MANUAL OF GARDENING

FOR

INDIA.

MANUAL OF GARDENING

FOR

BENGAL AND UPPER INDIA.

By THOMAS A. C. FIRMINGER, M.A.,

I)

CHAPLAIN ON THE BENGAL ESTABLISHMENT;

HONORARY MEMBER OP THE AGRI-HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OP INDIA,
AND OF THE AGRI-HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF THE PUNJAB.

" To grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and

good for food." — GEN. ii. 9.

THIRD EDITION.

CALCUTTA:

THACKER, SPINK AND Co., 5 GOVEENMENT PLACE.

BOMBAY : THACKEI7, VINING AND Co.
LONDON : W. TRACKER AND Co., 87 NEWGATE STREET.

MDCCCLXXIV.

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

THE want of a practical and comprehensive work upon
Gardening, expressly adapted to this country, has been
much felt, I believe, by all who have had the manage-
ment of a garden in India. The Agricultural and
Horticultural Society of India indeed have long since
acknowledged the existence of such a want, by the
offers they have repeatedly made of a premium for the
best treatise upon the subject that should be presented
to them before a certain stated time. These offers have
in no single instance met with a response.

It was not till, after every inquiry possible, I had
ascertained that there was no prospect whatever of a
work of the kind being undertaken by some other
hand, that I resolved upon commencing one myself,
arid placing before the Public such amount of informa-
tion as, during my hours of recreation and leisure, I
have been able to collect upon the subject.

By a residence of several years at Ferozepore, I had

867

vi PKEFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

made myself well acquainted with the cultivation of
a garden in the North- West Provinces ; when, on
removal to Htowrah, by the practical knowledge I ac-
quired in my own garden, as well as by observation of
what was done in others I had the means of visiting,
I became thoroughly conversant with the practice of
gardening as applicable to Bengal. The ready access
also that I then had both to the Government Botanical
Garden, and to those of the Agri-Horticultural Society,
served to put within my reach much very important
information concerning numerous plants, which I could
not otherwise have obtained. The appointment, more-
over, I held during six years as one of the judges at
the horticultural shows at Calcutta, served to render
me familiar with the finest productions of the country,
in the way of vegetables, fruits, and flowers exhibited
there during the colder months.

It is still not without considerable diffidence that I
venture on submitting these pages to the press. No
one can be more thoroughly aware than myself of
many deficiences with which they must unavoidably
be chargeable : but working single-handed ; gathering,
often under great difficulty, my facts for myself; not
taking any statement upon trust, which by subsequent
trial I had the means of verifying ; and with the labours
of no predecessor to be of any material assistance to
me, I can only hope for indulgence, if in some instances
the information I impart be not so full as might be

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. vii

desired, and if in some few perhaps I prove wrong or
mistaken.

Of the works to which I have mainly made reference,
I should not omit mention of the ' Hortus Calcuttensis '
of Dr. Yoigt. In this catalogue, however, are enume-
rated many plants that do not exist in the country,
and of which there appears strong reason to doubt
whether they ever have done so ; while many of the
most ornamental ones we now possess are not found
there, having been introduced since the work was com-
piled. The ' Flora Indica ' of Dr. Roxburgh also I
have made free use of, whenever it served me. Dr.
Koxburgh's remarks on any plant he has described are
almost invariably accurate and excellent, except that,
owing perhaps to long residence in India, the merit he
attaches to most of its vegetable productions may be
somewhat overrated. For the copious and frequent use
I have made of the valuable writings of Sir J. Paxton
and Dr. Lindley, no apology, I trust, will be required.
I need hardly notice the Transactions and Journals of
the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India, as
a source likewise upon which I have drawn largely.
The whole of those volumes I have thoroughly searched,
and extracted from them all that I found of any value
for my purpose. On no occasion, however, have I
borrowed either from them, or from any other authority,
without the fullest acknowledgment. All descriptions
of plants that I have given, have been, unless other-

viii PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

wise stated or implied, from my own observation of
them in this country. I have been scrupulously careful
not to set down any plant as to be met with in India,
of the existence of which there I have not had positive
knowledge. On the other hand, if there are some
plants occasionally to be found in gardens of which I
have failed to give account, in most cases it has been
because I have not considered them sufficiently orna-
mental to merit a place there ; some few possibly may
have escaped me.

I should be very remiss were I not in this place to
name Mr. Robert Scott, of the Government Botanical
Gardens, as one to whom I am under very considerable
obligations for the liberal and unreserved way in which
he has always supplied me with particulars respecting
any plant about which I have made inquiry. To Mr.
A. H. Blechynden, likewise, the able and courteous
Secretary of the Agri-Horticultural Society, I have
here to tender my best thanks for the kind aid and
encouragement he has uniformly afforded me during
the progress of this work.

There remain now only a few words to add with
respect to the general arrangement I have adopted.
For the convenience of reference, the ornamental an-
nuals have been kept in a group separate from plants
of perennial duration. For the same reason the nut
and fruit-bearing plants have been placed in groups
apart from each other. The classification followed is

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. ix

that given in the last edition of Dr. Lindley's ' Vege-
table Kingdom.' Where any plant is described, type
of three distinct kinds has been used for the names
placed at the heading; according as it is the Latin,
European, or Native one that is denoted. For example,
as in Mirabilis Jalapa — MARVEL OF PERU — Gool-ubbds,
the name printed in black type denotes uniformly the
Latin, the second in capitals the European, and the one
in italics the native one.

CHINSURAH, March, 1863.

PKEFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

SINCE the issue of the former Edition of this work, cir-
cumstances have occurred affecting matters of gardening
in India, which I feel called upon to notice. Lower
Bengal has been visited by two violent cyclones, which
have caused devastation in all gardens public and
private, and destroyed, either entirely or nearly so,
many of the plants I had described. Now upon this
account merely, I have not seen the necessity of alter-
ing what was already written respecting them. My
object was to describe them such as I had known them
to exist and thrive in this country, and this object
would not be affected by any accident that might sub-
sequently befall them. Upon the same consideration I
let remain what I had stated respecting plants in the
gardens of the Agri -Horticultural Society ; although
on the ground being reclaimed by Government, the
plants have no existence there now.

