants. Large boxes or tubs should be so constructed 

 as to be easily taken to pieces, so as to examine the roots, or to 

 shift into larger boxes. The largest boxes in use in Holland 

 and France are 4 feet square, which serve for trees with stems 

 6 or 8 feet high, with heads of 6 feet diameter, and above a cen- 

 tury old. 



Choice of plants. For moderate sized trees to be grown in 

 green-houses, such as are in this country or the Parisian nur- 

 series are preferable. But for large handsome trees, those from 

 Genoa, Nice, or Malta are preferable, for those which are raised 

 from seed in England will not grow so large in their stems 

 under 18 or 20 years, as those are when brought over. But the 

 best way to procure trees from Italy is to send an order througli 

 a British merchant, who has a correspondent at Genoa or Nice, 

 for named sorts, according to the Nice or Genoa names, which 

 will be found in their proper order in the enumeration of varieties 

 which we have given, as the plants purchased in London at the 

 Italian warehouses are without names, the greater number of 

 which will be found to be the Shaddock and Citron, as the 

 Italian gardeners find these sorts make stronger roots and more 

 shewy trees, and therefore send the less number of the less 

 luxuriant, but more useful varieties. 



Pruning. The object of pruning is to keep the head pro- 

 portionate to the capacity of the box containing the roots. At 

 Versailles, M. Pethon, who has been head gardener for 40 years, 

 every 6 or 8 years gives an elaborate pruning, shortening the 

 shoots to within an inch of the old wood, and the tree, thus 

 almost deprived of its leaves does not produce blossoms during 

 the 2 next years, it furnishes, however, strong shoots, which are 

 trained to the form of a bushy well furnished head. Pruning 

 orange trees in England does not differ from that given to other 

 green-house plants, and the consequence is handsome bushes or 

 trees, with the blossoms and fruit on the surface of the foliage. 

 But when orange trees are cultivated for the sake of their fruit, 

 the branches ought to be kept thin, so as to admit of sun and air. 

 The blossoms of most of the Citrus kind are produced in the 

 form of terminating peduncles, on the wood of the current year, 

 and hence the object of the prurier ought to be to encourage the 

 production of young wood in every part of the tree. 



Ayres cuts away the least promising branches in February, to 

 make room for younger and more productive wood, and shortens 

 very strong branches, to keep the tree in shape. After the fruit 

 is set, it ought to be thinned, seldom leaving more than one on 

 a peduncle. 



In France they thin the flowers, which by that means they 

 are enabled to use for distillation. The thinned fruit is used 

 in confectionary. The thinning of the fruit, however, will 

 depend upon the state of the trees; those at Bromley-hill in 

 Kent never require any thinning, where the trees are very 

 fine, and loaded with peculiarly large fruit. 



Insects and diseases. The coccus and red-spider are the chief 

 insects injurious to the Citron tribe; both to be removed by 

 water applied with a brush or sponge. Mean (Hort. trans. 2. 

 p. 296.) early in March, when he top-dresses his plants, applies 

 a copious washing with the engine; then shuts up the house 

 close for three or four hours, which produces a strong heat, as 

 high as 70, which effects the destruction of the red- spider, while 

 the stems and leaves are wiped with a wet sponge, to remove 

 other insects and dirt. 



Gathering the fruit. At Rienes in France, where the fruit of 

 the Orange is reared for sale, it is gathered every year, generally 

 in May. If not gathered then it will hang on the tree for 2 or 

 3 years longer ; but when the young fruit is green and swelling, 

 the old ripe fruit becomes somewhat shrivelled, and almost void 

 of juice. But as the new fruit begins to arrive at maturity, the 

 juice begins to return to the old fruit, so that both old and new 

 crops are in perfection the following May. In this way at Genoa 

 the fruit is sometimes allowed to remain on 3 years, and being 

 then gathered, has a peculiar sub-acid sweetness and flavour, and 

 is sold at a higher price. The Lemon ripens irregularly, and 

 drops off when ripe. It is therefore' gathered all the year 

 through. In conservatories the orange tree generally requires 



