The lemon is put to various uses. The yellow rind contains many minute cavities which are filled with a fixed oil and an ethereal oil to which the fruit owes its fragrant odor. In Italy the oil is obtained in a very crude way. The peel is cut into three longitudinal slices. The workman takes one of these in his right hand, in the left he grasps a small sponge; by pressing the sponge against the outer surface of the rind so that it becomes concave, the oil-bearing sacs are ruptured and the oil absorbed by the sponge. This is repeated until the sponge becomes saturated, when the juice is squeezed into a cut or other vessel. I am very much afraid that the sponge and the hands of the workman are not always clean. I have been informed that an attempt to introduce machinery for extracting the oil was forcibly resisted. It is also stated that the oil obtained by the “sponge process” is more valuable than that obtained by machinery and distillation. The bitter taste so evident in the lemon is due to limoninand hesperidin, which occur most abundantly in the rind. The sour taste of the lemon is due to citric acid, which is found in the large cells forming the pulpy interior. Of course the sap is largely water, about 97.5 per cent., with about 2 per cent. citric acid. The amount of acid varies, however, even rising to 9 or 10 per cent. The juice is easily expressed and is put to various uses. Lemonade is largely consumed on ships, as it is said to prevent ship scurvy.

Washing face and hands with diluted lemon juice is said to remove tan and freckles. The beneficial properties of lemon juice, lemonade, in fevers is due to its cooling and refreshing effects, and also to the fact that it acts as a heart sedative, thus tending to lower the temperature. Lemon juice has been highly recommended in acute rheumatism and also to counteract the effects of certain poisons, especially opium. The essential oil of lemon acts as a stimulant and has been used in diseases of the eye (ophthalmia). It also serves to give an agreeable odor to certain medicines, and is used in the manufacture of perfumery and as a flavoring agent for confectionery. The lemon peel is used in medicine. Candied lemon peel is a confection prepared by boiling the peel in syrup and then allowing the sugar to crystallize. The following is a description of the excellently colored plate: A is a flowering and fruit-bearing twig, nearly natural size; 1 is a single flower, somewhat magnified; 2, stamens and pistil; 3, ovary in longitudinal sections; 3a, ovary in cross section; 4, anthers; 4a, pollen-grains; 5, fruit, nearly natural size; 6, cross-section of fruit showing rind, large-celled pulp and seeds; 7, 8, and 9, seeds.