66 FRUITS 



yellow stamens. These flowers occur singly at the axils of the 

 leaves and are very abundant ; and later on the round golden 

 fruits seem to be dotted all over the tree. As many as 20,000 

 have been gathered from a single tree in a year, though 2,000 

 is the more usual number. Orange trees begin to bear fruit 

 when about four years old, and go on bearing for a great 

 number of years. 



CITRUS ORCHARD, SOUTH AFRICA 



Though now one of the most characteristic trees of Spain 

 and the Mediterranean countries, it was not known in these 

 regions before the fifteenth century, when it was introduced 

 by the Portuguese from Asia. It is now cultivated in nearly 

 all warm countries where the winter temperature does not 

 fall below 40. 



There are many varieties of oranges, some of the most 

 famous being the St. Michael (named after one of the islands 

 of the Azores), the Maltese (with pulp of a blood-red colour), 



