In the Neapolitan Provinces, the blood orange is chiefly grown, the trees yielding 500-2000 fruit annually. Salerno is noted for its mandarin oranges. Sicily is a very large producer ; the exports from Palermo (in boxes of 350) were :—in 1875, 379,421 ; 1876, 432,549 ; 1877, 295,373 ; 1878, 320,482. Spain has an important position in the trade. Seville, in 1877, exported 5,500,000 kilo., value 55,0001., to Great Britain ; 3,293,000 kilo., 32,9301., to France ; and 87,000 kilo., 8701., to Belgium. Huelva, in 1877, exported 5590 boxes, 44721., to Great Britain. Malaga, iu 1878, shipped 27,250 boxes of oranges, and 5858 cwt. of orange and lemon peel. Oporto, in 1877, sent 228,000,000 oranges, of inferior quality, to Great Britain. The Azores, in 1878, shipped from St. Michael's to the United Kingdom, 410,101 malotes (or half-boxes, containing about 400) of the native orange, and 4577 malotes of tangerines, a variety of the mandarin orange. In 1879, the figures were reduced to 263.205 and 3485 respectively. The orange-groves in the valley of the Soller (Balearic Isles) have recovered their usual condition, and promise large crops again. Some parts of N. Africa, especially the Algerian province of Alger, grow oranges largely. Algeria, in 1865, exported 11,285,580 ; Morocco, in 1873, shipped 1,577,700; Tripoli, in 1878, despatched 5001. worth (including lemons); and Tangier, in 1879, exported 30,000 to Great Britain, and 4000 to Germany. The orange-gardens of Jaffa number about 400, and are irrigated by wells. The exports in 1879 were :—to Turkey, Egypt, and Syria, 17,500,000 ; Europe, 8,750,000; total value, 26,2501. On heavy soils in New South Wales, oranges and lemons thrive admirably. The orangeries at Paramatta supply quantities of the fruit to other portions of the continent. Most members of the Citrus family grow luxuriantly in the valleys of the Humber and the Clarence, and along the coast districts. In S. Australia, especially around Adelaide, the trees flourish extremely well. The same may be said of some parts of Queensland. There are good prospects of our receiving supplies from these colonies before long. Orange-culture has taken a great start in the W. Indies. The average annual crop is 500 oranges a tree, sometimes reaching 1000 ; the trees are 25 ft. apart, or 65-70 an acre. An important feature for the industry is that the crop comes in generally 8 weeks before the Mediterranean crop, so that it takes the market at a favourable time. Mean limo New York ie n very large. customer. In 1879, that port received 16,399,421 oranges from the W. Indies, nearly half being from Kingston (Jamaica). The lasses amounted to 44 per cent. Oranges, lemons, and limes grow wild and abundantly in Florida, and south of the lakes in Louisiana and Mississippi. Some of the finest groves are on the St. John's, Indian, and Oclawaha rivers. The district included between 27" and 29° 40' N. lat., and 80° 30' and 82' 40' W, long., seems to be peculiarly adapted to oranges and lemons. In 1879, the Florida orange-groves con tained 20,481,541 trees, of which 18,821 were in bearing. The crop produced was 16,034,558; while that of 1880 is estimated to reach 100,000,000. This immense production will no doubt stop the importation from the W. Indies, &c., to Now York. In California, oranges and lemons grow well. The county of Los Angeles produced 5,280,000 oranges in 1879 ; the trees numbered over 90,000 in 1874. In Brazil, the industry is not yet of much importance. Ceara, in 1878, exported 8017 cases to England, and 817 to New York. Tahiti, in 1878, shipped 4,207,000 oranges, value 42071., and in 1879, 2,148,000, value 21481., principally to San Francisco. Hankow, in 1878, shipped 1592 piculs (of lb.) of orange-peel ; and Wenehow exported 4400 piculs of fresh oranges. Our imports of oranges and lemons in 1879 were :—From Portugal, 2,084,896 bush., 832,696/. ; Italy, 717,867, 252,9401.; Azores, 370,629, 128,6051.; Portugal, 235,947, 92,4651.; Brazil, 3950, 23431.; other countries, 19,770, 89121. The approximate prices of the best-known kinds are :—Valenoia, 16s.-22s. 6d. a box ; Lisbon, 13-16s.; Palermo, 7s. 6d.-12s.
