31G 



C I T 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL 



C I T 



The Common Lemon ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 

 subserrate. This differs materially from the Orange-tree, both 

 in the naked footstalks of the leaves, and in the shape and 

 colour of the fruit ; but there is scarcely any distinction be- 

 tween this and the Citron, except it be that the rind of the 

 fruit is generally thicker and more knobbed in the Citron 

 than in the Lemon, and the fruit itself longer and more irre- 

 gular ; to which Mr. Miller adds, that the bark of the Citron- 

 tree is smoother, and the wood less knotty. Many varieties 

 of the Lemon are preserved in some of the Italian gardens, 

 and in both the Indies there are several which have not yet 

 been introduced to the European gardens ; but these may be 

 multiplied without end from seeds. The most remarkable 

 varieties in the English gardens are : 1. The sweet Lemon, 

 plain and variegated ; 2. the pear-shaped Lemon ; 3. the Im- 

 perial Lemon ; 4. the Lemon called Adam's apple ; 5. the fur- 

 rowed Lemon ; 6. the childing Lemon ; 7- the Lemon with 

 double flowers ; 8. Browne mentions the St. Helena Lemon, 

 as having been then lately introduced to Jamaica, and much 

 cultivated there, on account of its fruit, which frequently 

 yields above half a pint of juice : 9. in China, and other parts 

 of the East, they have a remarkable variety of Lemon or 

 Citron, which has a solid fruit without any cells or pulp, and 

 divided above the middle into five or more long round parts 

 a little crooked, and having the appearance of the human 

 hand with the fingers a little bent, whence the Chinese call 

 it phat-thu, or fingered Lemon ; it is a monstrous fruit, a 

 mere curiosity without any use. The common and sweet 

 Lemon are brought to England from Spain and Portugal in 

 great plenty, but the later is not much esteemed ; the pear- 

 shaped Lemon is a small fruit with very little juice ; the fruit 

 of the imperial Lemon is sometimes imported from Italy, but 

 .lot from Spain or Portugal ; probably therefore it is not 

 propagated in either of those countries. The Portuguese 

 had many of the most curious sorts of Orange, Lemon, and 

 Citron trees, brought from the Indies formerly, which seemed 

 to thrive almost as well there as in their native soil, and yet 

 they have not been increased. There are a few trees still 

 remaining in some neglected gardens near Lisbon, which are 

 almost unnoticed by the inhabitants. The Sour Lemon or 

 Lime: leaves ovate, entire; branches somewhat thorny. It 

 grows to the height of about eight feet in its native country, 

 with a crooked trunk, and many diffused branches, which have 

 prickleson them; leaves ovate-lanceolate, almost quite entire; 

 the petioles usually linear ; flowers few together, on termi- 

 nating peduncles ; corolla oblong, white, with a purplish spot ; 

 stamina twenty, in several parcels ; berry an inch and half in 

 diameter, almost globular, with a protuberance at the tip, the 

 surface regular, shining, greenish-yellow, with a very odorous 

 rind, nine-celled, abounding in a very acid juice, but having 

 very few subovate seeds : it is a native of Asia, but has long 

 been common and much esteemed in the West Indies. Browne 

 says, that it is a bushy shrub in Jamaica, where it is much 

 cultivated for the sake of its fruit, and not unfcequently 

 planted for fences ; that when it grows luxuriantly it is sel- 

 dom under twelve or fourteen feet in height, and spreads 

 gently about the top, but that it is often stunted, and of a 

 smaller stature. They have also a sweet Lime, which is gene- 

 rally a more upright tree, and bears a fruit which in size as 

 well as form seems to hold a mean between the Lime and the 

 Lemon ; the juice is very insipid, but the bark and the fibres 

 of tle root have much of that bitter so peculiar to the Lime. 

