218 HISTORY OF FRUITS* 



on the pleasures and incitements of eating, in which he 

 described the manner of dressing them. Galen was the 

 first European physician that used lemons in medicine. 



The lemon-tree appears to have been cultivated in this 

 country as early as the reign of James the First, as Lord 

 Bacon mentions the housing of hot-country plants, as 

 lemons, oranges, and myrtles, to save them. It was cul- 

 tivated in the Botanic Garden at Oxford, in 1 648. 



In some parts of Devonshire, lemon-trees are trained 

 to the walls, and require no other care than to cover them 

 with straw or mats during the winter. Earl Paulet pre- 

 sented some of these lemons to his late Majesty upwards 

 of forty years ago, which grew in the garden of his. sister, 

 Lady Bridget Bastard, of Garston. The lemon-tree is 

 of a much hardier nature than the orange : it is therefore 

 brought to greater perfection in this country than the 

 latter fruit. Lemons have long been propagated with 

 success in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the South of 

 France, as well as in the West-India islands. The lemons 

 of St. Helena are the most esteemed, growing larger, and 

 of a milder flavour than other kinds, and, according to 

 Browne, they frequently yield more than half-a-pint of 

 juice. 



A very superior kind of lemons is cultivated exclu- 

 sively in the plain between Pisa and Leghorn, which, 

 from their excellent quality, sell for fifty sous each in 

 that place ; but they are generally sent as presents to the 

 various courts of Europe. 



Lemons vary by cultivation and situation, like most 

 other fruits. The sweet lemon is admired by many people, 

 and is a desirable fruit for invalids, when oranges ^become 

 too sweet. 



This fruit is now become almost necessary in culinary 

 purposes, as well as being an article of luxury in a variety 

 of shapes: it makes an excellent sweetmeat when cleared 



