286 THE CITRUS FRUITS 



The sour orange is used principally as stock on which to 

 graft the sweet varieties. The fruit of the sour orange is 

 not edible, but it is used to some extent for flavoring. The 

 sour orange is valuable as a stock because of its resistance 

 to the foot rot and the gum diseases. 



Grape Fruit. — Technically the term grape fruit is incor- 

 rect, but it has gained so much prestige on the market that 

 it will in all probability remain. The correct name of this 

 fruit is pomelo. The grape fruit is usually a prolific bearer. 

 The fruit is gaining rapidly in popularity and more of it is 

 consumed every year. 



Kumquat. — The kumquat is a small yellow citrus frui: 

 resembling a small orange. It is sometimes called golden 

 orange. The fruit is often used for decorating and the pulp 

 of the fruit for preserving. 



Lime. — The lime is a small yellow citrus fruit resembling 

 a small lemon. It is classed as a shrub, but when it is given 

 room to grow it forms a small tree. The lime is the most 

 tender of the citrus fruits and it is killed back by a slight frost, 

 but usually sprouts up vigorously the next year. The skin 

 of the lime is thin and of a lemon-yellow color. The pulp 

 is a pale green and is filled with a very sharp acid juice. 

 The juice and the pulp of the lime is better for most purposes 

 than that of the lemon, and it is used in preference to the 

 lemon by people in tropical countries. The lime is now 

 found on most of our important northern markets, due to the 

 better transportation facilities. 



Lemon. — The lemon is one of the best-known citrus fruits. 

 While the lemon is not as extensively cultivated as the 

 orange it is probably equally as valuable. The lemon is 

 gaining in popularity in the citrus regions and it is now 

 being planted more than formerly. The lemon is supposed 

 to ha\e originated from the citron, and it was first intro- 

 duced into Palestine and Egypt in the tenth century and 

 into Europe at the time of the crusades. The lemon trees 

 are faster growing tlian the orange trees, and they are 

 usually more productive and will stand more neglect. The 

 lemon includes both the sweet and the sour t^'pes. 