On the other hand, again, many new plants have,
within these two or three years past been introduced,
of which I have not had the opportunity of gaining

xii PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

knowledge. But the possession of these is confined to
few ; and I believe that those, of which an account is
here given, comprise all that are likely to be met with
in most gardens. The main points, then, in which this
Edition differs from the preceding, is in the correction
of some few errors, and in the addition of some im-
portant particulars, more especially with regard to fruit
culture.

I wish here also to record the obligations I have
been laid under. To Mr. Errington, Head-gardener of
the Agri-Horticultural Society, I am much indebted for
some most useful information he kindly communicated
to me. For a valuable communication upon the Oranges
of Nagpore, I have here to offer my best thanks to
Mr. A. Eoss. To Dr. G. Henderson I am especially
obliged for the kindness and readiness with which he
replied to all questions I troubled him with upon
matters of Gardening in the Punjab ; and to Mr. S.
Jennings, of Dum-Dum, I am under great obligations
for the generous assistance he afforded me, in particular
with regard to Caladiums and Orchids. Lastly, I have
to acknowledge some few particulars of interest I was
enabled to glean from the MS. Notebook of the late
General F. Jenkins, which he kindly placed at my
disposal.

April, 1869.

PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION.

THE present Edition of this work, though an endeavour
has been made to condense it by the suppression of
particulars of less importance, will be found to contain
about twenty pages more than the last. As regards
however, the great bulk of the matter contained in it,
it will be found otherwise to differ little. In fact
there was little perhaps to call for much alteration.
The great desideratum was to notice and describe as
far as possible the plants that have been newly intro-
duced. These, though many in number, comprise for
the most part such as are remarkable for their foliage,
as well as those the cultivation of which can only be
conducted successfully in the Betel-house. The most
of these I believe I have been enabled to specify, and
several of them to describe either in the body of the
work or at p. 594, at its close.

For corrections and additional information in the
description of the Orchids I owe my best thanks again
to Mr. S. Jennings. For the advantage also that I
have taken of the valuable contributions of Mr. John

xiv PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION:

Scott to the ' Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society/
I hope I may count upon his kind indulgence. It may
be as well, too, here to state that, much as I have drawn
in the way of information from the writings of others,
I have never paraphrased it and passed it off as original,
but invariably given it in their own words. Nor
should I, in common honesty, have considered myself
entitled to make use of information so derived at all if,
of whatever benefit it might be to me, I saw that it
could by any possibility be attended with loss or in-
justice to them.

September, 1874.

CONTENTS.

PACK

INTRODUCTION 1

PART I.
OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

CHAPTEE I.

Climate — Soils — Manures y

CHAPTER II.

Laying out of a Garden — Lawns — Hedges — Hoeing and Digging
— Irrigation — Drainage — Conservatories — Betel -Houses — De-
corations — Implements — Shades — Labels — Vermin — Weeds . . 22

0

CHAPTER III.

Seeds— Seed -sowing— Pot-culture— Planting and Transplanting—
Cuttings— Layers— Gootee — Grafting and Inarching— Budding
— Pruning and Root-pruning — Conveyance 50

CHAPTER IV.
Calendar of Operations .. 93

CONTENTS.

PART II.
GARDEN PLANTS.

CHAPTER I.

Culinary Vegetables

CHAPTER II.

Dessert Fruits ,

CHAPTER III.

Edible Nuts

CHAPTER IV.

Ornamental Annuals..

169

269

281

CHAPTER V.

Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Herbaceous Perennials . . 325

1. Index to English Names of Plants, and General Index . . 599

2. Index to Latin Names of Classes, Orders, Genera, and Species . 605

3. Index to Native Names of Plants

.. 621

A MANUAL OF GARDENING

FOB

BENGAL AND UPPER INDIA.

INTEODUCTION.

UNDER the most favourable point of view it can hardly be said
that horticulture has as yet made much advancement in India.
Of the natives, those of the higher class, it would seem, have
never manifested much fondness for it, nor taken much interest
in the pursuit ; while those who follow it for a livelihood have
not found it sufficiently remunerative to devote to it more than
the least possible of their time and thought. Of this we have
the plainest evidence, look in whatever direction we may. The
flowers they prize are confined to only a limited few ; and those
not especially for their beauty, but from having been consecrated
from time immemorial to certain religious or festive purposes.
And so, again, in regard to the fruit that we see exposed in
vast quantities for sale in the bazars ; it is always the most
inferior of its kind. The Mangos, Guavas, Pine-apples, and
Plantains, are uniformly all but of the very worst description.
That this should be the case no adequate reason can be assigned,
but the want of a very trifling amount of care and attention
bestowed upon the cultivation of better sorts. This little care
and attention, it does not appear that they think it worth their
while to bestow. Their fruit-trees, generally, are such as have
sprung up on the spot, where the seed of some worthless kind
has been casually dropped or cast away ; and although the
seed of a fine sort does not invariably produce a tree of equal
excellence to the one that bore it, from the seed of a bad sort
can only be expected a tree that will yield fruit no better than
that of its parent. Not only is it thus, however, that their trees
are multiplied ; but as they grow up they are left altogether
neglected, densely crowded, perhaps among others of their own

B

2 INTRODUCTION.

kind, or choked up in the midst of different kinds of jungul-
trees.

There are in the country, it is true, gardens in possession of
the wealthier natives, where fruit-trees of choice kinds are to
be found, and where some slight attention is bestowed upon
them, but such gardens are comparatively very few ; and even
in gardens such as these, of the vegetable productions that
belong to the country, there are none that possess any high
merit but what has been at some time owing to a mere sport of
nature, wholly unaided by the hand of man. Cultivation to the
extent of pruning and manuring undoubtedly is practised, but
anything like a careful and persevering endeavour to surpass
in any instance what has already been done before, seems never
to be contemplated. By many even the simple operation of
budding is regarded with superstitious aversion ; and as for the
methods of hybridizing, crossing, or the more easy one of
"repeated selection," whereby cultivators in Europe are con-
tinually raising vegetables, fruits, and flowers, of a better
description, any such proceeding is altogether unknown.

