Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/678

 664 ORANGE enough to be visible without a glass, and its presence and inflammable character are easily shown by squeezing a fragment of the fresh peel near the flame of a lamp ; though a vola- tile oil, it is, like that of the lemon, obtained by pressure ; one of the methods is to squeeze strips of the peel by hand and receive the oil from the ruptured vesicles in a fragment of sponge, which when saturated is wrung out and the oil received in a bowl, where it sepa- rates from the water which accompanies it. In France the oil from the bitter orange is known as the essence de Mgarade, and that from the sweet as essence de Portugal. The use of the dried peel of the bitter orange has already been noted. A minor product of the orange tree, much less known now than former- ly, is the issue peas ; under this name the dried unripe fruits, turned smooth in a lathe, are kept in the shops, and are used to keep up the discharge from an issue, their odor making them preferable to ordinary peas, sometimes used for the same purpose. The methods of cultivating the orange differ but little. In the south of France the tree probably receives a more systematic culture and careful pruning than elsewhere. In some localities the trees are multiplied by a kind of layering : a branch has a circle of bark removed and a mass of earth bound over the wound ; this earth is kept moist until roots have formed in it, when the branch is severed and planted in the ground; but the general method is to raise stocks from seeds and bud them with desirable sorts, and it requires about 15 years from the time of sowing the seed for the tree to come into full bearing. In this country the orange is cultivated as an object of profit in Florida, Louisiana, and southern California ; Texas and some other states produce a small number for home consumption. In various parts of Florida, south of lat. 30, especially along the St. John's and Indian rivers, there are immense groves of wild oranges; Bartram in his "Travels" mentions having seen in 1763, near Mosquito inlet, a ridge about half a mile wide and 40 m. long, which was one dense orange grove, inter- spersed with magnolias and a few other trees. So thoroughly established is the tree, and so generally is it distributed, that many have sup- posed it to be indigenous ; but botanists who have investigated the matter regard it as an instance of remarkable naturalization, and the I trees as having descended from those which are known to have been introduced by the early Spanish colonists. This wild orange is bitter, often called in Florida the bitter-sweet, and so exceedingly fruitful that a tree in full bearing is an object of great beauty ; the wild orange furnishes stocks on which to bud other j varieties, and the fruit is used to make mar- malade. In Florida there are three methods of establishing an orange grove : to clear up a wild grove, removing all trees not needed, and budding with sweet fruit those that remain; to take up young wild trees and set them in | prepared ground, and there bud them ; and to raise stocks from seed, bud them in nursery rows, and when of sufficient size set them in the plantation, as is practised with other fruit. Each method has its advocates, and it is prob- able that the last named, though apparently slower, gives ultimately better results. Some maintain that there is no need of budding stocks raised from the seeds of sweet oranges, but that the fruit reproduces itself perfectly from the seed. Almost any soil that is not a heavy clay suits the orange, but in a light sandy one fertilizers must be applied. Severe frosts are fatal to the tree; in 1835 occurred a frost of such severity as to kill not only culti- vated trees, but those in the wild groves. In- sects of various kinds, especially a coccus or scale insect, are destructive ; a kind of fungus affects the fruit and leaves, and there is anoth- er disease, not well understood, which causes the death of young growing shoots. None of these are regarded as formidable if the trees have proper and timely attention, but if neg- lected the value of the grove is soon destroyed. The Jesuit missionaries early introduced the orange into the gardens of the mission stations of southern California, and some of these, no- tably that of Los Angeles, were in full bearing at the time the country came into our posses- sion. The American settlers soon extended the culture of oranges, lemons, and such fruits, and it is now one of the principal industries of Los Angeles and its vicinity, and has extended to other parts of the state. In the season of 187l-'2 the orange crop of Los Angeles county was stated at 5,000,000, worth on the average $20 a thousand. In England orange culture became popular in the 17th century, and an orangery was regarded as an important part of the establishments of the wealthy ; indeed, at that time the orange was the leading tender exotic in cultivation ; the trees were imported from Italy and grown in boxes or tubs, which were placed out of doors in summer, and in winter taken to the orangery, which was usu- ally a building of some architectural preten- sions, with a ceiled roof and glass only upon the sides and ends. Such buildings have long since been replaced by those entirely of glass. By giving the plants shelter in winter, where they will be protected from freezing, yet not have heat enough to induce growth, but suf- ficient light to keep them in health, the orange can be enjoyed as an ornamental tree in north- rn climates; but in order to have satisfac- tory crops of fruit it must have a heated struc- ture especially devoted to it. The imports of oranges into the United States from the Medi- terranean in 1874 were 751,560 cases, of which 349,701 cases, containing 131,555,970 oranges, were received at New York, with a loss of 33 per cent. The receipts at New York from the West Indies in the same year were 21,540,130 oranges, on which the loss was 45 per cent. There is but little recent literature upon orange culture; a useful pamphlet, "Orange Culture