FRUITS FROM THE TROPICS 301 



the osmotic forces are at least partly instrumental 

 in lifting the water, all are agreed. 



Meantime, referring specifically to the orange, 

 it requires no great powers of observation to dis- 

 cover why this tree stands in such preeminent 

 need of an exceptional water supply. 



It is only necessary to recall that the bulk of 

 the fruit is juice, each orange containing four or 

 five ounces of water, to discover what the tree 

 does with the liquid it imbibes so freely. A well- 

 laden orange tree, with say a thousand mature 

 fruits, is carrying the equivalent of thirty or forty 

 gallons of water in its globular buckets ; and of 

 course there is constant transpiration of moisture 

 from the leaves which in the aggregate is far 



greater. 



HYBRIDIZING POSSIBILITIES 



And all of this, of course, applies not merely 

 to the orange but to the allied citrus fruits, in 

 particular to the grapefruit and the lemon. 



Indeed, the entire company of citrus fruits is 

 characterized by exceeding juiciness of pulp, the 

 bulk of the fruit being made up of water with 

 delicious acids and sweets contained therein 

 merely intermeshed with enough thin fibrous tis- 

 sues to give stability to the fruit structure. 



These fruits are further characterized by the 

 unique quality of the fruit covering, which is 



