CITRUS 



THE GRAPE FRUIT ME DIG A 



Citron 

 he thin-skinned Bombay pomelo, hence the South Indian name of Bombay 





tit is a favourite with the Natives of India, the pulp being either white 

 I'd. according to the variety grown. The best fruit is to be had about 

 istmas time, but certain qualities may be got very nearly throughout 

 tin- year. In Bengal the season is August to December. The name 

 " I'omelo or Pompoleous " (in Cape Colony, Pomelnose) is usualry 

 iv. MI to the large-sized fruit, "Shaddock" to intermediate sizes, and 

 Forbidden Fruit " to small forms. The cells of the pulp are very large 

 d naturally separate from each other a peculiarity that has led some 

 '[>le to speak of it as the " Grape Fruit " or " Grape Orange." The 

 rated pulp is largely eaten in India as salad. The Bombay pomelo 

 the one that should be most cultivated and exported. It may be 



from seed sown in February, or by budding in February to March Propagation. 

 the common lime, or by layers made in pots supported high among 

 branches. Seedlings take longer time to come into bearing than 

 erings or buddings, and are less certain. 



The exports from the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Florida to the Exports. 

 ited States have recently assumed considerable importance. The 

 flic from the Bahamas alone was in 1902, 728,000 fruits. This shows 

 at might be done were India to commence to export Bombay pomelos 

 the United Kingdom. 



C. medica, Linn.; FL Br. Ind., i., 514. There are many very D.E.P., 

 stinct forms of this species met with under cultivation in India. Of ii-> 349-58. 

 lese, the following abstract of the voluminous information available 

 \y help the reader to discover the special details desired : 



1. Var. medica proper. The Citron, Adam's Apple, etc. Bears many names Citron, 

 the vernaculars of India, such as bijaura or bajauri and bijori (suggestive of 



province of that name in Kafaristan which Baber tells us was famous for 

 citrons even in 1519), limbii, nimbu (or bara nimbu) turanj (its Persian name), 

 nebu, beg-pura, balank, mavalung, etc. Its Sanskrit names are mdtulunga, 

 tpura and vijapura. Is said to have been found wild in Chittagong 

 (an opinion not alluded to in Prain's Bengal Plants) ; by others it has been re- 

 ported as wild in the Khasia and Garo hills and also in Kumaon. 



The Citron is cultivated sparingly in the warm moist regions of India, Cultivation, 

 form being so large as to resemble a pomelo (is possibly the Poncire 

 tron of Europe.) Another is the fingered citron, a curious fruit that Fingered 

 snavia recognises in some of the decorative designs of Assyria. It 

 ins to be intimately associated with most of the weird fables that gravi- 

 ite around the Citrus. The citron is best propagated by seeds or layers, 

 rminger alludes to the fruits being in Assam ripened within earthen 

 before being removed from the tree. A similar practice may 

 originated the stories of citrons in the form of human faces, 

 ring to the fruits having been grown within moulds of the desired citrons. 



2. Var. Limonum or Lemon. The word lemon comes from the Arabic limun, 

 and through the Persian became the Hindi limu, limbu or nimbu. It is speci- 

 fically known to the Indian people as the pahari (hill) nimbu, karna (or korna) 

 nebu, kimti, meta-limbu, thora-limbu, and as the kalambak of Arabic and kaltnbak 

 of Persian. 



The wild form of the lemon has not been recorded as met with in 

 India the plant mentioned by Royle. Madden and others was more 

 probably the lime than the lemon. Lemons are, however, fairly ex- 

 tensively cultivated here and there all over India. Still, the true lemon 



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