THE CHANGE AND ITS ALLIES. 167 



cessful in this branch of their art, a recent number of 

 the Gardener's Chronicle admitting that, " in England we 

 hardly know what a good orange is," i.e., of native growth, 

 yet, it continues, "there is no reason why we should not 

 ripen them as well and as easily as grapes," since heated 

 " orchard houses " are all that are required to effect so 

 desirable a result. The largest trees now known in Bri- 

 tain are those of Smorgony in Glamorganshire, said to 

 have been procured from a wreck on the neighbouring 

 coast in the time of Henry VII., and which, planted on 

 the floor of an immense conservatory, bear regularly and 

 abundantly. Fortunately, though, for "the million," 

 orange lovers as they are every one of them, we are not 

 left to depend upon the efforts of scientific gardeners in 

 an unsuitable climate for our supply of this universal fa- 

 vourite, but can obtain a sufficient response to our largest 

 demands by means of importation. The best oranges as 

 well as the largest quantity are brought from the Azores, 

 where they were originally introduced by the Portuguese ; 

 the imports from St. Michael's having in 1859 amounted 

 to 84,123, the produce of that year being 252,000,000 

 oranges, whereof 49,000,000 were consumed on the island. 

 Spain, Portugal, and other countries, however, contribute 

 their share to swell the mighty tide which pours into 

 Britain, and though it is difficult to ascertain the total 

 quantity with perfect exactitude, as oranges and lemons 

 are reckoned together in the revenue returns, it has been 

 computed that the annual imports now actually exceeds 

 1,000,000 bushels, and is valued at above 600,000 per 

 annum. A few years ago Carpenter calculated that our 

 receipts, numerically taken, gave an average of nearly a 

 dozen oranges to each individual of the population, but 

 now, assuming each bushel to contain 650 fruits, the 

 allowance has risen to the very fair proportion of 22 for 

 each man, woman, and child in the kingdom. They are 

 brought here in boxes containing 250 or more, and in 

 chests containing from 500 to 1,000. 



The various names applied to the orange the Citrus 

 aurantium or Hesperidce of LinnsBan botany have given 

 rise to much discussion. Citrum was a name given by the 



