1 90 Fruits and Fruit- Trees. 



petioles, the small flowers, and the irregular and straggling 

 mode of growth all point this way : the essential differ- 

 ences are found only in the fruit, which is small and thin- 

 rinded, and though variable in shape, often spherical. 

 Attaining the height, in general, of not more than seven 

 or eight feet, though capable of rising to fifteen or twenty 

 feet, and the branches being crooked and spinous, it 

 serves admirably for hedges, and is extensively so used 

 in the West Indies. We in England, who by the wayside 

 gather only blackberries, have little idea of the golden 

 opulence and shining splendour of a hedge of limes. 

 The application of the term is somewhat broad. The 

 limes emphatically so called are intensely acid. These 

 go also by the botanical names of Citrus Lumta, C. 

 Lima, and C. Lintonellus. There are other varieties 

 called "sweet limes," not that they are really sweet, 

 being simply insipid. These have for their Latin name 

 Citrus Limetta. 



The immense value of the lime, as said at the begin- 

 ning of this chapter, consists in the abundance of citric 

 acid in the juice. The fruit is now seldom brought to 

 England in the fresh state, or just as gathered, though 

 in bygone days it had great repute with those who 

 enjoyed the punch-bowl, the flavour communicated being 

 superior to that given by lemons. We see it, however, in 

 the preserved state, usually in syrup, when it contributes 

 delightfully to the witchcraft of the dessert. To this 

 end the fruit is gathered while still green, so that the 

 exquisite aroma of the rind shall in no degree be lost; 



