532 



CULTURE OF THE ORANGE. 



somer Orange trees than those with the fairest of conserTa- 

 tories. It should be understood that it refers to the culture 

 of Orange trees for placing in the open air in summer, and 

 not with a view of growing them for the sake of their 

 fruit. Where fruit is required from Orange trees in this 

 country an entirely different system must be pursued^ and 

 there are signs that before long all the finer Oranges will 

 be abundantly grown under glass with us. 



" The Orange is propagated by grafting on the stock raised 

 from seeds of Citrus Medica (the Common Lemon), or from 

 those raised from seeds of the Common Bitter Orange. For 

 the trade, plants grafted on the Lemon stock are the most 

 suitable, the Lemon growing more ^dgorously than the wild 

 Orange tree ; but to secure the plant long life, the latter 

 is the most preferable. The reason of this will be easily 

 understood; the difference between the Lemon and the 

 Orange is much the same as between the Quince and the 

 wild Pear : like the Quince, the Lemon makes all its roots 

 at the surface of the soil, the wild Orange goes deeper, and 

 consequently the tree is better able to resist the wind and 

 the vicissitudes of the season; naturally there is more 

 analogy between the two woods, and the result of experi- 

 ments is that the plants live much longer. An Orange tree 

 grafted on the Lemon may live about a hundred years ; 

 after that time it decays and perishes ; an Orange grafted 

 on its wild congener may live over 300 years — witness the 

 Grand Bourbon in the Orangery at Versailles, near Paris, 

 which tree is now more than 400 years old, and is grafted 

 on the wild Orange. 



Sow the seeds early in the spring in a light but not too 

 sandy soil, and in pots (twenty-five to thirty per pot) ; put 

 the pots upon a dung-bed (lukewarm), and keep the soil 

 fresh, but do not have any steam in the frame, and to pre- 

 vent this give a little air. When the seeds have come up, 

 encourage them to gro\^ to three or four inches high. 

 Afterwards put them in a warmer bed, and keep a damp 

 warm atmosphere in the frame ; shade them against the 

 burning rays of the sun ; and when they are seven or eight 

 inches high, give them a little air^ increasing it as they get 



