ORANGES AND LEMONS IN SICILY. 523 



to an altitude of 10,872 feet, being over two miles high. The soil is 

 composed of disintegrated lava, and is among the richest and most pro- 

 ductive of the world. This inclined plane is habitable to within 9J 

 miles of the crater, and is densely populated, the population being 1,424 

 to the square mile, exceeding that of any other part of Italy. The cli- 

 mate is serai-tropical, temperate, or frigid, in accordance with the alti- 

 tude, the different zones being represented in the vegetable kingdom in 

 the ascent from the sea to the top of ^tna. 



The climate is here (Catania) in winter mild and salubrious. I have 

 been here since the 1st of October last. Frost is seldom known in this 

 lower altitude. We had none during the past winter, though the citi- 

 zens called it a cold winter. I am forcibly impressed with the similarity 

 of this climate to that of Southern California, having passed several 

 months in that part of the State. 



From the sea up ward to an altitude of from 700 to 1,000 feet the land- 

 scape is beautified by groves of orange, lemon, fig, and olive trees, and 

 vineyards of grape, all of luxuriant growth. 



Oranges and lemons are here designated as "marina" (sea coast), 

 growing in the lower altitudes near the sea, and "montane" (of the 

 mountain), growing in the higher altitudes. The* "moutano," or mount- 

 ain fruit, is the choicest, and commands the best prices in the market, 

 but the crop is not so sure, owing to the frost. The marina orchards 

 boar more abundantly, and the crop is considered a certainty. Of the 

 fruits there are two kinds, the oval and the round. The trees that bear 

 the oval fruit are preferred. Those trees that blossom several times 

 during the year are a specialty because of their producing fruit at dif- 

 ferent periods of the season. 



Of oranges there are four varieties, the round and oval (as above 

 mentioned) and the mandarin and bitter. Of these the oval is pre- 

 ferred for commerce, being more durable. The round is sweeter and 

 larger. These two kinds are the fruit of export. The mandarin is a 

 small orange of excellent flavor, but being more perishable than the 

 other varieties, it is used more for home consumption than export. 



The bitter orange is very hardy, and is adapted to this climate ; it is 

 grown for the purpose of propagating the other varieties by budding 

 or grafting them upon its stock. Its fruit is used in the manufacture 

 of preserves. The round orange begins to ripen in December, the oval 

 in January. 



Orange and lemon trees begin to bear full crops when they are from 

 ten to fifteen years old. The time of full bearing depends much upon 

 the climate (altitude), cultivation, and fertility of the soil. As to the 

 length of time the trees will remain fruitful, I find a diversity of opinion. 

 Some say that varieties of the orange and lemon budded upon the bitter 

 orange stock will remain fruitful from one to two centuries; others say 

 from forty to a hundred years. When not thus budded upon the bitter 

 orange stock, but raised from the seed, the trees are short-lived. They 



