302 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COIIAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 16,1885. 
our trees, shrubs, and herbs cease to grow and go into a 
state of rest in spite of this. So it is with many exotic and 
even tropical plants. In many parts of the Malay Peninsula 
there is absolutely no season of drought, a slight decrease in 
temperature affording the only change conducive to plant 
rest. The structure of the plants is sometimes a safe guide 
in this matter. A Dendrobium, Ccelogyne, Cattleya, many 
bulbous plants, and plants with succulent leaves or stems, 
are constructed in such a way as to enable them to endure a 
more or less lengthened period of drought. On the other 
hand, Phalaenopses, Cypripediums, Masdevallias, along with 
hosts of other plants, have not that means of supporting 
themselves during a lengthened absence of moisture. Besides 
these there are a great many plants possessed of bulbs or 
tubers which do not appear to be intended to endure drought, 
as, for instance, the Narcissi, Caladiums, Eucharis, Crinums, 
which thrive best when kept continually moist. From 
this it is plain that the structure of a plant cannot invariably 
be taken as a safe guide to its proper treatment, and in all 
cases it is best to look first to Nature’s plan for information 
on such points as moisture, temperature, &c. There can, 
however, be no question about the mistakes which are often 
made in the management of plants through this idea that to 
rest a plant it must be kept dry. We do not keep our Roses, 
our Camellias, our Australian shrubs dry when we want to 
rest them, and just as the conditions most suitable to them 
are supplied by lowering the temperature, so also it will 
be found equally effective with a great many of the exotics 
we cultivate. 
The time to supply water is when it is required—not in 
the morning ©r the evening or at any fixed time, but when 
the condition of the soil is such as to render water necessary. 
Much mischief is the result of this idea that the watering 
must be done only once or twice a day irrespective of weather. 
It is a common answer to the question, “How is it this 
p^ant is allowed to get dry like this ?” “ Oh, I watered last 
night, and it wasn’t dry then.” Of course where a number 
of plants of one kind are grown under the same conditions it 
is easy to fix a time for watering, but even then the atmo¬ 
spheric and solar conditions should be considered, remem¬ 
bering that on a hot windy day when houses are freely 
ventilated plants will dry very rapidly as compared with 
what happens in cooler, less windy weather. 
The temperature of the water is a most important ques¬ 
tion, which is, however, too frequently neglected. If possible 
it should be a few degrees warmer than the soil, or at least 
equally warm—it should never be much colder. The feeding 
points of roots are extremely delicate and sensitive organs, 
easily affected by a sudden change, and on a hot day, when 
the soil in the pots has been raised to a high temperature, 
much harm may be done to the roots by pouring on them 
water from a tap or from a cold tank. It is a good plan to 
have a tank constructed so as to allow one or two hot-water 
pipes to run through it, and, in fact, no house should be 
considered complete without such an arrangement. More 
especially is this necessary for stoves and other warm houses. 
By causing all the rain water from the roofs of the houses to 
flow into this tank better food is secured for the plants than 
is contained in tap water, than which rain water is often 
50 per cent, better. 
In conclusion, what was said with regard to water-room 
in the article on potting may be repeated here. It is wise to 
leave sufficient space above the soil in the pot to hold enough 
water to thoroughly moisten the whole ball, for unless this 
is done a plant may be watered and yet not obtain more 
than sufficient water to moisten the top of the ball, and as 
the best of the feeding roots are as a rule near the bottom of 
the pot such a watering is of little use to the plant. There 
is no reason why pots should be filled to the top with soil, 
as the roots very rarely take possession of the upper inch or 
so of soil unless the plant has been in it for some time. The 
whole question of watering plants growing in pots under 
artificial conditions is directly affected by the condition of 
the soil and drainage. If these are bad, then watering, how¬ 
ever carefully done, is of no avail; but if good, the action of 
the roots can go on unimpeded, the soil yielding up its food 
contents under the action of the water to them, which are 
ever actively employed in absorbing these liquid foods, 
and which must be kept constantly supplied so long as 
the plant is making growth.—W. N. 
