THE LEMON, LIME AND CITRON. 



tv. an<1 testifies unmistakably to the su- 

 periority of the climate and soil of this 

 locality. The orchard now contains quite 

 a number of trees of ihe Itonnic Brae va- 



riety, budded on orange stock. There i 

 no tendency to reversion, but, on the oth 

 er hand, the fruit goes 0)1 steadily im 

 proving." 



CHAPTFR VII. 



THE LIME AND OTHER CITRUS FRUITS. 



The If me grows in Southern California 

 \vith ihe same culture as the orange and' 

 lemon. It is a d\\arf tree or shrub, ac- 

 cording to training, and bears a small fruit 

 about one-half or one-third the si/e of a 

 lemon, and strongly acid. 



The lime industry in California if it 

 may be thus dignified is in xtvlv quo. 

 Some years ago these trees were planted 

 to a considerable extent, but they proved 

 very susceptible to frost and were mostly 

 killed out. A grove of some size is to be 

 found at the Sierra Mad re A" ilia on the 

 mesa, at an elevation of eighteen hundred 

 feet above sea level. Here, being practi- 

 cally free from frost, the trees flourish and 

 bear well. 



No systematic effort b& ever been mado 

 to improve the quality "of limes grown 

 here. The Mexican product is superior to 

 ours, and being imported in large quanti- 

 ties, and at low prices, practically drives 

 California limes out of the San Francisco 

 market. Enough of the fruit is produced 

 in Southern California to .supply local re- 

 quirements, but there is at present no 

 stimulus for further plantations. 



Some })< ople align their places with 

 lime trees which they trim close for a 

 hedge. Thus shortened in the limbs 

 thicken, making the foliage dense, and 

 forming altogether a very pretty hedge- 

 row. If, in a severe winter, they chance 



to be stricken by frost, the lateral branches 

 may be cut away, when the stocks will 

 put forth new growth and, in a year, the 

 hedge is itself again. 



Citrons are cultivated to a less extent 

 even than limes. I may say, in fact, that 

 they are only grown as curiosities. The 

 same may be said of the Pumalo orange 

 and Chinese lemon. All of these fruits 

 are very laige and thick skinned. When 

 utilized, the rind is the valuable part, the 

 pj.ilp being either insipid or bitter. We 

 are a'll familiar with the citron of com- 

 merce, which vonsists of the rind of the 

 citron fruit, deprived of its essential oil 

 and cured as a preserve or confection. 



A few years ago a firm in San Francisco 

 attempted tho preparation of citron for 

 the trade, and, to this end, purcnasea an 

 the citrons, Chinese lemons, and Pumalo 

 oranges that were available in our section 

 of the State. But we heard nothing fur- 

 ther from the venture, and it was proba- 

 bly a failure. There is no question, how- 

 ever, but that, with the proper process, 

 the citron of commerce might be manu- 

 factured from our fruit. 



Meanwhile, the Pumalo and its congen- 

 ers, when allowed growing space, continue 

 to load themselves down with fruit as 

 large as foot balls. They are matters of 

 wonder, and that is all. The best citrus 

 goods are done up in smaller parcels. 



