The Florida agriculturist., 1884-11-19

ART. N--ObSerudtIO1lS upon Ue AccttNu-
tion of the Street Orarge-Oplnions Of
Furious Uriters-E Examination Of their
Opissiens.
1t is certainly difficult to follow the
history of the transmigration OF ord1'
nary plants, which spread themselves
slowly and in times of obscurlty; but 1t
is surprising that we find no traces OF
the passage of the orange tree OF sweet
fruit, which, because of its qualities and
the epoch at which we suppose it must
lave been brought to Europe, ought to
have been an object for the admiration
of gardeners, and the observation OF
botanists.
This investigation presents, neverthe-
less, a crowd Of difficulties.
An opinion, prevailing among the
greater part OF writer's, has attributed
this ACQUISITION to the Portuguese. Val
mont de Bomare, in his Dictionary OF
Natural History, gives details so precise
upon this fact, that for long time be-
Ilieved it to be incontestible.
He says that at Lisbon, in the Count
st. Laurent's garden, there exists the
first tree from which has come all the
orange trees now ornamenting the gar
dens of Europe.
Valmont de Bomare, and the others
who have reported this fact, speak of
the orange in general; but | think
their expressions should be received as
applying only to the sweet orange-it
would be unreasonable to connect them
with the bigarade. This naturalist cites
no author to sustain his assertion, and
it appears as if taken from the Diction-
ary Of Trevoux, who is also silent with
respect to the source whence he obtained
it.
1T seems that. the name of Portugal,
applied generally to The sweet nrangei
has accredited the opinion respecting the
origin of this tree But we must OBJ
serve first, that this name was not known
in Europe till about the middle of the
seventeenth century, and that previous
to that time this species was known un-
der the simple name of orange dOuce,
(sweet orange.) Secondly, that from the
use made of this name among writer's, or
among the people of the country where
it is received, we see clearly that they
have given it only to a variety car
ried perhaps, by the Portuguese into
Europe, and which may be the red
fruited orange. Indeed, in Arabia even,
they use the name of Portugal to desig-
nate sort of orange, just as they use
the name of Italy to express two kinds
of citron trees. We have but to read
Niebuhr's Voyage to- Arabia, where in
remaking these denominations, he says.
it is believed that the Arabs received
from Europe one species Of orange and
two of citrons (Niebuhr, bk- 1, sec. 39.)
Apparently, the orange of which he
speaks, is the 3sareisdj Bortughal, and
the citrons are the Iddlia 'Hoellt, and the
IdaZia MoJeck, of the Flora Egyptiaco-
1rabico of Forskal.
The opinion of Bomare has been,
shared only by Hunter inihis voyage to
China, and by the. most of European
writer's upon agriculture, but also by
learned botanists, such as Loureiro.
(See first volume,of Memories de Lisbod,
page 152. And have read, not with
out surprise, in the Botonique Historique
of Madam de Genlis, that ave can even.
name the person to whom we owe the
acquisition Of the orange. (Jean de Cas-
trol.C Ars ft Ss5D M 7FEaa SBHl n
Assertions thus positive give to the
opinion of Bomare AN air of truthfulness
which seems to, render it unassailable;
but having brought together the dates OF
the various proofs which Ihave collected
for and against this opinion, / have seen
that it is in contradiction to well estab-
lished facts, and thus deprived of foun-
dation.F 4. ~ N III w A A
The Portuguese did not reach China
until 1918. Jean de Castro, born in 1900,
could not return from his first voyage
until about 1920. Therefore, if the or
ange were carried from China by the
Portuguese, and specially by Jean de
Castro, this species should not have APP
peared in Europe until after the years
151S or 1920, fact impossible to prove.
1t would be more probable to suppose
it brought from India by the Portuguese,
who penetrated there in 1885, In this
case it might be possible for the Count
de st. Laurent to have in his garden the
first tree seen in Europe. But this hy
pothesis, whatever appearance of truth
it may have, can be combatted with sue
cess.
Vasco de Cana, who first doubled the
Cape OF Good Hope in 1893, said, in his
relation of his VOYAGE, arranged bV q