.1/ J 8< ' B LhA mO I 'S xo TE S. 1 1 1 



V. THE CULTIVATION OF ORANGES, LEMONS, AND FIGS 



IN INDIA. 



A.— Oeanges. 



(1.) The best orange grown for profit in India is the "Cintra," a name 

 commonly assumed to be deiived from the Portuguese town, but lately de- 

 clared to be a corruption of a Sanskrit word, which should be pronoimced 



" Suntra." The tree which bears this fruit is of 

 Description of varieties. . . , , , .. . •„ • .1 . , , ,. 



upright habit, m this country rarely exceeding 12 



feet hi height and S feet in expansion of branches. The leaves measure 1^ x £ 

 inches and 2^ X 1J inches — the winged joint being very slightly developed. 

 The flowers are £ inch in diameter, have 5 petals, 20 to 24 stamens, and 9 to 10 

 carpels. The fruit is found of two varieties, one, having the skin remarkably 

 loose and evidently overgrown the pulp, and the other having a smooth, 

 tight-fitting skin. As grown at Nagpur this has been declared by people, who 

 have travelled much, to be the finest orange known in the world. The 

 inner skin is very delicate, and the liths (carpels) so slightly cohering that it is 

 easy to break up for eating. Well-grown specimens have only 2 or 3 seeds. 

 The flavour of the two varieties is equal if grown under similar conditions, but 

 the loose-skinned variety has an imposing appearance, and is rather more 

 easily pealed ; consequently it is the market f avourite. Ordinary market specimens 

 of the fruit average 8 ounces in weight, but 10-ounce specimens are common. 

 (2.) The Mozambique orange tree is evidently a distinct species of strong 



growing habit, producing an irregularly globular 

 Other sorts grown in India. head and bearing leaves measuring j£ X 1£ to 



5A x 3| inches, entire or very slightly and irregularly serrate, the apex being 

 pointed or cut out. The leaf stalk is J inch, the wings on one of the joints 

 attaining J inch in width, often less, and sometimes wanting. The flowers are 

 1A inches in diameter, have 5 slightly oblique petals which are glandular on the 

 outside, and 20 to 24 stamens. Average specimens of the fruit grown in India 

 weigh 8 ounces, but specimens 13 ounces in weight imported from Mozambique 

 are common. In shape it is globular, slightly compressed vertically ; the skin 

 is medium in thickness, tight-fitting, and marked by numerous small vertical 

 furrows and a circular smooth mark, about 1 inch in diameter, on the upper 

 end; The pulp is usually pale yellow, but when dead ripe becomes of the 

 brownish-yellow that may be called the medium tint of orange pulp. In 

 flavour it is sweet, but without the piquancy of the best varieties ; the inner 

 skin (endocarp) is tough, so that this orange can only be sucked. They keep 

 in good condition about two months. 



Ladoo Orange of the Deccan. 



The tree which bears this variety produces long branches apt to spread out 



considerably as the tree attains size. The leaves are from li x £ to 2| x 1J inches, 



with the winged joint of the stalk very slightly developed. The open flowers 



are f inch in diameter, of o petals, 20 to 24 stamens, and 9 to 10 carpels. 



