THE LEMON. 



In 1636 an English report on the 

 affairs of the navy gravely remarked 

 that "the use of lemon is a precious 

 medicine and well tried. Take two or 

 three spoonfuls each morning and fast 

 after it two hours." The value of the 

 fruit for certain disorders of the system 

 seems to have received an early recog- 

 nition. This was especially true with 

 regard to scurvy, which in earlier days 

 caused widespread mortality among 

 seafaring men. Hawkins, in 1593, made 

 the statement that more than ten thou- 

 sand men had succumbed to the malady 

 within the limits of his naval experi- 

 ence. The Crusaders under Louis IX. 

 were severely attacked by scurvy, ow- 

 ing to their abstinence from fresh meat 

 during Lent, and the history of the dis- 

 ease shows that it is occasioned by a 

 lack of fresh meat and fruits. The 

 efficacy of lemon juice was recognized 

 by Drake, Davy, Cavendish, Dampier 

 and many others years ago, and time 

 has but added to the value of the fruit, 

 while it has made it accessible to every- 

 one. While Pomona is generally cred- 

 ited with having devoted her entire at- 

 tention to the cultivation of the apple, 

 it is stated on authority of an old 

 Greek myth, that she gave consider- 

 able thought to the development of the 

 Lemon and the orange. It appears that 

 Pomona inclined not her ear to the 

 supplications of her many admirers 

 until Vertumnus, discerning her vulnera- 

 ble point, presented the fair gardener 

 with a grafting, which, under her skill- 

 ful cultivation, developed into a lemon 

 tree, and, as a reward, the favor of the 

 wood-nymph was bestowed upon the 

 youth. 



Whether or not such was the origin 

 of the Lemon, the fact remains that the 

 fruit is most useful and the tree exceed- 

 ingly attractive. Originally a native of 

 Asia, it has become widely distributed 

 in P^urope, Africa and America, and 

 although far more susceptible to injury 

 from frosts than the orange, the trees 

 are successfully cultivated under many 

 conditions. Doubtless the best results 

 in this country have been obtained in 

 California. Thousands of acres around 



San Diego are planted with lemon trees 

 while large districts in the Ojai Valley, 

 Ventura, Santa Barbara, Pomona and 

 Los Angeles counties are devoted to its 

 cultivation. The tree is remarkable for 

 beauty, and while it seldom attains 

 large proportions, its pale green leaves, 

 loosely-hanging branches, showy and 

 fragrant flowers, together with the fruit 

 that is found in all stages of develop- 

 ment, produce a pleasing and highly 

 ornamental effect. While the best 

 crop of Lemons is generally gath- 

 ered between December and April, 

 the fruit should be picked every 

 month for ten months of the year, 

 in order to retain the best results. 

 As a rule, the trees yield from 

 one hundred and twenty-five to one 

 hundred and forty boxes of the fruit to 

 the acre, about the sixth year, but this 

 number is increased to four hundred 

 boxes when the groves reach an age of 

 ten years. 



The varieties of Lemons are distin- 

 guished chiefly by their size and form, 

 and may be roughly classified as egg- 

 shaped with blunt nipples and ob- 

 long lemons with large nipples. The 

 sweet lemon and thin-rind Poncine and 

 Naples belong to the firstclass, while 

 the second includes such forms as the 

 imperial, the Gaeta and the wax. The 

 principal varieties grown in California 

 are the Lisbon, Eureka and the Villa- 

 Franca. Of these, the Eureka orig- 

 inated in California, while the Villa- 

 Franca was imported from Europe. 

 Besides the grateful quality of the juice, 

 the expressed oil of the rind is used in 

 the arts and has an intense odor of 

 lemon, and the Pundits of Benares, 

 quote a Sanskrit work, written about 

 1354, in which the oil is described as a 

 valuable medicine. The acid pulp of 

 the Lemon, after rasping off the rind, is 

 pressed for citric acid, while the ottos 

 of the Lemon, orange and bergamot, 

 the preparation of which forms the 

 chief industry of Sicily, are leading 

 ingredients in the preparation of "Lis- 

 bon Water" and "Eau de Portugal." 

 Charles S. Raddin. 



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