The Cultivation of Oranges and Allied Fruits 

 in the Bombay Presidency. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE CITRUS FRUITS AND THEIB VARIETIES. 



Citrus fruits are among the most paying orchard crops in the Bombay 

 Presidency. The acreage under oranges is increasing fast, but the demand 

 for the fruit so far exceeds the supply that large imports are made 

 from the Central Provinces and a few other sources. Nevertheless 

 ihere are many orange orchards which find it difficult to make a profit. 

 The present bulletin is issued in order to place before the public the methods 

 which have been found to yield the best result and give the largest profit, 

 not only with oranges, but also with other kinds of citrus fruits. 



The citrus fruits commonly cultivated in Bombay belong to three 

 species, distinguished as follows : 



1. The juice sacks in the fruit are easily separated from one 

 another and do not adhere into one mass. The young shoots and 

 leaves of the plant are hairy. Citrus deoumana, the Pomelo. 



2. The juice sacks in the fruit are not easily separated from one 

 another and adhere in one mass. The young shoots and leaves of the 

 plant are not hairy. 



(a) The fruits are mammillate, that is to say, the stigma 

 end ia i&ore or less distinctly produced. Citrus Medica, the Citron 

 and its varieties. 



(6) The fruits are not mammillate, that is to say, the stigma 

 end is flattened. Oitius aurantium, the orange and its varieties. 



Citrus decwnana, the Pomelo I (Marathi-Popna* : Kanarese Pampari) 

 occurs in two forms, with white pulp and red pulp, respectively. The 

 fruit and leaves of the pomelo are the largest of all among the citrus fruits. 

 The red variety generally fetches a better price than the white. An inter- 

 mediate variety, with pink flesh, is occasionally found. Citrus Medica is 

 found in four distinct varieties as follows : 



(a) Citrus Medica proper, the Citron (Marathi Mahalung ; 

 Gujarati Bijoura or Turanj : Kanarese Madalada hannu). The 

 fruit of thia variety is large, weighing up to three pounds, tho skin is 

 warty and rough, and the rind very thiok. (sometimes more than an 

 inch thick) with a carrot-like consistency. The pulp is somewhat 

 bitter and acid, pale white in colour. The tree on which this variety 

 is produced is rounded and flattened from above, and has generally 

 yellowish appearance. The fruit is used for pickles, preserves, and 

 ' f marmalade. It is rarely, however, cultivated alone, 



