THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN— VIII. 



525 



on the southern or eastern slopes of hills and mountains. 

 A northern exposure does not answer, and a western slope 

 is not so good as an eastern one. As to soil, a loam or 

 clay loam with sand and gravel enough to afford drain- 

 age, is the best for oranges in Japan. In many places 

 where the slope is too steep to plant on directly, it has 

 been terraced and one or two rows of trees planted on 

 each level, so in 

 places terrace after 

 terrace of thrifty or- 

 ange trees climb to 

 the tops of lofty 

 hills, or so far as 

 soil and temperature 

 will permit. ^ 

 Propagation. — The^ \ 

 Japanese orange 

 grower grafts his 

 trees ; budding i s 

 rarely resorted to. 

 For stocks he uses 

 the kikoku ( Citrus 

 trifolia, Thunb.)for 

 the less vigorous va- 

 rieties, and Vae yud- 

 zzi (a variety of Cit- 

 rus atiraiititim) for 

 the strong growers. 

 The first named 

 stock, in a measure, 



dwarfs the trees and carries with it all the advantages 

 and disadvantages of dwarfs. It is claimed for it that 

 it causes the tree to bear in five or six years from the 

 graft, and sometimes as early as three years ; that the 

 trees can stand closer ; that they are less exposed to 

 injury by the wind; and that, being low, they receive 

 more benefit from the reflected heat from the earth than 

 taller trees. The main drawback is that the trees are 

 short-lived, their average age being but fifty or sixty 

 years. On the other hand, it is claimed that when the 

 yudzit is used the trees seldom bear under ten years, but 

 that the fruit, as a rule, is larger and more attractive, 

 and that the trees will continue to bear for upwards of a 

 hundred years. As a consequence of these characteris- 

 tics, well-to-do growers who chiefly look to the enhance- 

 ment of their estate in value use the more vigorous stocks 

 for their plantations, while the poorer growers, who want 

 quick returns, graft their trees on the kikohu . 



The seed intended for stocks is removed in the fall, 

 washed and buried in matting or straw sacks in a warm 

 place, where it remains until spring. In March it is 

 taken up and sown broadcast on a seed-bed, for which 

 a warm place and rich soil is chosen The seedlings re- 

 main here till the following spring, when they are trans- 

 planted to nursery rows one and a-half to two feet apart, 

 and six inches apart in the row. The tap root is short- 

 ened one-half to two-thirds of its length on the kikoku 

 stock, but on the yitdzii it is merely bent, this being be- 

 lieved to favor the development of fibrous roots. Here 



the kikoku remains until three years old when they are 

 grafted, whereas the yudzit often remains until six or 

 seven years old, their growth being slow while young. 

 They are fertilized at intervals when necessary, usually 

 with liquid manure make from night-soil. 



The grafting is done about the middle of April, and 

 without removing the stock. The cion is inserted as 



Flowering Twig of Citrus Trifoliata. 



close to the ground as possible. The method used is a 

 kind of side-grafting, which is employed by the Japanese 

 for all sorts of woody plants. The base of the cion is 

 prepared with a slant, smooth cut, an inch to an inch 

 and a-half in length, and the stock being cut off at a 

 suitable place (not more than two inches above ground), 

 a vertical cut is made on one side from above downward, 

 separating but not cutting off the bark, and a thin sliver 



