A/agaztne , vol. x. This machine is of an oblong form, 4ft. lOin. long, 4 ft. wide in th e clear, and 3 ft.
8 in. high. It is fixed upon three cast-iron wheels, two of 30 in., and th e other of 18 in., in diameter,
the latter turning in a swivel, and acting as a guide to th e machine. The frame is of oak with a movable
back, as shown in the sketch, and it is fastened by means of four strong iron pins dropping into
iron plates upon th e oak fram e; which differs from th e others hitherto used in this country in having
no bottom. IVhen a tree is to be removed, th e movable back of the machine is taken off; and the
machine pushed to th e box, thereby, in a manner, clipping i t ; the back is then to be replaced, and two
iron bars, with link ends, placed under the box: four chains from th e rollers are then hooked into the
link en d s; and the chains are afterwards wound upon the rollers by means of a cast-iron wheel and
pinion attached to the axis of the same, and worked by four hand-winches. This being done, th e tree
and box remain suspended in th e centre ; and there is a stopper to each pinion wheel, by the removal of
which th e chain is unwound, and the tree is, when required, lowered down gradually with the greatest
ease. This machine possesses many advantages ; namely, two men are hereby enabled to carry trees
of upw-ards of a ton weight, which commonly require eight or ten men to eft’ect their removal by a
common truck. Also, in some instances, th e entrances of orangeries, or other houses, are too contracted
in height to admit of trees being removed u p rig h t; and it necessarily takes much time and labour to get
them out safely by a common machine ; whereas, by this one, the difiiculty is entirely obviated: for, by
winding the chains on one of th e rollers more than the other, the head of the tree becomes depressed in
proportion ; and the end is effected without any additional labour whatever.
4880. M a n a g em en t o f tk e c iti-us trib e a s s ta n d a rd s. Prepare foreign plants as directed above, and instead
of planting in pots, plant in the border or free soil. This must have been laid dry by proper drains, and
i f on a wet subsoil, floored, to prevent th e roots from penetrating into it. On this lay th e sort of earth,
o r compost, most approved of, to the thickness of 3 ft. or 4 f t . ; care having been taken, in constructing
th e house, th a t all th e walls (excepting th e north wall, if the house be opaque on th a t side), flues,
paths, &c., be supported on pillars or piers, so that the compost may extend under them, and 10ft. or
12 ft. without the house, according to circumstances. P la n t the trees either in squares, or better in
quincunx, allowing 6 ft. or 8 ft. between the trees, which will give 36 or 64 square feet to each plant.
This distance will suffice for several years, and afterwards every other tree can be taken out. After
planting, which should be finished in April, water a t the root, and morning and evening sprinkle a little
over the tops to assist in causing them to break freely. Apply lires, and keep the house close night and
day, with a moist heat of from 55° to 60°, till the plants have made shoots of3 in. or 4 in. ; then begin to
give a little air, gradually increasing it, b u t still keeping up th e heat till the growth of th e shoots is
completed, when the sashes should be taken off to harden and colour the shoots and leaves. It will be
necessary to attend to the above directions annually, for th ree or four years, in th e growing season, in
order to procure as much wood in a short time as possible. Keeping the heads open and regular, with
the common routine culture, is all that is necessary a t other seasons.
4881. On walls a n d espaliers. Prepare the plants and th e border as before, and plant about 10 ft. or
12 ft. distance, allowing a larger space for th e citron, lemon, and shaddock, than for th e common orange,
as th e former grow faster and more luxuriantly. In the growing season, observe the directions already
given, continuing them annually. T h e fan manner of training is th a t generally adopted.
4882. P ru n in g . T h e French pay great attention to this p a rt of the culture of the orange t r ib e ; and,
Indeed, display greater a rt in prumng every sort of tree than the British. They have their winter taiUe,
and th eir ebourgeonnement, or summer pruning, of the orange tree , as of the peach and vine. Those at
Versailles and th e Tuileries are looked over every year, and receive a very elaborate pruning every sixth
o r eighth year. The object of this pruning is to keep the head proportioned to the capacity of th e box
containing the roots. The heads of these trees, notwithstanding the annual prunings, become too large.
and show indications of suffering for want o f nourishment, every sixth
r eighth year. The shoots are
then shortened to within an inch ’ " " ’ ’ ' ’ ” ' '
two of the old wood, and th e tree, thus almost deprived of leaves,
does not produce blossoms during the n ex t two y ea rs: it pushes, however, vigorous shoots, which are
trained to form a bushy well-furnished head o fth e same shape and size as before. Such was the practice
of the late M. Pethon, who was head gardener a t Versailles for forty years. T h e form of tb e heads of
th e trees at Versailles is th a t of a cylinder, spreading out a t top, of which the height is greater than the
....................................... ’ ■ globular,breadth ; those in other places are ovate, i orr rm ush’ room-s’h aped’ , and’ some are even square and
triangular. (See V a n Osten, c. xi.) Tho“ blossonis of th e orange trees in the royal gardens of France,
and in most gardens of Holland and th e Netherlands, are carefully picked off as they ap p e a r; as well to
prevent the tree from being exhausted by bearin;
water. Those of th e Tuileries, Neill
rt fruit, as for the u
forms us {H o r t. Tot
of the flowers for making orange-
'.), are farmed a t the rate of 2''"'
H y ea r; and th o se o f Versailles are let annually, in lots, and produce 1215Z. a year, or upwards. In
Holland, th e flowers a r e commonly th e perquisite of the gardener. Th u s the beauty of the continental
orange trees is far inferior to those of Italy or Britain, which are covered with fine large fruit.
