436 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



around each tree, and at the end of May the ground is irrigated once 

 in every week or two weelis, according to tlie season, the position, and 

 quality of the ground in summer. Irrigation is suspended during the 

 autumn and winter. At the end of November manure of human excre- 

 ment is largely employed every two years. These manures are buried 

 iu the soil at a depth of from 25 to 30 centimeters round the trees, and , 

 remain buried and exposed to the rain until the end of March, when 

 cultivation begins. The yield prooeetls per acre per annum iu the best 

 orange orchards is about $80, and the cultivation costs per acre i)er an- 

 num $15. The principal portion of the orange and lemon product is 

 for home consumption ; the export is insignificant. 



M. M. FOTTION, 



Consular Agent, 

 United States Consular Agency, 



Mitylene, March 12, 188i. 



PALESTINE. 



REPORT BT CONSUL GILLMAN, OF JEBVSALEM. 



Oranges and lemons in Palestine are grown chiefly along the sea- 

 coast; and the more extensive groves are at Jaffa, which place is now 

 celebrated for the excellence of its fruit. Some groves on a smaller 

 scale are also found at Gaza. The orange is cultivated in other places 

 in the district, and even. in and around the city of Jerusalem, but not 

 in sufficient amount to be worthy of special notice ; the fruit grown in- 

 land being generally inferior. 



Varieties. — The two principal varieties of the orange grown at Jaffa 

 are called the Shamudi and the Beladi. The Shamudi is of an oval 

 shape, in this respect somewhat resembling a lemon, and, owing to its 

 large size, fine flavor, and thick skin, is the sort best suited for expor- 

 tation. The finest of these are considered the largest oranges in the 

 world. The Beladi has a round form, and is smaller in circumference, 

 and, although more juicy than the Shamudi, is not so much in demand 

 for exportiitiou, as its thinner skin does not enable it to stand so well a 

 long voyage. The Sidon orange is a small round fruit, much smaller 

 than the Beladi, than which it is also sweeter and more jnicy; while 

 the skin, being still thinner, renders it unsuitable for transportation to 

 any great distance. In flavor it is considered one of the most delicious 

 of its species. Its cultivation is chiefly confined to the place for which 

 it is named. The Tangerine orange, also known as the Mandarin, and 

 resembling the variety of the same name grown in Florida, is also culti- 

 vated at Jaffa to a very limited extent; yet it usually brings a higher 

 price than any of the other named varieties. There is still another sort 

 of orange, viz, the ungralted. This is produced on trees raised directly 

 from the seed, but being of sniii.U size and nii'diiu-yc as to quality it can 



