TIIE GENUS CITRUS. 
727 
FLORICULTURE. 
ARTICLE V.—ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE PLANTS, 
BELONGING TO THE GENUS'CITRUS. 
BY R. AYRES, F. H. S. 
Late Gardener to E. M. Mundy , Esq. at Shipley , in Derbyshire. 
According to my promise, I send you an account of my method 
of cultivating the plants belonging to the Genus Citrus. If you 
judge it worthy a place in your Register , it is at your service. Pre¬ 
vious to describing my method of cultivating the plants, I cannot 
avoid observing, that in the usual management of oranges and other 
trees of this class in green-houses, however fine the plants, they only 
serve the purpose of ornament, and are otherwise useless, never pro¬ 
ducing any fruit fit for the table. This failure arises from the com¬ 
mon practice of taking the trees out of the green-house, at the time 
the common green-house plants are taken out for the summer month; 
whereas the proper course which ought to be followed, is to keep 
them in the house through the whole season, and after the removal 
of the other plants, the oranges might receive the peculiar treatment 
necessary, to bring them into proper hearing. The compost I use 
is made as follows :—to twelve barrowsful of strong turfy loam, add 
six of good rotten horse dung, three of vegetable mould, and one cf 
white sand ; these must he properly incorporated for twelve months 
previous to using. From the experience my practice has given me, 
I do not think oranges and other similar trees, require much warmth 
in the winter months, I therefore never suffer my houses to be heated 
above 50 degrees by fire heat, until the end of February or begin¬ 
ning of March, when the trees, if in good health, will begin to show 
blossom, the fire heat should then be increased to 55 degrees, but 
the houses ought never to be heated above 65 degrees at this time 
by sun heat, the excess of which must he checked by the admission 
of air, indeed, the more air the trees have during the time of 
blooming, the more certain will be the crop of fruit. My trees are 
washed with a hand syringe about twice a week in the winter months, 
advantage being taken of the middle of the day for that work in cold 
weather; in summer they are washed every day in the morning. 
During the time the trees are in bloom, they require more care in 
