82 



THE LEMON, LIME AND CITKON. 



northward, while the interior valleys are 

 more generally free from the pests. San 

 Diego is effected but slightly. The inte- 

 rior valleys of Los Angeles county have 

 less than the coast valleys, while San Ber- 

 nardino county is entirely free from the 

 black dust, and only occasionally has the 

 scale. 



"All new countries experiment with 

 fruits b^'^ planting the seed, raising the 

 tree and fruiting it. If successful, the cul- 

 ture is then commenced more systemati- 

 cally. This course was pursued with the 

 orange and. lemon. Seeds from the Sicily 

 lemon were planted, and the fruit thereof 

 was called the Sicily lemon. In this re- 

 spect there is a wide difference between 

 the orange and lemon, as the Seedling or- 

 ange is a valuable fruit, while, as a rule, 

 the Seedling lemon is worthless." 



Conceding the fact that the area of pos- 

 sible production is much smaller for lem- 

 ons than for oranges, and that the indus- 

 try is less likelj' to be overdone than any 

 other branch of citrus culture, it seems to 

 me that lemon growing offers great in- 

 ducements to the horticulturist who is 

 rightly situated to engage in it. The char- 



acter of the lemon as a fruit is also quite 

 different from that of the orange, the form- 

 er being more of a staple. Lemon juice 

 enters largely into manufactured pro- 

 ducts — in citric acid and in cooking. The 

 habit of the tree also in forming and ma- 

 turing its fruit successively for several 

 months of the year favors a long market. 

 Under proper conditions the lemon tree 

 is hardy, thrifty and a prolific bearer. It 

 requires less water than the orange. These 

 are all advantages worth considering. 



The imported lemon sells in the leading 

 markets at from |8 to |10 per box, or from 

 $24 to |30 per thousand; the California 

 lemon commands from $2.50 to |3 per box, 

 or from |10 to $15 per thousand. 



Why should not the California lemon, 

 if raised to an equal standard witTi the im- 

 ported fruit command an equal price? 



In 1881 the importation of lemons to the 

 United States amounted to 860,241 boxes, 

 or a total of 301,084,352 lemons. For the 

 ten years preceding 1881 there had been 

 an average increase of 54,271 boxes annu- 

 ally. As long as this vast and increasing 

 consumption continues, there must be a 

 field for lemon growing. 



CHAPTER n. 



AN INVESTIGATION OF LEMONS AND LEMON CULTURE. 



At the Citrus Fair, held in Riverside in 

 1883, a committee was appointed to make 

 thorough scientific tests, for purposes of 

 comparison of lomons grown in Califor- 

 nia and of some samples of the imported 

 fruit. The committee was also instructed 

 to consider the status of lemon growing 

 in California, and to report upon the best 

 means for the promotion of the industry. 

 The committee made a valuable report, a 

 portion of which is subjoined: 



EXTRACT FROM THE REPORT OF THE COM- 

 MITTEE. 



To assist the growlers of citrus fruits in 

 Southern California in supplying the in- 

 creased demand for the lemon, and to 

 place the crops grown by them properly 

 before the consumers of the Pacific Coast, 

 was the object of this examination. 



"That there is a very profitable field yet 

 unoccupied by the growers of citrus fruits, 



is very clearly shown by the following 

 statistics, gathered from the valuable re- 

 port of J. H. Bostwick, upon the importa- 

 tion of green fruits into the United States 

 for 1881 and preceding years. 



" From this we find that in the years 1872 

 and 1881 the inportations were as follows: 

 No. Boxes. No. Lemons. 



1872 317,532 111,136,200 



1881 860,241 301,084,352 



"An increase in ten years of 542,709 

 boxes and 189,948,152 lemons; an annual 

 average increase of 54,271 boxes. 



" It is a notabe fact that while the impor- 

 tation of the lemon has increased so rap- 

 idly, that of the orange, during the same 

 time, has increased only half as much from 

 all sources, and it is reasonable to suppose 

 that this increase in the importation of the 

 orange will be entirely checked within ten 

 years by the great productiveness of the 



