313 



C I T 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



C I T 



single pots in a month's time after their appearance : you 

 must therefore renew your hot-beds, and having prepared i 

 quantity of small halfpenny pots, which are about five inche 

 over at the top ; fill these half full of good fresh earth, mixer 

 with very rotten cow-dung, and then shake out the young 

 p ants from the large pots, with all the earth about them 

 that you may the better separate the plants without tearing 

 their roots : half fill the pots with earth, and put a single 

 plant into each of the small pots, and fill them up as before 

 directed, plunging the pots into the new hot-bed, giving 

 them a good watering to fix the earth to their roots, observ- 

 ing to repeat the same very often, for this plant requires 

 much water when in a hot-bed, and must be screened from 

 the sun in the heat of the day ; by pursuing this method, 

 your plants will be two feet high in July, at which time you 

 must begin to harden them by degrees, raising your glasses 

 very high, and altogether removing them in fine weather. 

 The plants must not, however, be exposed to the mid-day 

 sun, especially while they are young ; they must be housed 

 towards the end of September, observing to place them near 

 the windows of the green-house to prevent the damps from 

 moulding their tender shoots : they should be often refreshed 

 with water during the winter season, and should have their 

 heads and stems washed in March or April, to clear them 

 from the filth that may have settled thereon, during their 

 being in the house ; they must also have a moderate hot-bed 

 in the spring, which will greatly forward them. Towards 

 the beginning of June, however, they ought to be hardened, 

 that they may be in right order to bud in August, when you 

 should choose cuttings from trees that are healthy and fruit- 

 ful, of whatever kind you please, observing that the shoots 

 are round, their buds being much better and easier to part 

 from the wood, than such as are flat. When you have 

 budded the stocks, you should remove them into a green- 

 house, to defend them from wet, turning the buds from the 

 sun ; but let them have as much free air as possible, and 

 often be refreshed with water. It will be evident which have 

 taken, in a month's time after budding ; they must then be 

 untied, that the binding may not pinch the buds, and let them 

 remain in the green-house all the winter; then in the spring 

 prepare a moderate hot-bed of tanner's bark, and after having 

 cut off the stocks about three inches above the buds, plunge 

 their pots into the hot-bed, observing to give them air and 

 water as the weather shall require, and screening them from 

 the sun in the heat of the day. If the buds shoot kindly, 

 they will grow to the height of two feet or more by the end 

 of July, at which time you must begin to harden them before 

 the cold weather comes on, that they may the better stand the 

 green-house during the following winter. In the first winter 

 after their shooting they must be kept very warm, for they 

 will be rather tender by forcing them in the bark bed ; but 

 it is very necessary to raise them to theirheight in one season, 

 that their stems may be straight ; for in trees which are two 

 or more years growing to their heading height, the stems are 

 always crooked. In the succeeding years their management 

 will be the same as in full-grown trees, which will be here- 

 after noticed. We shall now proceed to treat of the manage- 

 ment of such trees as are brought over every year in chests 

 from Italy, which is, in fact, by far the most expeditious way 

 of furnishing a green-house with large trees, for those which 

 are raised from seeds in England, will not grow so large in 

 their stems in less than eighteen or twenty years, as these are 

 when brought over; and although their heads be small when 

 we receive them, yet in three years, with good management, 

 they will produce large heads, and bring forth fruit. In the 

 choice of these trees, observe first the differences of their 



shoots and leaves.if any remain upon them, to distinguish their 

 different sorts, for the Shaddock and Citron always make much 

 stronger shoots than the Orange, for which reason the Italian 

 gardeners, who raise these trees for sale, generally propagate 

 those sorts, so that they bringfew of the Seville Oranges over, 

 which are well known to be the most valuable both for their 

 flowers and fruit ; prefer also those that have two good 

 buds in each stock, for many of them have but one, which 

 will always produce an irregular head : the straightness of 

 the stem, freshness of the branches, and plumpness of the 

 bark, are necessary considerations. When you have procured 

 the trees, prepare a moderate hot- bed of tanner's bark, and 

 let the length and breadth of it be proportioned to the num- 

 ber of trees which you intend to force; then put your trees 

 about halfway up their stems upright into a tub of water, 

 leaving out the head and the upper part of the stem, that 

 they may the better imbibe the moisture : after they have 

 remained several days in this situation, take them out, clean 

 their roots from all filth, cutting off all that are broken or 

 bruised, and all the small fibres which are quite dried bjr 

 being so long out of the earth ; scrub the stems with a hard 

 hair brush, wiping them afterwards with a cloth ; then cut 

 off the branches about six inches from the stem, and having 

 prepared a quantity of good fresh earth, mixed with very 

 rotten cow-dung, plant your trees therein, observing never 

 to put them into large pots, for if they be big enough to 

 contain their roots it is sufficient at first planting. Potsherds 

 and large stones must be placed in the bottom of each pot. 

 to enable the water to pass off freely : hay-bands should also 

 be wrapped round their stems from bottom to top, to prevent 

 the sun from drying their bark ; then plunge these pots into 

 the bark-bed, watering them well to settle the earth to their 

 roots, frequently repeating the same all over their heads and 

 stems, yet being very careful not to over- water them, espe- 

 cially before they have made good roots ; and particularly 

 observing to screen the glasses of the hot-bed from the sun in 

 the heat of the day. If the trees grow kindly, they will 

 have sent out strong shoots, which should be stopped by the 

 beginning of June, in order to obtain lateral branches to fur- 

 nish their heads ; at this time plenty of air must be admitted 

 to begin to harden them, so that by the middle of July they 

 may be removed into the open air in some warm situation, 

 defended from the ijre.it heat of the sun, and from winds, that 

 they may be hardened before winter. They should be housed 

 about the end of September, setting them at first in front of 

 the green-house near the glasses, opening the windows when- 

 ever the weather will permit ; and about the latter end of 

 October, when the Myrtle and other less tender trees are 

 brought in, let the Oranges be set inthewarmest and best part 

 of the house, placing lower plants or trees in front to hide their 

 stems; water them frequently during the winter, but in small 

 quantities at a time, for now their heads are but small, and 

 therefore incapable ofdischargingalarge quantity of moisture; 

 they must also be particularly guarded from frost. When you 

 thin the green-house, by taking out some of the hardiest sort? 

 >f plants in the spring, it will be well to cleanse the steins 

 and leaves of the Orange-trees, taking out the upper part of 

 he earth in the pots, filling them up again with good fresh 

 rich earth, laying thereon a little rotten cow-dung round 

 he outside of the pots, but not near the stems of the trees ; 

 after this remove them farther apart in the house, that the 

 air may circulate round their heads, giving them air discre- 

 ionally, as the weather grows warm : they should not be 

 daced out in the open air until the latter end of May, when 

 he weather is settled, for many times, when they are taken 

 out too soon, the cold morning* give them a great check, at 