Pineapples (FR., Ananas ; GER., Ananase).—These are the fruit of Ananaqsa satira, a plant found in a wild state in most parte of India and Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Straits Settlements, China, and the E. Archipelago; also in the Azores, W. Indies, Tropical America, and the W. coast of Africa. It has recently been introduced into the Australian colonies. The plant is propagated by suckers, which bear fruit in 12-18 months. Sometimes the crown of the fruit is planted, but this takes 3 years to mature. They are set out in rich soil, about 18 in. apart, and weeded every 3 months. In the Bahamas, 20,000 suckers are planted on an acre ; but in Jamaica, the distances
are 3} ft. x 2} ft., or 4840 to the acre. The latter plan gives 4000 fruit an acre in 16-18 months after planting. The W. Indies aro the chief seat of pineapple culture. It is mostly carried an in Eleuthera, Abucos, and San Salvador. Two kinds are grown : " sugar-loaf," the best, principally shipped to England ; and "Spanish" or "red pine," for the American market. New York, in 1879, imported 2,740,002 of which 26 per cent. perished. In 1874, the value of the total shipments from the W. Indies was 40,0661. Pineapples grown in the Azores are much finer than W. Indian, and are more carefully packed. Great quantities of the fruit are produced in Aesam, and the gardens of Malacca and Singapore yield enormous specimens; but these do not enter into com merce. In 1876, Queensland had 86 acres under this crop. The fruit is picked while green, and allowed to ripen on the voyage; hence the inferiority of imported pineapples to our own hot house productions. Large quantities of the canned fruit now arrive from the W. Indies. The plant yields a most valuable fibre (see Fibrous Substances—Ananassa).
Plums (FR., Prunes ; Gan., Pflaumen). —The various kinds of plums and prunes now met with under cultivation are supposed to be derived from Prunus domestka. It is believed to occur truly wild in Greece, the 8.-11. shores of the Black Sea, the Caucasus, and the Elburz range (N. Persia). The culture of the tree on a really largo scale is now confined (1) to the valley of the Loire, where the very superior "French plums" are grown; (2) throughout Germany, where a variety termed Quetschen (Prunus wconomica) is largely cultivated, and supplies the English market with dried prunes when the French crap fails ; (3) in Bosnia, and Croatia. In the three last countries, the plum crop is the most important, the Possavina district, in N. Bosnia, producing 15,000 20,000 tons in a goad season. The best are grown an the sides of the low valleys descending into the great plain of the Possavina. The culture and drying of the fruit is rudely conducted, yet the latter process is so well understood that the peasants are hired for the purpose into Servia and Austria. The Servian and Croatian plums are inferior to the Bosnian, and readily undergo fermentation. The Bosnian plums go by the Save to Sissek for Trieste, and by the Save and Danube to Budapest. The Servian plums are very extensively used for making a spirit termed sligovitch. Servia is estimated to have about 155,000 acres under plums. Both Bosnian and Servian plums are largely exported to Germany and the United States. The crop of 1877 was reckoned at 18e0 tons Bosnian, and 2500 tons Servian, besides 1000-1200 tons Slavonian plum jam, consumed mostly in Bohemia and Germany. The exports from Fiume to the United States in 1878 were 415 tons. The import duty discourages shipments to this country. Our imports in 1879 were :—French plums and prunelloes: from France, 7230 cwt., 42,8801.; other countries, 44 cwt., 2341. Prunes: from France, 8102 cwt., 11,8241. ; other countries, 675 cwt., 11601. Dried or preserved plums: from Portugal, 437 cwt., 43771. ; other countries, 405 cwt., 15131. The import duty is 78. a cwt. The value of French prunes is 22-45s. a cwt.
Raisins (FR., Raisins ; GER., Rosinen).—Raiains are the dried fruits of the common grape-vine (Vitis vinifera). They are not, as might be supposed, produced wherever the vice is cultivated ; on the contrary, their preparation is a specialty of certain districts. One of the most important of these is a strip of Spanish territory bordering the Mediterranean, about 100 miles long, and 5-6 wide. Two kinds of raisins are here produced : the muscatel or dessert-raisin, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Malaga ; and the common pudding-raisin, peculiar to Valencia. Unfortunately, the phylloxera has made such ravages throughout this district, that the industry is almost threatened with extinction. The region next in importance has its outlet at Smyrna. Here the small stoneless or Sultana raisin is grown, not only on the mainland, but also in the island of Chesme, which gives its name to a portion of the crop. There are large districts in Persia where raisins are produced, but the expense and difficulty of transport cause them to be consumed locally. Greece furnishes small supplies of sultanas. California is becoming a large producer of muscatels, for consumption both in the E. States, and in China. The decay of the Cape wine trade has driven the growers to convert much of their grapes into raisins. Finally, S. Australia is rapidly developing a raisin trade.