LIME. A fruit of the orange species, grown abundantly in the West Indies, in India, and in some parts of Europe. Smaller than the lemon (about 11 inches in diameter and almost globular), it has a very thin skin and an abundant juice, which makes its relative value much greater than its comparative size would indi cate. Its juice is also stronger and has an aromatic flavor. Lime fruit juice has long been regarded as a most useful medicinal agent. In gout, rheumatism, and the like, it has been largely prescribed as an article of daily diet, and with most beneficial re sults. It is, however, as an anti-scorbutic that it stands pre eminent, and, unlike many other remedial agents, has stood the test of centuries, no other article having been found of like value. Prof. Doremus says : "It is not only a delicious beverage, com mending itself to our taste but a very acceptable and wholesome acid to the stomach, an adjuvant in its important share in the act of digestion. Those afflicted with rheumatic pains have been benefited by its Its valuable properties as it is absorbed by the system are well known to chemists, recognized by the medi cal profession, and thoroughly established by years of practical experience. Governments appreciate its importance as an anti
scorbutic, and require it to be kept in ship stores. The London Lancet, in a strong article in favor of the use of lime fruit juice as a beverage, concludes as follows : "We counsel the public to drink their lime juice whenever and wherever they list. They may be assured that, as a rule, lime juice is, particularly during the summer, a far more wholesome drink than any form of alcohol and that, say an ounce or two of the pure juice in a tumbler of really cold water, sweetened to taste, is about the pleasantest beverage that can be taken when the thermometer is over 65° or 70° Fahrenheit. We commend this drink to the attention of the coffee tavern companies, but recommend them to procure the best West India lime juice, as more wholesome than any mixture con taining other ingredients." It is used for the same purposes as lemon juice, and is coming more and more into favor every day, as being superior to it. It is done up for the trade in bottles, and makes a desirable article for all fancy grocers.