172 JOUKNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTL-EAL SOCIETY. 



THE WEST INDIAN LIME {CITRUS MEDICA VAE. ACIDA). 

 By Aechibald J. Beooks, F.E.H.S. 

 [Lecture given on December 4, 1906.] 



History. 



(1) The lime is the commonest species of citrus. It grows wild in the 

 warm valleys of the outer Himalaya up to an altitude of about 4,000 feet, 

 and occurs as a much branched thorny bush. It is a native of the East 

 Indies and was probably introduced to the West Indian Islands in the 

 sixteenth or seventeenth century. Atwood, the historian, speaks of lime 

 trees existing in Dominica in the year 1791. 



Dr. Nicholls in an account of the Lime Industry in Dominica " 

 contributed to the Demerara "Timehri,"' vol. ii.* p. 1, states: "To Dr. 

 Imray belongs the honour of the origination of the new lime cultivation ; 

 but I must mention that soon after this public benefactor had established 

 the lime groves in Dominica the Messrs. Sturge, quite independently and 

 without any knowledge of Dr. Imray's experiments, set to work to 

 establish similar cultivation in Montserrat." 



Ober, writing on this subject in 1879 (" Camps in the Caribbees," 

 chapter xi.), says : " Twenty years ago Dr. Imray conceived the plan of 

 converting a poorly paying sugar plantation into an orchard of limes, and 

 he thus made of a narrow valley, riven from gigantic rocks and strewn 

 with volcanic boulders, a garden of profit and delight." 



The lime is now cultivated extensively throughout these islands, 

 chiefly for its juice and essential oil, which are shipped in large quantities 

 from Dominica, Montserrat, Jamaica, and Trinidad. The juice is exported 

 in its natural or " raw " state, or as " concentrated " juice, the latter being 

 one of the chief sources of citric acid. 



Six valuable articles of export are obtained from the lime, these being 

 distilled oil, raw lime juice, concentrated juice, otto of limes, green 

 limes, pickled limes. As it is my intention to deal with the manu- 

 facturing of each of these articles separately I will pass on to its 

 cultivation. During the initial years of this cultivation Montserrat 

 exported the largest quantity of juice, and in consequence is still 

 regarded by the general public as the " home "of the lime ; statistics, 

 however, prove Dominica to be the principal island in the world with 

 regard to this export. The exports of lime juice and essential oil 

 from Dominica are of the annual value of ^45,370 ; from Jamaica, 

 ^6,000 ; from Montserrat, £''5,810. Dominica may thus lay claim to be 

 the real "home " of the West Indian lime. 



Cultivation. 



The cultivation of the lime is very simple when compared with the 

 ultivation of most fruits. It requires a light sandy loam soil with good 

 * Diet. Economic Products of India. 



