FRUITS 



181 



time is likely to do great damage by preventing pollina- 

 tion. Good mango soil is rich, deep, and well drained. 

 Bones are a good fertilizer. 



Seed. The mango is reproduced by seed or by graft- 

 ing. The seed is short-lived; but it has been found in 

 Hawaii that almost half of the seed will germinate, if kept 

 a month before planting. It was also found there that 

 if the hard shell is removed from the seed, the average 

 time required for germination is 18 days, 

 but that the average time with the shell 

 left on is 40 days. The seeds should be 

 placed on their sides. 



Grafting. The easiest way of grafting 

 mangos is that called inarching. A 

 vigorous seedling about six months old, 

 growing in a pot or large joint of bam- 

 boo, is put where its stem can be 

 placed beside a small branch-stem of the 

 variety desired. The two stems must be 

 of the same size. Where they are in contact, a piece of 

 the surface about 10 cm lon^ is then cut from each with 



O 



a shaq3 knife, leaving a flat, smooth surface cut well into 

 the wood. The two cut surfaces are thcMi fastened to- 

 gether firmly, but without much pressure; the bark of one 

 stem must fit the bark of the other. 



The air is then kept away from the edges of the cut 

 surfaces by means of grafting wax. A good liquid wax 

 is made by melting together 160 grams of white resin and 

 10 grams of beef tallow, and slowly adding 80 grams of 



FlG. 121. Inarching 



