438 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



PRODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



Next to the vine in commercial importance for its fruit comes the 

 Orange family. For the production of oranges all the countries 

 coming within the tropical and subtropical zones are well adapted. 

 They abound in the East and West Indies and Pacific islands. 



Formerly proximity to this country was an essential in the produc- 

 tion of the orange and lemon, for commercial purposes, and hence 

 we derived our supplies almost exclusively from Spain and Portugal ; 

 but the facilities afforded by steamers now enable us to obtain oranges 

 and lemons in a good condition from more distant quarters. They 

 now reach us from Malta and Sicily, West Africa, Brazil, the West 

 India islands, and the Azores. 



The following figures give the imports of oranges and lemons into 

 the United Kingdom in the last twelve years : 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 





bushels. 





1865 



1,566,745 





1866 



1,711,857 





1867 



1,453,566 



74*4,732 



1868 



1,806,372 

 1,939,363 



876,197 



1869 



927,804 



1870 



1,933,421 



648,056 



1871 



2,376,831 



1,008,954 



1872 



2,385,160 



1,154,270 



1873 



2,308,208 



1,120,309 



1874 



2,403,338 



1,158,480 



1875 



2,861,719 



1,336,247 



1876 



2,995,323 



1,258,565 



The official return for 1870 is the latest which gives specific 

 details showing the countries from which we received our supplies. 

 It includes lemons as well as oranges : 





Quantity. 



Value. 





bushels. 



£ 





273,296 



92,318 





826,760 



281,502 





.514,676 



180,687 





287,909 



83,823 



Other countries . . 



30,780 



9,731 



Total .. 



1,933,421 



648,056 



The Spanish and Azores oranges are considered the best. Prices 

 fluctuate a good deal. In 1870 they were, wholesale : for Portuguese, 

 6s. 9d. a bushel, Spanish 7s., Italian 5s. 10c?. 



The Orange, in the widest sense of the term (Citrus Aurantium, Lin.), 

 is a native of Southern Asia. It is a tree of great longevity, having 



