220 HISTORY OF FKUITS. 



raged to a degree which threatened more fatal conse- 

 quences than the gun-boats of the Spaniards. The wo- 

 men and children, as well as the officers, were equally 

 affected with this dreadful disorder, when, happily, an an- 

 tidote was procured by the capture of a Danish dogger, 

 from Malaga, laden with lemons and oranges ; these the 

 governor immediately purchased for the use of the garri- 

 son, and distributed among them, which relieved them 

 most wonderfully. The juice was given to those in the 

 malignant state diluted with sugar, wine, or spirits. 

 Various antiscorbutics had previously been used without 

 success, such as acid of vitriol, sauer kraut, extract of 

 malt, essence of spruce, &c. 



As the juice of lemons and limes became in so much 

 demand for medical use, as well as for the purposes of 

 luxury, various modes of purifying and preserving it have 

 been adopted by our ingenious chemists, who have suc- 

 ceeded in procuring the acid in a state of purity in crys- 

 tals, called citric acid. Dr. James Lind gives the pre- 

 ference to oranges and lemons above all other medicine for 

 scorbutic complaints, as these alone he considers a spe- 

 cific protection against the terrible effects of this distem- 

 per ; but as the fruit is liable to spoil, and cannot always 

 be procured, he proposes the following method of pre- 

 serving its virtues for years in a convenient and small 

 bulk; and which we shall transcribe for the benefit of 

 those who prefer their own preparations in domestic pur- 

 poses to those sold in the shops. 



" Let the squeezed juice of these fruits be well cleared 

 from the pulp, and depurated by standing for some time ; 

 then poured off from the gross sediment : or, to have it 

 still purer, it may be filtrated. Then put it into a well- 

 glazed earthen vessel, which should be wider at the top 

 than the bottom, as a China basin or punch bowl, so that 

 there may be the largest surface above, to favour the eva- 



