26 



ajv alphabetical list of 



Citharexylum subserratum.— A large handsome shrub from tropical 

 America, bearing drooping racemes of milk-Tvhite fragrant flowers. 



Citriosma. — South American shrubby trees, the leaves of which secrete 

 an oily substance of a strong Citron odour. 



Citrus. — An extensive genus of ornamental and useful evergreen trees, 

 which embrace the Orange, Lemon, Lime, Citron, Shaddock, etc. 

 The Orange {C. aurantium) is supposed to be indigenous to Asia, 

 and its fruit to be the golden apples which the daughter of Hesperus 

 caused to be so strictly guarded by a dragon. The flowers of the 

 whole family are deliciously fragrant, and the fruit of all are well 

 kno^Ti ; they are largely grown in the warmer parts of the tem- 

 perate, and also in tropical climates, where their beauty is a great 

 attraction. Extensive orchards of Oranges have formed the prin- 

 cipal source of revenue in many Spanish provinces for generations, 

 and some of these groves still carry trees stated to be six or seven 

 hundred years old, that bear an abundance of flowers which fill the 

 air with their perfume for miles round, and this delightful fertility 

 and fragrance extends more often along the coast line of the Medi- 

 terranean until we come to the shores of the Adriatic. Some 

 plants have a more powerful odour, but there is a freshness in the 

 aroma of an Orange grove that is superb, and as the tree is at the 

 same time in all stages of its bearing — in flower and in fruit, it 

 is hardly possible to imagine any object more beautiful. 



The perfumes of Arabia do not exceed the fragrance of these groves 

 along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, in which countless 

 other flowers blend their sweets with that of the Orange ; and it is 

 pleasing to know that this most delightful group of scented flower- 

 ing trees are now very widely grown as a commercial commodity, 

 whilst in all our leading establishments they are cultivated under 

 glass, planted out as shrubs or to cover walls in conservatories, or 

 otherwise add charm to the surroundings of a daintily-furnished 

 garden. C, Limonum, the Lemon of commerce, is a sweetly-scented 

 variety. C. Limetta is the Lime fruit of the AVest Indies. It is a 

 thorny evergreen tree, the leaves being very fragrant, whilst the 

 flowers are powerfully perfumed. 



Like all familiar customs whose origin is lost in antiquity, the 

 wearing of Orange blossoms at a wedding is accounted for in vari- 

 ous ways. Among other stories is the following pretty legend from 

 Spain : — 



An African prince presented a Spanish king with a magnificent 

 orange tree, whose creamy, waxy blossoms and wonderful fragrance 

 excited the admiration of the whole court. Many begged in vain 

 for a branch of the plant, but a foreign ambassador was tormented 



