ORANGES AND LEMONS IN ASIA MINOR. Ui5 



Ficking and curing. — They pick two or three days after Christmas, 

 immediately after ripeness, wliich takes place here during December. 

 They are cured by wrapping in tissue paper. For packing and ship- 

 I)ing the fruit is always packed in tissue paper, and in this manner 

 packed in boxes or baskets containing about one hundred each. 



Planting and propagating. — The trees are placed at a distance of about 

 20 feet from each other if the soil be rich, and at only about 17 feet if 

 it be middling. 



The orange and lemon trees here are budded or grafted; the best 

 varieties are grafted. 



There are small and large orchards here. 



Maturity. — The trees come into full bearing the fourth year and they 

 remain fruitful about fifty years, but the best crops are gathered from 

 the fifteenth to the thirtieth year. 



Insect pests. — Insect pests do not exist. 



W. 0. Emmett, 



Consul. 



United States Consulate, 



Smyrna, January 18, 1890. 



MITYLENE. 



RSPORT BY CONSULAR AGENT FOITION. 



(Republished from Consular Reports No. 41^.) 



Every variety of orange and lemon tree is grown here, but the most 

 valuable are the Parakila orange trees, so called from the village Par- 

 akila. and the Kan orange trees, so called from their blood-red color. 

 The Parakila trees are large, and produce very large fruit, while the 

 Kan orange trees are not large, but their fruit is very sweet. The 

 trees come into full bearing the fourth year, and they remain fruitful 

 about fifty years, according to the climate and cultivation. The orange 

 and lemon trees here are budded or grafted. The trees are not troubled 

 with injurious insect pests or fungus growth, but sometimes are injured 

 by the cold, when the temperature is lower than 0° E6aumur. The 

 trees are placed at a distance of about 6 meters from each other if the 

 soil be rich, and at only 5 meters if it be middling. Orchards are found' 

 in every place, but they yield best results on the sea-coast. The orch- 

 ards are found very near to the sea-coast. No system of artificial irri- 

 gation is in use here. They prune here at the end of March, with very 

 great attention, and they give to the tree regular, elegant, and graceful 

 forms. As soon as the pruning is finished the working of the soil is 

 commenced, and they dig the soil with a spade to the depth of 25 to 30 

 millimeters in the clear spots, but only 2 or 3 inches deep in the vicin- 

 ity of the trees. Later, two or three baskets of manure are distributed 



