Kumquats and the propagation thereof
Sundays’ New York Times has a good article by Amanda Hesser on kumquats with the following remarkable information on traditional methods of propagation:Kumquats, which are not citrus fruits but belong to another genus, originated in China and have been cultivated across Asia for centuries. They inspired some unorthodox grafting techniques: in "The Oxford Companion to Food," Alan Davidson cites this bit of instruction from the "Book of Nabatean Agriculture," a 10th-century Iraqi text: "The branch which is to be grafted must be in the hand of a beautiful damsel, whilst a male person has disgraceful and unnatural sexual intercourse with her; during intercourse the woman grafts the branch into the tree."
The author then drily remarks:
Modern growers have streamlined the cultivation process somewhat.
posted by William @ 1:59 PM
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