Lime (fruit)

“ The fruit of the small Citrus medica, var. acida, Hooker, is that generally called lime in India, approaching as it does very nearly to the fruit of the West India Lime. It is often not much bigger than a pigeon's egg, and one well-known miniature lime of this kind is called by the natives from its thin skin kāghazī nīmbū, or 'paper lime.' This seems to bear much the same relation to the lemon that the miniature thin-skinned orange, which in London shops is called Tangerine, bears to the "China orange." ”

“ LIME JUICE. Syn. Lemon Juice. The juice of the fruits of various species of Citrus, principally LIMES, is known in commerce under these names. It is very variable as to quality, which depends upon the method of extraction, the quality of the fruit, and the honesty of the shipper.
We have examined the juice expressed from limes sent from the West Indies, from Jamaica, and from South Africa, with the following results:
The yield from limes is very small, and the freshly expressed juice contains a large amount of pulp. ”

“ As food for plants, lime is of considerable importance. All plants contain lime—some of them in large quantities. It is an important constituent of [Pg 161] straw, meadow hay, leaves of fruit trees, peas, beans, and turnips. It constitutes more than one third of the ash of red clover. Many soils contain lime enough for the use of plants, in others it is deficient, and must be supplied artificially before they can produce good crops of those plants of which lime is an important ingredient. The only way in which the exact quantity of lime in the soil can be ascertained is by chemical analysis. ”

“ Like the lime it is a powerful stomachic, but not weakening like the orange (nāranj) .
The large lime which they call (H.) gal-gal1881 in Hindūstān is another fruit resembling the orange. It has the shape of a goose’s egg, but unlike that egg, does not taper to the ends. Its skin is smooth like the sangtāra’s; it is remarkably juicy.
The (H.) jānbīrī lime1882 is another orange-like fruit. It is orange-shaped and, though yellow, not orange-yellow. It smells like the citron (turunj) ; it too is deliciously acid.
The (Sans.) sadā-fal (phal) 1883 is another orange-like fruit. ”

“ T. intermedia, the common lime, which is widely planted in Britain but not wild there, has a less northerly distribution than T. cordata, from which it differs in its somewhat larger leaves and downy fruit. (3) The large-leaved lime, T. platyphyllos (or T. grandifolia) , occurs only as an introduction in Britain, and is wild in Europe south of Denmark. It differs from the other two limes in its larger leaves, often 4 in. across, which are downy beneath, its downy twigs and its prominently ribbed fruit. The lime sometimes acquires a great size ”

“ As a cultivated plant the lemon is now met with throughout the Mediterranean region, in Spain and Portugal, in California and Florida, and in almost all tropical and subtropical countries. Like the apple and pear, it varies exceedingly under cultivation. Risso and Poiteau enumerate forty-seven varieties of this fruit, although they maintain as distinct the sweet lime, C. Limetta, with eight varieties, and the sweet lemon, C. Lumia, with twelve varieties, which differ only in the fruit possessing an insipid instead of an acid juice. ”

“ Many of these employ themselves in the cultivation of gardens, and in selling fruit and flowers. The betel and areca, which are here called siri and pinang, and chewed by both sexes and every rank in amazing quantities, are all grown by these Indians: Lime is also mixed with these roots here as it is in Savu, but it is less pernicious to the teeth, because it is first slaked, and, besides the lime, a substance called gambir, which is brought from the continent of India; the better sort of women also add cardamum, and many other aromatics, to give the breath an agreeable smell. ”

“ The sample of cashew preserves examined had the following composition:
Citrus Fruits. —The term “citrus fruit” is applied to that class of fruits represented by the orange, lemon, grape fruit, and lime. In the United States extensive areas are devoted to the production of citrus fruits, and it is claimed by connoisseurs that some of the best varieties grown anywhere in the world are the products of this country. Florida and southern California are two localities where the development of the citrus fruit industry has been carried to the greatest extent. ”

“ Among the more common fruit-trees, some of which are exotics, may be mentioned cacáo (Theobroma) , orange, lemon, lime, pine-apple, banana, guava (Psidium) , breadfruit (Artocarpus) , cashew (Anacardium) , alligator pear (Persea) , with the apple, peach, pear, and other fruits of the temperate zone on the elevated plateaus. Other food and economic plants are coffee, rice, tobacco, sugar-cane, cotton, indigo, vanilla, cassava or “yucca,” sweet and white potatoes, wheat, maize, rye, barley, and vegetables of both tropical and temperate climates. ”

“ The explanation of the mystery about lime-juice (which a hundred years ago was used with absolute success to prevent scurvy, and in 1875 was a dead failure) is shown by the workers at the Lister Institute to be this—namely, "lime" and "lemon" are in origin the same word, and have become applied in ways unrecognized by the Admiralty and their medical advisers in various parts of the world to which the citron, the lemon, the sweet-lime and the sour-lime—all varieties of one species, Citrus medica of Linnæus—have been carried from their original home of origin, the south-east of Asia. ”

“ 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 ”

“ The loss of sugar is not the only bad consequence of the use of lime, as the greater the quantity of gum in the liquor, the more it must be boiled—the more it is boiled the darker it gets—and the higher the temperature at which the skip is struck, the smaller the grain. The following is a good proof that lime dissolves albumen, and becomes converted into chalk:—Take a spoonful of syrup out of the tache of any estate on which the liquor is tempered cold ”

“ A very beautiful whitening for walls and ceilings may be made by shaking the best lime in hot water, covering up to keep in the steam, and straining the milk of lime through a fine sieve; add to a pailful half a pound of common alum, two pounds of sugar, three pints of rice-flour made into a thin, well-boiled paste, and one pound of white glue dissolved slowly over the fire. ”

