THE JAPANESE ORANGES. 



It begins to look as if Japan, having sent to Amer- 

 ica the great flame-colored kaki, or oriental per- 

 simmon, a beautiful group of plums, the loquat, 

 and many other fruits of value, was about to add, 

 in a number of citrus fruits, the most important ac- 

 quisition of recent years. Why this is so, I shall 

 endeavor to show in the course of this brief article. 



The Japanese Agricultural Society describes and 

 figures some thirty varieties of oranges and other 

 citrus fruits, besides the wild stock { Citrus trifoliata), , 

 which is used to dwarf the standard varieties. 

 Many of these varieties are of little commercial 

 value, but others promise to be more hardy, and 

 hence adapted to a larger portion of the United 

 States than are any other class of citrus fruits. 

 Further, the possibilities of dwarfed orange trees 

 for culture in plant houses and conservatories may 

 greatly develop. Lastly, the unique "cumquot" 

 orange (Citrus Japonica), offers a new field for sci- 

 entific horticulture, as it may prove the progenitor 

 of a new class of fruits, and even in its present type 

 form possesses much value. 



I have lately sent to Mr. Shosuki Sato, of the 

 Sapporo Agricultural College, Japan, for additional 

 information upon the best oranges grown there, 

 methods of culture and illustrations, which will, I 

 hope, throw more light upon the subject. At pres- 

 ent, aside from my own experience in the importa- 

 tion and culture of some Japanese orange trees a 

 few years ago, I have chiefly depended upon the 

 observations of Mrs. H. H. Berger, made during 



two visits to Ja- 

 pan, and a pam- 

 phlet of Mr. B. 

 M. Lelong, Sec- 

 retary of the 

 State Board of 

 H o r t ic u 1 1 u r e , 

 upon citrus cul- 

 ture in Califor- 

 nia. Mr. H. E. 

 Amoore has also 

 been in Japan, 

 and his reports 

 agree in the main 

 with my other 

 sources of infor- 

 mation. I have, 



of course, followed my ownlestimate of the value 

 of such varieties as I have seen in fruit. 



Broadly speaking, the Japanese citrus fruits con- 

 sist of small, highly-flavored, sweet oranges of the 

 Mandarin or "kid-glove" class : large, light-colored 

 oranges and many sorts of sour oranges, much liked 



Fig. 



OONSHIU. 



Fig. 2. K.AWACHi. 



by the Japanese; a class of oranges of curious and 

 remarkable shapes or colors, the result of the same 

 gardening taste that dwarfs pines and oaks ; and 

 lastly the famous round or oval '•cumquots," or 

 "kincquats," which are oranges not larger than a 

 cherry or English gooseberry, growing on small 

 bushes. The wild Citnis trifoliata, to which I have 

 alluded, is deciduous. Otherwise it appears like an 

 ordinary orange, except that its large leaves are tri- 

 foliate, and its thorny defenses are far superior to 

 any other tree of the citrus family. The fruit is 

 about an inch through, light yellow in color and 

 nearly filled with seeds. It is an exceedingly orna- 

 mental shrub, and is much hardier than the common 

 orange. 



Of the Mandarin class, one of the leading sorts 

 is the Satsuma or Oonshiu. The fruit is about 

 three inches in diameter, flattened, rind very soft 

 and easily taken off, fine texture, smooth, flesh very 

 sweet, and nearly or quite seedless. Ripens about 

 the middle of November and keeps well. The tree 

 naturally grows in a bushy form, the favorite plan 

 in Japan being to grow them hke a low-headed 

 quince, so that all the fruit can be gathered from 

 the ground. This variety was first imported years 

 ago, on dwarf stocks, by my father, James Shinn. 

 After eight or ten years" experience with dwarf trees 

 in sixteen-inch tubs, where they blossomed and bore 

 good crops, we planted most of them in the open 

 ground, and also grafted some in the tops of large 



