248 STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTUKE. 



thus classified: First, mixed lemons, as they come from the 

 groves during December and January, of good quality but not 

 alwaj^s marketable, often from top branches; second, lemons 

 from March blooms; third, lemons refused at the packing- 

 house; fourth, dropped fruit; fifth, shriveled or deformed fruit. 

 Prices do not depend exclusively upon the classification of 

 the fruit; the locality where it was grown is taken into consid- 

 eration. Lemons grown on clay soil yield more essence and 

 juice than those grown on sandy or rocky soil. The essence of 

 sour orange, mixed with the essence of lemon, produces an 

 aroma similar to that of the essence of bergamot; the latter is 

 much used by confectioners in flavoring ice-creams, etc. 



"Raw and Concentrated Lemon Juice. — Lemons are peeled, 

 cut in two, and pressed. If the juice is to be exported raw, 

 onlj' perfectly sound lemons can be used; but if the juice is to 

 be boiled down, one fifth of the lemons may be of an inferior 

 qualitj^ 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 vary considerably 

 from month to month. The amount of 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. 



"An addition of five per cent of alcohol will prevent raw 

 lemon juice from spoiling. Lemon juice is adulterated with 

 salt or tartaric acid. Raw and concentrated lemon juice is 

 exported in casks of 130 gallons capacity. It requires 1,500 

 lemons to yield 26 gallons 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. 



"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 citrometer, known as Rouchetti's 

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

 ever, resort is had to chemical analysis, which is more satis- 

 factory to both seller and buyer. Lemon juice is used in the 

 printing of calicoes." 



