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CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



Growth from Layers. The orange roots readily by layering, the 

 drooping branches being partly cut through, buried in the soil with 

 the terminal shoot above the ground. Layers must be kept moist. 

 Layering may be employed to obtain a few plants easily, but, other- 

 wise, it cuts no figure in propagation. Layers and cuttings, of 

 course, reproduce the original variety without recourse to budding. 



Growth from Seed. The orange is grown upon seedlings of 

 the common or sweet orange ; the bitter orange or orange of Seville, 

 generally called "Florida sour stock," and of the Pomelo or Grape 

 Fruit. Good plump seed should be selected in growing orange 

 seedlings either for their own fruitage or to use as stocks for 

 budding. 



When seedlings for fruiting are grown, select seed from a choice 

 variety in a situation where other citrus species are not grown ; 

 but the orange can not be trusted to come true from seed, and, 

 more than this, the seedling class for fruiting purposes has been 

 practically abandoned as unprofitable to plant, though fruit from 

 old seedling trees is occasionally sold at a profit. 



In securing seed the fruit is allowed to rot and when thoroughly 

 decayed, it is pulped by mashing in a barrel, and the mass is 

 washed, a little at a time, on a coarse sieve, the pulp passing 

 through, and the seed being caught on the wires, and pieces of skin 

 thrown out. The plump seed will sink if thrown into water, and 

 the imperfect can be skimmed from the top. The seed should never 

 be allowed to dry, and unless it is to be sown at once, should be 

 stored by mixing with moist sand, from which it can be afterwards 

 removed by sifting; or it can be kept for a time in water, changing 

 the water from time to time to prevent souring. The best time 

 for sowing orange seed is after the ground has become warm in 

 the spring. 



Orange seedlings are grown either in boxes or in the open 

 ground. In either case a rich sandy loam which will not bake 

 should be secured or artificially made by mixing sand with rich 

 garden loam. Boxes of about two square feet area and six inches 

 deep are convenient to handle. The bottom should have holes, or 

 sufficient crevices for good drainage. Fill the boxes about four 

 inches with the prepared soil, place the seeds about an inch and a 

 half apart each way, and sift over them about an inch of the soil, 

 or a little less of the soil, and a layer of clear sand if it is at hand. 

 It is essential that the soil should be kept moist, and light sprinkling 

 daily or every other day with water that has been warmed by 

 standing in the sun, is desirable. Seed can be sown in boxes in the 

 house at any time, if plenty of light and heat are given. If the 

 boxes are to be out-of-doors, it is best to sow in the spring, and 

 to rip up a cover of cheap cotton cloth, suspended about a foot 

 above the surface, to prevent effect of frost at night, and of burning 



