LIMES. 163 



have not sent to market only first-class fruit, but have 

 sent instead a heterogeneous collection of large, small, 

 ripe, green, and in some instances, from sheer carelessness, 

 half-rotten fruit. Of course the merchant returned ac- 

 count of sales ' nil.' I will say, in this connection, that I 

 have just received account sales of my last shipment of 

 limes, returning me, net, seven dollars and forty-five cents 

 per thousand, and written on the margin was, ' Good, well- 

 selected limes looking up.'" 



This tells the whole story. Prepare and pack limes 

 properly, that they may be fairly introduced into the 

 great fruit marts, and the convenience of using them, as 

 compared with the large lemons, will soon make them for- 

 midable rivals to the latter. 



A citric acid manufactory, to take up the "culls" of 

 our lime trees, would be a great boon to this State, and 

 put thousands of dollars in the pockets of the people very 

 speedily, for there is no tedious waiting for ten or twelve 

 years for limes to come into profit. Commencing to bear 

 at the third year from the seed, they rapidly increase in 

 bearing capacity, until, when they are twelve years old, 

 they bear from three to five thousand limes. 



Now, suppose one hundred seedling orange trees and 

 one hundred limes to be set out at the same time ; at twelve 

 years of age the one hundred orange trees, carefully culti- 

 vated and fertilized, will yield little if any income. The 

 one hundred lime trees, much neglected and unfertilized, 

 will be each bearing, say three thousand limes. Suppose 

 they sell for only three dollars per thousand, net; well, 

 here we have an income of nine hundred dollars for the 

 hundred lime trees occupying less than one acre of ground. 



The lime tree is of low, bushy habit, and does not so 

 deeply resent trimming up as does the lemon. Tall, up- 

 right trees, with smooth, bare trunks, have been shaped 



