30 CITRUS FRUITS AND THEIR CULTURE. 



fact, cooking spoils the sweet orange; it parts with its 

 flavor and becomes insipid. But as a raw fruit it is un- 

 surpassed. 



The number of varieties of sweet oranges which have 

 been brought before the public is considerably over one 

 hundred. Unfortunately, descriptions of them such as 

 may be found for apples, pears and other fruits, are com- 

 paratively few. Again, the origin of many of them is lost 

 in obscurity, from which it is almost impossible to bring 

 them. As a result, many varieties have received a number 

 of names. Unfortunately it has not been possible to se- 

 cure specimens of all the varieties, but a goodly number 

 have been obtained and are described in the section on 

 varieties. 



Great difficulty has been encountered in grouping the 

 sweet oranges. But it has finally been decided to group 

 them as Spanish oranges, Mediterranean oranges, Blood 

 oranges and Navel oranges. This classification is in some 

 respects unsatisfactory and further study of the group 

 may produce something better. For the present, however, 

 this is the best that can be given. 



SPANISH ORANGES. 



Tree large and of strong, vigorous growth, well fol- 

 iaged, the leaves oval, pointed, frequently strongly winged ; 

 fruit of rather coarse grain, but of good quality, large; 

 ripening for the most part in mid-season; seeds large, 

 wedged and flanged. 



Most of the Spanish oranges have originated as seed- 

 lings in America, the majority of the varieties having 

 come from the seedling groves of Florida. Generally they 

 produce fruit in abundance and the greater portion of 

 the fruit at present shipped from Florida, Cuba and Porto 



