From its leaves they make baskets, bags, mats, combs, and brushes; from its stalks, fences for their gardens; from its fibers, thread, rope, and rigging; from its sap, a spirituous liquor; from its fruit, food for man and beast; while the body of the tree furnishes them with fuel.  The prepared fruit is largely imported to this country.  That which is large, smooth, and of a soft reddish yellow tinge, with a whitish membrane between the flesh and stone, is considered the best.

THE ORANGE.—­According to some authors, the far-famed “golden fruit of the Hesperides,” which Hercules stole, was the orange; but it seems highly improbable that it was known to writers of antiquity.  It is supposed to be indigenous to Central and Eastern Asia.  Whatever its nativity, it has now spread over all the warmer regions of the earth.  The orange tree is very hardy in its own habitat, and is one of the most prolific of all fruit-bearing trees, a single tree having been known to produce twenty thousand good oranges in a season.  Orange trees attain great age.  There are those in Italy and Spain which are known to have flourished for six hundred years.  Numerous varieties of the orange are grown, and are imported to our markets from every part of the globe.  Florida oranges are among the best, and when obtained in their perfection, are the most luscious of all fruits.

THE LEMON.—­This fruit is supposed to be a native of the North of India, although it is grown in nearly all sub-tropical climates.  In general, the fruit is very acid, but in a variety known as the sweet lemon, or bergamot (said to be a hybrid of the orange and lemon), the juice is sweet.  The sour lemon is highly valued for its antiscorbutic properties, and is largely employed as a flavoring ingredient in culinary preparations, and in making a popular refreshing beverage.

THE CITRON.—­The citron is a fruit very similar to the lemon, though larger in size and less succulent.  It is supposed to be identical with the Hebrew tappuach, and to be the fruit which is mentioned in the English version of the Old Testament as “apple.”  The citron is not suitable for eating in its raw state, though its juice is used in connection with water and sugar to form an excellent acid drink.  Its rind, which is very thick, with a warty and furrowed exterior, is prepared in sugar and largely used for flavoring purposes.

THE LIME.—­The fruit of the lime is similar to the lemon, though much smaller in size.  It is a native of Eastern Asia, but has long been cultivated in the South of Europe and other sub-tropical countries.  The fruit is seldom used except for making acidulous drinks, for which it is often given the preference over the lemon.

THE GRAPE FRUIT.—­This fruit, a variety of shaddock, belongs to the great citrus family, of which there are one hundred and sixty-nine known varieties.  The shaddock proper, however, is a much larger fruit, frequently weighing from ten to fourteen pounds.  Although a certain quantity of grape fruit is brought from the West Indies, our principal supply is derived from Florida.  It is from two to four times the size of an ordinary orange, and grows in clusters.  It is rapidly gaining in favor with fruit lovers.  Its juice has a moderately acid taste and makes a pleasing beverage.  The pulp, carefully separated, is also much esteemed.