88 Oranges and Lemons of India. 



however, it is not common but rare." In his time, it 

 appears that this citrus had already undergone a certain 

 degree of cultivation, as he describes the skin as 

 having a scent "pleasanter than in any other Indian 

 lemon, and better than that of the Spanish lemons, or 

 equal to them." He says it is the skins of these 

 lemons that are most used for scrubbing the head ; 

 and the juice, which is very acid, is mostly used for 

 paints. 



With regard to the Limonellus, or Limo tennis of 

 Rumphius (corresponding to the kaghzi nimboo of 

 India), he says it is " vulgatissimus et usitassimus" 

 " It is found from Java to all the East Indian islands, 

 not in the forests, but everywhere near habitations, 

 plan ted and carefully cultivated." For it to have been 

 so much used, and so much disseminated in the 

 Malay archipelago, about 200 years ago, it probably 

 must have been introduced, if it did not originate in 

 some of those islands, some hundreds of years before 

 the time of Rumphius. If, as I surmise, it descended 

 from thfte^Aj/y/^y'^. it probably had its birth either in 

 the Malay peninsula, or in the islands. And as it was 

 much used for all domestic purposes, kept well, and 

 was taken on long sea voyages, nothing would have 

 been easier than for it to be carried along the coast up 

 to Bengal, and to both the Eastern and Western 

 coasts of India, as well as to Ceylon, by Arab traders, 

 and others. As its seeds germinate easily, and the 

 seedling trees fruit in four or five years, its naturaliza- 

 tion all over India would then have been a matter of 

 time. 



In the chapter on Derivations of native names of 

 citrus, I have discussed the probable derivation of the 

 the word nimboo or Hindoo, which probably also has a 

 Malay origin. The true lime is evidently a variety 



