The Sdville Oranges. 3 



all the year round. The main crop of flowers comes 

 out in February or March, which corresponds to the 

 Indian spring. The fruit of this crop ripens about 

 December. The second and much smaller crop of 

 flowers comes out in the rains with the rain-foliage. 

 The fruit of these, which natives call Dumrfa, ripens 

 in the ensuing April or thereabouts. 



I must here first observe that, in my opinion, a 

 great deal of confusion has arisen in describing 

 oranges, by grouping all the sweet ones under the one 

 name of sweet oranges. It appears to me that the 

 so-called sweet oranges are distinctly divisible into 

 two great sections, one, the Malta or Portugal 

 orange the Citrus aurantium sinense of Gallesio, and 

 its varieties ; and the other, the suntara orange 

 of India, the Citrus aurantium sinense of Rumphius 

 and its derivatives. The former is a close skinned 

 orange, with a distinct tree, not at all slender, and 

 with a distinct, not very aromatic leaf. The latter 

 is a loose skinned orange, often baggy. Its tree is 

 also distinct and slender, with a distinct aroma in its 

 leaves. Neither of them is ' totally sweet. When 

 unripe they are sour, and as they ripen the acid 

 changes into sugar, and their charm, even when ripe, 

 is to possess in their pulp a pleasant mixture of sweet 

 and sub-acid flavour. The only true sweet orange I 

 know is a variety of the Malta orange, which has an 

 acidless pulp from beginning to end, like the sweet 

 lemons of India. I have never seen this acidless 

 orange in India. Another source of some confusion 

 comes from calling the Seville orange bitter. I have 

 tasted the pulp of many Sevilles in various parts, and 

 rarely have I found the pulp bitter. It is simply sour. 

 Sometimes I thought the pulp had a " soup9on " of 

 bitterness in it, but very rarely. I think the mistake, 



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