LEGUME

a word applied botanically to the one-celled, two-valved seed-pod of plants of the Fabacee«, to which belong the many varieties of beans, peas, and lentils. In popular usage the title has been extended to the seeds, or fruits, themselves. Legumes, also sometimes cla ed as ‘‘pulse,’’ are among the most valuable of vegetable foods. LEMON (see the color-page opposite). The lemon is a member of the citrus genus (which includes also oranges and grapefruits) and is probably native to the north of India. The tree—of sub-tropical and tropical growth—is small, with long straggling branches and short, sharp thorns, and with fragrant flowers and ripening fruits present together at all seasons. Three you sand lemons a year is not uncommon for a good tree under propitious circumstances. The fruit is usually oval, of various shades of yellow, and (generally) with convex oil-cysts in the rind. California produces an ever-increasing quantity, but not yet enough to supply the demand. The fruit is gathered while still green and as soon as it has reached a marketable size, irrespective of the stage of maturity. The picker is provided with a steel measure, or gauge, and all fruit as large as, or over, the size of the gauge is clipped from the tree and placed in a bag suspended by shoulder-straps. <A flourishing vrove is ordinarily picked every four or five weeks. The months from December to March (inclusive) yield the largest crop, and from June to September, the smallest. After gathering, the lemons are washed and then sorted according to their color —chiefly into dark green (unripe); silver green (partly ripe); and vellow (ripe). The ripe are small fruits which have matured while attaining the gauge size. They are considered comparatively undesirable he cause of their poor keeping qualities and lower acid content, and are shipped out as quickly as po ible. The unripe and partly ripe are placed in storage, separately, to ‘‘cure,’’ i.e., to color and mature. The normal curing of the unripe fruits covers from one to four months, their keeping quality depending largely on the care exercised in the control of temperature and humidity during the proce . In the summer, the demand frequently exceeds the storage supplies, and forced curing, or ‘‘sweating,’’ is then resorted to. This changes the dark green to the desired lemon tint in from three to six days. For market purposes, California lemons are generally sorted into two or three, and sometimes four, grades, based on the general texture of the skin (on appearance, whether scarred or not), color, form, and general ‘‘style.’’? Size is not considered in this grading. The best of ‘‘fancy”’ fruits must have good color, fine texture, normal form, and no sears, and be heavy and juicy. <A thin skin is also usually considered an e ential qualification. The next lower grade is called ‘‘choice.’?? The third, “‘standard,’’ includes fruit which may be irregular in shape and badly scarred and discolored but is still of fair fruit value. The fourth or lowest quality is known as “‘culls.’’ The culls are used chiefly for the production of citric acid, lemon oil, lemon juice, and candied lemon peel, and in marmalades and similar produets. At a temperature cold water than if a = » left to dry out on,a shelf. ’. Z a The photograph oppo-. ‘ site is of some of the huge, | a4 ' rough-skinned fruits fre- »! A quently seen in Italy. —s — -. e Copyright, Underwood & Underwood They occasionally reach Large rough-skinned Jemons of many parts of Italy, eight and nine inches in RerRAlemaeicouthennibicancd length, with weight and width in full proportion, and are generally permitted to ripen on the trees. Their rind is employed in making candied lemon peel. See also the separate articles on Lemon Juiczr, Lemon On, ete.