PEODUCTS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY. 



439 



been known to attain an age of 600 years and more. Any specific 

 differences to distinguish C. aurantium, from G. medica, if they ever 

 existed, are obliterated now through hybridization, at least in the 

 cultivated forms. 



Four varieties of citrons are described which are cultivated in 

 Sicily, and fourteen varieties of the orange, and there are several 

 kinds of lemons and limes both with sweet and sour juice. 



The limit of the culture of the orange is almost about the same as 

 the olive, except that, according to Schouw, it extends a little farther 

 to the north. It crosses the northern part of Spain, the extreme 

 south of Provence, traverses Italy a little above Florence, descends 

 nearly to Greece, and, passing by the Isle of Cyprus, enters Asia. 

 In France the limit traversed is the country where the mean tempera- 

 ture is 14° the spring temperature 12°* 5, the summer temperature 

 about 21°, and the autumn temperature 14°. 



The orange, lemon, lime, citron, shaddock, and forbidden fruit, all 

 belong to one genus, the Citrus of Linnaeus. According to Lindley, 

 there are fifteen distinct species, with a few varieties; Steudel* 

 enumerates, however, twenty-five, besides numberless varieties. They 

 are thought to be natives of the East, where they are found growing 

 wild, and are not considered to be indigenous to America, although 

 one native species is attributed to French Guiana. Six or seven of 

 the choicest species are natives of China and Japan, and the rest of 

 India, and other parts of Asia. 



Eisso, of Nice, in his large work, enumerates 48 species and 

 varieties of the sweet orange, 32 of the bitter and sour, 5 of berga^ 

 mots, 8 of limes, 6 of shaddocks, 46 of lemons, and 17 of citrons. 



In Central India a peculiar variety of Citrus Aurantium is under 

 culture, producing two crops a year. The blossoms of February and 

 March yield their ripe fruit in November and December, whereas 

 from the flowers of July mature fruits are obtained in March and 

 April. To prevent exhaustion, only alternate fruiting is allowed... 



As a prominent variety of Citrus Aurantium may be distin- 

 guished the bitter orange (C. Bigaradia, Loisl.). This furnishes 

 from its flowers the Neroli oil, so delicious and costly as a scent. 

 The French are endeavouring to promote the manufacture of the 

 essential oils of lemon and orange in their inter-tropical colonies. 

 A machine or apparatus has been sent to Guiana, one to Tahiti, and 

 another to Martinique. The French settlements in the Pacific send 

 millions of oranges to California, although 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 

 are produced there. The annual requirements of the San Francisco 

 market are over 12,000,000, of which 5,000,000 are imported from 

 Tahiti and Mexico. A part of the crop is made into an excellent 

 spirit, and the rest are wasted. In Martinique many houses make 

 large quantities of orange wine, which finds a ready sale in Turkey 

 and Russia. The oranges employed for these diverse uses might be 

 first made to yield their essential oil from the rind. Oil of oranges 

 sells at about 7s. per lb., and oil of citron or bergamot at 10s. to 25s. 

 per lb. These high prices are likely to stimulate an industry which has 

 hitherto been monopolized by Sicily. It is stated that orange flowers 

 * * Nomeuclatur Botauicum.' 



