AURANTIACE^E, OR ORANGE TRIBE. 397 



exceeding that consumed in all the rest of Europe and America. 

 To provide a sufficient supply of this article, many thousand tons 

 of the finest mercantile navy in the world are annually employed, 

 in trading with a people by whose government all dealings with 

 foreigners have until recently been discouraged; and an important 

 source of revenue, averaging from three to four millions sterling, 

 is obtained, through a moderate duty upon its importation, by 

 the state. 



562. Although the plants of this order which are known in 

 European gardens, are chiefly from China or North America, 

 these form but an inconsiderable part of the whole; 7 or 8 

 species being all that are contained in the first of these countries, 

 and 4 in the latter ; while between 60 and 70, all beautiful trees 

 and shrubs, are natives of the woods of South America ; and 

 about 20 more are known in the East Indies. 



Order AURANTIACE^E, or Orange tribe. 



563. The group of plants producing Oranges, Lemons, 

 Limes, Citrons, Shaddocks, Forbidden-fruit, and the like, is 

 readily distinguished from the rest of the Vegetable Kingdom, 

 by several evident characters, which give to its structure much 

 interest; and it is also one of great value to Man, on account of the 

 large quantity of grateful and refreshing fruit with which it 

 supplies him, in the very climates where it is most needed. It 

 is remarkable as being the only tropical fruit which can be intro- 

 duced into this country, at a cost little exceeding that of our 

 ordinary native fruits ; and whilst it thus offers a gratification 

 within reach of the poorer classes, it is so superior to other fruits, 

 that it cannot be despised for its cheapness even by the richest. 

 From the amount of duty paid upon Oranges, it has been calcu- 

 lated that about 272 millions are annually imported ; which gives 

 an average of nearly a dozen to each individual of the popula- 

 tion. This abundance is due in part to the prolificness of the 

 tree ; a single individual, at St. Michael's, having been known 

 to produce 20,000 Oranges, fit for packing, exclusive of the 

 damaged fruit and waste, which may be calculated at a third 



