FRUCTUS LIMONIS. 115 



History — The name o£ tlie lemon in Sanskrit is Nimhuka; in Hin- 

 dustani, Limbu, Limii, or Ninhu. It is probably originally a Cash- 

 mere word, which was transferred to the Sanskrit in comparatively 

 modem times, not in the antiquity.^ From these sounds the Arabians 

 formed the word Limun, which has passed into the lan^uao-es of 

 Europe. 



The lemon was unknown to the inhabitants of ancient Greece and 

 Rome; but it is mentioned in the Book of Nabath^an Agriculture,^ 

 which is supposed to date from the 3rd or 4th century of our era. The 

 mtroduction of the tree to Europe is due to the Arabians, yet at what 

 precise period is somewhat doubtful. Arance and Limone are men- 

 tioned by an Arabic poet living in the 11th century, in Sicily, quoted 

 by Falcando.^ The geographer Edrisi,' who resided at the court of 

 Koger II., king of Sicily, in the middle of the 12th century, mentions 

 the lemon (limouna) as a very sour fruit of the size of an apple which 

 was one of the productions of Mansouria on the Mahran or Indus; and 

 he speaks of it in a manner that leads one to infer it was not then 

 known in Europe. This is the more probable from the fact that there 

 IS no mention either of lemon or orange in a letter written A.D. 1239 

 concerning the cultivation of the lands of the Emperor Frederick II. at 



alermo,^ a locality in which these fruits are now produced in large 

 quantity. re, 



On the other hand the lemon is noticed at great length by Ibn 



Jiaytar of Malaga, who flourished in the first half of the 13th century, 



T ^^ ^^s cultivation in Spain at that period there is no actual mention." 



-looO at least citron trees, " arbores citronorum," were planted in 



enoa/ and there is evidence that also the lemon-tree was grown on 



^ -Kiviera di Ponente about the middle of the 15th century, since 



V. ^'''^.^ ^nd also Citri are mentioned in the manuscript Livre 



^^^^dmimstration of the city of Savona, under date I486.' The lemon 



a.s cultivated as early as 1494 in the Azores, whence the fruit used 



t^^^V^^«^^^ shipped to England; but since the year 1838 the exporta- 

 tion has totally ceased." 



lAm 



i^ f ^^^[^P^^°^ — The fruit of Citrus Limonum as found in the shops" 

 less^*^^^ .^^ 2 to 4 inches in length, egg-shaped with a nipple more or 

 nicTff^^^^^^^^^* ^^ ^^^® ^P^^ 5 i^s surface, of a pale yellow, is even or 

 thel'^H co^^ered with a polished epidermis. The parenchjnne within 

 roiicrT ^^^^^^ in large cells filled with fragrant essential oil. The 

 ^vhi^'er^'^'^ .of the surface of the rind is due to the oil-cells. The peel, 

 the of ^^^^^^ considerably in thickness but is never so thick as that of 

 yellm ^^1 ^^ internally white and fibrous, and is adherent to the pale- 

 ^ pulp. The latter is divided into 10 or 12 segments each contain- 



»lsot)riv^T-"i ■^^^'^^'»"^'>'5, 1S78, 2G3: 7 Belfflrano, Vita imvafa del Genovesi, 



Genova (1875) 158. 



gg ^'''^' ''esckichtcderBofanik, in. (lSo6) » Gallesio, Traiid dn Citrus (1811) 89, 



"• (1858) 444 ^'"^^ ^^ ^Tusulrmni di SkUia, » Consul Smallwood, in Coyuular Reports, 



. * 04on^i- ,,„, Aug. 1S73. 986. 



^' i. (18^ Ifio ^ ^"''^^**' traduite par Jan- ^^ There are many kinds of lemon as well 



,.' Huillard p ^* ^^ ^^ orange which are never seen in com- 



" ' -^'nc/en'/** *^ ^^^^^' Historia diploma- inerce. Risso and Poiteau enumerate 25 



^^^U^uMAr!!l' ■^^"^' ^* (1S57) 571. varieties of the former and 30 of^ the lat- 

 ter. See also Alfonso, Coltivazlone degli 



^setzt von Sontheimer, ii. ( 1 842) 452. 



(1842)452. Ar/rumi, Palermo, 2nd edition, 1875. 



