CHAPTER 37 



Citrus Fruits and Their Cultivation 



By Herbert J. Webber, Ph.D. 

 Dean of Graduate School of Tropical Agriculture, University of California 



History. — The various species of the genus Citrus are natives of 

 India and the Malay Archipelago. The date of the importation of citrus 

 fruits to America is not known. They were apparently introduced into 

 Brazil and the West Indies at a very early date, probably some time in the 

 latter part of the sixteenth century. They were brought by the Spaniards 

 to Florida at a comparatively early date and were apparently spread by the 

 Indians over the state. 



The commercial cultivation of oranges in Florida began in the early 

 part of the nineteenth century; while in California the commercial planting 

 cannot be considered to have started much prior to 1880. The first car- 

 load of oranges was shipped from California to St. Louis by William Wolf- 

 skill in 1877. 



Citrus Species and Varieties. — The genus Citrus belongs to the family 

 Rutacem, which is represented in the United States by the prickly ash 

 Xanthoxylum), the hop-tree (Ptelea) and the like. The representatives 

 of the family are mainly natives of tropical and sub-tropical countries. 

 Following are the principal species and varieties cultivated in the United 

 States. 



The Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis). — This is the species most 

 generally cultivated throughout the world, and is the fruit commonly 

 referred to as the orange. It has given rise to numerous cultivated varie- 

 ties and exhibits a very wide range of variation in form, size, flavor, season 

 of maturity and the like. Certain varieties have had marked influence in 

 building up the industry in different sections. 



This is particularly true of the Washington Navel in California. This 

 variety originated in Brazil about 1820 near Bahia. It gradually became 

 known for its good quality and seedlessness, and in 1870 twelve budded trees 

 were imported into the United States by William Saunders of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture. Other trees were propagated from 

 these and sent to various of the orange-growing states for trial. The 

 majority of these trials were apparently failures or attracted no notice. 

 Two trees, however, were sent to Mrs. Luther C. Tibbet, at Riverside, Cal., 

 in 1873, and were carefully cared for by her until they came into bearing. 

 The stock of this variety in the world has been mainly taken from descend- 



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