The Florida agriculturist., 1884-10-29
CHAPTER ~.

CHAPTER ~.
ART. III.-.Seorch for the Netire Country
of the Lemon and Orange Trees-Ori-
ginally from Indid-Pdssdge into Ara-
Jia, Syrio and Egypt-Brought to Eu-
rope by the Crusdders-Etymology Of
their NGsaes-Pr0gress of their Culture
Origin Of Ordngeries-
Ebn-AlAwam, an Arabian writer upon
agriculture at Seville, near the end Of
the twelfth century, and whose work,
translated into Spanish, was published
at Madrid in 1902, speaks as if the cul-
ture were very much extended in Spain.
Abd-Allatif, who was cotemporary
with the last named author, expresses
himself I'M like manner, and describes
also number of varieties cultivated in
his time in Egypt; circumstance show
ing that these trees had greatly multi
Piled. NO..
Their progress was slower in Italy and
France. Itappears that the lemon tree,
brought first into these parts as variety
of citron, was for long time designated
by European writer's under the generic
nane of citrus, although in Italy, and
the south of France the people had
known it from the beginning under the
proper name of 1iinOn; name which
has come down to us without submitting
to amy change. ~ ~ iiH'l ''
In fact, We find it in botanical works
called citrus tileOn, or nlatd HmOnin, and
sometimes citrus medicd. The last was
indefinitely used to designate lemon, cit
ron, and orange, and very often the genus
citrus.
The orange appeared in Italy under the
name of orengcs which the people modi-
fled according to the pronunciations OF
the different sections, into aga'aqie, aaSnsz
oSszd, arGfazO, ,fcstr0ne, citrdng0tO, netdrGR-
cs9, meldagolO, GrG,tciO. One meets sue
cessively all these names in works of the
thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth CEN
turies, such as those of Hugo Falcandus,
Nicolas Specials, Blondus Flavius, Sir
Brunette Latini, Ciriffo Calvaneo, Ben
civenni. Bocaccio, Giustiniani, Leandro
Alberti, and several others.
The Provencals also received this tree
uNder the name of orenges, and have
changed it from time in different pro-
vinces into Graagi, dirdnye, orenge, and
finally orange (See GLOSSARY of the
Roman Language, by Roquefort.)
During several centuries the Latin au-
tbors found themselves embarrassed in
designating this fruit, which had mo
naane in that language. The first who
spoke of it used a phrase indicating its
characteristics, accompanying 1t with
the popular name of ordngi, latiniAed
into orenges, Grdngias, Grdnti1,m.
Thus, Jacques de Vitry, who calls, the
oranges pOm1 oitrind, adds, The Arabs
call them orenses." And Nicholas Spe-
cialis designated them as pommes G,gres
(acripomoram drbores), observing that
the people call them ardngids. These
have been followed by Blondus Flavius
and many others.
Matthews Silvaticus first gave to the
orange the name OF citrangulum, and
this denomination seems to have been
followed for long time by physicians
and translators of Arabic works, who
have very generally adopted it for rem
dering the Arab word, narindi.
Thus, citrdngeGum was received for
more than a century inthe language of
science; finally, little by little, were
adopted the vulgar, Latinized names in
use among other writers, such as authors
of chronicles, etc.; and they have writ
ten sTccessively, Grdnglun', drdnctu'@,
drdntiam, dradrd,atiwDa, nerdntlunl, durdn-
tiunl, pOnunl, datyenWl.
The Greeks followed in the same steps !;
they have either Gpecianized the name
of noHmge, which WAS in use among Sy-
rian Arabs, or they received it from the
adopted it in their Language, calling it ne
rdntziOa.
These have, however, always been
considered vulgar names, and, in gener-
al, the better Latin writer's have made
use of the generic name, citrus, for des-
ignating the Agrumi. &H
This usage, followed by most of the
writer's on history and ehorogrophy,
often occasions uncertainty and difficulty
in researches concerning the beginning
of this culture in the diferent countries
where these trees have been intro
duced.
The use of it, as seasoning Cor food,
brought from Palestine to Liguria, to
Provence, and to Sicily, penetrated to
the interior OF Italy and France.
n The taste for confections was propaga-
N ted in Europe with sthe introduction oi
y sugar, and this delicate food became at
4 once a necessary article to men in easy