86 
ON THE MANAGEMENT 
of that element, and efpeclajly at the time they are loaded, 
with fruit. 
If 
A frequent I'upply of water is not only profitable to the Vine, but alfo equally be- 
neficial to other kinds of fruit-trees growing in warm climates, as is evinced by the 
tollowing extract from Sir William Hamilton’s eleirant account of the late earth- 
quakes in Italy, communicated to the Royal Society in the year 1783. 
“ From this place* to Reggio the road on each fide is covered with villas and 
orange groves. 1 faw not one houfe levelled to the ground •, but perceived that all 
had been damaged and were abandoned ; and that the inhabitants were univerfally 
retired to barracks in thefe beautiful groves of orange, mulberry, and fig-trees, of 
which there are many in the environs of Reggio. One that I vifited, and which is 
reckoned the richeft in all this part of Magna Grecia^ is about a mile and a half from 
the town of Reggio j and, what is remarkable, belongs to a Gentleman whofe 
name is Agamemnon. The beauty of the Argrume (the general name of all kind 
of orange, lemon, cedrate, and bergamot trees) is not to be deferibed ; the foil 
being fandy, the expofition warm, and command of water ^ a clear rivulet being intro- 
duced at pleafure in little channels to the foot of each tree, is the reafon of the 
wonderful luxuriancy of thefe trees.” To which I fliall only add, that every body 
knows the vaft ufe of canals in the cultivation of fruit-trees, in the land of Egypt, 
at this day. “ Don Agamemnon afiured me it was a bad year when he did not ga- 
ther from his garden (which is of no great extent) 170,000 lemons, 200,000 
oranges, (which I found as excellent as thofe of Malta) and bergamots enough to 
produce 200 quarts of the eflence from their rinds. There is another fingularity 
in thefe gardens, as I was alTured, every fig-tree affords two crops of fruit annu- 
ally \ the firft in June, the fecond in Auguft. 
“ Silk and effence of bergamot, oranges, and lemons, are the great articles of 
trade at Reggio. I am affured that no lefs than 100,000 quarts of this effence is 
annually 
* Torre del Pezzolo, 
