ORANGES AND LF.MOXS IN MUSSINA. '505 



is to be exported raw only perfectly sound lemons can be used; but if 

 the juice is to be boiled down, one-fifth of the lemons may be of an in- 

 ferior quality and two-fifths of them pretty well decayed. The juice 

 from sound lemons is yellowish in color, and gives a pleasant aroma ; 

 its density decreases with age. With all classes of lemons the yield of 

 juice and its acidity varies considerably from month to month. The 

 amount <>t' juice increases from October to April, its acidity and density 

 decrease, and the same is the case with the density of the'essence, owing 

 to the winter rains. 



The manufacturing of essential oil and lemon juice is quite lucrative, 

 but manufacturers, to avoid being taxed on their business, are reticent 

 as to their profits. 



An addition of 5 per cent, of alcohol will prevent raw lemon-juice from 

 spoiling. Lemon-juice is adulterated with salt or tartaric acid. Kaw 

 and concentrated lemon-juice is exported in casks of 130 gallons capac- 

 ity. It requires 1,500 lemons to yiejd 26 gallons (1 hectoliter) of raw 

 juice, while it takes 2,500 to yield the same quantity of concentrated 

 juice, and 200,000, more or less, according to their acidity, to give a 

 cask. Experience has shown that the lemons of the Province of Mes- 

 sina, especially from the eastern shore, contain more acidity than the 

 lemons grown elsewhere in Sicily. 



The value of lemon-juice is governed by its acidity. The rule is that 

 concentrated lemon juice shall show 60 degrees of acidity (the juice 

 extracted from the bergamot or the sour orange must show 48 degrees, 

 or one-fifth less than that derived from the lemon ; it also sells for one- 

 fifth less than lemon-juice). Formerly a sitrometer, known as Ronch- 

 etti's gauge, was used to ascertain the per cent, of acidity ; now, how- 

 ever, resort is had to chemical analysis, which is more satisfactory both 

 to seller and buyer.* Lemon-juice is used in the printing of calicoes. 



Table B shows the mean annual price of concentrated lemon-juice per 

 cask of 130 gallons, and of raw lemon-juice per hectoliter of 26 gallons, 

 from 1870 to 1886. 



Table F shows the export of lemon-juice from Messina from Decem- 

 ber, 1884, to December, 1887. 



Of late years a new article, known as vacuum-pan concentrated nat- 

 ural juice of the lemon, has been manufactured here. The juice concen- 

 trated by this method contains 600 grains of crystallizable citric acid 

 for every quart. It is exported in casks containing 112 gallons, in half 

 and quarter casks. It is also shipped in bottles of 500, 300, and 150 

 grains each. This concentrated juice is as limpid as first-quality oil. 



There is an establishment here, probably the only one of its kind in 

 Italy, that prepares crystallized citric acid. It takes from three hundred 

 and forty to three hundred and eighty lemons to make a pound of citric 

 acid, which sells at about 43 cents. 



* The last two paragraphs am qnoted from my report accompanying dispatch 51, 

 dated April 20, 1888. 



