THE NAVEL ORANGE OF BAHIA. Je 
orange in Brazil. Though not seedless, like the navel orange, its 
flavor is considered better and the flesh more delicate in texture. 
The slightly oblate form of this fruit has given rise to the name 
laranja deprimida, or “flattened orange,’ which is sometimes ap- 
plied to it. In size it is large, though somewhat smaller than the 
average navel orange of Bahia, measuring 34 to 4 inches in diameter. 
The skin is thick, yellowish green in color early in the season, later 
becoming bright golden yellow. The flesh is tender and very juicy, 
with tender rag but a rather large, open core. The seeds are rather 
large, commonly 10 to 20 in number. 
In flavor Selecta is strikingly suggestive of the California navel 
orange; there is more acidity than is normally found in the navel 
orange produced at Bahia and consequently a more sprightly flavor. 
The tree is not as prolific as the other commercia! varieties grown 
at Rio de Janeiro. The fruit commences to ripen early in March and 
continues until October, the main season being June and July. The 
relationship between Selecta and the navel orange has already been 
discussed. ? 
Pera is considered second only to Selecta. It is a smaller and 
sweeter fruit, coming at the opposite season of the year and thus not 
competing with Selecta in the market. A good specimen is 3 inches 
in diameter, slightly elongated in form, but not pyriform as the name 
laranja da pera, “pear orange,” seems to indicate. The skin is 
smooth and fine in texture, deep golden orange in coler, not more 
than an eighth of an inch in thickness. It adheres closely to the light 
yellow flesh. The rag, though not thick, is objectionably tough. The 
juice is abundant and of very sweet flavor, perhaps a trifle lacking in 
acidity. 
In the groves of Maxambomba (PI. ViI) this variety is grown 
practically to the exclusion of all others. At Nictheroy Selecta is the 
most prominent, though Natal, “the Christmas orange,’ which in 
reality appears to be Pera under another name, is cultivated to a 
certain extent. 
Most of the other citrus fruits found at Bahia are grown also at 
Rio de Janeiro, the tangerine being especially popular in the 
Nictheroy district. 
MISCELLANEOUS FRUITS GROWN AT BAHIA. 
With its rich soil, mild climate, and abundant rainfall Bahia is 
preeminently suited to fruit culture. That the Brazilians have not 
been neglectful of this fact is evidenced by the large number of 
species cultivated, some of them indigenous to the region and others 
introduced from the Orient by the Portuguese in the early days of 
58081°—Bull, 445173 , 
