366 



CASSELL'S rOPITLAR GARDENING. 



C. cordatum. — Leaves heart- shaped, armed at the 

 edges wath prickly teeth ; flowers freely produced in 

 loose racemes ; red, spotted at base with orange- 

 yellow. April and May. 



C. Kenchmanil. — This elegant species is very liable 

 to attacks of mildew ; but if kept in a well-aired 

 situation, and slightly dusted with sulphur at inter- 

 vals, no harm need be apprehended. The leaves are 

 small and Heath-like. It produces long racemes of 

 Pea-shaped flowers, which are bright scarlet, with a 

 green spot at the base. April to June. 1824. 



C. Lawrenciana. — A strong-growing kind, and a 

 profuse bloomer ; flowers orange 

 and scarlet. May. 1845. 



C. Dicksonii. — This is perhaps 

 the largest-growing kind in the 

 family, but rare in cultiva- 

 tion ; scarlet and yellow. May. 

 1836. 



C. varium. — Is more compact 

 in habit than the other kinds, 

 with large dark green leaves, 

 and forms handsome specimens ; 

 orange and red. 1837. 



Citrus. — This is the sys- 

 tematic name for the family of 

 plants which produce that 

 luscious fruit, the Orange — a 

 boon to the invalid upon a bed 

 of sickness, parched, it may be, 

 with a burning fever, and the 

 joy of a schoolboy's heart at 

 any time. 



The fruits which are known as the Orange, 

 Lemon, Citron, Shaddock, &c. (Src, are all supposed 

 by some to have been derived from one species, 

 Citrus Medica, found in cultivation by Theophrastus 

 in Media. It is not, however, found wild in any 

 part of Persia, although at the present time it may 

 be found in a state of nature in the mountain valleys 

 of Northern India ; and although the fruits are now 

 so various and distinct in appearance, this no doubt 

 has been brought about by long cultivation and se- 

 lection. The Orange appears to have been culti- 

 vated by man at a very early period. It was com- 

 mon in the North of Persia several hundred years 

 before the birth of Christ, and the Jews appear to 

 have brought it with them to Palestine on their 

 return from captivity in Babylon. Erom the land 

 of the Jews it was brought into Italy by .the 

 Romans, and in Spain we read that Oranges were in 

 cultivation about Seville towards the end of the 

 twelfth century. 



The first recorded Orange-trees in England were 

 those reared by Sir Francis Carew at Beddington, in 



Citrus Limonum. 



Surrey. These, it is said, were brought to this 

 country by his relative. Sir Walter Raleigh ; but it 

 is unknown if these were established plants, or seeds 

 only. They were grown against a wall in the open, 

 air, and bore large crops of fruit, but were killed by 

 the great frosts in 1739—40. 



It is not the .intention to treat in these pages upon 

 the cultivation of Oranges in England as a commer- 

 cial speculation, for they cannot be grown in this 

 country without protection in winter ; nevertheless, 

 a few notes from a \'isitor to the Orange gardens in 

 the Azores will not be out of place. Our friend 

 says : — " The Orange-tree suc- 

 ceeds everywhere in the Azores, 

 even in poor soil, although it 

 prefers the richer, and the 

 sea-air is favourable to it. At 

 one time grafting the good 

 kinds upon seedling stocks was 

 the only system of propagation ; 

 now, however, they are largely 

 propagated by layers ; this latter 

 operation should be performed 

 from about the middle of May 

 up to the middle of June, and 

 by the beginning of the next 

 year they will be fit to remove 

 from the parent plant. 



" TYie cultivators in the 

 Azores say that plants from 

 layers fruit quickest, but grafted 

 plants produce the best fruit. 



' ' A danger the Orange- 

 trees have to withstand is 

 the boisterous winds which are so prevalent in the 

 Azores, and which at times are so -violent as to up- 

 root them. This has led to the planting of various 

 trees in rows as shelter to them, but since these trees 

 have become large enough to shade the Orange-trees 

 they have produced fruits with thicker rinds, which 

 is detrimental, as the fruits with thin rinds are 

 better in flavour and travel better. About the 

 tenth year the trees arrive at a fair fruiting state, 

 that is to say, each tree will yield some 1,500 to 

 1,600 fruits; but when another five years have 

 passed the yield will be doubled, and it is recorded 

 that trees have been known to yield upwards of 

 20,000 fruits. 



" A disease called lagrlma is very injurious to these 

 trees. The bark cracks near the base of the stem, 

 and a ^iscid gimi exudes. This is followed by the 

 bark peeling off, and the wood and roots decay, and 

 the tree dies. The plan adopted where this disease 

 shows itself is to make a large incision where the 

 bark has split, in order to allow the gum to run 

 away as quickly as possible. The soil is then re- 