4883. The p i-u n in g which orange trees receive in E n g la n d does not differ, in general, from th a t given to
any other greenhouse tree or sh ru b ; and the consequence is, handsome bushes or trees, with the blossoms
and fruit on the surface of the foliage. But when the orange tree is cultivated for fruit, whether as
standards or against walls, the branches ought to be kept thin, like those of other iruit trees, so as to
admit the sun, air, and water, freely to every part, and thus to have the blossoms and fruit regula“’-
distributed from the centre to the extremities. This is regularly effected when the trees are flat-train'
which, where fruit is the object, is a great argument in favour of that mode of culture.
4884. ln p r u n in g ,w i th a v iew to f r u i t , it m ust be considered, th a t the most useful blossoms of most sorts
of citrus are produced in the form of terminating peduncles, on the wood of the current y e a r; and hence,
th e grand object of the pruner ought to be to encourage the production of young wood in every part of the
tree by cutting out naked wood and shortening vigorous shoots where wood is wanting. A powerful
co-operating measure is the exposition of all th e parts of the tree to the light and air, which, as already
observed, is only to be done in standards, by keeping th e trees open, or by flat training. There are also
blossoms produced by various sorts of citrus, in tufts, directly from the axillae of the leaves of th e wood of
th e preceding y e a r: these expand earlier than the others, but generally drop off in plants kept under
cover. Ayres cuts away the old and least promising branches, in February, to make room for younger
and more productive wood, and shortens very strong branches to keep the trees in proper shape. After
th e fruit is sot, it ought to b e thinned, seldom leaving more than one on a peduncle. In France they thin
th e flowers, which, by that means, they are enabled to use for distillation. The thinned fruit is used in
confectionary. Mean observes, “ in regard to the necessity of thinning the fruit, lest the trees should
exhaust themselves, it appears to me to depend on the state of th e tre e s : if they are flourishing, I never
observed th a t it was at all required, either here or a t Bromley Hill, where the orange trees are very fine,
and loaded with peculiarly large fru it.” Ayres thins when the fruit are about the size of greengage
plums, and never leaves two fruit together. Will standard trees, pruned with a view to fruit, be equally
beautiful with th e compact geometrical-headed trees of Taris and the old conservatories of this country ?
Those who prefer a full-bottom periwig to a natural disposition of th e hair will not think so. The two
beauties, or effects, are of different k in d s; the latter has utility to recommend i t ; th e former, associations
of the pomp and formal grandeur of past times. Quintinye and other French authors direct the
wounds or sections made in pruning orange trees, to be covered with a composition to exclude the air ;
which deserves to be attended to, as the growth of the bark is otherwise very slow over wounds in these
trees.
4885. M a n u r e . About Genoa, the best cultivated orange groves are manured annually. In France
and this country, the best practitioners stir the surface and apply a top-dressing of rich compost when
the trees begin to grow, gcneraliy in April or May. Ayres top-dresses in June.
n r - S Y r Z Z Z f . In the Italian gardens, and those at Hifires in France, where th e fruit of the
/ / Hfo fo? « 7 «"e/y year, generally in May. If not then gathered, it will hang
on the tree lor one or two years longer; but when the young fruit is green and swelling the old rin?
¿ c qm c s somewhat shrivelled, and if then gathered is found almost void of juice. But as the new fruit
begins to arrive a t mafority, the juice begins to return to the old f r u it; .so that both old and
t o ............. together t' he f:oollll(o w•ing May. In this way, at Genoa, th e orange is sometimes allowed
u coil » tree three years, and being then gathered, has a peculiar subacid sweetness and flavour,
and is sold at a very high price to connoisseurs at Milan. Turin, and other places. The lemon differs
irregularly, and drops off when ripe. It is therefore gathered a t almost
every searan. I h e orange tree, kept in conservatories, generally requires fifteen months to ripen its
fru it; and hence, both green and n p e fruit are together on the tree. S omeauthorsa ............. ’
remain on the same period with the f r u it; ' • " • ■
■8 assert, th at the leaves
thè fruit ;but Quintinye "says,"*” o
three or four years.” In Britain they of
fruit. Saunders gathers the China orangi
. . jorous plant they will remain
i years on moderately strong plants without
•s.’^ In Britain they often remain three years on moderately«
¿ u s ty a s th e fruit begins to colour, and keepsYliem in a warm
room about a fortnight previously to sending them to table ; hy this method, he says: the skin beeomes
very soft, and the juicc more delicious than if the fruit were lett to ripen on tho tree. (G a rd . Ma g ..
