The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1884-07-02
CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER IT.
THE. GENUS CITRUS ARRANGED ACCORDING
TO THE NEW THEORY OF VEGETABLE RE-
PRODUCTION.
ART 1.-THE Citrus--Dioision of Botan-
lists and culturists--Dirjsions odop-
ted az this work-Primitire sDecies-The
species Of the Indies.
The Citrus is a genus whose species
are greatly disposed to blend together,
and whose flower shows great facility
for receiving extraordinary fecundation :;
it hence offers an infinite number of diff
ferent races which ornament our gardens,
and whose vague and indefinite names
fill the catalogues.
1t is the multitude of these beings
which we propose to describe. We shall
endeavor TO classify them according to
the principles already explained. We
shall describe species, hybrids, and va
rieties, and endeavor to establish their
identity. This is, perhaps, one of the
most difficult portions Of our work, first,
because the botanists or agriculturists
who have described the varieties have
not always done so with the exactness
requisite to enable us to recognize them
among so many different names; and,
secondly, because in the course of CEN
turies several of these varieties have
disappeared, from frosts or other infiu-
ence, and been replaced by quantity of
new varieties which resemble them, and
which, by means of some slight differ |
ces, create confusion in the application |
and comparison of these descriptions. !
1t is only with the aid of knowledge
which have acquired of these varieties
in our gardens, where l have cultivated
them for d long time passionately, and in
those of several semi-tropical countries
which I have visited ior this purpose.
that venture to undertake the task OF
reconciling this numerous and perplex-
ing nomenclature.
l will begin by examining the.species. !
Some authors have regarded the citron
alone as the original species and type of
the other species. -
Tournefort, with most botanists Of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, has |
recognized in the lemon and sour orange |
the characteristics of types as well as in
the citron, and has considered the sweet
orange as variety OF the sour orange.
The Arab agriculturists have ranked
Adams apple Ia pOmnle d Adon) among
the species, which they have designated
bv the name OF ldgSdmOn orzGmbGu; and
being acquainted with the sweet orange
only, they divided the genus into the.
citron, lemon, sour orange, and Zambau.
The italian and French agriculturists
have added to these four species the
sweet orange, and the multitude of vari-
eties known by the names of lines, lu-
mics, poncires, &c.
Linneus attaches to the artificial sys-
tenn which he had just established,
placed the Citrus among the polyadel-
phias, referring to the union of the sta
mems in several bundles; and he ranged
it in the order of icosdndrids, referring
to the number of organs which he sup
posed in all the species, to be twenty,
although we find in the lemon and citron
as many as thirty or forty.
He also fixes the accidents which
determine the form of the petiole of the
leaf, and not having remarked that the
petiole of the citron tree is not articula-
ted like that of the lemon, he has made
of these two races a single species, dis
tinguished by the characteristics OF linear
petioles (petiOlus Rnearibus.)
The winged form of tile petiole has
been the characteristic which has deter
mined his second species, and as this
accident distinguishes equally the. sweet
and sour orange, LinnRas has regarded
the latter as the type and the former as
variety, and united them under the
name of Citrus petiQ6s Qlotis,. or Citrus,
with winged petioles.. Finally, he has
made third species, OF a Japan orange,
described by Kempfer, referring to the
ternate leaves, and called it Citrus trifo-
ldtu.
The later editors of Linneus augment
ed the number of these species by one
called Citrus decamdp0, which Linn2us
himself ranked among the varieties.
They thought that its obtuse and scol-
loped leaf (foliis obtttsis eiaarginatis) was
sufficient Characteristic to constitute it
a type, and did not observe that this
peculiarity is neither general nor con-
slant, and that i'll consequence it is rath-
er monster than characteristic fea-
ture. They have also added the Citrus
dagul0td or IilaOnellus angulossus of
Rhumphius, and the Citrus jdponico of
Thumberg, whose characteristics are,
without doubt, too different from those
of our specimens of the Citrus family
not to constitute distinct species.
We have followed new method; we