The Cheyenne Daily Leader

Origin of Blood Oranges.

The blood orange is a mere variety of the sweet orange obtained by cultivation, and appears first to have been raised by the Spanish gardeners in the Philippine Islands, from the capital of which (Manila) it, together with the well known cigars, formed at one time one of the chief articles of export. On its first appearance in Europe it excited a considerable sensation, and, in the last century, very high prices were demanded for the trees which bore the wonderful fruit. None, however, now come to us from Manila, our supply being derived almost entirely from Malta, where great pains and attention are bestowed upon their cultivation.

It was for a long time supposed—and, indeed, the idea is not yet quite extinct—that blood oranges were produced by the grafting of the orange with the pomegranate; but there is not the slightest foundation for this belief—New York Star.