CULTIVATION OF THE ORANGE. 



333 



chael. This is done in the usual way, by 



beiuliiig down some of the lower shoots into 

 a hole opeut'ct ia the -(lounil to n-ceive tlit-m, 

 leaviiii,' Uu! point or end ot the shoot above- 

 ground, !Uid conruiing the bent part in the 

 hole with a hooked stick or otherwise, and 

 well covering' it with fine, rich mould, which 

 has more or less of sand in it. The stiiking 

 is much facilitated by taking a shce or two 

 of bark otf the shoot, at the part to be laid 

 under-giounil, at a bud, if possible, iuid mak- 

 ing a cut half through it between the buried 

 part and the parent stem. Both layers and 

 cuttings may be budded or grafted to hasteu 

 the time of fruiting, or to produce a viu'iety 

 different from the parent tree. 



CuTTiNos. — Henderson considers cuttings 

 the quickest mode of getting [fruit-bearing ?] 

 plants, and has practiced it for 37 yeai-s past. 

 His directions are as follows : " Take the 

 strongest young shoots, and also a quantity of 

 the two-year old shoots ; these may be cut 

 into lengths of from 9 to 18 inches. Take 

 the leaves off the lowest part of each cutting 

 to the e.vtent of about 5 inches, allowing the 

 leaves above that to remain untouched ; then 

 cut right across under an eye ; and make a 

 email incision in an angular direction on the 

 bottom of the cutting. When tlie cuttings 

 are thus prepared, take a pot and fill it with 

 sand (sandy soil) ; size the cuttings so that 

 the short ones may be altogether, and those 

 that are taller in a different pot. Then, with 

 a sm.all dibble, plant them about five inches 

 deep in the sand, and give them a good wa- 

 tering over-head, to settle the sand above 

 them. Let them stand a day or two in a 

 shaxly place, and if a frame be ready with 

 bottom heat, plunge the pots down to the 

 rim. Shade tliem well with a double mat, 

 which may remain till they have struck root ; 

 when rooted, take the sand and the cuttings 

 out of the pot, and plant them in single pots, 

 in the proper compost. Plunge the pots 

 with the young plants again into a frame, and 

 shade them for 4 or 5 weeks, or till they are 

 taken with the pots ; when they may gradu- 

 ally be exposed to the light. From various 

 experiments, I found that pieces of two 

 year old stnack quite well ; tuid m place, 

 therefore, of putting in cuttings six or eight 

 inches long, I have t;iken off cuttings from ten 

 inches to two feet long, and stnack them with 

 equal success. Although I at first begiui to 

 put in cuttings only in the month of August, 

 I now put them in at any season of the year, 

 except when the plants are making voung 

 wood. By giving them a gentle bottom heat, 

 and covering them with a hand-glass, they 

 will generally strike root in seven weeks or 

 two montVis. The citron is most easily struck, 

 and is the freest grower ; I therefore fre- 

 quently strike pieces 18 inches long, and a* 

 soon as they are put into single jiots, and 

 taken with the pots, they are grafted with 

 other sorts, which gi-ow freely. I am not 

 particular as to the time of stiiking cuttings.'' 

 It may be observed that the citron tiilje, like 

 (669) 



other fruit-bearing plants raised from cuttings 

 or layers, though they may prove very pro- 

 lific trei's, yet seldom grow with that vigor, 

 and ])rodiu e such large fruit, as those propa- 

 gated by budding or gralting on seedling 

 stocks. 



Training andPruning. — Standard orange 

 trees require very little pruning. Cut off 

 any stra^ghng, iiregidar branches, and where 

 a vacancy appears in the head, cut back any 

 strong free-growing shoots in the neighbor- 

 hood of it, which will cause them to send 

 forth smaller side-shoots to fill the gap. For 

 plants agaiust a wall or trellis, the lim man- 

 ner of training is that generally adopted. In 

 pnming the.se trees, it must be considered 

 that the mo.st useful blossoms of most sorts of 

 citrus are produced in the form of terminating 

 peduncles on the wood of the cur; ent year'i 

 and hence the grand object of the pruner 

 ought to be to encourage the production of 

 young wood in every part of the tree, by cut- 

 ting our naked wood and sliorteuing vigorous 

 shoots where wood is wanting. 



Insects. — In St. Michael they tar the 

 stems occasionally to prevent injury from in- 

 sects. Vegetable tar only should be used. 

 ■' If insects do attack, strong lime water is as 

 good a remedy as I know," says Shepherd, 

 " to destroy them, which is to be thrown upon 

 the tree with some force from a hand-engine." 

 For want of which, it may be dashed against 

 them from a cup or other small vessel.* t 



Desidkkata. — It may be of advantage to 

 give the following list of what appear to be 

 the most desirable varieties of the sweet or- 

 ange, and which, if imported, would prove a 

 veiy valuable addition to the fruits of the 



* See Browne's Trees of America, p. G8. 



1 Inquiring of the Senators from Florida as 

 to the staples and capabilities of that State, 

 to which both have given the attention which 

 becomes men of their high trust and position, 

 we learned with sorrow that the culture of the 

 Orange otherwise so promising and profitable, 

 had been arrested and nearly destroyed by the 

 ravaa^es of an insect of which an intelligent cor- 

 respondent of Hon. Senator Yulee gives the 

 following account : 



St. Augustine, Fla. Jan. 4, tStb. 



Dear Sir : I have salistied myself perfectly as to 

 the identity of the insect. It is the Coccus He^peri- 

 dum. I have observed it daily since my own ti-ees 

 have become infested with it, and have frequently 

 examined it with a tolerably good single magnitier. 

 I cannot see more than one male to throe or four 

 hundred females. The males are also much smaller 

 than the females. The males are winged, and ex- 

 tremely active, and can be seen running about 

 among the females, by observing very closely. They 

 are. however, 9o extremely small that the closest at- 

 tention is necessary to see them at all with the un- 

 assisted sight, and then only in a bi-ight sunlight. 

 By means of a microscope that enlaiges it to about 



