192 THE AMATEUE's GEEENnOUSE 



CHAPTER XIY. 



THE OEANGE, LEMON, AND LIME. 



It is a favourite and commendable pastime to raise orange 

 and lemon trees from seeds ; and lady gardeners acquire con- 

 siderable expertness in it ; although it is a most rare event for 

 them to meet with the encouragement they deserve and look 

 for in the production of fruit by their seedling trees. The 

 question is often asked of horticultural advisers if the trees 

 should be grafted to render them fruitful, and it is but proper 

 we should anticipate the question here. Any member of the 

 citrus family, whether citron, shaddock, orange, lemon, or 

 lime, may be raised from seeds with the greatest ease, and 

 every seedling plant will become fruitful when of a proper age 

 to produce fruit, provided it has the advantage of proper 

 management. As a matter of course, a large proportion of 

 the pretty little seedlings we meet with in ladies' plant houses 

 and window gardens are not properly managed, and are not 

 likely to live to a fruit producing age. Having had many 

 opportunities of observing the process of this particular phase 

 of orange culture, we must confess that it is to us a matter of 

 surprise that the seeds germinate and the plants live for some 

 years, for as a rule, all the conditions appear to be against 

 them. They are generally potted in black mud, low down in the 

 pots, as if mud were a scarce article ; they are watered and 

 ventilated by accident rather than by system, and their 

 tenacity of life affords a deUghtful proof of the accommodating 

 spirit of the citrus tribe, which have this good quality at least, 

 that they love life too well to be easily pushed out of it. "We re- 

 peat that every seedling citrus will produce fruit some day if you 

 only wait long enough and manage the plants properly. But 

 then, it will be asked, for what purpose are they grafted ? 

 There are two purposes secured by grafting. The process 

 hastens fruit production, and it ensures fruit of the same 



