The Florida agriculturist., 1884-11-19

Florentine who was in his vessel, that
in India there were many orange trees,
but all with sweet fruit-,Sourimelard
ass a, ma futile dolsi. .-RAMrs, bk. /, p.
121.
1t does not seem from these express
sions that the sweet orange was to him
an unknown species; they would appear
to denote solely that the bigarade, then
very common in Europe, was not culti-
waited there. w af
1t would be very astonishing, suppos-
ing the sweet orange a species unknown
among us, if this navigator had not
made remark upon it, and, if he bro't
the first seed of it to Europe, that he
said not a word of it in his relation.
All yoyagers of that epoch are equally
silent. | have not found single word
to indicate this fact in any of the original
voyages collected by Ramusio, nor in
any of the cotemporaneous histories,
which l have read attentively. On the
contrary, | have remarked that none of
these travellers showed surprise at sight
of this fruit, as they did on seeing many
others.
But that which radically destroys this
hypothesis is, that we have data to prove
the fact of the general cultivation of the
sweet orange in the south of Europe be-
fore this time.
We find9a crowd of writer's at the be-
ginning of the sixteenth century, who
treat of the sweet orange, not one among
them regard it as new species. They
all speak Of it as very ancient tree,
whose origin was unknown.
| shall cite Matioli, who printed his
translation of Dioscoride in 1910, and
who could not have been ignorant Of the
origin of this species, if it dated from
the beginning OF this century. His sue
cessful study of plants, and the earnest
researches he made upon this subject,
do not permit us to presume that he
could make mistake in matter so inn
portant andso new. We might say the
same of Augustine Gallo, his contempo-
rarv, who enlarges upon the culture of
the orange and chiefly those at Salo, ON
Lake Garda.
This author speaks also OF the orange
tree of sweet fruit as a species known
Esince time
i aTasefsS Neii1fiail lbsissa10f tu
ACbarles Fifth, published his Spanish
voyage in 1885. He therein describes
the prodigious trees of the Hoerte del
Rel (kitchen garden of the King at Sc
vile, which may still be seen, and which
are all of sweet fruit.
But nothing proves more strongly how
this species was spread in Europe,
about the beginning of the sixteenth
century, than Leandro Alberti's voyage
to Italy. This learned monk, who wrote
in 1929, speaks largely of immense plan
tations of orange, of lemon, and citron
trees, which he saw in Sicily, Calabria,
upon the borders of the river Salo, in
Liguria, and in many other places.
He expressly says that great number
of varieties were cultivated, chiefly of
sweet fruit
If the tree owned by the Count st.
Laurent were the first to appear in Eu-
rope, would it have been possible to pro-
pagate it so promptly, and in such album
dance, that in twenty-five years it should
people the most distant countries with
thousands Of trees? @N
At first one would suppose if this spe
els had been brought from India by the
Portuguese, they would have followed
| the easiest method-that of bringing the
seed and sowing it at Lisbon Butt we
presume that it came as plant, the hy-
pothesis would then present crowd of
difficulties rendering it nearly impossi-
BILE. rRn . 4
Voyages ffomIndia lat that time,
very long and very dangerous, being
madein small vessels inferior to those in
use now.
Crossing the equator was but little fa-
vofable to the preservation Of vegetables,
and the desire of gain, which exclusive
ly occupied those navigators, while him
Irdering their search for objects OF taste,
would scarcely dispose them to share
With tree the provision of water, so
precious and so necessary for all con-
cerned in voyages uncertain and danger
Gus.
~ Spite of all these obstacles, ! would
still admit that the spirit of curiosity of
these adventurers might urge them to
transplant into Europe, across so many
dangers, a tree of India.
+ All these slppositions, however, will
not dissipate the difficulties which we
meetin reconciling, this hypothesis with
facts which am about to point out.
1t was necessary to give to this plant
certain number of years before the
Count of St Laurent (who was, will
assume, disposed to give gratis of it to
all the world could multiply it in his
garden, and in the gardens of Lisbon.
Afterwards time was necessary for some
plants to pass into Liguria, to increase
there, and from thence to be propagated
in Sicily, in Naples, in Sardinia, and
upon the shores of Lake Garda. 1t is,
finally, needful to accord certain num-
Der of years to these CRAFTS for growth,