26 AGRICULTURAL AND BOTANICAL EXPLORATIONS IN PALESTINE. 



October, 1832, praises the beauty and quality of the Jaffa orange, 

 but speaks of having seen the flowers and the golden fruits at the 

 time of his visit. Now, at this season of the year it was too late for 

 the trees to have been in bloom and not late enough for the fruits 

 to be ripe. This and other errors of observation cause me to doubt 

 the value of the poet's description from the point of view of the 

 naturalist and agriculturist, although its value as literature is un- 

 questioned. 



At any rate, in the second half of the nineteenth century the 

 Jaffa orange was known in the markets for its superior quality. It 

 was exported by sailing vessels all along the Syrian and Egyptian 

 coasts. Its thick skin made it a good shipper, and it Avas carried 

 as far as Constantinople and into Greece. It was not until 1875 or 

 thereabouts that it was exported to England, while to-day Liverpool 

 alone takes about 500,000 to 600,000 cases of the 700,000 or 800,000 

 that are annually exported. 



I have not been able to learn the origin of this variety, which is 

 cultivated only at Jaffa. In form it is very similar to the Malta 

 orange, and it is possible that v it is remotely descended from that 

 variety; but it is not a blood orange, despite its marked affinity to 

 that group. 



The Jaffa orange is one of the largest, larger even than the 

 Washington Navel. Its form is obovate, its skin very thick, and its 

 fruit seedless. The tree is not spiny, and the fruit, therefore, is never 

 scarred. Its shipping qualities are excellent. It is packed with very 

 little care as compared with the methods used in California. The 

 cases are thrown violently into the steamers, and they are often 

 carried for three weeks without refrigeration and subjected to the 

 greatest extremes of temperature; and yet the oranges reach the 

 English markets in good condition and command good prices. It is 

 at least a month from the time they are picked until they are 

 purchased by the wholesale dealer, and during all of that time they 

 are without cold storage. 



Not only is this orange peculiar to Jaffa, but peculiar methods of 

 cultivation and peculiar stocks are there in use. a The Schamouti, 

 as the Jaffa orange is called, is generally grafted on a special sweet 

 lime, which I have not found either in Africa (Algeria and Tunis) 

 or in the United States. It is sometimes, though more rarely, grafted 

 on the bitter orange (Citrus aurantium). This is not so well liked, 

 because it requires more irrigation and is later in fruiting. 



I must add that the Jaffa oranges which I saw in Tunis and Algeria 

 and those grown in America and illustrated in American publications 



a See Aaronsohn and Soskin, Die Orangengiirten von Jaffa, Der Tropenpflanzer, 

 Berlin, 1902. 

 180 



