THE FLORIST. 
the remainder may consist of one part of thoroughly decomposed horse- 
dung and decayed night-soil; the dung should be in a dry pulverised 
state, and should be mixed with an equal proportion of loam which has 
been thoroughly charred by being burnt over an iron plate. We have 
thus a compost consisting of one half strong loam, and the other half 
old mortar, dry pulverised manure, and charred earth. We do not 
recommend peat, except for small trees, as after it has been in the tubs 
or boxes for a short time only, it becomes sour and holds the wet too 
much. This compost is more open than that generally used in France, 
but the rains of our climate require, that when so large a body of soil 
is placed together as that required for Orange-trees, it should be so 
composed that it will allow both rain-water and the usual supplies 
given them to pass freely away, for which purpose the drainage must 
be deep, and carefully placed over the bottom of the case, and of a 
material which of itself will not absorb water too readily, for in that 
case the lower roots would always be damp, and consequently cold. 
There is nothing better for the upper layer than broken flints, or gravel 
drift and charcoal; and for tubs three feet or upwards in depth, from 
eight to twelve inches of drainage is not too much. 
During the growing season the Orange requires a large quantity of 
water, which should be poured gently and evenly over the surface of the 
soil, so as to penetrate it regularly ; and when it does not do so, bore 
holes with a small iron rod into the parts which do not admit the water 
to pass through, as it is of the greatest importance that all the roots 
are equally supplied with water, for I have seen fine trees greatly 
injured by the water missing the ball, and escaping down the sides of 
the tubs. Should liquid manure ever be given—and its application 
produces the best results when the roots are healthy and numerous— 
it should be clear and perfectly liquid ; that made with guano, soot, or 
pigeon’s dung is preferable to all others. We consider thick manure 
water highly objectionable, as it chokes up the drainage powers of the 
soil, and creates a kind of sourness in the compost, which should be 
avoided by all means ; and for this reason I exclude sheep, cow, and pig 
manure from all composts for the Orange tribe. 
During very wet weather, trees standing out of doors, which have 
recently been reshifled, should have the surface of the boxes protected, so 
as to throw off the rain. There is nothing better for this than a piece 
of tarpauling, cut so as to cover the box and made to tie round the stem 
of the tree, which will effectually preserve the roots from becoming 
saturated to excess, which if continued for a short time only, will cause 
them great injury, and most probably entirely destroy those newly 
formed. There is nothing in the management of the Orange-tree which 
requires such constant care as attention to the supply of water ; for 
if overdone with it, especially towards the end of the seasoH, or during 
winter, the soil becomes close and sour, and the young roots, which are 
very sensitive of cold and damp, quickly become rotten—when scarcely 
anything will recover the tree but a fresh shift, and this with large or even 
small specimens is most injurious to their growth. We therefore advise 
protecting the roots from heavy rains after August, when out of doors, 
and more particularly newly shifted trees. During winter the quantity 
