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CIT 



C. margari'ta (pearl. Sweet lemon), 15. White. 

 June. China. 



Me'dica (Median. Citron}. 8. White. June. 



Asia. 



no'bilis (noble. Mandarin}. 15. White. June. 



China. 1805. 



mi'nor (smaller). 15. White. June. 



China. 1805. 



spinosifssima (spiniest). 15. White. June. 



Cayenne. 



t'ulga'ris (common. Seville"). 15. White. 



June. Asia. 



myrtifo'lia (myrtle-leaved). 3. White. 



June. Asia. 



Common Orange (C. auranti'acum). 

 The following are esteemed varieties : 

 the China, Blood-red, Sweet-skinned, 

 the Ribbed, Pear-shaped, Tiny-fruited, 

 Fingered, St. Michael's, and Mandarin. 

 The Mandarin and St. Michael's are far 

 superior to the rest for cultivation. The 

 Mandarin is. cultivated extensively at 

 Malta, although originally from China : 

 it has a thin rind, and is of very superior 

 flavour. The St. Michael's is also a 

 small orange ; but the skin is of a pale 

 yellow; the rind, also, very thin, and 

 the t mip remarkably sweet. The fruit is 

 generally without seed, and the tree is a 

 great bearer. 



The Lime (C. lime'tta) approaches the 

 Lemon ; but the juice is flat, and some- 

 what bitter. 



The Shaddock (C. decuma'na) has a 

 large and round fruit ; skin yellow, with 

 a white, spongy rind; the pulp sweet 

 and juicy. This has been successfully 

 cultivated, in Devonshire, on the open 

 walls, with protection in winter, but no 

 artificial heat. 



The Lemon (C. limo'num). The Con- 

 tinental growers are content to raise 

 these from seed ; hence the great differ- 

 ence in quality of the imported fruit. 



The Citron (C.me'dica) has a rind thick, 

 spongy, and very fragrant ; pulp, sub-acid. 



Propagation. All the kinds will pro- 

 pagate freely by cuttings, either of the 

 young shoots, or of those riper in charac- 

 ter. They are prepared in the usual 

 way, and inserted in pots of sand. A 

 close frame, with a bottom-heat of 75, 

 is necessary ; and they must be plunged. 

 They may be made at any period, except- 

 ing whilst the plants are growing. Some 

 cultivators put out long, straight pieces 

 of the Citron (which is easiest to propa- 

 gate), of two or three years' growth ; and, 

 as soon as they are rooted, they graft 

 them. 



Layers root with facility, but do not 

 make such fine plants. 



Grafting. There are various ways of 

 performing this operation, dependent 

 much on the size and character of the 

 stock. Some graft the young seedlings 

 which were sown in early spring : these, 

 by bottom-heat and high culture, are ren- 

 dered fit for this operation in about four 

 or five months. No clay is used in thia 

 delicate operation, but a little fine moss. 

 Some cut off the head of the stock and 

 crown-graft; others attach the graft to 

 the growing shoot, as in ordinary whip- 

 grafting. Budding is also practised by 

 some cultivators. 



Inarching has sometimes been prac- 

 tised by inarching several plants on one 

 large stock, in order to form a head 

 speedily. 



Stocks. The Citron has been mostly 

 preferred ; the Shaddock, however, makes 

 a robust stock. M'Intosh seems to re- 

 commend sowing any ordinary seeds 

 from, such fruit, indeed, as have rotted in 

 the warehouses, from which he has had 

 complete success. 



Seeds. The mode of rearing them 

 thus is simple enough. A light, rich soil 

 and a lively bottom-heat, with a some- 

 what close atmosphere, will produce 

 plants eighteen inches high in a few 

 months. 



Soil and Culture. All the family love 

 a generous soil. One half a free, yet rich 

 loam, and the other half composed of 

 leaf-mould, old cow-manure, and sandy 

 heath-soil, will grow them in high per- 

 fection, adding a little sand and some 

 charred materials. Care must be taken 

 to use the turfy loam in lumps, and to 

 drain well; indeed, all the materials 

 should be somewhat coarse. They re- 

 quire liberal watering ; and it must, when 

 given, penetrate the whole mass of soil. 

 They enjoy liquid-manure occasionally. 

 They are not only grown in pots or tubs, 

 but planted out as trees, and against 

 walls and trellises ; and they are equally 

 adapted for all these modes of culture. 

 Span-roofed houses would be highly eli- 

 gible for them as standards ; and the 

 sides and ends, being portable, might be 

 removed in summer. The Citron family 

 are impatient of intense sunshine, being, 

 for the most part, natives of woods. A 

 slight amount of shading, therefore, be- 

 comes occasionally necessary. The tem- 

 perature during winter especially in 

 : houses with opaque roofs must be very 

 i moderate : 48 to 50, by means of fire- 



