134 Oranges and Lemons of India. 



prepared nursery a foot or more apart by the ensuing 

 rains. The most forward then can be budded in the 

 following February. 



Native nurserymen who raise citrus plants for sale 

 always keep khatta stock on hand. They manage 

 their nurseries very well, and are experts in budding 

 and shifting young citrus trees. Anyone starting orange 

 or lemon plantations on a large scale would do well to 

 employ a good native nurseryman from one of the large 

 cities, to raise stock, and bud it for him with any 

 variety he may prefer. This should be done in the 

 vicinity of the plantation. The long, cane-like branches 

 of the previous rains generally furnish the best buds 

 for inserting on the stock. Having once secured plants 

 of any desirable variety, it is not difficult to propagate 

 them by layers, which can generally be easily taken 

 from the lower branches. 



If the plants are in a nursery, they should be taken 

 up carefully with a large ball of earth. Natives usually 

 lift plants with too small a ball of earth, and, therefore, 

 too much of their roots is unnecessarily chopped off. 

 The evening is the best time for planting. Regular 

 watering will be required throughout the hot dry 

 weather. No watering will be needed during the wet 

 season, provided there be an average rainfall, and 

 during the winter only an occasional watering will be 

 required. Of course these rules hold principally for 

 all those parts of India subject to the hot winds. In 

 other parts these rules can be modified according to 

 circumstances. 



In heavy rains, surface drainage should be attended 

 to, as too much water lying at the roots will cause some 

 of the fruit to drop off. In hot, dry weather, as I 

 have repeatedly stated, surface leafage to be renewed 

 when the leaves crumple up and decay will econo- 