ta tor the table in this country, the fruit should not be pulled w'itli the h aS l
but carefully cut off with afew leaves attached, and, thus garnished, sent to the dessert. By allowing
them to hang two years, the trees wilt at all times have green and yellow fruit, which, in connectioS
with th eir shimng green loaves and tragrant blossoms, will form, early in spring, one of the most
splendid of horticultural scenes. ^ ±- o=
4 8 ^ . In se c ts. Plants of the citrus tribe are attacked by the red spider and the brown naked coccus
(O. hespendum). ¿ l e red spider, accordmg to Mean, may be destroyed by applying copious washings
with the engine, and then shutting up the house, for three or four hours, until the heat is 70°. (H o r t
T r a n s , vol. ii. p. 296.) Henderson kills the aphis bv fumigation. Washing the stems and leaves with
a brush and water is t ^ best method of destroying tfie brown coccus. Grey keeps his trees clear from
this insect by giving t ^ m force dressings, every year, with the following mixture : — Take soft soap
liMfa pound ¿vye rs of sffiphur, quarter o fa pound, n ux vomica, half an ounce; add to these six quarfo
of water Imt, but not boding, ancf keep stirring foe m ixture till the soap is dissolved. When the liquor
IS cold, take a sponge and wash every leaf on the upper and under side with it, and also th e shoots and
such parts of the stem as are likely to be infested. In three days all the insects will be found dead
w ^ n the trees must be syringed with pure water, till every part of them is perfectly clean. 'J'he trees
will now look healthy, and keep clean lor about four months, when the operation must be repeated.
S u b s e c t . 2. Pomegranate. — Y u n ic a G ra n a tum L . ( B o t M a g . 6 3 4 . ) ; Icos. M onog .
L . and G ra n d te a J. G renad ier, Fr.; G ranatenbaum , Ger.; Granaatboom, Dutch;
M c lag ran o, Ital.; and G ranad o, Span.
4888. T h e pomegranate is a low deciduous tree, rising 15 ft. or 20 ft. high, thickly-
clothed with twiggy branches, some of which are armed with sharp thorns. The
flowers are produced at the ends of the branches, in the shoots of the same year, single or
three or four together; frequently one of the largest terminates the branch, and immediately
under that are two or three smaller buds, which continue a succession of flowers
for some months, generally from June to September. The calyx is veiy thick and fleshy,
and of a fine red colour ; the petals ai-e scarlet. The fruit is a berry covered with a
hard coriaceous rind, and beautifully crowned with the tube of the calyx, which is
sharply toothed, aud remains even after the fruit is ripe, contributing greatly to its
singular and beautiful appearance. The fiuit ripens in October, and, in a greenhouse,
will hang on the trees till the spring or summer following. It is a native of most pai-ts
of the soutli of Europe and of China. In Languedoc, and some parts of Italy, it is used
as a hedge plant. It was cultivated in England in 1596, by Gerard; but though it
grows very well in the open air, it seldom ripens its fruit so as to render them worth
any thing. It used formerly to be kept in boxes, and housed like the orange tree, which
is still the practice near Paris and in the Netherlands. Some of the orange and pomegranate
trees in the orangeiy at Versailles, Eisso informs us, are believed to be between
two and three hundred years old.
4889. Use. The fruit having an acid pulp is very refreshing, and is eaten like the oran g e; its singular
and beautiful appearance contributes to the variety of th e dessert. It is used medicinallv in fevers and
inflammatory disorders; being powerfully acid and astringent.
4890. Varieties. T h e Paris nurserymen propagate the following sorts : those marked thus (*) may be
Tho Semidouble, an d double red and
white.*
The ToUow-flowercd.*
The Variegated-flowered.
had in th e London nurseries.
4891. P ro p a g a tio n . The single-flowering sorts may be raised from seed, and all the varieties by
cuttings, suckers, or layers, or by inoculation or grafting on th e wild sort. The last is considered much
th e best mode where fruit is th e object, and th e n e x t ..................... ' '
lest is by layers ; but the common mode is by
suckers, which these plants send up abundantly. Inoculated plants,'both o fth e single and double sorts,
may be procured from Genoa; and this is foe most desirable plan w’ .....................................................
’ plants, plan where the plant is to be cultivated for
4892. Culture . The directions given for raising and cultivating the orange tree m ay be considered as
equally applicable to foe pomegranate, which, with the olive, was formerly the common companion of
these trees in conservatories. Miller has observed, “ that both the single and double pomegranate are
hardy enough to resist our most severe winters in the open a i r ; and that, if planted against walls, the
former will often produce fruit, which ripen tolerably well in warm seasons, but ripening late, are seldom
well tasted.” Where it is to be grown for fruit, therefore, either the standard or flat-trained mode, under
glass, as recommended for oranges, should be adopted. A few trees may be introduced along with those
of the citrus tribe.
4893. Soil. Miller recommends a strong rich soil, in which, he savs, “ they flower much better and
produce more fruit than if planted on dry poor ground.” In regard both to soil and mode of growth,
the pomegranate bears a close resemblance to th e hawthorn.
4894. P r u n in g a n d tra in in g . As already mentioned, the flowers of this tree always proceed from the
extremity of th e branches produced th e same year : hence all weak branches of the former year should
r '