132 



Bonavia, Cult. Oranges and Lemons, India, tt. 225-233 ; Kew Bull. 

 1894, p. 116 ; Agric. News, Barbados, vii. 1908, p. 229 f. 5 

 (Ordinary Lime Tree), f. 6 (Spineless Lime Tree). 



Vernac. name. — Orombe wewe (Lagos, Dawodu). — Lime ; Sour 

 Lime. 



Naturalized in Nigeria and Tropical Africa. Cultivated in the 

 the West Indies (Jamaica, Montserrat, Dominica), and in many 

 other tropical countries. 



The fruit is invaluable for " Lime drinks " and flavouring, but 

 beyond this nothing appears to be done with it in Nigeria. The 

 commercial value of the lime is invested in the green fruits ; 

 ripe fruits — pickled in salt or sea water ; raw juice ; concentrated 

 juice ; oil obtained by pressure and by distillation, and citrate of 

 of lime. The fresh and pickled fruits are an efficient substitute 

 for the lemon, and the trade in them is one of growing importance, 

 chiefly between the West Indies and the American and European 

 markets, New York and London more directly. 



The green fruits require to be gathered, handled, wrapped and 

 packed as carefully as oranges, and the ripe yellow fruits intended 

 for shipment are pickled by placing them in vats of sea water, 

 which is run off and renewed at intervals of 2 or 3 days for 

 several times ; they are then packed in casks of strong brine. 



The raw juice, as used for making cordials and flavouring is care- 

 fully prepared from ripe fruits, by crushing in mills or otherwise, 

 straining and filling into casks for export. To prevent fermenta- 

 tion, Nicholls (Trop. Agric. p. 157) recommends \ an ounce of 

 salicylic acid to 50 gallons of juice. A barrel of limes (1,400 to 

 1,600 fruits) yields 7^ to 8 gallons of juice (A. B. C. of Lime Cult. 

 Imp. Dept. Agric. W. Indies, p. 25). 



Concentrated juice is shipped entirely for the production of 

 citric acid, the degree of concentration being about 10 per cent, of 

 the raw product, reduced by boiling. A density of 60° as indicated 

 by a citrometer (in the juice at boiling point) or when the specific 

 gravity is 1*243 (ascertained by a specific gravity hydrometer) is 

 considered the right degree. Further concentration is not con- 

 sidered profitable as it is liable to reduce the citric acid content. 

 Seventy-five barrels of limes (about 120,000 fruits) produce 

 50 gallons of concentrated juice (I.e. p. 34). 



Distilled lime oil or " Oil of Limes " is a by-product obtained 

 in the preparation of the concentrated article. According to 

 Gildemeister and Hoffmann (The Volatile Oils, p. 477) it is entirely 

 different from the oil obtained by expression. Its odour is 

 unpleasant, terebinthate. and does not remind one of citral ; the 

 specific gravity is 0*865 to 0*868, and the boiling point between 

 175° and 220° ; the oil obtained from the peel of the fruit by 

 expression, they describe as of a golden yellow colour, hardly 

 distinguishable from good lemon oil by its odour ; its most 

 important constituent is citral, and the specific gravity 0*873 at 

 29° C. to 0*882 at 15° C. A barrel of limes will give from 3-4^ ozs. 

 of oil by expression, and 3-5 ozs. by distillation (Lime Cult. 

 Pamph. 53, Imp. Dept. of Agric. W. Indies, p. 40). 



Lime oil is used in perfumery and soap manufacture. 



