SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE, APRIL 24. XXiti 



exhibited, in which the leaves were affected by the rot commonly 

 met with in Lilies, and due to a fungus — Botrytis. 



Absorption of Odoriferous Vapours by Oranges. — Dr. Bonavia 

 exhibited specimens, and submitted the following communica- 

 tion : — 



" Not long since I submitted to the notice of the Committee a 

 curious fact connected with the tainting of the Orange pulp and 

 juice with the aroma of a box containing musty damp hay. On 

 that occasion there were in the box four different kinds from 

 Australia, and all were tainted with this musty aroma, and 

 remained so tainted for weeks, after having been unpacked and 

 aired. On several occasions I have bought from the shops 

 Blood Oranges which left on the palate an after-flavour of 

 Onions. In one instance, a lot of Blood Oranges were so 

 strongly tainted with this Onion flavour that they were scarcely 

 edible. I did not observe any such taint in other kinds of 

 Oranges. 



" I could not account for this strange flavour in the Blood 

 Orange of the shops, which, according to my experience, both 

 in the Mediterranean and in India, is one of the finest-flavoured 

 Oranges in existence. 



"However, with the experience of the Australian box of 

 Oranges, I thought that possibly Oranges from Spain may be 

 sometimes shipped in the same vessel with Spanish Onions, and 

 stored in the same hold during the voyage. Thus, the Blood 

 Oranges might get tainted with the Onion aroma, which would 

 pervade the surrounding atmosphere. 



" In order to verify this suspicion, I wrote to the great fruit 

 brokers in the City, Messrs. M. Isaacs & Sons, and put a number 

 of questions to them. They very kindly and promptly answered 

 all my questions, which are rather astonishing. They said : — 



" ' 1. A fair quantity of Blood Oranges are grown in the district 

 of Valencia, which has also become in the last few years one of 

 the most important districts for producing Onions, and in many 

 cases both Oranges and Onions are grown very closely to- 

 gether. 



" ' 2. Blood Oranges are often stored in the same warehouses 

 as Onions before they are shipped, and also before and during 

 packing. 



" ' 3. We should say that there are few steamers which bring 



