196 



"both with reference to the patient as well as to the agent. In the for- 

 mer we must study the age, season, strength and mode of operating ; 

 in the second we must consider besides the species and robustness of the 

 individual. 



The plant is usually able to support a graft after the completion of 

 its fourth year, and the probabilities of success are further increased by 

 the selection of the citrus bigaradia, whose seed produces at once the 

 most vigorous and earliest fruiting plant in this respect — indeed it pre- 

 cedes its congeners by over three years, commencing to yield on the 

 completion of its eighth year. It is therefore a favourite subject for 

 grafting. Independently, however, of the undeniable benefits derived 

 from the association of the good qualities of this wild, vigorous variety, 

 and of the ordinary sweet specimen through the process of grafting, the 

 question mooted by several cultivators in Sicily as to the propriety of 

 according an exclusive preference to the one over the other should be 

 answered negatively, the pros and cons with regard to such a preference 

 in favour of the one species to the exclusion of the other being pretty 

 equally balanced. For if the citrus bigaradia gives earlier crops, the 

 second yields more luscious and finer fruit. But if opinions differ as 

 to the absolute superiority of the one over the other, there can be but 

 one opinion with respect to the advantages of engrafting the wild va- 

 riety a scion of the sweet domestic species. 



In our selection of a fitting individual, we should rely on the long - 

 tried experience of a veteran gardener, who will be able to discern at a 

 glance those plants which, from their appearance, will furnish the best 

 specimens of scions, and certain well known kinds, such as the Cala- 

 brian orange, commonly called " a bicchiere," on account of its oval 

 shape ; or where lemon slips are required, the lumaria are highly prized. 



Where bergamots are concerned, I have been assured that they can 

 be budded freely and successfully on the orange stock, provided the pa- 

 tient is derived from seed, which seems, indeed, to be a condition prece- 

 dent of vigour among trees of the citrus family. These remarks apply 

 with equal force to the flaccid and short-lived citron trees, whose brief 

 span of existence is somewhat extended in those cases in which they de- 

 rive their origin from strong individuals of the orange variety, budded 

 with scions of the citron. 



With regard to the system of grafting, that mostly in use among Si- 

 cilians and Calabrians is the scutcheon method of grafting, and the 

 month selected for the purpose is April, although when a first graft has 

 either not been undertaken in time or has failed, it is customary to test 

 the eflicacy of grafting by approach, or " a occhio dormente" ; the first 

 may be attempted immediately during the great heats of summer, and 

 seems to be the safer of the two, while the second can only be practised 

 in autumn, and its result known in the following spring. It is merely 

 a repetition of the spring scutcheon-graft, the bud of which can only 

 germinate at the close of winter, whence it is so termed, in contradis- 

 tinction to the spring graft, which is also " a occhio," but " germinante." 



The trees are considered to have attained a sufficient development 

 when they present a stem of about 3 inches in girth. The ground, if at 

 all dry, must be well watered 2 days at least before that fixed for the 

 operation, a measure considered conducive to the freer flow of the sap, 

 and hence to the easier separation of the cortical substance from the sap- 



