77 



The following is an extract from a letter from Messrs. Wol- 

 stenholme & Holland of Liverpool, to the British Cotton-growing 

 Association, dated December 28, 1906 : — 



In reply to your enquiry, the Caravonica cotton referred to sold 

 at Qd. per lb. and the owner has been offered 9 Ad. for the follow- 

 ing crop, which is now worth lod. owing to the present scarcity 

 of Peruvian. 



CITRON. 



By George Loutrel Lucas. 



fvThe citron, " Citrus Medica," grows partly wild in many parts 

 of Jamaica and to the best of my knowledge, no attention has 

 ever been given to its cultivation. 



It is one of the oldest cultivated fruits known to man and is the 

 only one known to classical writers according to Hume. 



"In Media and Persia and later in Palestine, it was cultivated 

 " at a very early date and in these countries the Greeks and 

 " Romans probably first met with it. 



"By Pliny's time, the fruit had been sufficiently long in culti- 

 " vation to receive a number of names and he is the first to make 

 "use of the name "Citrus" — the botanical name afterwards 

 " adopted by Linnaeus for all the related fruits as well as the 

 " citron. 



"It was finally established in Greece, Italy and the adjacent 

 " Islands of the Mediterranean and became one of the important 

 "fruits in those regions into which it was introduced and where it 

 " grows to this day in large quantities. 



"It is surmised that it found its way into South Africa from the 

 "Mediterranean and thence to the West India Islands, at a very 

 "early date, probably introduced by the Spaniards." 



The consumption of candied citron in the United States amounts 

 to near 4,000,000 pounds annually, the most of which comes from 

 Leghorn, Italy, being candied after reaching the United States. 



England consumes large quantities of candied citron and like 

 the United States, imports it in 10 to 12 per cent, brine in casks. 



No doubt some trade could be worked up with the United 

 Kingdom in this article, but only the best sorts should be culti- 

 vated, and care must be exercised in growing such fruits as will 

 make the best appearance, with thick flesh and as little bitter 

 principle as possible ; — there are several good kinds, but the Cor- 

 sican is considered the best. Trees should be planted 20 x 20 feet 

 and rough lemon stocks used in preference to citron stocks which 

 have a bad habit of suckering and making ungainly looking 

 bushes instead of symetrical trees. 



The citron tree is less subject to disease and least susceptible 

 to insect attacks than all the Citrus family, and it is easy to 

 grow if proper cultivation is followed, and there is no reason why 

 this neglected fruit should not be looked after and some attention 

 paid to an industry that might at least assist in adding to the 

 income of Jamaica. 



