CHAPTER XXX. 



Lemon Culture, 



The rules for the selection of seed, site for nursery and or- 

 chard, transplanting, cultivation, irrigation, and other general 

 rules applicable to orange culture in the preceding chapters, 

 also apply, in a general way, to lemon, lime and citron culture. 



Our lemons have been coarse and undesirable until a very 

 recent date, for the reason that nearly all our products have been 

 seedlings, and, consequently, they have been accorded a second 

 place in the market. Now that the budding of select varieties 

 on orange stocks has become general, the product is much im- 

 proved, and in a few years our lemons will most assuredly ex-" 

 elude the foreign article from the markets of the United States. 



VARIETIES. 



A number of varieties are now seeking for public approval, 

 several of them possessing considerable merit. A variety should 

 possess the following points of excellence to suit the market: 



First The tree should be a strong, vigorous grower, with a 

 tendency to form a close, compact top. It should be free from 

 thorns, and should be an early, regular and heavy bearer. The 

 fruit should be symmetrical in shape, of medium size, juicy, 

 with a strong acid, and seedless. The rind should be thin and 

 sweet. 



The Lisbon and the Eureka are the most popular varieties 

 now propagated. It is safe to say that nine-tenths of the lemon 

 trees now being planted are of these varieties. The Lisbon is 

 a fine lemon, having an acid claimed to be somewhat stronger 

 than that of the Eureka. It is a good bearer but not an early 

 one as compared with the Eureka. It has more or less seeds, 



