172 Fruits and Fruit- Trees. 



them as " species." Whatever they may be in respect of 

 origin, it is convenient to adopt the threefold nomen- 

 clature which refers the whole to (i) Citrus vulgar is 

 or Bigaradia, the Bitter or Seville orange; (2) Citrus 

 Aurantium, the Sweet or " China " orange ; and (3) 

 Citrus Bergamia, the Bergamot orange. Most of the 

 varieties fall under the head of No. 2, the C. Aurantium, 

 these including, among other well-known kinds, the 

 Lisbon, the St. Michael's, the Red Maltese, and the 

 Tangerine. The original or primitive form, that which 

 all the varieties may claim as their common ancestor, 

 the founder of the family, appears to be preserved in 

 the Bitter or Seville orange. Everything that can be 

 adduced in the shape of evidence points to a later 

 beginning of the Sweet, even in India; and to a still 

 later beginning, comparatively recent, of the Bergamot. 

 The tendency of seedling oranges of all kinds to revert 

 to a ruder condition than that of their immediate parents, 

 is very decided. Seedlings may thus be regarded as 

 giving a trustworthy intimation of what the primitive form 

 may have been. For the same reason, although often 

 raised in parlours and greenhouses as pretty and engaging 

 curiosities, seedling oranges can never be depended upon 

 as likely to yield fruit exactly resembling that from which 

 the seeds were taken. To be sure of getting a particular 

 sort, it is indispensable either to graft or to propagate by 

 means of layers. It must be remembered also, in home- 

 culture, that seedling fruit-trees do not flower and fruit, 

 unless grafted, until they have attained a certain degree, 



