92 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Aug. 2, i8S6. 



cxnilob Ija peeled, in Hivor ifc resembles the man- 

 darin orang<}. At Singapore is growa an orimge that 

 is of a deep green color, about the size of an ajiplc, 

 with thin skin, and peeling ofi' readily. It is juic3- but 

 very sour (said to be very bad for the teeth ; the rind 

 when broken emits a strong odor, partly orange and 

 partly oitronella. I am informed there is an orange 

 grown in Siam that is called the King orange, so named 

 from receiving such royal recognition, that anj' subject 

 fiiuling this tree growing without the walls of the royal 

 garden, must give immediate notice to an oflSicerof the 

 (Joverument, or be decapitated. The tree is then 

 destroj-ed.as none but members of the royal family are 

 allowed to eat of that fruit. It is described as having a 

 transparent green skin when ripe, and a pink pulp, that 

 can be seen through the skin, and is of a most delicate 

 flavor. In Europe, when oranges were first introduced 

 they were looked upon as only food for kings, and were 

 offered as rare gifts to the crowned heads. 



Of the many species of oranges that find their way 

 to this country, I liave been able to gather in a few 

 daj's over twenty different varieties, including the 

 Florida, CaUfornia, Havana, Porto Kico, .Jamaica, Valen- 

 cia, Messina, Palermo, Catania, Joppa (or Holy Land 

 orange) Naples, Sorrento, Seville (or bitter), the tanger- 

 ine, mandarin, blood, oval, navel, grape, or " forbidden 

 fruit," Pumallos, and Shaddock and Chinese. Of 

 these we will speak in turn as they make their 



APPKARANCE IN THE NEW YORK MARKET. 



First, in the fall, comes the Havana, which is now 

 about done for this season. Next comes Jamaica and 

 Porto Rico ; then Florida and California ; then from the 

 Mediterranean we receive the Valencia, I\lessina, 

 Palermo, Catania, Joppa and Naples; these IMediterra- 

 nean varieties lasting through the spring and summer 

 months, while the trees in Florida and the "West Indies 

 are recuperating and getting ready for next fall's 

 supply. 



DISTINGUISHING FEATUBES. 



A question is often asked, " Wh}' should not all the 

 oranges grown on so small an island as Sicily be called 

 Sicily oranges instead of Palermo, Me.ssma and Catania, 

 and in whnt way do they differ i"' 



If you will refer to a map of the Mediterranean Sea, 

 and look at the island of Sicily, you will see on the 

 eastern shore the location of Catania. About forty 

 miles further north is Messina, and about one hundred 

 miles west of Messina is Palermo. 



From these three ports come the best of the Mediter- 

 ranean oranges and lemons, the choicest varieties com- 

 ing from Catania and Messina. It would be hardl3' fair 

 to award the '* palm " for the finest fruit to either,^as 

 both of these districts raise some of the finest oranges 

 grown in the world, Catania is situated near the foot 

 of Mount Etna, in the eastern portion of Sicily. Hun- 

 dreds of orange groves extend far up the sides of that 

 famous and once turbulent mountain, receiving a most 

 bountiful supply of sunlight. Its southern exposure 

 makes it a favorable .situation for producing excellent 

 fruit. In that section are a large number of trees that 

 bear the much-sought for and attractive looking oval 

 or egg-shaped orange, and this has given to Catania 

 oranges a prominent place among the choicest varieties 

 coming from Sicily. Prior to l!^52 the American market 

 knew nothing of the Catania orange, at least by that 

 name, as all the fruit grown there was taken in small 

 sailing crafts to Messina, and there sold to be graded 

 and packed in Jlessina boxes, and shipped to this 

 country as ISIessiua fruit. In 1S51 an enterprising 

 English fiirm built at Catania a packing house (or 

 fruit magazine as they are called there), for the purpose 

 ofpackaigand shipping Catania oranges and lemons to 

 all points. The first cargo of 5,000 boxes coming to 

 America from Catania arrived here in the year 1852, 

 consigned to and contracted for b}- our late highly 

 esteemed and veteran merchant, d. H. Rcnaud, then 

 a member of the importing firm of D. Gillmartin & Co., 

 of New York. 



