Lemons are sometimes preserved in syrup. Small ones with thick rinds are converted into a grateful pickle; and a marmalade and syrup are also made of them. For the purpose of keeping the fruit, it is recommended that a fine packthread about a quarter of a yard long, should be run through the protuberance at the end of the lemons: the ends of the string are to be tied together, and suspended on a hook in an airy situation, and in such manner that each lemon may hang perfectly free and detached.
The cultivation of the lime is much attended to in several parts of North America and the West Indies. Its juice affords a more grateful acid than that of the lemon, which is there in little repute, and is, comparatively, but seldom seen. A plate of limes is said to be a constant dish at entertainments in the West Indies; and the juice is used for all the same purposes as that of lemons is with us.
208. ORANGE (Citrus aurantium, Fig. 55). The difference betwixt orange and lemon-trees is immediately known by the former having a kind of winged appendage on the leafstalks, of which the latter are destitute.
We are informed that the first orange-tree introduced into Europe was sent as a present, from some part of Asia, to the Conde Mellor, prime minister of the King of Portugal. It was the only one of a great number which were contained in the same chest that survived; and it became the parent stock of multitudes of subsequent trees.
The delightful perfume of an orange grove is such as to scent the air for miles, and the flowers appear in succession during the whole summer; and flowers and ripe fruit are found on the same tree. Orange flowers are valued as a perfume, and yield their flavour to rectified spirits; and, in distillation, both to spirits and water. In Portugal and Italy a fragrant red-coloured oil is obtained from them, which, by some persons, is considered of more delicate and agreeable perfume than even ottar of roses.
The juice of the orange, when ripe and of good kind, is extremely sweet, grateful, and wholesome. In fevers, and other complaints, it is of considerable use for allaying heat and quenching thirst; and, in scurvy, it has been found a very valuable remedy. The rind, which yields a grateful aromatic bitter, is sometimes used in medicine, and, in particular, has obtained notice for the cure of intermittent fevers or agues. It is frequently preserved in syrup, and also in sugar, under the name of preserved orange-peel, and orange-chips; and is much esteemed in desserts.
In cookery and by confectioners, oranges are used in numerous ways; for marmalade, in biscuits, cheesecakes, jelly, puddings, and tarts; and an agreeable wine is prepared from oranges, with water, sugar, and some other ingredients.
Seville, or bitter oranges are a large, dark-coloured, and rough-skinned variety of the common species. These are much used in medicine and cookery.
Bergamot is a well-known perfume, obtained from the rind of a variety of orange much cultivated near the town of Bergamo in Italy, whence it has obtained its name. The rind is cut into small pieces, and the oil is pressed out into glass vessels. Sometimes a fragrant water is distilled from the peel.
209. The SHADDOCK (Citrus decumana) is a yellowish green fruit, of the orange kind, as large as the head of a child, with twelve or more cells, and contains a red or whitish pulp. It is very common in many parts both of the East and West Indies.