FRUITS OF THE MYRTLE FAMILY 277 



yard manure. During the dry season the orchard is irrigated 

 every ten days. Very little pruning is done. 



Seedling guavas do not necessarily produce fruit identical 

 with that from which they sprang. It is the custom in most 

 regions to propagate the guava only by seed, but choice varieties 

 which originate as chance seedlings can be perpetuated only 

 by some vegetative means of propagation, such as budding or 

 grafting. 



Although the seeds retain their viability for many months, 

 they should be planted as soon after their removal from 

 the fruit as possible. They may be sown in flats or pans 

 of light sandy loam and covered to the depth of i inch. When 

 the young plants appear they should not be watered too lib- 

 erally. After they have made their second leaves, they may 

 be transferred into small pots. Since they are somewhat 

 difficult to transplant from the open ground, they had better 

 be carried along in pots until ready to be planted in the orchard. 

 The proper season for planting varies in different regions; 

 in India it is said to be July or August ; in California it is April 

 and May; while in Florida October and March are good 

 months. 



Both shield-budding and patch-budding are successful with 

 the guava. Shield-budding is the better method of the two. 

 P. J. Wester, who says that the guava was first budded, so far 

 as known, in 1894 by H. J. Webber at Bradentown, Florida, 

 describes the method in the Philippine Agricultural Review 

 for September, 1914. He states that budding should be per- 

 formed in winter. W T hile it has been done successfully as late 

 as May, the months from November to April are the best (in 

 the southern hemisphere the season would, of course, be at the 

 opposite time of year). The stock-plants should be young; 

 it is best to use them just as soon as they are large enough to 

 receive the bud. When inserted in old stocks the buds do not 

 sprout readily. The method of budding is the same as that 