Nor of Europeans, moreover, can it be affirmed during the
long time they have been resident in India, that they have
done much, save in the introduction of new plants, towards the
advancement of horticulture. The mere ordinary operations
of working the soil, watering, highly manuring, pruning, and
inarching are all that has been done ; no efforts have been
made to improve the races of plants indigenous to the country ;
no attempt by any of the more refined processes of science to
produce superior varieties. It has been stated that the fine
varieties of Mango, for which one locality at Bombay is famous,
have resulted from the skill bestowed upon their culture by
the Europeans who first settled in that part of India — an
assertion that rests upon very slender foundations ; and this is
the only instance, I believe, where it is even pretended that an
improved variety of fruit has been produced in India, by the
art of the cultivator.

At the Government Botanical Gardens at Seebpore, near
Calcutta, for a period of very many years, there has been a
constant accession of plants of every description, brought from
all reigons of the world, as well as from every part of India.
From this establishment plants and seeds were formerly dis-
tributed gratuitously to all who applied for them. This was
not only a very great boon to the individual applicants, but a

INTRODUCTION. 3

great benefit to India generally, since many most valuable
plants became thus in a very short time thoroughly established,
and all but naturalized in the country. This gratuitous dis-
tribution, however, was eventually considered to be attended
with abuse ; in the first place, because some persons applied
for plants who, obtaining them for nothing, set no value on
them when they got them; and secondly, because so long as
plants could thus be obtained for nothing, no encouragement
was given to native nurserymen to cultivate them for sale. The
distribution was therefore discontinued.

The Government Botanical Gardens at Saharunpore have
done for the North- West Provinces what the Botanical Gardens
at Calcutta have done for Bengal. Seeds and plants have been
issued from them without charge to all, indiscriminately, who
have applied for them. This has proved a great public benefit.
Indeed without such a resource to draw upon, private gardens
could hardly have been kept up with any degree of satisfaction.

Next, the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India,
established between thirty and forty years ago, though it has,
it is true, effected comparatively little as regards the importa-
tion of new plants, has been of considerable benefit to India, by
the abundant supplies of seeds of flowering annuals and culinary
vegetables that it distributes each year to its members, as well
as by the gratuitous issue of ornamental plants, and the sale of
fruit trees from its garden. By means also of the three exhi-
bitions of flowers, fruits, and vegetables that it holds annually,
and at which prizes are liberally bestowed, it has created great
emulation among the native cultivators around Calcutta. To
this mainly is owing the abundant supply of remarkably fine
vegetables that may be seen in the markets there during the
cold months.

Branch societies have likewise been established in different
parts of India ; for instance, at Cuttack, Baugulpore, Lucknow,
Delhi, Lahore, and other places. These have done much good
during the time they have been in existence, by forming public
gardens, holding horticultural shows, and distributing seeds and
plants.

And lastly, private individuals have contributed, as far as
their limited means have allowed, to disseminate a taste for
gardening by the attractiveness of the well-stocked and orderly-
arranged gardens they have kept up, and by the display of the
choice plants which, often at considerable expense, they have

B 2

4 INTRODUCTION.

procured from distant quarters of the world. It is very sad,
however, it must be confessed, to see gardens upon which have
been bestowed great pains and labour during many years, and
which were the admiration of all in the station where they were
situated, become an utter waste and ruin, when by any change
of circumstances their owners have been obliged to relinquish
them. This nearly invariably happens. But a consideration
such as this ought not any the more to deprive those who love
a garden of the enjoyment of having one to last their own time
at least, if it last no longer. For leaving alone the benefit
derived from the produce, so sweet a charm is there in all that
appertains to the pursuit of gardening — the loveliness of the
flowers with which in constant succession throughout the year
one is surrounded — the fine perfume, varying with the varying
seasons, with which, day and night, the air around the house is
unceasingly scented — and above all the comfort and healthiness
of living in premises from which absolute cleanliness and neatness
are inseparable — that, happen to it whatever might afterwards,
the present pleasure derived from a garden is ample enough to
repay for all the cost and trouble expended on it.

A few words here may not be out of place regarding native
cultivators, both in their character of malees and nurserymen.

First, then, no one should allow himself to suppose that
he can have a well-kept, well-cultivated garden without being,
to a considerable extent, his own head gardener. A garden
left entirely to the hands of a malee will invariably be found in
that dirty, neglected state so noticeable in the compounds
around most European residences in India. It is useless
to give only general orders to a native servant. The owner
must from time to time scrutinize each particular operation of
the garden, and give special directions how it is to be done, or in
many instances it will not be done properly, if even it is done
at all. Vexation and angry words will never set things right.
The malees are generally very good servants if properly
managed ; but more must not be expected from them than
really is in their nature. They follow gardening as their
vocation, but they have no enthusiasm for it ; and the interest
they take in the work will always be just in proportion to the
interest they see taken in it by their master. And they will
become interested when they find a master that is so ; who pays
them regularly, refrains from maltreating them or giving them
abuse, co-operates with them, and shows them, now and then,

INTRODUCTION.

with his own hand, what he wishes to have done. Let them
see that you are their master in respect of knowing and being
able to perform their work as well as, or better than, themselves,
and you will find in them as good servants as are to be met
with, perhaps, in any part of the world. They are exceedingly
apt in acquiring knowledge ; the retentiveness of their memory
is indeed surprising. Several of those, for instance, employed
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens will remember, and, on being
asked, be ready immediately to give, the scientific name of any
plant in the vast collection there. And this is the more to be
wondered at, as to them the meaning of the name being wholly
unknown, the name itself cannot be suggested to their minds
by any peculiarity of the plant that it denotes.

Many of the malees, too, about Calcutta are much more con-
versant with the scientific names of the plants they have to
cultivate than the ordinary run of gardeners in England are.
Unfortunately they have been encouraged to attach far too
great importance to this kind of knowledge. Those who
possess it require higher wages in consequence ; and as far as
my experience goes, often prove neglectful, indolent, and
cunning. But apt as they are at learning, they have very
little judgment withal. Even the apparently simple operation
of administering water to a potted plant in exact accordance
with its wants, it seems all but hopeless to make them com-
prehend— indeed, any operation of the garden that requires to
be modified according to circumstances, appears to lie almost
beyond their capacity. They adhere to one constant uniform
routine in all their work, from which they hardly have an idea
of deviating, and from which it is only with great difficulty
often that they can be brought to deviate.