THE CULTIVATION OF THE ORANGE. 
At page 227 your correspondent, Mr. Bond, draws attention 
to the culture of Oranges out of doors in this country, but as I 
have had no experience of that part of the subject I will leave it 
for others to deal with, and coniine my remarks to the culture of 
Oranges under glass from the decorative point of view. At 
page 64 of No. 1843 (1884), Mr. T. F. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth 
very appropriately suggests the more general use of the Citrus 
family, and of Citrus Aurantium in particular, as worthy of 
special attention; and anyone who has seen Orange trees, large 
or small, laden with their pure and fragrant blossoms in spring, 
and bending in the winter months with their harvest of golden 
and juicy fruits, will heartily endorse every word he wrote in 
their praise. I fully support his suggestions, and am curious to 
know how it is that in these days of luxury (in comparison with 
50 to 100 years ago) there is scarcely a suitable structure set 
apart for their special accommodation in the United Kingdom, 
whilst numerous dark and costly places, built a many years ago, 
and called “ orangeries,” are to be met with, but the majority 
of them were failures. The Orange is a native of sunny climes, 
yet they are usually coaxed to linger a miserable existence for a 
number of years in this country by carrying them out of doors 
from May to October or November. These, however, rarely 
possess the vigour, floriferousness, and fruitfulness that dis¬ 
tinguish plants grown all the year in a light conservatory, and 
these latter are again surpassed by plants that have a place in a 
Pine stove or similar structure. The brisk heat provided during 
the swelling and ripening of the Oranges ensures the true 
piquancy and lusciousness of the “ golden fruit,” contrasting 
almost a3 forcibly with the “ flat ” and almost tasteless im¬ 
ported Oranges too frequently bought in the market as do our 
best home-grown Grapes with the Continental samples. 
Citrus Aurantium and its varieties are worthy a place in every 
greenhouse. Amonest the best are Maltese Blood, Mandarin, 
St. Michae's, and Tangierine, and for ornament alone Citrus 
japonica is well adapted. This species is very dwarf, fruits 
freely in 6-inch pots, and when carrying one or two dozen golden 
yellow Oranges, as several of mine are, they are vei’y ornamental 
either in the conservatory or sitting-room. 
Propagation is effected by means of seeds, cuttings, layers, 
budding, grafting, and inarching, the first and two last methods 
being most common. In the case of seedlings fertility is ac¬ 
celerated when a portion of a fruitful plant has been worked on 
to them by any of the usual systems of grafting and inarching, 
the only difference being that no clay is used to prevent the 
action of the air upon the union, damp moss sufficing. Much 
disappointment and vexation is avoided if small fruiting plants 
be obtained from nurseries, whence they may be purchased 
from 2s. 6d. upwards according to size and kind. Supposing 
that nearly all the readers of the Journal have not more than 
two or three Orange trees under their care, and that those who 
have a collection of them (such as Messrs. Rivers, Muir, Douglas, 
and others) need no information from me as to their manage¬ 
ment, 1 will try to show how these “ members of the majority ” 
may grow their Orange trees with the best chance of success. 
In the first place the Orange, during the growing season, 
delights in an abundance of heat, light, and water; secondly, it 
must be kept clean; and thirdly, it should have a periodical rest. 
Of the first three essentials light is the most important. A 
deficiency of this is the source of more failures than is supposed, 
and too frequently the cause of failure is wrongly attributed to 
improper soil, too much or too little water, imperfect drain¬ 
age, &c., although such may occasionally be the case If we add 
to the first cause of failure an arid and sulphurous atmosphere, 
such as may be generated by flues and fireplaces underneath the 
structure, then ruin is the consequence. Light being a most 
important factor, let the trees be placed in such a position that 
the rays strike directly upon the upper surface of the leaves and 
all around the plant. Do not put them in the customary “ shady 
corner,” or the leaves are sure to fall prematurely; further, do 
not shade them from the sun unless they are either very sickly 
or in great danger of being scorched or burned, which is not 
likely to occur unless the glass is of inferior quality. 
