ORANGKS IN INDJA. 44! t 



ADEN. 



I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of circular dated 28th Sep- 

 lemher, relative to the cultivation of oranges, lemons, figs, and olives 

 in my district, and in reply 1 regret to state that owing to the barrenness 

 of Arabian soil, the cultivation of the above-mentioned fruits to any 

 extent would be impossible. 



DWIGHT MOOBE, 



Consulate op United States, 



November 29, 1889. 



Consul. 



INDIA. 



IfKJ'OBT, PREPAIiED FORYICE CONSUL BODE, OF BOMBAY, BT MB. O. MARSHALL 

 WOCDROW. LECTURER IN BOTANY AND AriRICULTURE IN THE COLLEGE OF 

 SC/BiVOiv, POOSU. 



ORANGES. 



Varieties. — The best orange grown in India is the Ointra, a name com- 

 monly assumed to be derived from the Portuguese town, but lately de- 

 clared to be a corruption of a Sanscrit word which should be pronounced 

 Suntura. The tree is of upright habit, rarely exceeding 12 feet in height 

 and 8 feet in expansion of branches. The leaves measure H by f to 2J 

 by 1^ inch.es. The winged joint in the stalk is very slightly developed. 

 The flowers are three-fourths inch in diameter, have five petals, twenty 

 to twenty-four stamens and nine to ten carpels. The fruit is found in 

 two varieties — one having the skin very loose and the other having a 

 smooth, tight-fitting skin, as grown at Nagpur. This fruit has been 

 declared by people who have traveled much, to be the finest orange in 

 the world. The flavor of the two varieties is equal when grown under 

 similar conditions, but the loose-skinned variety has an imposing appear- 

 ance and is rather more easily peeled, consequently it is the market 

 favorite. The inner skin (endoearp), of both varieties is very delicate 

 and the liths (carpels) cohere so slightly that it is easy to break up for 

 eating, ordinary market specimens weigh 7 ounces, but examples 

 weighing 10 ounces are common. Well-grown specimens have only two 

 or three seeds, which have several embryos. 



The Mozambique orange. — The tree that bears this orange is of a strong 

 growing habit and forms an irregularly globular head. Its leaves 

 measure from 2| by IJ to 5^ by 3^- fnches, entire, or very slightly and 

 irregularly toothed and the apex pointed or cut out. The leaf stalk is 

 three-fourths inch, the wings on one of the joints attaining one-fourth 

 inch in width — often less, and sometimes wanting. The flowers are li 

 inches in diameter ; have five slightly oblique petals which are glandu- 

 lar on the outside, and twenty to twenty-four stamens. Average speci- 



