70 FRUITS 



and very often sugar-canes are planted among the young 

 limes, and afford them shelter whilst growing. 



There are very many varieties of lime trees and some are 

 spineless, but most kinds have sharp spines in the axils of 

 the leaves, so that it is necessary to burn all prunings at once 

 lest the spines injure the feet of the bare-footed labourers. 

 Citrus trees are surface feeders, and their rootlets honeycomb 

 the surface of the ground in which they grow. 



Limes for export are gathered before they are ripe and ripen 

 during the voyage, but in all other cases the fruit is allowed 

 to remain on the tree until quite ripe, when it falls to the ground 

 and is then gathered. 



Lime-oil is obtained by pressing ripe limes against blunt 

 spikes when oil and moisture ooze out. Lime-juice is obtained 

 by squeezing the ripe limes between rollers ; very often the 

 old sugar mills are used for this purpose. Concentrated lime- 

 juice is merely ordinary pure lime-juice boiled down. Lime- 

 juice Cordial is a beverage made by adding other ingredients to 

 the pure lime-juice. Citric acid is obtained both from lemon- 

 juice and lime-juice ; it is used in dyeing and calico printing. 



4. The Citron (Citrus medico). The citron-tree is a small 

 straggling evergreen tree. It bears clusters of pink flowers, 

 and large oblong warty yellow fruits, with a very thick rind 

 and not much pulp. 



It was extensively cultivated by the Jews in Syria and was 

 the only citrus known to the Greeks and Romans. It is 

 cultivated in the south of Europe and other places, but not 

 to any great extent ; the lemon has ousted it. 



FIGS (Ficus carica). The fig-tree is a small straggling tree 

 with very numerous, large, dark-green, irregularly -shaped 

 leaves. In the axils of the leaves there grow curious green 

 pear-shaped figs with a stalk at one end and a little opening at 

 the other covered over with small scales. The tiny numerous 

 flowers are attached to the inside of this receptacle, which 

 at first is full of a rather bitter juice, but as it ripens the 

 outside changes from green to purple and the inside juice 



