DIVISION OF GARDENS AND GROUNDS. 693 



Tlie Japan persimmon may be considered as safe wherever the ther- 

 mometer does not indicate a lower temperature than l^"" above zero. 

 About Norfolk, Va., and southward along the coast, it flourishes and 

 produces abundantly. In the Southern States it does well everywhere 

 and is rapidly gaining prominence. Its introduction as a profitable 

 plant is extending throughout Florida, as well as in other of the 

 Southern States, where it promises to be a fruit of some commercial 

 importance in the near future. 



The nomenclature of the imported varieties is, at the present time, 

 quite confused. The same varieties have, from time to time, been 

 received under different names, and some time must elapse before 

 these mistakes can be corrected and the various synonyms properly 

 located. 



No. 41i of the United States Consular Reports contains extensive 

 remarks on fruit culture in the several countries. In connection with 

 the foregoing notes on orange groves I submit the f oUo^ving extracts 

 on orange and lemon culture, taken from the above official corre- 

 spondence, as giving a brief exposition of the condition of this industry 

 in foreign countries, and perhaps affording useful hints, which may 

 be of service to those seeking information on the subject: 



LEWIS RICHMOJTD, CONSUL-GENERAL, ROME. 



Limes. — The varieties of the lime are the Jewish lime, which bears a small conical 

 fruit; the Genoese lime, bearing a large fruit, and cultivated along the Ligurian 

 coast; the Salo lime, cultivated at Urri, at Pegli, and at Finale Ligure; the Floren- 

 tine, a hybrid of lime and lemon, cultivated in Tuscany and Liguria; and the Monster 

 lime, wliich is only slightly cultivated. 



Lemons. — The varieties of the lemon are the Genoese, whose fruit will stand the 

 longest transportation; the Garden lemon, which can be forced, bearing a hardy and 

 dm-able fruit; the Bergamot, a small round fruit, with a smooth thin rind, having 

 the cells containing the essence of bergamot (this variety is cultivated at Reggio, in 

 Calabria, and in Sicily); the NeapoUtan, a small greenish fruit, very rich in juice; 

 the Mela-Rosa, a smaU fniit, showing on the rind the lines marking the divisions of 

 the lemon; and the Paradise lemon, whose fruit is very large and much used in con- 

 fectionery. This latter is cultivated in the gardens of Genoa. 



Oranges. — The strong or som- orange, Melangola {Citrus Bigaradia vulgaris), pre- 

 sents many varieties. The fruit called Adam's Apple belongs to this class. The 

 principal varieties of the sweet orange are the red-juiced orange, the double-flowered, 

 and the variegated. The culture of the Mandarin is spreading rapidly in Sicily and 

 on the Peninsula. 



Planting and eidtivation. — The trees are planted on the seashore, in valleys, on 

 plains, and on hillsides. The best results are obtained in those lands lying near the 

 shore. Trees are gro^^m even upon the sands deposited by the waves. They are pro- 

 tected from the cold sea-breezes by close hedges, walls, or netted treUises of cane, or 

 by a thick gro-«i;h of trees, especially poplars. Generally speaking, irrigation is in- 

 dispensable for obtaining an abundant yield of fruit. Water is pro\-ided in various 

 ways — by damming up springs, digging wells, making reservoirs, and by artesian 

 wells. The water from wells is tempered by exposure to the air before using it for 

 in-igation. OUves are frequently grown together with oranges and lemons, and are 

 useful to these latter by reason of the shade afforded and the resulting increased 

 dampness of the groxmds. 



During the sis or eight years succeeding the planting an orange and lemon orchard 

 the ground can be used for gi-owing vegetables, as the consequent manuring and 

 watering favors the growth of the trees. 



JAMES FLETCHER, CONSUL, GENOA, ITALY. 



Oranges. — The varieties of oranges generally cultivated in this province are the 

 Mandarin, the Melangola of China, and the common Sweet. 



CiYroJis.— Two kinds of citrons are cultivated: The Eugosa, having wrinkled fruit, 

 very good for preserving, and the Cedrato, a very precious and aromatic fruit, also 

 good candied. 



Lemons.— The best are the Tenno, a lemon of gentle rind, fruit rich in acid, but 



