THE CUBA REVIEW 



AND BULLETIN 



"ALL ABOUT CUBA" 



Copyright, 1907, by the Munson Steamship Line. 



Volume V. JUNE, IQ07. Number 7. 



VARIETIES OF ORANGES. 



Recent Introductions — Very Early and Very Late Fruit Brings Best Prices — 



Florida Market January to March — Cuban Market Follows — Plantings 



Should be Made for this Season. 



BY H. HAROLD HUME. 

 Author of Citrus Fruits and Their Culture. 



Among citrus fruits, sweet oranges, known also as round oranges (Citrus Aiirantium) , 

 hold first place in commercial importance. Only the pomelo (grape-fruit) and the 

 lemon in anywise approach them in the amount of fruit produced and consumed, 

 and the difference in the amount used is so great as to make these latter fruits seem 

 insignificant by comparison. 



The number of varieties of sweet oranges which have been grown at different 

 times may be counted by hundreds, but by far the most of them are represented by 

 names only. These names are simply recollections that these varieties were once in 

 existence and the varieties which are now propagated by leading nurseries are not 

 more than thirty or thirty-five in number. Of these not all are equally good or desirable, 

 or adapted for general planting. 



When we examine a large number of different kinds of oranges we cannot but 

 be struck by their close resemblance to one another. Pick the fruit, consider it apart 

 from the trees on which it grew, leave out the time of ripening (and many, of 

 course, ripen at the same period), and one is at a loss to. say definitely what variety 

 he may be examining. But we must not at the same time lose sight of the fact that 

 there are differences in size, in shape, in time of ripening, in quality, and perhaps 

 above all, in prolificness, which are of great importance. While the individual speci- 

 mens of fruit resemble each other closely, the differences in these other respects are 

 often very considerable. 



After all, the only certain way to secure the varieties desired is to purchase them 

 from reliable sources and be certain that the variety is true to name, true to the 

 old original strain. 



Yet notwithstanding this close resemblance of varieties of oranges to each other 

 they may be separated in broad groups made up of varieties possessing certain char- 

 acteristics. It may be difficult at times to say definitely where a variety belongs, and 

 the tree and fruit must be carefully examined together. 



The groups which may be distinguished more or less readily are : 

 L Spanish Oranges, derived from the original introductions, and represented in 

 the main by the seedlings now found throughout Florida, Cuba and elsewhere. These 

 varieties are strong growers, with large pointed leaves, generally very thorny. As a 

 general rule, the varieties of this group inake very satisfactory trees and it is for 

 the most part on these that the best reputation of the Florida oranges has been 

 made. The group is represented by such varieties as Boone's Early, Early Oblong, 

 Homosassa, Madam Vinous, Magnum Bonum, Nonpareil and Parson Brown. 



II. Mediterranean Oranges. Most of the varieties which may be placed in this 

 group have been imported into America from the southern portions of Europe, borderino- 

 on, and the islands in, the Mediterranean sea. Some have originated in America! 

 They are for the most part of much more recent introduction than the Spanish orano-es. 

 The trees of this group are compact growers, almost thornless, with abundance" of 

 small, closely set leaves. The fruit is very juicy, rich and of the highest quality, with 

 few seeds. The types of this group are Jaffa, ^lajorca, Maltese Oval, though' other 

 varieties, not conforming closely to the types, such as Pineapple, Centennial and Harts 

 Late, are best included here. 