In the year 1855 the Agri-Horticultural Society of India
established a school in their garden. The boys, under the
superintendence of their head gardener, Mr. McMurray, were to
work in the garden morning and evening, so as to become
acquainted with all the branches of practical gardening, and
with the various experiments that are from time to time
carried on with plants. In the daytime they were to study in
the school under the native teachers writing, reading, arithmetic,
mensuration, geography, and the elements of botany, so as to
become intelligent gardeners.

This scheme proved completely unsuccessful, and was aban-
doned after a very short trial. It was immediately seen that,

6 INTRODUCTION.

though willing enough to receive the instruction thus imparted,
the boys, on being educated, found avocations that they were
enabled to follow far more lucrative than that of a m&lee ; and
thus the only object for which the schools were established was
defeated. Indeed, the scheme was by no means a feasible one
at the outset. It was hardly to be expected that to men
in the humble sphere of the malee, much, if any, theoretical
knowledge could be imparted. The judicious application of
the theory of gardening is not to be acquired but by men of a
liberal education, and of a class far above that of mere
labourers, such as malees are. Horticulture among the natives
will never be carried to any degree of excellence until native
gentlemen acquire a fondness for the pursuit, become their
own head gardeners, and overcome the scruples they now have
of manipulating with their own hands.

Native nurserymen of two classes are to be found rather
numerously in the suburbs of Calcutta ; those of the one class
more properly may be termed market-gardeners, devoting
themselves exclusively to the cultivation of vegetables for the
Calcutta markets, and have their gardens principally at Bagh-
Bazar, Mochee Khola, and the neighbourhood of Alipore.
They cultivate most of the European vegetables during the
cold months, and some, such as Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Knol-
kohl, and Carrots, they raise abundantly, and as near to perfec-
tion perhaps as these vegetables can be brought.

Those of the other class cultivate ornamental plants for sale,
and have their little nursery-grounds principally in the locality
called Manik Tollah. The ordinary plants grown in Calcutta
gardens may be purchased of them at a moderate price, but
for choice plants they are apt to charge excessively

A large number of natives also get a livelihood by carrying
plants about Calcutta for sale at an exceedingly cheap rate.
They are for the most part a very fraudulent class of men,
demanding at first far more for a plant than it is worth, or
than they ultimately are willing to take for it. They are also
little to be depended upon. I have purchased from them for a
high sum plants, and on opening the ball of earth supposed
to enclose the roots, have found that I have been cheated with
merely the end of a flowering branch cut off and stuck in a
piece of clay.

PAKT I.
OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

CHAP. I. CLIMATE.

CHAPTEK I.

CLIMATE — SOILS — MANURES.

CLIMATE.

IN Bengal, what is called the "Cold season" lasts, at the
longest, not more than three months, commencing in November
and ending by February. The temperature at night, during
that period, at times, will fall as low as the freezing-point;
but this is of rare occurrence. Towards the close of February
commences the Hot season, which lasts till about the middle
of June, when the periodical rains usually set in. From
March to May is the hottest period of the whole year. March
and April are the driest months. Some time in June the Kain
season begins, and lasts usually till about the 20th of October.
The greatest humidity prevails in August and September.
During these months, towards the evening, the atmosphere is
filled with vapour almost to saturation.

The judicious gardener will, of course, conduct his operations
in strictest reference to all these conditions of the climate.

During the cold months he will shelter his more delicate
plants, those especially natives of a lower latitude, from the
rapid transitions from heat to cold, and from cold to heat, which
take place at that period of the year, hurtful alike to plant and
man. To plants, likewise, that he sees have ceased from
growth, and have entered into a state of temporary rest during
these months, he will be most sparing in the application of
water, which, in that condition, they cannot absorb and
assimilate.

During the arid months that follow, when the soil becomes
daily drier and harder, he will be liberal in his supply of water
and surface-dressing to plants that, at that period, are in the
full vigour of their growth, and especially to fruit-trees upon
which the fruit is swelling.

When the rains are thoroughly set in and the air all but
saturated with moisture, he will know that the season has come

lt> OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

when plants, natives of this country, or of the same or lower
latitude, may mostly safely be transplanted, as little evaporation
then takes place from their leaves to exhaust them. For this
reason also he will find it to be the time when plants of the
same description may with the greatest facility be multiplied
by cuttings, the soil itself being to them then as a hot-bed, and
the dense body of moisture above acting as a hand-glass.

Again, at this season of the year, he will not be long in dis-
covering, that to many of his more delicate plants nothing can
be more fatal than alternate exposure to the violence of the
rains and the fierce hot sunshine, that at intervals succeed each
other then. With regard also to plants in the border, that are
natives of a colder climate and that are in less vigorous growth
at that period, he will also observe, in most instances, it is not
the quantity of water that falls upon them in the way of rain,
that is so injurious, but that which is allowed to lie and stagnate
at their roots. For such plants he will find a place in some
gently elevated piece of ground, whence the water may be
gradually cai-ried off not long after it has fallen.

It is at this season, too, that he will find the greatest
difficulty in the management of his potted plants, particularly
the choice kinds that require the shelter of a verandah. Many
of these, though not making growth, cannot dispense altogether
with some amount of moisture in the soil ; and of the water,
applied from time to time for the purpose of insuring this
necessary amount of moisture, that which does not pass off by
drainage has, except in the most airy situations, a tendency to
stagnate, insomuch as to cause the soil to turn sour and become
covered with a rank green mould, to the great detriment and
often death of the plants.

And here may be mentioned one very striking fact, which
every one will hardly fail of discovering after he has had but
brief experience of gardening in India. It is, that there is a
certain range of temperature adapted to each plant and each
seed, beyond the limits of which the plant will not grow nor the
seed germinate. Take, for instance, the common red Geranium
and the Heliotrope : the power of growth in these plants, it
will be observed, is as much suspended during the Hot and Rain
seasons in India as during the winter in Europe, the high
temperature of the one climate and the low temperature of the

CHAP. I. CLIMATE. 1L

other producing effects as near as possible alike. And so like-
wise with regard to certain seeds: the power of germinating
will be found to lie dormant as long as the temperature remains
above a certain height, as much so as when it is too low. The
seeds of annuals, that in Europe will not germinate in the cold
soil during winter, will likewise lie dormant in the overheated
soil of India during the Hot and Kain seasons, and will not
germinate till the congenial cold of November has set in.

