The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-02-13
A FIVE FINGERED ORANGE.
ne OF ah e Worlds Rnrcst Plants thu
WCnrS GLOVES.

one or the rarest plants in the world
is the iive-iingered orange. The Japan
csc, who, as we'll as the people of China,
make speciality of cultivating orna-
mental curioslties in( the vegetable world
consider this one OF the most rema rk-
able and value 1t accordingly. But Il
single plant, which has been purcha sed
and brought to San Francisco, where it
now is, has, it is believed, ever left
Japan.
The plant that bears the extraordi-
nary fruit shown in the illustration is,
Atseh. rather an eccentric member of
the vegetable kingdom. II is Il dwarlish
tree, Which when fully grown does not
average more than five or at most, six
feet in height and is crooked enough to
have been planted in the garden OF the
crooked man spoken of by Mother
Goose.
WHO walked Il crooked mile
AncI found Il crooked siXpencc,
Against q crooked stilc.
Fle bought crooked cat
That caught q crooked mouse
When they all lived together
In a very crooked house."
For a crookcdcr plant does not exist.
The gnarled trunk is tangled up with
twisted branches, that seem never TO
have fully made up their minds which
way TO go, SO that it would indeed be n
difficult task to find two consecutive
inches in the whole tree whose line Of
direction is the same. The consequence
of this it that the plant. which, If it
could be Strengthened out, would be at
least twice as tall, is as broad as II is
high. As fitting It's cross grained char
acter. 1t has on hand hidden under it's
leaves and located in the most uncN-
pccted places, an unstinted supply OF
long, tough. needle pointed thorns that
understand their business thoroughly.
But all such little unpleasant pecu-
liarities on the part of the iive-tingercd
Japan orange tree may we'll be forgot
ten when 1t Is seen III July, covered with
dts beautiful blossoms, like those of an
ordinary orange tree but tinted with q
beautiful pink blush Of color and eX-
haling Il most delicate and delicious
perfume, or later in the season. when
its fruit has ripened and it looks as IL
1t was hung about with great yellow
gloves These gloves are so rcdolent of
the same perfume that scents the bios
SONS that the odor can be recognized a
1uh mile from where the oranges are
growing On close examination how
ever. tho fruit proves to resemble a hu-
man hand more than does any glove a
lean. slender fingered yellow Chinese
hand, with thumb and foretingers COM
piete, each finger tipped with the long
nail. thought so stylish in China. hard
pointed and claw-likc extending n
digi,s. The hand is partly opened, the
fingers curved little upward. toward
the palm, and the fruit itself very
large. especially in proportion to the
size of the tree that bears it, after reach
ing, when full grown, ten inches meas
airing from the wrist to the end of the
middle finger. including the nail Sun
ports are always necessary or the
weight of the orange would break the
branch upon which It grows. The CON
tour OF the hand exactly represents that
OF human being, the proportional
length of the several fingers and The
thumb are correct, and even the cords
ON the back OF the hand of rather
eInaciated person are represented bv
the diversions of the fingers that can
he traced from the point where thew
separate to the wrist.
The fruit, though eXhalng so delight
Iul a perfume. is not edible as it is NOT
properly an orange at all. but belongs
10 the Usage oranges, of the Maclura.
no member of which bears fruit that
can be eaten.