LEMON (older forms also kinnion, Limon, kniond, from Fr. /inton, )IL. limo, from Ar. /inifin, from l'ers. Burns, limfi. lemon). Citrus iledica. var. /imon. The common lemon-tree or its fruit. The tree is of irregular growth, inclined to make long leaders. clothed sparsely with foliage, and of an average height of 10 to 20 feet. The flowers are purplish on the outside, and their fragrance is less marked and agreeable than that of the orange. The fruit is botanically a berry. ellipsoidal in form. and usually knobbed at the apex or distal end; it is of a light yellow color, and its rind is well charged with oil-glands earrying an abundant store of oil. Lemon oil, or extract. is ex ti•sively derived from this source, either by expression or distillation, the former process being, the common one. The pulp of the lemon is light-colored and well charged with a juice of agreeable flavor, which is mainly due to the citric acid. It is much used by calico-printers to discharge colors. to produee greater clearness in the white part of patterns dyed with dyes con taining iron. Citric acid and lemon-juiee are also made from it in commercial quantities.
The lemon is found wild in India, from whence it was early transported by the Arabs. It reached Europe probably not earlier than the Crusades. It is now extensively cultivated in Italy and the adjacent islands, in Spain and Portugal. In the 'United States it is planted in Florida and California. but as it is less hardy than the orange, it is confined to a more restricted area. Since the severe freeze of 1894-95 lemon culture in Florida has been almost entirely transferred to the southern frost-free counties of the State. The soil here is less suited to the plant, and greater skill in mulching and fertilizing is necessary. Orchards
OR usually planted with trees grown from the bud on the sour orange as a stock, although Citrus triloliata can be used. The lemon grows from cuttings, as do the lime and the citron. The orchard treatment of the lemon is the same as for the orange (q.v.). The lemon is very different from the orange in its habit of growth, being more inclined to assume the ellamaaer of the pear. producing long branches with the fruit at or near the extremity. Close attention to heading-in is. therefore, a necessity in order to insure the fruit against injury and loss by the wind, as well as ease in gathering the product.
Since the lemon naturally ripens in winter, since fruits allowed to mature on the trees do not keep v.ell, and since the great demand for lemons is during the summer months, in order to insure it supply at the desired season the fruit is gathered when it has attained a stand ard size, though in a partially developed state. It is kept in dark, cool rooms, where extremes of temperature and draughts can be prevented. When eonditions are right the im mature fruit ripens slowly, loses moisture, and the rind becomes then tough and pliable. Such fruits keep and ship well. When removed from the •u•ing-room they are assorted, graded. wrapped in tissue paper, and packed in boxes like those used for oranges. The profit from lemon culture is large. Lemon-growing in America extended so rapidly during the last quarter of the nineteenth century that the home demand is well supplied. California alone aver ages an annual crop of about 1200 carloads. See Plate of CITRUS FRUITS,