80 



ANNALS OF HORTICULTURE. 



tree of this variety, in flower and fruit, stood upon the lawn in 

 front of the California State Building. Lisbon occupied second 

 place, and Villa Franca was prominent. Apparently the most 

 remarkable, as well as the handsomest, lemon on exhibition 

 was the Bonnie Brae,* shown in the San Diego displays. It is 

 very long and smooth, with a short tip, thin skin, and is 

 seedless. 



California also showed limes, citrons, pomelos and grape- 

 fruits. Some idea of the extent of these exhibits can be 

 learned from the fact that 75 carloads of citrous fruits had 

 been shipped from the seven southern counties for displays in 

 the Horticultural and California Buildings previous to the first 

 week in July. Aside from the fruits, there was a California 

 orange orchard in the north court of the Horticultural Building, 

 and another in the nursery section of the Midway Plaisance, 

 both of which are further described in the account of the nur- 

 sery exhibits, in later pages. 



Florida was the only other American State which made a 

 citrous exhibit. The State made no appropriation for World's 

 Fair purposes, and the display was collected entirely by private 

 enterprise. This fact accounted for the small and compara- 

 tively poor show, which, under liberal support, might have been 

 very large. It must also be said that the Florida fruit is earlier 

 than that from the Pacific, and was nearly out of season when 

 the Fair opened. The Florida section was at the north end of 

 the north curtain. The varieties of oranges were Hart's Tar- 

 dive and Seedlings, all more or less russetted. An arch of rus- 

 sets spanned the central passage-way, flanked by a cocoanut 

 tree, and it was one of the striking effects of the early days of 

 the Fair. The Florida oranges kept better than the California 

 ones, notwithstanding their earlier season, and their quality 

 was unsurpassed. Grape-fruits were also shown from Florida. 

 In July the Florida display perished, and the space was taken 

 by Nebraska and Kansas, and was later filled with bountiful 

 exhibits of handsome apples. 



Italy showed lemons and oranges, but the display was not 

 extensive and the fruits were nearly all wrapped in colored 

 tissue papers and covered with tinsel and gaudy pictures and 

 ornaments. In most cases, the covers of the boxes only were 

 removed, and the fruits were not exposed to view, or they were 

 covered with glass. The labels were very few, and the visitor 

 was unable to form any intelligent conception of the variety or 

 merit of the exhibit. The oranges represented the familiar 

 Italian types seen in the markets, being smaller and thinner 

 skinned than the California varieties. The lemons, to all 

 appearances, possessed no superiority over the American product. 