Towards the close of October, therefore, the gardener will be
well aware that the time for him to be busies^ has arrived. It
is then that he will have to make his sowing of European
annuals, and to put his kitchen-garden in forwardness for his
crops of vegetables; and to repot and make preparations for
propagating his choice plants, natives of a colder climate.

The climate of the Upper Provinces varies considerably from
that of Bengal, insomuch that many plants, which thrive under
the one, will not thrive nor hardly exist in the other ; and pos-
sibly it has often happened that plants, introduced into Calcutta,
and condemned from their not thriving there, as unsuited to
India, might prove most valuable acquisitions in the North- West
Provinces. Plants from a lower latitude, such as the Straits,
for instance, that do not succeed in Calcutta, it is not reasonable
to suppose would succeed higher up ; but many plants from
localities such as some parts of China and the Cape of Good
Hope, where they are subject to a season of severer cold than
they find at Calcutta, there is every encouragment to make
trial of in Upper India. Not to mention numerous others, those
delightful shrubs, Chimonanthus fragrans and Nandina domes-
tica, that thrive well, but never open a blossom at Calcutta,
would, in all probability, the one scent the gardens of the
North-West Provinces with the sweet perfume of its flowers,
and the other adorn them with its crops of pretty red berries.
And now that the railway has been completed to Delhi, it is
much to be hoped that one of the earliest benefits resulting from
it may be the beautifying of the gardens of Upper India with
many plants such as these, that have been hitherto unknown
there.

The Cold season, in Upper India, commences at the beginning
of October, and cannot be said to be completely over till about
the close of April.

12 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

In December and January sharp frosts at night are not
unfrequent, sufficiently severe to destroy many of the tender
kinds of shrubs, unless protected. The European annuals,
though often in the early morning rigid with a white coating
of hoar-frost upon them, and in an hour or so after exposed to
the burning rays of the sun full upon them, seem, with one or
two exceptions, to take little harm, otherwise than that their
growth is all but entirely arrested while the season is at the
coldest. By the 10th February the frosts are over.

During March; after their temporary rest, trees and shrubs
in a well-irrigated garden push forth with a vigour perfectly
astonishing, far beyond anything of the kind ever witnessed in
Bengal. The young shoots, however, thus rapidly produced,
are very apt to be scorched up and killed in a few hours' time
by the fierce hot gales that prevail soon after.

In May the- heat becomes intense, the same at night as during
the day. At this period the garden, must be unremittingly
watered. Many plants in the border left unwatered even for
a fortnight would of a certainty perish, and most would be
sure of dying, if left unwatered during the whole of the dry
season. This excessive heat continues with little intermission,
unless during the heavy falls of rain that occur more or less in
July and August, till September, when it begins gradually to
abate.

After the rains furious winds frequently spring up, uprooting
large shrubs and fruit-trees from the soil, while soddened with
wet, and soft and loose. There is nothing that happens
throughout the whole year so pernicious to the garden as this,
and the evil of which it is more difficult to counteract or
remedy.

And now, before leaving the subject of climate, a few words
may be added with regard to the plants from other quarters of
the globe, that are likely to prove suited to India. On this
question not much can be decided but by actual trial. We
have as yet very little clue to guide us, from what we know of
the structure and habit of a plant as it exists elsewhere, in
determining whether it would thrive or exist in this country.
Of two plants brought from the same identical spot, the one
will thrive vigorously, while the other will pine and perish,
without our being able to assign the remotest reason why.

CHAP. I. SOILS. 13

As the general result of our experience hitherto, it may,
however, be laid down, that the cultivation of plants from
South Australia and the Cape of Good Hope is, with few excep-
tions, to be regarded as almost hopeless in Lower Bengal. The
introduction of the various bulbous plants, with which the Cape
so abounds, has uniformly been found unsatisfactory in the
extreme. Again, some few of the plants that adorn our gardens
come from China and Japan ; but very many beautiful things
brought from those countries will not thrive, nor even continue
alive here long. The same may be said likewise of plants from
Java.

On the other hand, plants from the region of Sierra Leone,
the Brazils, the West Indies, and parts of Mexico, are those
which have mainly proved suitable to the climate of Calcutta.
But of course the elevation and the insular position of the
countries whence plants are obtained are as much to be taken
into consideration as the latitude.

In the Punjab, Dr. G. Henderson tells me, all Australian
plants thrive well, after they are a year old, and have attained
to above three feet in height ; but that up to that time they are
very sensitive to excess of moisture during the rains.

SOILS.

The gardener must, for the most part, take the soil such as he
finds it, and cannot enter into any of those extensive operations
for its improvement which, when judiciously conducted, prove
so remunerative to the agriculturist. I need, therefore, no more
than remark in general, that the soil met with in this country-
is principally either a clayey alluvium of a dense nature, as in
a large part of Upper India, or, as in the Madras Presidency, of a
red loose kind of loam, apparently the more fertile of the two.

Where sand is a large ingredient in the soil, as it is in some
extensive districts of India, horticulture cannot, without diffi-
culty, be pursued with any very favourable results.

PEAT. — Anything of the nature of peat, such as is employed
largely in gardens in England, does not. that I am aware of,
constitute the soil of any part of the plains of India. A material
called peat has for many years been made use of in the Cal-
cutta Botanical Gardens, and in the Gardens of the Agri-Horti-

14 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART T.

cultural Society, principally for potted plants. This is procured
from the banks of the river, and seems to be something of the
nature of anthracite, perfectly insoluble in water, and affording
not a particle of nutriment to vegetation. Pounded course, it
seems to serve very much the same purpose that pure sand, or
charcoal broken small, would do.

True peat, Sir J. Paxton describes as " the sodden vegetable
remains of rushy bogs — inert, antiseptic vegetable matter, that
can be brought to little worthy account in the garden. This/'
he says, " is not what is meant when gardeners speak of peat ;
but by the earth, which of late years it has been fashionable to

call peat, gardeners mean ' the soil of heath-commons.'

Gardener's peat ought to be called, what it in truth is, ' heath
mould,' being the earth found at the siirface of commons or
wastes where heaths grow naturally, and which was formerly
called * bog-earth ' as inappropriately as it is now called ' peat.'
The best heath soil contains much fibrous matter ; but, upon the
whole, not one-tenth part consists of decayed vegetable matter.