 There can be no doubt that any one investigating the subject 

 in the native climates of these fruits, would detect varieties 

 connecting all that are here described as species, not only 

 the Citron with the Lernou and Lime,, which certainly are no 



more than varieties, but these also with the Shaddock and 

 the Orange, which are hardly to be considered as specifically, 

 distinct. Mr. Miller declares, that he has never known the 

 common Lemon vary to the Lime when raised from seeds, nor 

 the Lime vary to the Lemon ; but that he has always found 

 them continue their difference in leaf and branch ; and there- 

 fore supposes them to be specifically distinct. The Lime is 

 not often brought to England, nor is it much cultivated in 

 Europe ; but in the West Indies the fruit is preferred to the 

 Lemon, the juice being more wholesome, and the acid more 

 agreeable to the palate. The Clustered Lemon .- leaves ovate- 

 lanceolate, subserrate ; fruits in clusters. All these varieties 

 have linear petioles, and are therefore referred to one species 

 by all botanists. The medical virtues are very considerable: 

 the juice of the Lemon is very generally carried by sailors 

 going on long voyages, as an antiscorbutic ; it has been found 

 to cure the jaundice, when taken to the quantity of four or six 

 ounces per day ; Dr. Whytt says, that it allays hysterical pal- 

 pitations of the heart : the rind is a very grateful aromatic 

 bitter, not so hot as Orange-peel, and yields, in distillation, 

 less quantity of the oil, which is nevertheless similar in quality 

 to that of the Orange, and employed for the same purposes. 

 For their propagation and culture, see the next species. 



2. Citrus Aurantium ; Orange. Petioles winged ; leaves 

 acuminate. The Orange is a middle-sized evergreen tree, 

 with a greenish brown bark; in its native country the branches 

 are prickly ; leaves broad-lanceolate, almost quite entire, 

 smooth, with the petioles commonly winged; peduncles many- 

 flowered, terminating; corolla white ; stamina twenty, con- 

 nected in several parcels ; berry subglobular, flatted (an ob- 

 late spheroid) of a golden colour, shining, odorous, three 

 inches in diameter, divided within into about nine cells, filled 

 with a bladdery pulp, having a sweet acid juice in it; rind 

 fleshy, of a middling thickness, covered with a pellicle which 

 is somewhat biting and bitter to the taste. Loureiro, the au- 

 thor of the above description says, that it agrees particularly 

 with that sort of Orange which is most common all over the 

 world, and is known in Europe by the name of Portugal or 

 China Orange, because it was brought from China by the 

 Portuguese, and by them dispersed over Europe. It is a na- 

 tive of India, China, &c. There are innumerable varieties in 

 China, as well as in other countries of Asia, in South America, 

 in the West Indies, and even in Europe. Loureiro describes 

 the most grateful of all the Oranges as a distinct species, un- 

 der the title of Citrus Nobilis: the branches are less spreading 

 than those of the common Orange, but are rather ascending, 

 and without prickles ; leaves lanceolate, quite entire, dark 

 green, on linear petioles; berry red within and without,' 

 twice as large as the common sort, being five inches in dia- 

 meter : the skin thick, juicy, sweet, eatable, and irregularly 

 tubercled ; it abounds in Cochin-china. The most esteemed 

 fruit in China, according to Grosier, is very small, with a 

 smooth soft skin, of a reddish yellow colour ; they have also 

 the four-season or everlasting Orange, so called from its being 

 always in fruit and blossom ; this also bears a Tery small 

 fruit : the large clove or mandarine, and the small clove or 

 mandarine ; the soft cushion Orange, the gold Orange, Sec. 

 The. Chinese Oranges are generally firmer than those of Eu- 

 rope, their skin does not easily peel off, and the pulp will 

 not separate into small divisions; they commonly give them 

 to the sick, softening them a little at the fire, and mixing 

 sui;ar with them. The Seville Orange differs little from that 

 of China in the tree, except that it is more hardy, and that 

 the leaves are longer and handsomer; the fruit, however, is 

 very different in the colour of the peel, and in the taste both 

 of that and of the juice, as is well known. The varieties of ' 



