MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS OF THE LEMON. 225 



To these I would add the way of trade on the sea, for there 

 appears to be no known law by which one can understand why 

 certain industries establish themselves in given localities. 

 Why, for example, should the candied citron and lemon peel 

 industry become centered in Leghorn? The lemons and citrons 

 are all imported from Corsica, Sicily, Calabria, and even from 

 Tunis, Tripoli, and Morocco. The fuel comes from England, the 

 sugar is imported from Egypt, the wood for the boxes from 

 Trieste, and the earthenware vessels from Florence. The peel 

 is sent away to Britain, Germany, America, etc. I cannot 

 learn of any special advantage which Leghorn possesses; but 

 there this particular branch of the candied fruit industry is 

 centered, and so it is necessary to leave Sicily for a time with 

 the salted lemons and note the treatment they receive in 

 Leghorn. 



The first process is the separation of the fruit from the rind. 

 Women sit around a big vessel, skillfully gouge out the pulp 

 with the thumb and forefinger, and throw the rind into a 

 vessel ready to receive it. The rind is then soaked for several 

 days in cold, fresh water to remove the salt. It is then boiled 

 in copper vessels for one or two hours for the double purpose 

 of removing any remaining salt and softening the rind. It 

 should now be soft enough to absorb the sugar readily. 



The absorption of sugar takes fully eight days, for the essen- 

 tial principle is that the process must be very gradual and 

 slow. To this end it is first treated with a weak solution, 

 but as the process goes on the solution may be gradually 

 strengthened, for the power of absorption grows. Fresh rind 

 absorbs with great difficulty; and if at once plunged into 

 strong syrup the process is slow and irregular, whereas if 

 repeated at once with a strong solution it becomes permeated 

 with that, and further absorption is more easy. I have 

 repeated this because it is the essential principle in making 

 candied peel or candied fruits. 



The candying-room is fitted with rows of immense earthen- 

 ware vessels, after the fashion of the ancient wine jars of the 

 Romans. These are perhaps four feet high and thirty inches 

 in diameter, with short necks and wide mouths. For description, 

 the jars may be grouped into sets of eight, and as what goes 

 on in one set goes on in all other sets, it will save confusion to 

 consider the room as having only eight jars. As each jar will 

 15c 



