24 NOTICES or BOOKS. 



The Dumber of indigenous trees and shrubs described is about 

 700 and eighty introduced species are added. The value of the 

 volume is enhanced by frequent allusions to t he useful treesof other 

 countries remarks on the more important European trees being given 

 along'^ide of the descriptions of their Himalayan congeners and 

 special reference has been made to the arborescent vegetation of the 



Mediterranean region. . , . ^ .. ^ • j • i.i. 



As a iair illustration of the varied information contained m the 

 volune, we quote the following on the spread of the species of Citrus : — 

 " The history of the gradual spread of the species of this genus is re- 

 markable. The Citron alone is described by classical writers. It was 

 cultivated in Media and Persia long before the conquests of Alexander 

 the Great. The Greek botanist Theophrastus, who wrote shortly after 

 Alexander's death, gives a description of the tree and its fruit which 

 cannot be mistaken. They were called Median and Persian apples, 

 tnd valued highly on account of their strong aromatic scent, as anti- 

 dotes against poison, and to make the breath sweet. In Greece and 

 Italy the tree does not appear to have been cultivated much before the 

 third century of our era, although the fruit was imported at a much 

 earlier date. Plinius mentions its use in Rome, and in his books the 

 name Citrus first occurs. In the fifth century it was cultivated in the 

 I.<land of Sardinia, and about Naples. On the coast of Mentone and 

 >] yeres it -was, according to Gallesio. introduced in the twelfth or 

 thirteenth century. ,. , ^ or, , 



" Oranges and Lemons are not mentioned m the works of Greek and 

 Roman authors. The first notice regarding them is found in Arab 

 books of the tenth and eleventh century; and it seems certain that 

 the Lemon and the bitter Orange were brought from India to Arabia, 

 ISyria, and Egypt in the ninth or tenth century, and that their intro- 

 duction in Soath Europe was mainly due to the progress of Arab 

 conquest, in some cases to the Crusaders, and to the trade connections 

 between the Italian ports and the East.^ The bitter Orange was 

 extensively cultivated in Sicily and in Spain in the twelfth century. 

 In Italy and the south of France. Oranges and Lemons were not com- 

 monly grown before the fourteenth century. 



" The sweet Orange was introduced in Europe at a much later date ; 

 and it cannot yet be considered as finally decided whether it came by 

 way of Syria— which, however, seems probable — or whether the Por- 

 tuguese may claim the honour of having imported it by sea from 

 India or China. So much is certain, that on landing in India the 

 Portuguese found sweet Oranges in abundance ; this fact is specially 

 noted in the account of Vasco de Gama's voyage. 



*' A comparison of the European, Sanscrit, and Arabic names of 

 the Citron, Orange and Lemon confirms the result of historical research 

 regarding the spread of their cultivation. The Sanscrit name of the 

 CiMon,' lycpura, never went far West. At the time of Alexander 

 the Great, the fruit was known under the name of Persian and Median 

 apples, and was afterwards called Citrus, the Latin term for Kidpos, by 

 which the Cedar, Thtija, and other aromatic and resinous coniferous 

 woods were designated, which, like the Citron, had the property, or 

 were supposed to possess the property, of keeping away insects. On 

 the other hand, the words Limone, Lime, Lemon, evidently derive 



