Orange

The Sour Orange.

The sour orange is chiefly cultivated for the aromatic qualities of the rind. Planted years ago in Andalusia by the Moorish conquerors, it is still extensively grown in southern Spain—deriving its common English name "Seville" orange from the abundant groves that still exist around that city, though the plant is now largely cultivated elsewhere. The fruit is imported into Great Britain in large quantities for the manufacture of or ange marmalade, which is prepared from the pulp and rind, usually more or less mingled with the pulp of the sweet orange. In medi cine the fresh peel is largely employed as an aromatic tonic, and often, in tincture and syrup and "orange wine," as a mere vehicle to disguise the flavour of more nauseous remedies. The chief con stituents are three glucosides, hesperidin, isohesperidin and auran tiamarin, the latter being the bitter principle; and an oil which mainly consists of a terpene known as limonene. The essential oil of the rind is collected for the use of the perfumer, being obtained either by the pressure of the fresh peel against a piece of sponge, or by the process known as ecuelle, in which the skin of the ripe fruit is scraped against a series of points or ridges arranged upon the surface of a peculiarly-shaped dish or broad funnel, when the oil flows freely from the broken cells. Another fragrant oil, called in France essence de petit grain, is procured by the distillation of the leaves, from which also an aromatic water is prepared. The flowers of the bitter orange yield, when distilled with water, the "oil of Neroli" of the druggist and perfumer, and likewise the fragrant liquid known as "orange-flower water," which is a satu rated solution of the volatile oil of the fresh flowers. The candied peel is much in request by cook and confectioner ; the fragrant liqueur sold as "curacoa" derives its aromatic flavour from the rind of the bitter orange.

Orange trees occasionally acquire a considerable diameter; the trunk of one near Nice, still standing in 1789, was so large that two men could scarcely surround it with their arms; the tree was killed by the intense cold of the winter of that year. The wood of the orange is of a fine yellow tint, and, being hard and close grained, is valued by the turner and the cabinetmaker for the manufacture of -small articles; it takes a good polish.

Although the bitter "Poma de Orenge" were brought in small quantities from Spain to England as early as the year 129o, no attempt appears to have been made to cultivate the tree in Britain until about 1595, when some plants were introduced by the Carews of Beddington in Surrey, and placed in their garden, where, trained against a wall, and sheltered in winter, they remained until destroyed by the great frost of 1739-1740. In the 18th century the tree became a favourite object of conservatory growth; in the open air, planted against a wall and covered with mats in win ter, it has often stood the cold of many seasons in the southern counties, in such situations the trees occasionally bearing abund ant fruit.

The orange has been usually cultivated in England for the beauty of the plant and the fragrance of its blossoms, rather than for the purpose of affording a supply of edible fruit. The latter can, however, be easily grown in a hot-house, some of the fruits thus grown, especially those of the pretty little Tangerine variety, being superior in quality to the imported fruit.

Production and Consumption of

are produced and consumed in enormous quantities in the United States. The average annual production for all purposes in the ten year period 1927-36 was boxes. (Boxes of oranges in California and Arizona weigh approximately 7o1b. net and in Florida and other States approximately 9o1b. net.) In 1937 the total crop rose to 74,476,000 boxes, and in 1938 the U.S. Depart ment of Agriculture estimated an all-time high record of 78,281, 00o boxes. In 1937, as in all preceding years, California led with a total output of 45,605,000 boxes; Florida was second with 26, 700,00o, of which 2,300,00o were tangerines; and Texas was third with 1,440,00o. Other States with appreciable commercial pro ductions are Louisiana, Arizona, Alabama, and Mississippi. Canned orange juice, which totalled only 38,000 cases in 1929-30, in creased to 1,700,000 cases for the year ended June 3o, 1938.

During the period 192o to 1939, the price received by U.S. growers for oranges varied from a low point of $1.00 per box in 1932 to a high point of $2.94 in 1924-25. The retail price varied from an average of 24.4 cents to 58.6 cents per dozen. The average exportation of oranges from the U.S.A. for the period 1926-30 was boxes; for boxes; for 1937, 00o boxes.

Aside from the United States, the chief orange-growing region of the world is the Mediterranean basin, especially in Spain, Italy, Algeria, Morocco, and Palestine. Spain has approximately 29,000, 000 orange trees, and her normal exports are about 25,000,000 boxes; but this amount dropped to approximately 6,400,000 dur ing the civil war of 1936-39. From 1933 to 1938 Palestine quin tupled its exports, to almost Io,000,000 boxes.

For further details, see G. Gallesio, Traite du Citrus (Paris, 181I), for early history ; A. Risso and A. Poiteau, Histoire et culture des Oranges, 2nd edition (Paris, 1872) ; A. de Candolle, Origin of Culti vated Plants (1884) ; A. Engler and K. Prantl, Die natiirlichen Pflan zenfainilien (Leipzig, 1897) ; H. Hume, The Cultivation of Citrus Fruits (1926) ; W. W. Robins, Botany of Crop Plants (1924) ; Walter T.

Swingle, the article "Citrus," in L. H. Bailey, The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture (1914); Howard S. Fawcett, Citrus Diseases and their Control (1926) ; James B. McNair "Citrus Products," Field Mus. of Nat. Hist. Pub. 238, Botanical Ser. vol. vi., no. I. (Chicago, 1926) ; H. R. Wellman and E. W. Braun "Oranges," Calif. Agric. Exp. Ste. (Berkeley, 1928).