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elevation being from about 700 or 800 feet to a maximum 

 of 2,000 feet will supply the conditions requisite for pro- 

 ducing perfect lemons. It must be remembered that the 

 fruit is somewhat peculiar. It has to mature and ripen, 

 but that ripening process stops short of the conversion of 

 fruit acid into sugar, a change which constitutes ripeness 

 in almost all other fruits. Hence a cool summer and a 

 short duration of autumnal heat is sufficient for its needs, 

 while under such conditions the orange would fail to attain 

 its maximum sweetness. In fact, the lemon belt of a 

 country like the Cape Colony cannot quite coincide with 

 the orange belt, and there will always be many localities 

 where one of the two fruits comes to perfection, while the 

 other fails to do more than reach mediocrity. If, however, 

 the lemon must necessarily be grown together with the 

 orange, it is more important to avoid winter cold than great 

 summer heat. The slower continuous maturing required 

 for the former may to a certain extent be provided by a 

 skilful storage, ripening following an early period of 

 gathering from the tree. 



The Cape custom of using the lemon as a stock for the 

 orange has led to the multiplication of seedling lemon trees. 

 So much has been written upon this subject, and the uni- 

 versal practice of European countries has so emphatically 

 endorsed the wisdom of using the Bigarrade or Bitter 

 Seville Orange as the healthiest and strongest citrus stock, 

 that little additional remark need be made here. It is on 

 this stock that even the lemon itself should always be 

 worked, and, owing to its hardiness and powerful root- 

 system, the fruit may be successfully grown on it in situa- 

 tions where on its own roots it would miserably fail. 



Hence in purchasing budded lemons of named sorts, a 

 warranty should be required from the nurseryman that the 

 stock is the bitter Seville. 



What has been said of the orange as to planting and 

 general care applies equally to the lemon, with but little 

 difference. Its bark is perhaps somewhat more apt to 

 damage from sun-scalding, and hence it is advisable to 

 train it to a lower branch-growth for self -protection. It is 

 also more prone to make long useless water- shoots, and 

 these are far better pinched out at an early stage than left 

 for the seasonal pruning. 