"Nothing can be compounded which will answer every pur-
pose of heath-soil. Where, however, it cannot be obtained, it
can be most successfully imitated by collecting masses of leaves
and small sticks of trees (the fir tribe particularly) which do
not grow upon chalk, and exposing them to the weather till
they decay to a complete black or brown mould. To the soil
thus produced, one-third part by measure of fine white sand may
be added at the time of potting." *

TANK-SOIL. — The soil dug from tanks when cleaned out is
sometimes thrown over the ground as a fertilizer ; but it appears
to me to differ little from the ordinary soil of the locality,
except for the vegetable matter incorporated in it, that has,
from time to time, subsided and accumulated at the bottom of
the tank. Its beneficial effects, at the best, are said to be but
very temporary.

VEGETABLE MANUKES.

GREEN MANURE.— Mr. Knight has stated it to be his opinion,
deduced from experiments, " that any given (I presume pro-

* See Paxton's ' Magazine of Gardening,' vol. ii. p. 191, and vol. vii. pp. 230
and 249.

CHAP. T. VEGETABLE MANURES. 15

portionate) quantity of vegetable matter can generally be
employed in its recent and organized state with more advantage
than when it has been decomposed, and no inconsiderable part
of its component parts has been dissipated and lost during the
progress of putrefaction and fermentation." When, therefore,
at the end of the Cold season, the vegetable crops are over, if,
instead of removing all leaves of Cabbages, Turnips, Carrots,
and such like tender garbage, or, as more commonly happens,
of allowing them to lie on the surface to be dried up in the sun,
the malee were to dig them into the soil, to remain there and
fertilize it, till the time of cropping came round again, consider-
able benefit, it may fairly be concluded, would result. But on
this point I cannot speak from my own experience.

LEAF-MOULD. — In most gardens of any size that have been
long established there will always be a great quantity of vege-
table refuse, particularly at the time when Mangos and other
fruit-trees shed their leaves. All this should be collected and
thrown into a deep pit, dug for the purpose in some out-of-the-
way place. If two or three times during the Hot season water
be supplied to the pit, so as to give its contents a thorough
soaking, the decay of the vegetable matter will be all the more
speedy. In about a year and a half from the time the pit is
filled, all that has been thrown into it will have become decom-
posed, so as to supply invaluable material for gardening purposes,
especially for potting. It need hardly be remarked, that it will
be found to contain quantities of worms and other vermin, which
of course, as far as possible, should be carefully removed before
it is used for potting.

On this subject the following remarks by the E 1 itor of the
' Gardeners' Chronicle ' will be found of value : — " There are
only two ways in which leaves, bits of stalk, or rotten wood, twigs
and similar refuse can be safely used : —

" 1 . One way is to leave them in a heap till they are
thoroughly rotted down, then to sift them through a fine sieve, re-
jecting imdecayed fragments, and again rotting down the sittings.

" 2. The other is to char them. We do not mean to burn
them, but to reduce them by heat and exclusion of air to the
state of charcoal dust : a process by no means so easy as may
be supposed, but to be carried out by any experienced gardener,
after a few failures, which are sure to occur at first. And this

16 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

is in our opinion by far the better method of the two. It is
speedy, at once effectual, and destroys the eggs of every sort of
insect. The former, on the other hand, is very slow, often the
reverse of effectual, and does not possess one single advantage
over charring."*

CHARRED TURF. — An excellent material for general potting
purposes may be obtained by charring turf. Any quantity of
turf may be easily collected, in Bengal at least, from the road-
sirles or waste places. It should be laid out, exposed to the
sun, with the green part undermost. In a few days it will
become thoroughly dried, and in that condition may in a very
short time be roasted sufficiently to be adapted for use. There
are various ways in which the roasting may be managed. The
plan I have adopted has been to prop a large earthenware
vessel upon bricks, light a fire beneath it, and then throw in the
turves, pulled apart into pieces of moderate size ; take them out
when sufficiently roasted and throw in others.

VEGETABLE OR WOOD ASHES. — " These," says Dr. Lindley
(quoting from ' Horticultural Transactions/ v. 52), " are esteemed
the very best manure by the Chinese. The weeds which are
separated from the land by the harrow, with what they other-
wise are able to collect, are carefully burnt, and the ashes
spread. The part of the field where this has been done is easily
perceived by the most careless observer. Indeed the vigour of
the productions of those parts of their land where the ashes
have been applied is evident as long as the crop continues on
the ground. The ashes of burnt vegetables are also mixed with
a great variety of other matters in forming the compositions
which are spread on the fields or applied to individual plants."
Garden refuse, however, may in general be turned to better
account than by converting it absolutely to ashes.

OIL- CAKE : KHURREE. — This, Dr. Lindley states, " in powder,
has a highly energetic, though transitory action. Its great
value consists in giving an impulse to vegetation in the early
stages." It is an admirable manure for Koses ; and also an
excellent ingredient in a compost for applying to the roots of
Vines and Peaches in the Cold season.

GOOR. — Of the use of sugar as a manure it is not likely that
any notice will be found in English works upon gardening; but
* < Gardeners' Chronicle/ April 12, 1862.

CITAP. I. ANIMAL MANURES. 17

in this country the coarse and cheap preparation of it, sold in
the bazars under the name of goor, is found a useful ingredient
in composts for manuring fruit-trees.

SEETEE. — The refuse from Indigo factories is found, where
available, a valuable manure.

ANIMAL MANURES.

BULLOCKS'-DUNG. — Of all manures available to the Indian
gardener there is none so valuable and universally useful as
this; whether applied fresh as a surface dressing, or worked
in the soil when about two years old, after it has become
thoroughly decayed and reduced to a consistency similar to that
of moist black snuff. For the successful cultivation of culinary
vegetables it is indeed all but indispensable. But from its being
so much employed by the natives as a fuel, it is not always
easily obtainable. Even those who themselves keep cows or
bullocks find some difficulty on that account in preserving it.
When permission can be obtained, it may sometimes be pro-
cured from the enclosures where the commissariat cattle are
stalled. Occasionally also it may be purchased of the goalas at
a moderate price.

