354 The Orange Nursery. 
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 after- 
wards removed by sifting. 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 it 
it is at hand. It is essential that the soil should be kept moist, 
and light sprinkling daily or each 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 rig up a cover of cheap cotton 
cloth, suspended about a foot above the surface, to prevent ef- 
fect of frost at night, and of burning by sun heat by day. The 
seedlings usually appear in about six weeks, and with good care 
in weeding and keeping sufficiently, but not excessively, moist, 
they will make a growth of about a foot the tirst season. Some 
growers collect the boxes in a sheltered place, and build over 
them a lath house, tacking on old sacks or other cloth, to shield 
from sun and frost. The lath house keeps animals from running 
over the boxes, etc. 
Growing seedlings in an open bed involves about the same 
operations. To guard against intrusion, it is advisable to make 
board sides to the bed about a foot high, and to make = lath 
frames which will reach across, resting on the edge boards. A 
cloth sun-and-frost shade is also desirable, to be laid over the 
lath frames when it seems needed. Beds should be made nar- 
row enough so that one can easily reach half way across from 
each of the long sides for weeding, etc. In open seed heds it is 
usual to sow the seed broadcast.‘ 
The Orange Nursery—Planting out in nursery is usually 
done after the ground is thoroughly warmed in the spring, and 
the seedlings are then about a year old. The preparation of 
nursery ground and the planting out of the seedlings can be 
done as described in Chapter VIII. Orange seedlings should, 
however, be given greater distance apart than is usual for decid- 
uous trees, because the orange remains longer in nursery, and 
because it is often desirable, when taking up, to sack the ball of 
