Shaddock  and  Forbidden  Fruit. 
/  A.m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      March,  1896. 
A  syrup  was  made  by  using  the  juice  and  peel  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  in  the  preparation  of  syrup  of  lemon.  It  was  of  an  agreeable 
aromatic  flavor,  agreeably  acid,  with  a  not  unpleasant  bitter  after- 
taste. 
In  summing  up  the  various  differences  between  these  closely 
allied  fruits,  the  author  wishes  to  state  the  fact,  mentioned  pre- 
viously, that  common  names  are  uncertain  designations  to  go  by. 
The  literature  herein  submitted  is  contradictory  in  many  respects. 
In  the  ancient  descriptions  of  forbidden  fruit  no  mention  was  found 
of  a  pear-shaped  fruit,  while  that  is  a  distinguishing  character  of 
that  fruit  as  described  at  the  present  time.  The  term  grape  fruit 
was  formerly  used  to  denote  a  fruit  of  entirely  different  appearance, 
while  now,  it  seems,  from  the  testimony  of  persons  whose  observa- 
tions were  made  on  the  spot,  that  it  is  a  fruit  closely  resembling  the 
shaddock  in  appearance,  but  still  specifically  different.  The  cata- 
logues of  several  Southern  nurserymen  were  consulted,  with  still 
more  confusing  effect.  One  described  the  grape  fruit,  or  pomel,  as 
Citrus  pomelano,  and  offered  two  varieties.  This  same  catalogue 
placed  the  forbidden  fruit  under  the  varieties  of  Citrus  decumana, 
or  shaddock.  Another  catalogue  describes  four  or  five  varieties 
under  the  name  Citrus  pomelana  (decumana).  The  extent  to  which 
hybridization  is  carried  at  the  present  time  by  fruit  growers,  who 
try  to  satisfy  the  popular  craving  for  new  varieties  of  old  fruits 
(illustrated  by  the  hundreds  of  varieties  of  apples  now  cultivated), 
makes  gradations  between  species  and  varieties  heretofore  distinct, 
and  renders  classification  almost  impossible.  The  abundance  of 
testimony  is  in  favor  of  the  grape  fruit  and  shaddock  being  different 
varieties  of  the  same  species  in  the  Northern  markets ;  any  differ- 
ence which  may  exist  is  not  noticed  by  the  majority  of  persons  who 
eat  the  fruit,  and  is  apparently  much  slighter  than  is  the  case  with 
the  number  of  varieties  of  the  orange  with  which  we  are  familiar. 
The  author  wishes  to  express  his  thanks  to  the  following  persons, 
who  have  been  of  service  to  him  in  his  work  upon  this  subject : 
Professor  Trimble,  for  his  many  suggestions  and  valuable  aid  ;  Mr. 
Francis  Lawton,  of  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  for  his  descriptions  of  the 
fruit  as  known  in  the  West  Indies;  and  Miss  Bertha  L.  De  Graffe, 
for  the  photographs  from  which  the  illustrations  accompanying  the 
article  were  made. 
