70 CITRUS AURANTIUM. 
In Europe, the Valencia oranges are eagerly sought after, on account of their 
early appearance, large size, and beautiful colour. They are put up in boxes of 
two hundred and twenty to two hundred and forty fruits in each, enveloped in 
brown paper. 
The Sicilian oranges, and those of the south of Italy, maybe regarded as 
nearly of the same quality. They are of a medium size, with a fine colour, and 
are rather acid in their flavour. Those shipped from Messina are put up in 
boxes of two hundred to two hundred and ten fruits in each, and those of Pa- 
lermo, which mature later, are shipped in boxes of three hundred or more fruits 
in each. The oranges of Reggio ripen very early, so much so, that it is not unu- 
sual to send them away by the 20th of October. They are packed in boxes of 
two hundred and forty fruits in each, and like most of the oranges of the Medi- 
terranean, are enveloped in paper. 
The Provence oranges come to great perfection, and may be classed with those 
of Genoa. Along the river Var, they have two harvests of the orange, the first 
commencing from the 10th to the 15th of November, when the fruit begins to 
turn, and continues till the 4th of December ; the second begins about the 10th of 
January, and is prolonged nearly to the end of February. They are put up in boxes 
of one hundred and twenty to three hundred and sixty fruits in each, accord- 
ing to their size and qualities. 
With the Seville oranges may be classed those of Faro, St. Ubes, Oporto, 
Andalusia, Malaga, and the bitter oranges of Cuba and Florida. This fruit is 
usually of a good size, of a beautiful colour, but unfit to eat, on account of its 
bitter flavour. Those shipped from Seville are put up in large boxes, of one 
thousand fruits in each ; while those of Faro and St. Ubes are badly packed, in 
cases of three hundred to three hundred and fifty in each. Those of Spain and 
Portugal are principally Carried to England and the Baltic, and are employed in 
cookery, and in the manufacture of cordials and other aromatic liquors. The 
essential product of the fruit is in the rind or peel ; it is cut into quarters, sepa- 
rated from the pulp, and caused to be quickly dried. It is much used in Hol- 
land in aromatizing a certain liquor, called curagoa. In East Florida, the imme- 
diate vicinity of a wild orange grove, is of some importance to the planters. 
They collect the fruit, extract the juice by horse-mills, and send it off to differ- 
ent markets, where it is used as an ingredient in cooling drinks. The fruit is 
sometimes given by them to their horses, which seem to eat it with relish. In 
Cuba it is much used by the inhabitants in the cure of fluxes, intermittent, and 
other fevers. In France, in the department of the Var, and particularly at 
Grasse, the flowers of the Seville orange are brought into use. A volatile oil is 
listilled from them, called neroli, the colour of which varies from a reddish-yel- 
low to a deep red. It is very fluid, of an agreeable odour, and is chiefly 
employed in pharmacy and in perfumery. For the latter purpose, this variety 
is superior to the ordinary orange. 
