my MEE, MJ 11D a 
ADA QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jonx, 1900; 
In some parts of Europe, seville oranges are very commonly grown a& 
_ Seedlings, but in the same districts the sweet orange is nea always a work 
tree. In America the fruit from worked trees of selected varieties always 
fetches a much higher price than that of seedlings, as no trees are worked unless 
they prove to be of the best quality or possess special qualifications, such as 
extreme earliness or extreme lateness. What has taken place in other places 
will, I believe, occur here at no very distant date, and the worked tree to a great 
extent supplant the seedling. 
Propagation oF Srocks. 
Tn order to obtain good stocks—that is to say, strong healthy stocks having 
a vigorous constitution—it is necessary to plant seed that is obtained from 
thoroughly ripe fruit grown on vigorous healthy trees, preferably seedlings. 
The seeds should be planted as soon as they are taken out of the fruit, all 
shrivelled and malformed seeds being rejected. The soil for the seed bed should 
be carefully selected and well prepared. It is best to be of a sandy, loamy 
nature, containing plenty of organic matter, such as decaying leaf mould, 80 
that if it is necessary to water the young plants, the soil will not set. Such @ 
soil will produce plenty of fine roots rather than one long tap root—a great 
advantage when the tree has to be transplanted to its permanent position. 
Mark the seed bed off in shallow drills 2 to 2} inches deep and 1 foot or 80 
apart; sow the seed fairly thickly in the drills and cover. Keep the ground 
between the rows well worked with a Dutch hoe, and water the young plants 
when necessary. In order to prevent the scalding or burning of the plantsin the 
seed bed, they should be protected from the direct rays of the sun, a light frame- 
work of saplings covered with a few bushes answering this purpose very well. 
Do not coyer the young plants up too much, or they will become weakly ; al 
that is necessary is a thin screen to break the direct rays of the sun. ; 
Leave the plants in the seed bed for from ten to twelve months, when, if 
they haye made a good growth, they should be taken up and carefully graded. 
All those haying twisted or curly roots should be rejected, and the balance’ 
should have their roots carefully pruned and be then transplanted into nursery 
rows, such rows to be about 3 feet apart and the plants from 6 to 8 inches apart 
in the row. If the weather is at all dry, the young plants should receive a slight 
watering when transplanted, as this will tend to settle the earth round them 
and prevent their drying out. The plants are kept well cultivated in the 
nursery rows, all the lower side growths are removed, and the young tree 
trained to a single stem. When the stocks are large enough, say in about 
twelve months after they have been set out, or less when grown under 
favourable conditions, they are ready for working. If the trees are to remail 
as seedlings, they should remain in the nursery rows till large enough to set out 
in the orchard, say till they are from 4 to 6 feet high, and with a stem of from 
+ to + inch in diameter. 
Mernops or Prorpacatrya Workep TREES. 
There are three methods of propagating worked trees—viz., layering, 
budding, and grafting. For commercial purposes, the last two methods only are 
employed, and budding is much more common than grafting, and is, as a rule, 
preferable to it. The various methods of budding and grafting have already 
been illustrated and described in this Journal, so that I have no need to go over 
this matter again. The secrets of success in budding citrus stocks are, first, t0 
see that the buds are full and well developed ; second, that the stock is in g00 
working order—viz., that the bark runs freely; third, that the bud is cut thin; 
and fourth, that it is inserted into the stock as soon as it is cut and tied firmly 
into its place. In cutting the bud use a very sharp knife ; do not take any © 
the wood out of the bud, simply cut it thin. Budding can be done at any time 
that the bark will run freely, provided suitable buds can be obtained, but 
grafting can be done most successfully in the spring of the year. As soon 4% 
the bud has taken, if you wish to start it, cut back the stock to a few inche* 
above the bud. E 
Hii woe wo 
1 ammo eamenll 
lIwlmieanh 
