640 THE ORANGE. 



SELECTION OF VARIETIES. 



In establishing a commercial grove profit is, of course, 

 the first consideration, and amid the great number of va- 

 rieties, much perplexity arises in deciding which are best 

 suited to that end. Some of those most esteemed, and 

 commanding the highest price, may be unprofitable by 

 reason of an inherent defect, such as shy bearing, lack 

 of stamina, too great delicacy to bear carriage, or a marked 

 susceptibility to cold. Therefore in making a selection 

 none should be used but those combining, in the great- 

 est degree productiveness, vigor, firmness, high quality, 

 and resistant power. Near the northern limit early sorts, 

 that may be gathered before the approach of frost, are 

 most desirable. In milder latitudes a succession will en- 

 able the work of harvesting to go on uninterruptedly from 

 October till May and even later, rendering the grower inde- 

 pendent of gluts and depressed markets, which may happen 

 some of the time but not all the time. As regards quality, 

 there is perhaps less choice among varieties of the orange, 

 nearly all of which are good, than among other fruits, many 

 of which are indifferent and some positively bad. A seed- 

 ling apple or pear may be wretchedly poor, but a seedling 

 orange is almost sure to be excellent, and not infrequently 

 extra fine. Differences of exterior are also less broad, so the 

 uneducated are apt to think an orange is an orange the world 

 over, until they learn to detect its nice distinctions and rec- 

 ognize its subtile flavors. A number of favorites in Florida 

 and California since the renaissance are seedlings of local 

 reputation, selected and named for their all-round excellence, 

 and full of the vigor of youth. Some celebrities of world- 

 wide fame have been imported. One of the most famous of 

 these last is the Malta family, the type of which is widely 

 known as Maltese Blood. This is readily distinguished by 

 the rounded and flattened young leaves, quite different from 

 the elongated and curled appearance of those of- other sorts. 

 The flecks and splashes of sanguine hue in the pulp, which is 

 sometimes entirely crimsoned, were formerly supposed to 

 have come from budding upon the pomegranate, but this is a 



