308 Notes and Gleanings. 



tie fruit is ready for the dessert : and, when freshly gathered, no fruit can be more 

 gratifying or delightful, as its aroma is so delicious, and its juice so abundant ; in 

 this respect, offering a pleasing contrast to those imported from Lisbon in No- 

 vember and December, the flesh of which is generally shrunk from the rind, 

 instead of being ready to burst, as is the case with those plucked from the tree. 

 They should, in common with all home-grown oranges, be placed on the table 

 with some leaves adhering to their stalks ; thus showing that they have not made 

 a voyage. 



Among full-sized oranges, the Maltese Blood takes the first rank. When quite 

 fresh from the tree, it differs much from those imported ; although the voyage as 

 now made by steamers is of short duration. I was not so fully aware of this 

 till early in January, 1866, when I was able to compare some fine imported fruit 

 with some gathered from my trees. , 1 found the former, although rich and juicy, 

 yet flat in flavor compared with those freshly gathered : they lacked the crisp- 

 ness and aroma which were most agreeable in the latter. The great advantage 

 in planting this sort is its tendency to bear fine fruit while the trees are young : 

 they are indeed so prolific, that trees of only two feet in height have here borne 

 nice crops of fruit. 



Some varieties, quite equal to the foregoing in quality, but without the red 

 flesh so peculiar to these " blood-oranges," have been imported from the Azores, 

 the paradise of orange-trees. One of the most desirable sorts is called simply 

 the St. Michael's orange. This kind has a thin rind, is very juicy, and bears 

 abundantly, even while the trees are young. In the orange-house, these will ripen 

 towards the end of December, and throughout January and February, in common 

 with the Maltese blood-oranges. 



No one but an amateur of gardening can imagine the pure, quiet pleasure of 

 taking a morning walk in the orange-house during the above-mentioned dreary 

 months, and plucking from the trees oranges fully ripe. I have had much expe- 

 rience in the culture, and, I may add, in the eating of fruit ; but I can say with a 

 firm conviction, that I have never enjoyed any kind of fruit so much as I have 

 oranges of my own plucking in winter. 



In addition to the three leading varieties I have mentioned, there are several 

 kinds which will doubtless prove interesting and valuable. It is not to be ex- 

 pected that so much variation in flavor, as in the pear for instance, can be met 

 with in oranges. I beheve, however, that, when our orange palates are educated, 

 we shall find many delicate distinctions in the flavor of oranges. As far as I have 

 gone, I have found the Mandarin orange larger and more flat in shape than the 

 Tangierine, and not so good as that sort. The Embiguo, the egg, the silver 

 orange, the Botelha, the white orange, and some others, all varieties from the 

 Azores, are of various degrees of excellence, and are all worthy of a place in an 

 English orange-garden. 



There are many various forms of the genus Citrus, which, in a large orange- 

 garden, may be cultivated, and prove of interest to the cultivator ; but I have 

 thought it proper to confine myself, in conformity with the heading of this paper, 

 to the kinds of oranges proper for our desserts. It may, however, be not thought 

 out of place if I mention that the lemon, more particularly the imperial lemon, 



