THE ORANGE GENUS. 343 



vegetables, both in soil and in aspect. In the 

 western, or French part of it, the Alps descend gra- 

 dually, by successive elevations, from the high sum- 

 mits of Mont Blanc, Mont Rosa, and St. Bernard, to 

 the -sea. Thus the low grounds are finely exposed to 

 the southern sun ; and, being at the same time shel- 

 tered from every quarter whence a cold wind could 

 come, the vegetation is at once luxuriant and choice. 

 The finest bulbous flowers, the myrtle, the cactus, 

 and many others, give more the air of the perpetual 

 summer of the tropical countries, than is to be found 

 perhaps in any other country of Europe certainly in 

 any other of the same extent. 



The glory of that delightful country is the orange, 

 which, when full grown, attains the height of about 

 five and twenty feet, and is graceful in all its parts. 

 The trunk and older branches are of a delicate ash 

 colour ; the twigs of so soft a green that they almost 

 appear transparent ; the leaves are moderately large, 

 beautifully shaped, of a fine healthy green, and shin- 

 ing on the upper sides, while the under ones have 

 a slight appearance of down. The flowers, which 

 are in little bunches, and very graceful in their form, 

 are, in the sweet oranges, of a delicate white, and, in 

 the more acid varieties of the family, lightly marked 

 with pink. Some plants have a more powerful 

 odour, and are for the moment more rich ; but there 

 is a freshness in the aroma of an orange-grove which 

 never offends or cloys ; and as the tree is at one and 

 the same time in all stages of its bearing in flower, 

 in fruit just set, and in golden fruit, inviting the 

 hand to pull and the palate to taste, it is hardly 

 possible to imagine any object more delightful. The 

 perfumes of Arabia do not exceed the fragrance of the 

 groves on the north of the Mediterranean, in which 

 the beautiful white Provence rose, the tuberose, and 

 countless other flowers, blend their sweets with that 



