594 THE ORA NGE FA MIL T. 



trees in the royal orangeries of France since the commencement of the 

 fifteenth century, and in the open air in the warmest part of the south 

 of Europe for its fruit, for at least three centuries. In Britain, at the 

 present time, the different species and varieties are cultivated under 

 glass, chiefly as ornamental trees, but in part also for their fruit, which 

 from some gardens is sent regularly to table throughout the greater 

 part of the year. 



The common Orange is the C. Aurantium, L. In the year 1500, there 

 was only one orange-tree in France, which had been sown in 1421, at 

 Pampeluna, then the capital of the kingdom of Navarre. After 

 having been taken from Pampeluna to Chantilly, and from Chantilly 

 to Fontainebleau, it was, in 1684, taken to the orangery at Versailles, 

 where it still remains, holding the first rank among the numerous trees 

 there for its shape and beauty, under the name of the Grand Bourbon, 

 Fra^ois I., &c. From the establishment of the orangery at Versailles, 

 the taste for orange-trees spread extensively in France, till about the 

 middle of the eighteenth century, when it began to give way to a 

 taste for more rare exotics. The oldest orange-trees in England were 

 planted at Beddington, in Surrey, about the end of the sixteenth cen- 

 tury, and here as in France it was the most popular tree, till it was 

 supplanted by a taste for plants of other countries, and more especially 

 the plants of the Cape. At present the taste for the orange tribe is 

 reviving, both in France and England. The uses of the fruit of the 

 orange in the dessert, in confectionery, and in medicine, and its flowers 

 in perfumery, are universally known. The more remarkable varie- 

 ties of the orange are the following : the China, pear-shaped ; Nice, 

 tiny-fruited, fingered, blood-red, ribbed, sweet-skinned ; Mandarin, and 

 St. Michael's. The last two are by far the best worth cultivating 

 for their fruit. The Mandarin orange (C. nobilis) is small, oblate, 

 with a thin rind, which separates of itself from the pulp so much so, 

 that when fully ripe, the latter may be shaken about in the inside like 

 the kernels of some nuts. It is originally from China, but is now cul- 

 tivated in Malta. The flesh is of a deep orange colour, and its juice 

 and flavour superior to those of most varieties. The St. Michael's 

 orange is also small, but the skin instead of being of an orange colour 

 like that of the Mandarin, is of a pale yellow ; the fruit is generally 

 without seed, the rind thin, and the pulp extremely sweet. It is the 

 most delicious of all the oranges, and the tree is a great bearer. It is 

 in general cultivation in the Azores, from which it is shipped in large 

 quantities. The Tangerine orange is strongly recommended by some. 

 Mr. Rivers, who has devoted great attention to the orange, and sup- 

 plies his own table with a succession of choice fruit, grows the following 

 varieties : 



The Bigarade, Seville, or Bitter orange, has elliptic leaves, with a 

 winged stalk, very white flowers, and middle-sized, globose, deep- 

 yellow fruit, the pulp bitter and acid. This is the hardiest variety of 

 the orange, and that which has the largest and most fragrant flowers, 

 which are produced in great abundance. The fruit is chiefly used in 

 making marmalade. The tree is that chiefly grown by the French gar- 



