THE ORANGE IN CALIFORNIA — VARIETIES. 77 



to undue sweetness should be avoided and varieties producing 

 fruit with a delicate bitter should be sought. 



Within the past five years a good deal of interest has been 

 manifested in tliis State respecting the pomelo. 



For medicinal purposes it leads all the citrus fruits, and its 

 value from this point of view is as yet unknown. Invalids 

 find it just the thing to tone up their system; it is a sure pre- 

 ventive of that languid feeling so prevalent in spring; when 

 used in fevers it is fully as beneficial as quinine without the 

 deleterious effect of that drug, and is one of the finest tonics in 

 the world. Women find it exceedingly valuable. A German 

 physician pronounces it a cure for incipient consumption and 

 kindred lung troubles. It is a well-known fact that people with 

 weak lungs wintering in Florida have derived permanent 

 benefits from eating the fruit regularly. 



Varieties. 



A number of growers and shippers from different sections of 

 the southern part of the State collected samples of pomelos 

 from the numerous shipping points and on March 1 (1897) 

 met in Los Angeles and tested them. In the opinion of those 

 assembled the best shape was the fiat, round; and best color 

 and texture were a lemon color and a peel similar to the St. 

 Michael orange. The most desirable sizes wanted by the trade 

 are those that pack 42, 56, 64, and 80 to the box. 



DuARTE Seedling. — A Florida seedling, grown at Duarte; 

 met with much favor. The fruit was a flat, round, growing 

 from 42 to 80 (per box) in size, with a skin the color of 

 a lemon, and no thicker than that of a Navel orange. The 

 fruit is heavy and a delightful " bitter sweet," so much 

 enjoyed in the East. It had quite a few seeds, but very little 

 rag or waste. The peel and section linings are very bitter. 



CoLTON Terrace Seedling*. — Grown at Colton; was the 

 next best variety tested. The fruit had a thicker rind and a 

 more orange color and much more rag and waste; the flavor, 

 however, was nearly the same. 



Prof. H. B. Heiges, late U. S. Pomologist, says of this seed- 

 ling, in a letter to the Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles: 

 "The California seedling pomelo was much finer and thinner 



* Sample was given the committee thinking the same was for immediate 

 use and not for comparison. 



