ORANGE. 283 



Orange, continued. 



as they are often impatient of transplanting. Oranges 

 grow readily from cuttings, although cuttage is not often 

 practiced. Green cuttings, handled under .a frame, give 

 good results. Mature wood, either one or two years old, 

 can be treated after the manner of long grape cuttings. 

 They must have an abundance of moisture. Layers are 

 sometimes made. 



The named varieties are shield-budded upon other 

 stocks. Grafting can be practiced, but it is often unsatis- 

 factory. The nursery stocks are commonly budded in the 

 spring, after having grown in the rows one year, which is 

 two years from the sowing of the seed. If thorn-bearing 

 varieties are to be propagated, a thorn with a bud in its 

 axil is often cut with the bud, to serve as a handle in 

 place of the leaf-stalk, which is used in summer budding. 

 Many stocks are used for the orange. The leading ones 

 are sweet or common orange, sour orange (Citrus Auran- 

 tium, var. Bigaradia], pomelo (Citrus decumana}, Ota- 

 heite orange, trifoliate orange (Citrus, or sEgle, trifoli- 

 ata], and various lemons, as the ''French" or Florida 

 Rough and the Chinese. For general purposes, the sweet 

 and sour orange stocks are probably the best. The sour 

 stock is obtained from wild seeds, this variety having 

 extensively run wild in Florida from early times. The 

 trifoliate and Otaheite stocks are used for dwarfing or for 

 small growing sorts, as many of the Japanese varieties. 

 The trifoliate orange is also one of the hardiest of the 

 orange stocks, and its use will probably increase upon the 

 northern limit of the orange belt. Old orange trees can 

 be top-budded with ease. It is advisable to cut them 

 back a year before the operation is performed, in order 

 to secure young shoots in which to bud. In ordinary 

 greenhouse practice, the seedlings of the pomelo make 

 good stocks. They can be established in three-inch pots 

 the first season, and veneer-grafted the next winter. 



The Rowell method of propagating the orange (so 

 named for William M. Rowell, Fort Meade, Florida, its 

 inventor) is thus described by a local Florida newspaper 

 (Bartow Courier-Informant, 1891) : 



"Mr. Rowell's process is almost startling in novelty, 

 yet it is very simple. Briefly stated, it is about as follows : 

 Cuttings ^ to % inch in diameter and loor 12 inches long, 

 are taken from any healthy citrus tree, and buds of any 

 desired variety are put in them. This is done in the 

 house or barn, and as the cuttings are budded they are 



