that I were an Orenge tree,
That busie plant;
Then should I ever laden be,
And never want
Some fruit for him that dressed me."

_Employment._

And its handsome evergreen foliage, its deliciously scented flowers,
and its golden fruit--

"A fruit of pure Hesperian gold
That smelled ambrosially"--

TENNYSON.

at once demand the admiration of all. It only fails in one point to make
it a plant for every garden: it is not fully hardy in England. It is
very surprising to read of those first trees at Beddington, that "they
were planted in the open ground, under a movable covert during the
winter months; that they always bore fruit in great plenty and
perfection; that they grew on the south side of a wall, not nailed
against it, but at full liberty to spread; that they were 14ft. high,
the girth of the stem 29in., and the spreading of the branches one way
9ft., and 12ft. another; and that they so lived till they were entirely
killed by the great frost in 1739-40."--MILLER.[191:1] These trees must
have been of a hardy variety, for certainly Orange trees, even with such
protection, do not now so grow in England, except in a few favoured
places on the south coast. There is one species which is fairly hardy,
the Citrus trifoliata, from Japan,[191:2] forming a pretty bush with
sweet flowers, and small but useless fruit (seldom, I believe, produced
out-of-doors); it is often used as a stock on which to graft the better
kinds, but perhaps it might be useful for crossing, so as to give its
hardiness to a variety with better flower and fruit.

Commercially the Orange holds a high place, more than 20,000 good fruit
having been picked from one tree, and England alone importing about
2,000,000 bushels annually. These are almost entirely used as a dessert
fruit and for marmalade, but it is curious that they do not seem to have
been so used when first imported. Parkinson makes no mention of their
being eaten raw, but says they "are used as sauce for many sorts of
meats, in respect of the sweet sourness giving a relish and delight
whereinsoever they are used;" and he mentions another curious use, no
longer in fashion, I believe, but which might be worth a trial: "The
seeds being cast into the grounde in the spring time will quickly grow
up, and when they are a finger's length high, be