Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/211

Rh quality as that of the tree from which the graft was taken, provided of course that the routine of cultivation is what it ought to be. In all cases of grafting the object is chiefly to ensure that the fruit shall be of good quality, but as the process promotes early fruitfulness, there are two good reasons in favour of it.

There is not a tree or shrub in the garden more worthy of the care required for its perfect development than is the orange. Its fragrant flowers produced in profusion during winter and spring amply repay the care bestowed upon it, but the fruit that follows makes a still further return&mdash;a sort of cent, per cent, upon the outlay, whether of money, skill or patience, or of all these requisites combined.

All the citrus tribe are shade-loving plants and must therefore be protected from the full glare of the sunlight in high summer, but throughout the winter they should have all the daylight that can be secured for them. To shut them up in dark houses is a mistake; and it is one of the wonders of modern horticulture that until quite recently orange trees were shut up in dark houses in all great establishments, and were so much injured in consequence that they might as well have been shut up altogether and forgotten for ever. Another peculiarity of the family is that it will not endure extremes of heat or cold, and hence, if orange trees are allowed to freeze in winter and roast in summer, they become, if they are not killed, unhealthy and unproductive, and more plague than profit to keep them. The shaddock and the lime are the hardiest of the family and may be grown with the aid of a glass wall and without artificial heat in the most favoured districts of the south of England and the Isle of Wight. As a rule the lowest temperature that orange trees should be subjected to in winter is 45°, but the average winter temperature should be 50° at least, but in summer a good greenhouse temperature is quite sufficient.

The Orange and the Lemon have higher claims on the English amateur than any others of the family. To do them perfect justice they should be planted out and never be pruned except to keep them somewhat shapely and within bounds. When enjoying fair root room in a wide border with plenty of moisture above and below, they are proof against all pests and all diseases, and it is a question of temperature solely whether they produce their proper quantity of flowers and