36 POPULAR ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



The Sweet Orange. Citrus Aurantium. (Nat. Ord. 

 Aurantiacece.) 



This valuable and interesting fruit is comparatively a 

 recent introduction to Europe : the Bitter Orange, Lemon, 

 and Citron have been much longer known. Much doubt 

 exists as to the native country of the orange, but China and 

 the north of India appear the most probable native habitats. 

 Orange-trees have now found their way into every country of 

 which the climate is suitable to their culture. Southern Eu- 

 rope seems to be particularly adapted to the orange. As might 

 naturally be inferred from its adaptability to so great a variety 

 of soil and climate, it sports into a vast number of varieties. 

 Like the apple, it has been brought to perfection from a state 

 even worse than the crab, and passes into new varieties 

 whenever great care is bestowed in raising new plants ; it is 

 not however so manageable in the hands of the horticul- 

 turist as many other fruits, from the greater tendency which 

 seedling plants have to revert to the wild state. 



The orange is now found in China, India, North and 

 South Africa, Southern Europe, Turkey, the islands of the 

 Mediterranean, South America, and the Azores and West 

 Indies. So thoroughly has it become naturalized in Europe, 

 that in Italy, Spain, and Portugal it forms a large propor- 



