OKANGES AND LKMONS IN MESSINA. 501 



The soil has a great influence upon the maturing and keeping quali- 

 ties of the citri. The fruit ripens earlier on light, sandy soil than on 

 clay soil. Fruit grown on light, sandy soil can not be left long on the 

 trees without its deteriorating in quality — becoming dry and spongy — 

 whereas on stiff clay it can remain with impunity until the end of April. 

 The latest fruit to ripen is that produced on the upper limit of the mid- 

 dle zone — the trees growing in stiff clay soil — which can remain on the 

 trees until the end of June without its drying up or its skin becoming 

 hard and spongy ; it must, however, be gathered in July, for should it 

 be left longer on the trees it would injure the new crop. 



Fruit grown on a light, sandy soil is small and of a pale yellow, and 

 is of comparatively short keeping. That grown on a clay soil is large ; 

 it keeps well and is of a reddish brown. Trees on clay soil resist a 

 drought much better than those on sandy soil. The groves to the south- 

 west of the Palermo district produce much more highly-prized fruit than 

 those on the northwest, the sole difference between them being their 

 clay and sandy soils. As 'in the neighborhood of Palermo, so in other 

 districts of the province, even where the climatic differences are great. 

 Fruit in Sicily is known as " mountain fruit" and " sea coast" fruit. 

 Merchants further classify the fruit according to the soil on which it 

 grows. Fruit grown on a clay soil brings 30 per cent, more than fruit 

 produced on a sandy soil. Mountain fruit is firmer and keeps better ; 

 its superiority is attributed to the nature of the soil and not to the 

 influence of the climate. Fruit produced in the plain of Portello, the 

 soil of which is clay, brings the same as that grown on the heights of 

 Monreale. 



The fine large oranges that bring a high price in Palermo in summer 

 are allowed to remain on the trees until the end of May, when they are 

 stored in subterranean grottoes. They are produced on clay soil 

 abounding in alkalies and well-decomposed organic matter. In the 

 sides of the mountains, near Palermo, are many grottoes that are cool 

 and well ventilated, in which oranges keep nicely during the summer ; 

 they are spread two layers deep upon large mats, placed at convenient 

 distances one above the other. Every day or two the fruit is turned 

 over and all the defective oranges are removed. This fruit finds a 

 home market. 



The principal orange and lemon groves are on the northern and east- 

 ern coasts. The mountains along these shores rise in bold headlands 

 from the sea, having but a narrow strip of land— the marine zone, of a 

 sandy character— at their base. The soil of the hill-sides— the middle 

 zone— is generally clay. For lack of water for irrigation, oranges and 

 lemons are not grown to any extent on the southern and western shores. 



LEMONS. 



The well-known variety of lemon called the "lunare "-lunar, or ever- 

 bearing, produces blossoms and fruit every mouth in the year. When, 