STABLE-MANURE. — This, which in India bears the appearance
of dry rubbish, very different from the valuable manure so much
in request in Europe, is still of great service for the kitchen -
garden. The best way of using it is, perhaps, to cast it upon
the ground when the Cold-season crops are over, and work it
in the soil during the hot and rain months. It may be worked
also in the same way in the borders, the soil of which is rarely
so good as not to be immensely benefited thereby. It is sur-
prising, however, what prodigious quantities of this material are
lost to all serviceable purposes in India. In Calcutta and the
suburbs it is not unusual to see a pile of it laid outside the gate
of each compound, every two or three days, for the conservancy
carts to carry away, and throw into some hole that requires to
be filled up, or even to cast into the river. In the North- West
Provinces also it is made away with by the syces during the
cold months, who, as soon as evening sets in, light their fires
and continue burning it a great part of the night. The dense,
suffocating, ammoniacal smell it thereby imparts to a canton-

c

18 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

ment at that season of the year must be familiar to most who
have resided in that part of India.

GOATS'-DUNG. — This I have often used for a manure ; but not,
as it seemed to me, with any marked advantage. It remains a
long time hard and undissolved without imparting any fertilizing
property to the soil. Sheep's-dung I have not tried, but pro-
bably, from its similarity to goats'-dung, the application of it as
a manure would be attended with like results.

PIGEONS'-DUNG. — " This," says Dr. Lindley, " approaches
nearly to guano in its effects. In Persia, dove-cotes are kept in
the midst of the plains for the purpose of securing this valuable
dejection. The Persians use it, as the Peruvians use guano, by
mixing a small quantity in the soil in which their Melons and
other crops are planted. Wherever it has been tried in this
country it has been found of the greatest energy. The only
danger in using it is, that it may be too strong, and burn. It
deteriorates by keeping."

FOWLS'-DUNG. — This, it is stated in the ' Cottage Gardener's
Dictionary,' " if composed partly of that of the duck, which is a
gross feeder, is nearly equal to guano."

ELEPHANTS'-DUNG. — I have heard this highly commended as
a dressing for Artichoke plants. I have applied it, but without
discovering it to possess any property of a manure at all. It
resembles large dense balls of cocoa-nut fibre, and possibly
broken up and worked into the soil it might prove beneficial
mechanically, in the way of rendering it lighter.

NIGHT-SOIL AND PIGS'-DUNG. — Whether or not these sub-
stances would prove useful as manures for the garden is of little
importance, as the customs of the natives, I apprehend, would
never admit of their application. Dr. E. Bonavia of Lucknow,
however, states that " several years' experience in gardening in
this country has taught him that there is no manure equal
to night-soil. It produces richness of colour in flowers, and
vigour and succulence in vegetables."

BLOOD. — One cold season I applied a large quantity of Jblood
and offal procured from the butchers' shambles to the roots of
my Grape-vines at Ferozepore. I discovered no advantage
whatever in the use of such a manure over that of decayed cow-
dung ; while the unforeseen nuisances attending it determined
me never to employ it again.

CHAP. I. ANIMAL MANURES. 19

GUANO, says Dr. Lindley, " the deposit of sea-birds on dry
islands in the Pacific, is the richest of all natural manures.
But it is enormously adulterated. There is perhaps no garden-
crop which this does not suit, if not applied too much at a time.
The liquid form is preferred by gardeners."

I saw it once used very largely to Koses and Peach-trees in
the garden of the Agri-Horticultural Society, but with very per-
nicious effects, as several of the trees died in consequence.
The fault, however, I believe was not in the guano, but in
the injudicious manner in which it was applied. The roots of
the trees were laid open and exposed some little time, as is
usual in the Cold season, and then covered up again with earth
mixed with a large proportion of guano in a state of dry powder.

Mr. Kivers says : " One pound of guano to twenty gallons of
water forms the very best species of liquid manure for pot
culture ; for the borders double that quantity will be better." *

In the ' Cottage Gardener's Dictionary ' it is stated : — " Plants
of various sorts, in pots, watered only with guano-water, half an
ounce to a gallon, have flourished astonishingly ; none have

failed Mr. Eendle and other persons record, as the

result of dearly-purchased experience, that where guano has
failed to be beneficial, or has been injurious, it has been applied
in quantities too powerful for the plants to bear. In a liquid
state, half an ounce per gallon, and given to growing plants once
a week, it never fails to be productive of vigour. When sown
as a top dressing it should be mixed with five times its weight
of dry earth, ashes, &c., and then scattered as thinly as possible."

Baron Liebig recommends as a most effective method of
applying guano to " moisten it with water to which a little
sulphuric acid has been added, and mix it after twenty-four
hours with saw-dust, turf-dust, or mould, and strew this mixture
over the surface of the earth. "f

And lastly, Mr. Solly gives this important caution: — "In
using guano as liquid manure it must be remembered that the
solution formed by pouring water over it only contains the
ammonia and about one quarter of the phosphates, the rest of
the phosphates and the organic matter being almost insoluble
in water ; hence the residue is nearly as valuable a manure as

* * Hose Amateur's Guide/ p. 171, 6th edit.
t ' Natural Laws of Husbandry, • p. 260.

c 2

20 OPERATIONS OF GABDENINGk PART I.

that which is dissolved; and in order to derive the whole
benefit from the manure, the insoluble part must, by agitation
or other means, be kept suspended in the liquid, whilst it is
being spread over the ground. "*

FISH. — Whenever it can be obtained, fish-refuse is an excel-
lent and most efficacious manure for applying to the roots of trees.

BONES. — In Europe bones are accounted a valuable and
permanent manure, but slow in their operation. Even when
reduced to dust they are not so effective the year they are
applied as on the following one. Some cultivators, however,
have used them for Cauliflowers in this country, and, as they
say, with marked benefit.

MINEEAL MANURES.

COMMON SALT. — This is strongly recommended as a manure
for several of the culinary vegetables, especially for Asparagus.
One of our best gardeners in the neighbourhood of Calcutta
told me he had applied it plentifully to his Asparagus, but
without any particular advantage as far as he could see.

SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. — This mineral, which is manu-
factured by decomposing bones with sulphuric acid (oil of
vitriol), is sold in England at about the same price as guano.
Mr. Solly says : — " It is one of the most valuable of the artificial
manures yet produced."! Whether the application of it in
horticulture has ever been experimented upon in this country,
or to what extent it would 'be likely to prove beneficial, I am
unable to say.