While the l)etter grades of Catania oranges usually 



command a high price, more value would be attached 



to them if greater care was given to sizing the fruit 



properly, as is done by rtdiable packers in Messina and 



Palermo. While the Catania orange and lemon are 

 pleasing to the eye, they will not keep as well as the 

 Messina and Palermo fruit, and for that reason are 

 seldom stored or pul away for summer use, as is the 

 case with the Messin.i oranges and lemons, which seem 

 to have better keeping quahties, as do all fruits grown 

 further north. (The same is true of American fruit, 

 apples in particular.) There is so little dilference 

 between the Palermo and Messina fruit that we will not 

 attempt, at this time, discuss their merits or demerits, 

 other than to say that both the last named ports are 

 entitled to much credit for .some very choice fruit. 

 The '• Sorrento " fruit comes from the port bearing that 

 name, which is about 150 miles north of Me.ssina, 

 near Naples, on the main land. This fruit is apt to 

 have a thick skin and is of a pale color. The orange is 

 not so sweet as those grown on the island of Sicily. 



Very few of the Mediterranean oranges keep as well 

 of late as in former years, when less attention was paid 

 to irrigation than at present. The very wet condition 

 in which the orange groves are constantly kept has a 

 tendency to force and soften the unit. As regards 

 quality, I should place the varieties in the following 

 order: Messina, Catania, Palermo, and Naples or 

 Sorrento. 



The Orange coming to us from the greatest distance 

 is the Joppa, or Holy Land orange, but as it has no 

 especial attraction beyond that of comiug from the 

 Holy Land, few shipments are made to this country, 

 owing to the great cost of transportation, the fruit 

 having to be sent to Liverpool, then re-shipped to New 

 York. The fruit is mostly oval, or egg-shaped, and 

 ranks with the Sicily orange as to flavor. It finds a 

 ready market throughout Turkey. Russia having 

 established a regular line of steamers between that 

 Empire and Syria, the Joppa orange is being largely in- 

 troduced into Russia. The orange groves throughout 

 Sjria are very near the sea-coast, very few groves being 

 found successfully growing more than four miles from 

 the sea. As there is but little or no rain in Syria from 

 the Ist of May until October, irrigation is the only 

 means of keeping the trees alive, each one bein^ sur- 

 rounded by a little bank of earth to keep the water 

 about it. The trees are left without irrigation until the 

 last of June, when the leaves begin to curl a little ; then 

 they are watered by streams coming down from the 

 mountains of Lebanon. From Napks and Sorrento, 

 near Mt. Vesuvius, we receive an orange similar to that 

 grown further south in Sicily, but it is pale in color and 

 very sour. These conditions are accounted for by the 

 fact that Naples pccupies a position so far north — in 

 the 42ud degree of latitude, the same as the New York. 



Surprise is sometimes expressed that oranges can be 

 successfully raised at Naples and Rodi. Many theories 

 are advanced, some claiming that the icebergs and cold 

 currents from the Arctic Ocean hug our .shores closely 

 and lower the temperature many degrees below that of 

 Italy, which is constantly fanned bj' the warm winds 

 coming across the Mediterranean from the great deserts 

 of Africa. Among the smallest varieties of oranges 

 that we receive are the tangerine and the mandarin, 

 sometimes called the " kid glove " orange, from the 

 readiness with which the skin is removed without soiling 

 the hands or even the gloves. The tangerine and 

 mandarin are often associated as one and the same fruit, 

 but such is not the case. While of the same family 

 and closely allied, they are not identical and should not 

 be confounded. The tangerine is in color a deep dark 

 red when fully ripe ; in shape it resembles a small flat 

 tomato. The tangerine is a thorny tree, and is supposed 

 to be of Chinese origin, but has been largely distributed 

 from Tangier, a spot in Western Africa, where it has 

 flourished for fullj' 200 years. From Tangier the Portu- 

 guese carried it to Brazil, and from there it made its way 

 into Florida. The mandarin resembles the tangerine in 

 general appearance, except in color, the mandarin 

 beine a golden yellow. The tree, unlike the tangerine, 

 is thoriiless, and is supposed to have come from China, 

 deriviugits name from the mandarin, a high officialin 

 China. 



The mandarin and tangerine are becoming popular 

 oranges in Florida and when sent to the northern mar- 



