CITRUS FRUITS ] 31 



starting point of canker which sooner or later destroys 

 the tree. For this reason it is always advisable to have 

 all wounds more than two centimetres in diameter paint- 

 ed over with tar, or with a mixture of bees' wax, tar and 

 clay in equal proportion, to be slightly heated when about 

 to be used. 



Citrus trees begin to form the flower-shoots in 

 January or February, and by the end of March the first 

 flowers begin to bloom. The blooming period may be 

 prolonged to the first week of May. Late blossoms may 

 appear in May and June, and it is generally held that 

 flowers produced until the second week of July will set 

 fruit which will develop in time to ripen with the main 

 crop. Oranges begin to turn yellow in November and are 

 often picked in quantities for consumption in December, 

 but no orange is really ripe before January, and the aroma 

 is rarely fully developed before* February. Oranges are at 

 their best in February and March, after which period 

 they are more liable to deterioration than to improve- 

 ment. The best time to pick oranges for the oversea 

 trade is in January, when they are ripe, and are still in a 

 good condition to bear a sea voyage. The earliest orange 

 to reach maturity is the round sweet orange or China 

 orange, often called Malta Vanilla orange, but many 

 dislike its absolutely sweet taste, without any acidity. 

 The mandarin-orange is next in point of earliness. The 

 seedless oranges are generally quite ripe towards the 

 close of December, but their flavour improves in January, 

 at which time also the Malta blood-orange, and the 

 egg-orange have acquired their, special qualities, but the 

 fine flavour of the egg blood-orange is not well developed 

 before February. 



Certain Citrus trees, such as the ever-flowering 

 lemon, the seedless lime, and the sweet lime habitually 

 flower several times in the year, producing various crops 

 of fruits, besides the main crop which is the produce of 



