50 Oranges and Lemons of India. 



Flora of British Burmah.' Further East, in Cochin 

 China, Loureiro describes a C. aurantium with sour- 

 sweet pulp, which appears to be the sweet orange, and 

 which is found both wild and cultivated in China and 

 Cochin China. Chinese authors consider orange trees 

 in general as natives of their country, but precise in- 

 formation about each species and variety is wanting 

 on this head. From the collected facts, it seems that 

 the sweet orange is a native of Southern China and 

 Cochin China, with a doubtful and accidental extension 

 of area by seed into India." 



It would have been much more interesting if we 

 knew, as I said, to what type of sweet orange De 

 Candolle refers in the foregoing. With regard to the 

 suntara type of orange, his conclusion would appear 

 as the probable one. 



He goes on to say, " If the sweet orange had been 

 cultivated in India, it would have had a special name 

 in Sanskrit ; the Greeks would have known it, after 

 Alexander's expedition, and the Hebrews would have 

 early received it through Mesopotamia. This fruit 

 would certainly have been valued, cultivated, and pro- 

 pagated in the Roman empire, in preference to the 

 lemon, citron, and bitter orange. Its existence in 

 India must, therefore, be less ancient." 



I would here mention that although India is a very 

 small word, it means a very big thing. I believe that 

 Alexander's expedition did not reach much beyond the 

 Indus, and in those days of difficult communication, 

 although the suntara orange may have been already 

 naturalised on the eastern border, it may not have 

 reached Western India. Even at this day, although 

 it is semi-wild in the east of India, it is scarce in the 

 west. For similar reasons, both the Romans and 

 Hebrews may not have got it. Its extensive and 



