636 A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



The Citron, (Citrus medica L.). The Shaddock, (C. decumana L.). 

 The Forbidden Fruit, ( C. dec, var. buxifolia Poin.). The 

 Grape Fruit, (C. dec, var. racemosa R. & P.). The Lime, 

 ( C. aurantium, var. spinosissima Mey.). 



These are all cultivated, more or less, but are not abundant. They 

 suffered from the same scale-insects that destroyed the orange trees. 



Bitter Orange. (Citrus aurantium, var. bigaradia Duh.) 



This is a very handsome tree when full of its large and handsome, 

 but inedible, fruit or decked with its large and fragrant flowers. Its 

 leaves are large, glossy, dark green. 



Grape Vines ( Vitis mm f era L.), and other species. 



Numerous efforts were made to cultivate the vine on a commercial 

 scale in the earl y years of the colony, but never with success, though 

 more or less grapes have always been raised for domestic use. 



The cuttings sent out from London by the Company in early 

 times were varieties of the true wine grape of Europe. Among the 

 plants mentioned as sent out with Governor Tucker, in May, 1616, 

 were " vynes and vyne cuttinges." Cuttings of " white vines " are 

 mentioned in a letter from the Company to Governor Tucker without 

 date, but apparently late in 1616. They grew well but did not pro- 

 duce much fruit. 



In a letter to Governor Butler, in 1620, the Company required 

 that he should see that every owner or sharer of land should plant 

 at least one acre of each shai-e to vines and one acre to sugar canes, 

 " of such ground as is fittinge." But the Governor, in reply to this 

 part of the letter, said that he could " find not the grounds therof 

 answerable to your hopes," and added the following remarks, accord- 

 ing to his " Historye ": 



" Concerneinge vines here, I confesse they conserned me much 

 this Springe, for so admirably wer they taken and sett at the first, 

 that I verily thought to have presented you with a vessell of 

 Sommers-Ilands wine, and to that end had them diligently tended 

 and fenced, but when I expected their matureing, not one cluster 

 of five hundred came to perfection, but groweinge into a kind of 

 hardnesse and shyneinge like a home, they still proved rotten 

 instead of being ripe. Whence this cause of miscarriage and sick- 

 nesse proceedes some vigneron must tell you." 



This description indicates that they were affected with some fun- 

 gous disease. Probably the climate is too moist for this variety of 



