FRUITS 395 



oranges. In the winter of 1894-1895, however, there occurred 

 the " great freeze " in Florida, and since that time Cali- 

 fornia oranges have become better known. Some apprecia- 

 tion of the destruction wrought by the great freeze may be 

 obtained from the statement that in the season of the freeze 

 the orange crop of Florida had reached its maximum, 6,000,000 

 boxes, while in the next year there were only 100,000 boxes ; 

 in 1900 the crop reached 1,000,000 boxes. In California, in 

 1900, there were 3,500,000 trees in cultivation (nearly one- 

 half of them bearing), which yielded 4,000,000 boxes or more. 

 In 1911 the citrous crop of California reached a total of 

 14,000,000 boxes. 



102. Lemon. This is one of our most important com- 

 mercial fruits, and is cultivated extensively in all tropical 

 and subtropical regions, being less hardy than the orange. 

 In our country, lemon culture is practically restricted to 

 Florida and California, and large quantities of lemons are 

 imported, chiefly from Italy and Sicily. Lemon culture in 

 Florida was almost annihilated by the cold winter of 1894- 

 1895, when nearly all the trees were killed, leaving only a 

 few isolated orchards which recovered. Since that time, 

 more attention has been given to other fruits. 



In California, although the lemon has been grown for a 

 long time, its commercial importance has increased only 

 in comparatively recent times. In 1900 there were 250,000 

 bearing trees and a million more in cultivation. The 

 prominence of California lemons has come from the fact 

 that the old thick-skinned, bitter, and rather juiceless type 

 has been replaced by types having the thin rind, freedom from 

 bitterness, and abundance of citric acid characteristic of 

 the lemons of the Mediterranean region. 



103. Grape-fruit. This citrous fruit has come into great 

 prominence, and there have been many misconceptions as to 

 its origin. It is a native of the Malayan and Polynesian 

 Islands and its real name is " pomelo," a name which means 



