7 



" The climato of the Upper Provinces varies considerably from that of Bengal, insomuch that 



many plants which thrive under the one, will not thrive nor luirdly exist in the other The Cold 



season, in Upper India, commences at the beginning of October, and cannot be said to be completely 

 over till about the close of April. 



"In December and January sharp frosts at night are not unfrequent, sufficiently severe to destroy 

 many of the tender kinds of shrubs, unless protected. The European annuals, though often in the 

 early morning rigid with a white coating of hoar-frost upon them, and in an hour or so after exposed 

 to the burning rays of the sun full upon them, seem, with one or two exception, to take little harm 

 otherwiso than that sheir growth is all but entirely arrested while the season is at the coldest. 

 By the 10th February the frosts are over. 



*' During March, after their temporary rest, trees and shrubs in a well-irrigated garden push 

 forth with a vigour perfectly astonishing, far beyond anything of the kind ever witnessed in Bengal. 

 The young shoots, however, thus rapidly produced, are very apt to bo scorched up and killed in a few 

 hours' time by the fierce hot gales that prevail soon after. 



" In May the heat becomes intense, the same at night as during the day. At this period the 

 garden must be unremittingly watered. Many plants in a border left un watered oven for a fortnight 

 would of a certainty perish, and most would be sure of dying, if left unwatered during the whole of 

 the dry season. This excessive heat continues with little intermission, unless during the 'heavy falls 

 of rain that occur more or less in July and August, till Saptember, when it begins gradually to abate." 



It is quite evident that we have at Lucknow conditions of vegetation, arising from different causes, 

 but similar in their effects to those in Florida and other places where budding is practised, namely a 

 rapid springing into growth after a season of rest, instead of a continuous growth throughout the 

 whole year. ^ W. F. 



Royal Gardens, Kew, 8th September, 1893. 



My dear Fawcett, 



As bearing upon our recent correspondence with regard to the budding of oranges, I may men- 

 tion that on Satnrday last we had a pleasant visit from Mr. Matthew Ridley, Superintendent of the 

 Government Horticultural Gardens at Lucknow. Ho was formerly at Kew and has had wide expe- 

 rience in fruit-growing in the plains of India. His Reports, as probably you are aware, are always 

 interesting, and contain valuable information of a useful character. 



2. Mr. Ridley's experience with regard to oranges is a somewhat singular one. Nearly all the 

 orange trees grown and distributed by him are budded trees. The plan of budding oranges has been 

 regularly practised in the Lucknow Gardens for many years. It is carried out by native labour, and al- 

 though there are naturally some failures, the supply of budded trees is always kept up to the demand. 



3. It may interest you to learn that stock plants are raised from seeds of sour orange aud lime. 

 These are raised in large numbers in open beds, as plants are raised in Jamaica, and they are grown 

 on until they are about 18 inches to 2 feet in height. In the spring of the year on the advent of dry 

 weather, the work of budding is commenced. During the month of March, and with bright, hot 

 weather, just as is experienced at that season in the West Indies, suitable buds are taken from the 

 best kinds of orange trees in the Garden, and these, after being prepared, are budded on to the sour 

 seedlings as they grow in the beds. The seedlings are taken one by one, and a clean cut made in the 

 upper part of the stem with a budding knife. The bark on each side of the cut is lifted, exactly as 

 in budding roses, and the bud put in. A little binding with bast or banana fibre completes the opera- 

 tion. There is no need of wax, clay, or any preparation to cover the budded area. 



4. Mr. Ridley mentioned, first of all, that the slit in the bark of the stock is not T-shaped, as 

 shewn, for instance, by Dr. Nicholls in his book (English ed.) opposite p. 82. It is simply a cut dowa 

 the stem, with no cross cut. Further, that the shield of bark attached to the bud is cut squarely 

 across top and bottom. It is not trimmed into a narrowed point either above or below. It is claimed 

 that the bud is easier to manage when so left. When the bud is being inserted the stem of the stock 

 is bent forward so as to open the slit, and so facilitate the admission of the bud. These latter are not 

 matters of any great moment. They are rather details of procedure which have been adopted at Luck- 

 now and passed on from one man to another. 



5. It is not nocessary to describe the budding process in any greater detail. Budding is a very 

 simple process, and it is well described in any work on gardening. As regards climate, I should say 

 that the hot weather in the plains of India must be much hotter than anything in Jamaica. There is 

 apparently little difference, as far as I could gathar from Mr. Ridley, between the conditions of vegeta- 

 tion during, say the month of March in Lucknow and in Jamaica. Hence it would appear that upon 

 theoretical grounds there is nothing to prevent budding being followed as fully in one place as in the 

 other. There is so much to be gained by an adoption of the budding process wherever it can bo car- 

 ried out, that this must be my excuse for inflicting so long a letter upon you in support of it. I hope 

 you will be able to say something more about it in your Bulletin, and so draw increased attention to 

 the subject in the interest of orange-growers in Jamaica. I attach a Memorandum on " budding 

 oranges," giving instances where it is practised elsewhere. 



I am, Youra very sincerely, 



D. Morris. 



BtJDDiNG Oranges. 



Extracts from "Fruit Culture in the Several Countries," being United States Consular Report, 

 No. 4H, June. 1884. 



Italy. Marsala. — "The trees are produced from seeds of bitter orango and budded afterwards." p.597. 

 Sioily. — "The seed of the bitter orange is planted. When the young plants aro a year old, they 



are transplanted when well rooted aud growing, the best varieties of orange aud lemon are bndd94 



to the stocks*" p. 599. 



