The Memoirs of Bābur 932.12.3

932.12.3

The orange (Ar. _nāranj_, _Citrus aurantium_) and orange-like fruits are others of Hindūstān.[1871] Oranges grow well in the Lamghānāt, Bajaur and Sawād. The Lamghānāt one is smallish, has a navel,[1872] is very agreeable, fragile and juicy. It is not at all like the orange of Khurāsān and those parts, being so fragile that many spoil before reaching Kābul from the Lamghānāt which may be 13-14 _yīghāch_ (65-70 miles), while the Astarābād orange, by reason of its thick skin and scant juice, carries with [Sidenote: Fol. 286b.] less damage from there to Samarkand, some 270-280 _yīghāch_.[1873] The Bajaur orange is about as large as a quince, very juicy and more acid than other oranges. Khwāja Kalān once said to me, "We counted the oranges gathered from a single tree of this sort in Bajaur and it mounted up to 7,000." It had been always in my mind that the word _nāranj_ was an Arabic form;[1874] it would seem to be really so, since every-one in Bajaur and Sawād says (P.) _nārang_.[1875] The lime (B. _līmū_, _C. acida_) is another. It is very plentiful, about the size of a hen's egg, and of the same shape. If a person poisoned drink the water in which its fibres have been boiled, danger is averted.[1876]