CHAPTER XVIII. 

 THE CITRUS FRUITS. 



The citrus fruits include the orange, lemon, grape fruit, 

 tangerine, kumquat and lime. All of these fruits are grown 

 in the citrus belt, but the oranges, lemons and the grape 

 fruit are the most important of the citrus fruits. 



The citrus industry is confined to certain definite regions 

 of the United States. The citrus regions are located in 

 California, Florida, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, but by 

 far the larger commercial plantings are found in California 

 and in Florida. The original home of the citrus fruit was in 

 India and the Malay Archipelago, but today the great 

 bulk of the oranges which supply the markets of the world 

 are produced in California, Florida, Spain, Palestine, Aus- 

 tralia, Italy and Japan. Certain parts of Mexico produce 

 citrus fruit to a limited extent, but they seem to lack good 

 shipping qualities. 



The citrus fruit was first introduced into this country in 

 southern California. The seed was brought into this state 

 from the lower peninsula of California by the early Spanish 

 settlers. These settlers not only brought the citrus fruit 

 but they introduced many other tropical and semitropical 

 fruits such as figs, grapes, olives and dates. 



Orange. — The orange is divided into several species, some 

 of which are edible, as the sweet oranges, and others, the 

 sour oranges, which are used for the manufacture of certain 

 oils and other products. 



The sweet orange is the one which is commonly known and 

 which is used extensively for the table. The sweet orange 

 includes many varieties. The Navel and the Valencia are 

 the most important varieties, although there is a long list, 

 and some give excellent promise for the production of superior 

 fruit. 



