118 * AURANTIACEJE. 



concentrated lime juice exported in 1874 from Montserrat was £8,390. 

 From Dominica, 11,285 gallons, value £1,825, were shipped in 1875. 



Uses — Lemon peel is used in medicine solely as a flavouring 

 ingredient. Freshly prepared lemon juice is often administered with 

 an alkaline bicarbonate in the form of an effervescing draught, or in a 

 free state. 



Concentrated lemon juice is imported for the purpose of making 

 citric acid ; it is derived not only from the lemon, but also, to a smaller 

 extent, from the lime and bergamot. Lime juice of the West Indies is 

 chiefly used as a beverage ; small quantities of it are also exported for 

 the manufacture of citric acid. The culture of Citrus Limetta Risso, 

 the liTne, was introduced in Montserrat in 1852. 



OLEUM LIMONIS. 



Oleumi Limonum ; Essential Oil or Essence of Lemon; F. Essence de 

 Citron; G. Citronenol. 



Botanical Origin — Citrus Limonum, Risso (see p. 114). 



History — The chemists of the 16th century were well acquainted 

 with the method of extracting essential oils by distillation. Besson in 

 his work Eart et moyen parfaict de tirer huyles et eaux de tous ruiedi- 

 caments simples et oleogineux, published at Paris in 1571, mentions 

 lemon- (citron) and orange-peel among the substances subjected to this 

 process. Giovanni Battista Porta,^ a learned Neapolitan writer, 

 describes the method of preparing Oleum ex corticibus Citri to consist 

 in removing the peel of the fruit with a rasp and distilling it so com- 

 minuted with water ; and adds that the oils of lemon and orange may 

 be obtained in the same manner. Essence of lemon of two kinds, 

 namely expressed and distilled, was sold in Paris in the time of Pomet, 

 1692. 



Production — Essential oil of lemon is manufactured in Sicily, at 

 Reggio in Calabria, and at Mentone and Nice in France. 



The lemons are used while still rather green and unripe, as being 

 richer in oil than when quite mature. Only the small and irregular 

 fruit, such as is not worth exporting, is employed for aflbrding the 

 essence. 



The process followed in Sicily and Calabria may be thus described;^ 

 it is performed in the months of November and December. 



The workman first cuts ofl' the peel in three thick longitudinal slices, 

 leaving the central pulp of a three-cornered shape with a little peel at 

 either end. This central pulp he cuts transversely in the middle, throw- 

 ing it on one side and the pieces of peel on the other. The latter are 

 allowed to remain till the next day and are then treated thus : — the 

 workman seated holds in the palm of his left hand a flattish piece of 



^ Magke Naturalis libri xx. Neapoll (13 May 1872) was not that of the manu- 



1589. 188. facture, Signer M. sent for one of his work- 



- Through the kindness of Signor Mai- men, and having procured a few lemons, 



landrino of Giampilieri near Messina, I had set him to work on them in order that I 



the pleasure of seeing how the essence is might have ocular demonstration of the 



made. Though the time of my visit process. — D. H. 