“ I never tasted better.”
“I ran the lemon peel through a meat-chopper with the lemon pulp. I use about one-quarter peel and the pulp of one lemon to the juice of every three lemons. If the juice of one orange and a lime is added to every ten lemons, it flavours the product much better. Sometimes a bit of Maraschino adds a peculiar flavour, but we never use it for the children.”
The party ended with fortune-telling, with apple-parings, sailing walnut shells across the tub of water, risking noses and teeth at biting on swinging apples, and other familiar games. ”

“ It is possible to bud as you propose, and it is not necessary to go back to the old stock. Work in above the forks.
No Citrus Fruits on Lemon Roots.
Would it be any advantage to bud the Washington Navel on grapefruit and lemon roots?
The grapefruit or pomelo is a good root for the orange, and some propagators prefer it. The lemon root is not used at present, because of its effect in causing a coarse growth of tree and fruit and because it is more subject to disease than the orange root. In fact, we grow nearly all lemons on orange roots. ”

“ A supply of fresh limes is easily carried, and no better cooling and refreshing drink can be made than that formed by squeezing a lime in a glass and adding water and sugar. Be very careful of the water drunk in travelling, and use a pocket-filter whenever it is in anyway doubtful. ”

“ Many farmers who use lime for the first time on wheat, are apt to feel a little discouraged in the spring. I have frequently seen limed wheat in the spring look worse than where no lime was used. But wait a little, and you will see a change for the better, and at harvest, the lime will generally give a good account of itself.
There is one thing about lime which, if generally true, is an important matter to our wheat-growers. Lime is believed to hasten the maturity of the crop. ”

“ Every day, or even twice a day, the hides are drawn out ("hauled") , and the pit is well plunged up, to distribute the undissolved lime through the liquor. The hides are then drawn in again ("set") , care being taken that they are fully spread out. How much lime is required is doubtful, but owing to its limited solubility, an excess, if well slaked, is rather wasteful than « 142 » injurious. Great differences exist in the quantity of the lime used, the time given, and the method of working. Lime, as we have seen (p. 140) , is only soluble to the extent of about 1·25 grm. ”

“ We have never used lime on our berry fields at the time of planting, and yet, as you know, all of our New England soils are deficient in lime. We use some indirectly, as we grow clover to plow under, and usually give at that time a good dressing of lime. As we try to have a new clover field every year, we get all around the farm in six or eight years, and we therefore get a dressing of lime all around once in that time, and have never been able to see any ill effects from it. In fact, we believe it a positive benefit in helping to keep down sorrel, if nothing more. ”

“ The citron is oblong, with a very thick rind; the lemon is oblong with a small lump or protuberance at the end; and the lime has no protuberance, has a very thin rind, and is about the size of a small egg. These are the principal marks of discrimination betwixt these fruits, but they are not quite constant.
The lemon shrub (Fig. 56) has large and slightly indented shining leaves, of somewhat oval shape, but pointed; and on the footstalks of the leaves there is no remarkable appendage. The flowers are large and white, but purplish on the outside of the petals. ”

“ For the purpose of liming, the quality of the lime used is of the utmost importance, the milk of lime being frequently quite valueless by reason of having become carbonated or a bad quality of quick lime having been originally employed. ”

“ It will be very important to establish this supposition, but I fear it is too good news to be true. On referring to your letter, I find you don't say what I supposed you did, but that the lime liberates the soluble silicates, potash, &c. This may be, and certainly the beneficial effects of lime in growing wheat are not to be explained by any other hypothesis with which I am acquainted. I am this year trying some experiments to ascertain (if I can) the cause of clover- sickness, and I hope to be in a position to say whether your supposition that lime, gypsum, &c. will prevent it, is correct. ”

“ A word or two as to lime. When this is spoken of, let it be understood always what is meant; whether pure lime, that is what is called burnt lime, or the same substance in combination with fixed air, or carbonic acid, of which the process of burning deprives it. The effects of these two preparations are exceedingly different on animal bodies; the former causing rapid decomposition and consumption; the latter being, on the contrary, quite inert. Loaf-sugar, though prepared by means of lime, ought never to contain a particle of it, and scarcely ever does. ”

“ The flowers are large and white, but purplish on the outside of the petals.
It is generally supposed that the citron-tree was first introduced from Assyria and Media into Greece, and thence into the Southern parts of Europe, where it is now cultivated to considerable extent. It is also grown in the islands of the West Indies. The fruit, partaking of the same quality as the lemon, with the exception of being somewhat less acid, is seldom eaten raw; but, preserved in sugar as a sweetmeat, it is much used by confectioners and others. ”

“ When slaked lime is mixed with water, the fixed air in the water is attracted by the lime, and saturates a small portion of it, which then becomes again incapable of dissolution, but part of the remaining slaked lime is dissolved and composes lime-water. ”

“ Experience has taught me that the best and most profitable mode of applying lime is on grass land. If the grass seed is sown in the fall with the wheat or rye, which is the common practice with us in New Jersey, as soon as the harvest comes off the next year, we apply the lime with the least delay, and while fresh slacked and in a dry and mealy state. It can be spread more evenly on the ground, and is in a state to be more readily taken up by the fine roots of the plants, than if allowed to get wet and clammy. ”

“ As a matter of course, Lentils and other kinds of pulse agree more or less with Peas and Beans in the predominance of phosphates and potash. So, again, all the Brassicas, whether Kales, Cauliflower, or whatever else, agree nearly with the Cabbage in the prominent presence of lime and sulphur; ingredients which fully account for the offensive odour of these vegetables when in a state of decay. Fruits as a rule are highly charged with alkalies, and are rarely deficient in phosphates; moreover, stone-fruits require lime, for they have to make bone as well as flesh when they produce a crop. ”