ORANGE (OF. Fr. from It. araneia, araneio, from Ar. naranj, orange. front Hind. from Skt. orange; influenced by popular etymology with Fr. or, Lat. aurum, in allusion to its yellow color; with loss of initial n as in adder. apron, umpire. ef. dial. It. naran:a. naranz. Sp. naranja. Wall. mu ran:(', orange). r itrus a nran t ium. A low-branching, evergreen tree of the natural order Riitaceve. In cultivated orchards it seldom exceeds 30 feet in The leaves are oval or elliptical: the blossoms pure white and very fragrant. The fruit is a large, globose. 8- to 10-celled berry. yellow when ripe. and containing a refreshing acid juicy pulp. The oral ere is used as a dessert fruit and for pre serves. marmalade. etc. The principal types of oranges are as follows: Citrus aarunlium sinen sis. which includes the conuuon sweet oranges of commerce. including more than 70 horticultural v:n•ieties. Citrus nuyuntxum (mum. which in cludes the sour, bitter, or Seville oranges, largely used as budding stocks for sweet oranges and for the oil obtained from the rind of the fruit for use in perfumery. Citrus uurantium her gamia, which includes the bergamot from which oil is obtained. The species Citrus aurantium. car. nobilis, includes the mandarin or kid-glove oranges. and These arc mostly small early sorts and hardier than sweet oranges.
The trifoliate orange (Citrus trifoliate) is valua ble chiefly on account of its hardiness and com pact growth, which makes it a good hedge plant as far north as New York City. It has a value as a stock for the Satsuma variety and the kumquat, rendering them more hardy than when worked on their own roots. Promising hardy hybrids between this and Citrus aurantium are being obtained.
The fruit of these various species varies ex ceedingly in form, size, juiciness of pulp. thick ness of rind, etc. Sonic varieties have very numerous seeds. while others are seedless. The navel orange is so called because of a remarkable development of adventitious eells which at the apex of the orange give the fruit an umbilical mark. The orange is a native of hidia or Southern China, whence it has been distributed by successive stages to all parts of the sub tropical world and the warmer, temperate re gions. It was introduced into Florida and South America by the early Spanish explorers, and now flourishes wild there in many localities. It is
cultivated in nearly all the countries bordering on the Sea, and in Portugal, India and Southern Asia, Japan, East Indies, Brazil, Jamaica, Florida, Louisiana, California, Aus tralia, etc. In the United States the production of oranges has declined somewhat since 1896, owing to the severe winter freezes of 1894-95 and again in 1899, which ruined many of the orange groves of Florida. The twelfth census estimates the number of orange trees in the United States in 1899 at 8,397.710, and the production that year at 6,171,259 boxes. California. with 5,048, 714 trees, produced 5,8S2,193 boxes; while Flor ida, with 2,552,542 trees, produced hut 273.295 boxes.
Oranges are usually propagated from seed. Sonic varieties come true or nearly true to seed, but most do not, and so are propagated by bud ding. They thrive on nearly all kinds of fertile soils and are found in high. dry situations as well as low, alluvial lands subject to occasional overflow. They cannot be grown in situations subject to severe frosts during the growing sea son. The trees are set in the orchard when about two years from the bud, the distance apart usually favored in California being 10 feet for dwarfs, 18 to 24 feet for semi-dwarfs. 24 to no feet for standards. aral 30 to 4)) feet for seedlings. Clean. thorough cultivation is practiced during the growing season and irrigation given wherever necessary. Nearly all California orehards are irrigated. Orange trees under favorable condi tions continue in hearing to a great age. Blos soms and green and ripe fruit are frequently seen on the trees at the same time, but the bulk of the crop ripens; at about the same time. In harvesting the fruit is usually gathered by hand, being cut off and placed in sacks or cloth lined baskets. It is kept for a few days in bas kets or shallow bins iu the packing house for the skins to dry and soften a little. then graded, each fruit wrapped in tissue paper. and packed for market in boxes holding two cubic feet each. Boxes hold from 96 to 252 oranges, according to the size of the fruit. Average sized fruit runs from 176 to 200 to the box. Oranges stand shipment well and when properly handled some times keep for months.