SPECIES, VARIETIES, ETC. 101 



whether they have yet been honored with a name 

 or not, as it is the quality of the fruit and not the 

 name which is needed. The name and classifica- 

 tion will come in time. Any new and remarkably 

 good varieties ought also to be brought to the no- 

 tice of the above-named State committee on no- 

 menclature. These gentlemen will do their duty, 

 and Florida will be compelled to have her own 

 nomenclature, as she has her own varieties. 



The orange of Portugal and the China orange are 

 two well-known varieties in Europe, and are fre- 

 quently seen in Florida, but have changed some- 

 what by having been reproduced from seed. 



The Orange of Portugal, or common sweet orange, 

 is a tree growing to a great height when raised from 

 seed. Its leaf is green, having a winged petiole ; its 

 shoots are whitish, its flowers entirely white and very 

 odorous, though not equal in perfume to those of the 

 bigarade. 



Its fruit, ordinarily round, is sometimes flattened, 

 sometimes a little oblong. The rind, less than an 

 eighth of an inch in thickness, is of a reddish yellow, 

 and full of aroma ; the inner skin is a sallow white, 

 spongy, and light. The sections, nine to eleven in 

 number, "contain a sweet juice, very refreshing and 

 agreeable ; its seeds are white and oblong, germinat- 

 ing very easily and reproducing usually the species 

 with little change. There is a variety with no 

 thorns ; it is the race cultivated mostly by grafting, 

 and is seen in all countries where this method of 

 propagation is followed. In places where the orange 



