Fruits 



273 



imports were 837,028 cwt., 

 valued at £419,049. Of 

 these, 834,884 cwt. were 

 from foreign countries, 

 chiefly from Italy. Of the 

 total imports from British 

 possessions (2,184 cwt.) West 

 Indies contributed 2,088 cwt. 



The Lime (C. medica, var. 

 acida) is native to the warm 

 valleys of the outer Hima- 

 laya ; it is cultivated in 

 India, Burma, West Indies, 

 etc. In the West Indies the 

 cultivation of the lime is now 

 conducted on a large scale for 

 the sake of the juice, which is 

 imported into this and other 

 countries in large quantities. 

 Green limes are also in con- 

 siderable demand, especially 

 in the United States of 

 America. The ordinary 

 lime is a very spiny tree, 

 but a variety originated at 

 Dominica in the West Indies 

 is absolutely spineless. A 

 seedless lime has been 

 discovered in Trinidad. 



The Sweet Lime (C. 

 medica, var. Limetta) is a 

 native of Southern India, 

 where it is also cultivated. 

 Sweet limes are eaten fresh 

 or preserved. The juice is not so much valued as that of the Sour Lime. 



The Shaddock (C. Decumana) is native of the Malay Archipelago, the Friendly Islands, 

 and Fiji. The fruit is very large, weighing sometimes from ten to twenty pounds, roundish 

 or oblong, with a smooth, pale-yellow skin, and white or reddish sub-acid pulp. 



The " Grape Fruit " of the West Indies is also a superior variety of this same species. 



Bananas. The banana has during the last few years advanced rapidly in popularity in 

 Great Britain. The old-established kind is the China or Canary Banana, the fruit of Musa 

 Cavendishii, originally discovered in China, but now cultivated in many parts of the world. 

 The more recent introduction, the large banana, is usually known as the Jamaica banana, the 

 supplies coming from there, from Costa Rica, and neighbouring places. This is the fruit of 

 another species, M. sapientum, var. paradisiaca, also probably an Asiatic plant. 



The cultivated banana is seedless (indicative of the ages during which it has been grown), 

 and propagation is effected by cuttings. The plants form below ground a huge rootstock, 

 which gives off suckers or shoots. One of these cut off with a piece of the rootstock and set 

 in the ground grows very rapidly, forming a plant of the habit shown in the illustration, with 

 large, broad, deep-green leaves, at first entire but which soon split into innumerable strips 

 when exposed to wind. 



19— C.P. 



From Stereograph Copyright, Underwood ' & Underwood, London and New York 

 CALIFORNIA. AN ORANGE CLUSTER 