LIQUID MANURES.

Liquid manure should be applied to plants only when in
a vigorous state of growth. All plants are benefited by it
administered judiciously, that is to say, not in excess. The
copious use of it with culinary vegetables, but more particularly
with Celery and Asparagus, I have found of wonderful efficacy.
The most convenient way, perhaps, of keeping a supply of
liquid manure for kitchen-garden use is, somewhere handy,
to sink in the ground a large earthen vessel ; fill this with
water, and throw in all such ingredients as happen to be
available for the purpose, such as fowls', pigeons', goats',

* ' Kural Chemistry,' p. 274. f Ibid., p. 278.

CHAP. I. COMPOST. 21

bullocks' dung, &c. If found to be too strong, it is easily
reduced by adding water at discretion. Dr. Lindley's maxim,
in the application of liquid manure, is that it should be " weak,
clear, and often."

SOAP-SUDS. — " These," says Dr. Lindley, " have an undoubted
value, because of their potash, irrespective of the animal matter
they contain. Upon Cabbages, Cauliflowers, and all the brassi-
caceous race, they produce an immediate and very advantageous
effect."

Large quantities of soap-suds are daily thrown away, from all
houses nearly, which, with very little trouble, might be made
use of most advantageously for the kitchen-garden in the Cold
season : when the vegetable season is over, they might be
poured into the pit containing the garden refuse, stored up
for vegetable mould. The vegetable mould would be greatly
enriched thereby.

Miss Maling observes : " I have found soap-suds a great thing
for pot-plants. I have even washed plants often with a flannel
and soap (common yellow soap), and my own belief is that few
things are better for keeping away all kinds of blight. Soap-
suds also are an available manure, and thus my own plants
often have received amazing benefit from the mere supply of
soap-suds."* By washing their leaves with warm soap-suds,
she further states, she has seen the Fig and often the Kose and
other trees restored from- a condition of sickliness to perfect
health and luxuriance.

COMPOST.

The following, not very different essentially from that I have
recommended for the Grape-vine, is from the MSS. notes ot
General Jenkins : —

t; 4 matmds of Kullee, well pounded.
1 maund of Ashes, sifted.
£ maund of Quicklime, sifted.
8 maimds of Cow-dung.

Well mix in September and October, and bury in the ground,
and well water ; and in six weeks it will be ready to mix with
mould for the roots of plants."

* ' The In-door Gardener,' p. 131.

22 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

CHAPTER IT.

LAYING OUT OF A GARDEN — LAWNS — HEDGES — HOEING AND
DIGGING — IRRIGATION — DRAINAGE — CONSERVATORIES —
— BETEL HOUSES — DECORATIONS — IMPLEMENTS — SHADES
LABELS — VERMIN — WEEDS.

THE LAYING OUT OF A GARDEN.

SINCE the manner in which a garden should be laid out will
depend much upon the locality where it is situated, and since
the disposing of the natural advantages of that locality so as to
make them most conducive to variety and ornamental effect,
must in a great measure be left to the judgment and taste of
the owner, all I purpose at present to do is to give merely a
few practical directions which I think generally essential to be
attended to.

The arrangement of a garden will be very much modified in
reference to the source on which it depends for its supply of
water. If, as in the North- West Provinces it necessarily must
be, the garden is irrigated by artificial means, the water must
be obtained either from a well or from a tank or a river.

Where the water is supplied from a well, it is important that
the place chosen for the well be, whence the water may have
the readiest access to all parts of the garden, and where also it
may be easiest screened from view by shrubs and trees planted
around it. As native servants, moreover, have continually to
be going to the well, both for performing their ablutions there
and for drawing water for domestic purposes, if it can be so
arranged, there should be a pathway to it made for them
exclusively, cut off entirely from the rest of the garden by
means of a hedge. This is desirable, not only for the purpose
of keeping the garden as much as possible secluded, but also for
the safety of its produce.

The footpaths being raised five or six inches, or more, above
the level of the borders, the water from the well is conveyed

CHAP. IT.

THE LAYING OUT OF A GARDEN.

23

along each side of them by channels, also a little above the
level of the border. Where paths intersect, the water is carried
underneath the paths by nuls or earthen pipes. In these
water-channels the shrubs and fruit-trees are always planted, as
shown in section in the cut below.

r\

,-O>

c It/ "X

jb

e-^ ,l^O

e^®

Cf^V fVw^

>- \ 7> -/- ^

^o
*, "^

#¥

SJ// 0>'-0'>J

nS'ifcS y

vP"

JT-w^J

gH3r-

.1

Fig. 1.

A more suitable material being not often available, the paths
and the embankments of the channels are made of common
garden soil, well beaten down by wooden rammers. These,
after the heavy rains in August and September, become always
so much damaged and broken up as to require to be re-made at
the commencement of each cold season. And here I have to
call attention to a point of very great importance.

I have found it the almost invariable custom to make the
pathways just about a quarter of the width that for convenience
they ought to be : in consequence of which the fruit-trees,
when arrived at but even a moderate size, overgrow the path-
ways so entirely as to render them impassable. To remedy this
the boughs are usually lopped away, but of course to the very
serious injury of the trees. This mistake of making the paths
too narrow should be guarded against when the garden is first
laid out. The eye is, at that time, very apt to be deceived, and
paths made then as broad as required to be afterwards, will
seem to most persons perhaps extravagantly and unnecessarily
broad. The growth, however, of the trees on each side will in
two or three years' time show the paths obviously to be of no
greater width than they ought to be.

In a garden large enough to admit of it, it is highly desirable
that there should be one wide shady path, where persons in

24 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

conversation may be able to walk two or three abreast. A path-
way of this description might not unreasonably be made of from
twelve to even sixteen feet wide. The best situation for it
would be by the wall of the garden, where high shrubs or trees
are planted to keep the premises from being overlooked. A
pathway of such great width would in reality be attended with
no loss of space, as it would extend only over ground occupied
by the roots of the trees along the wall-side, thus rendered
useless for other purposes. The ordinary paths of the garden,
by the sides of which low shrubs and fruit-trees are grown, need
not, of course, be so wide, and indeed for variety's sake, would
be more pleasing, for being narrower; though these, at the least,
should not be less than eight feet wide.

In most of the gardens I have seen in the North- Western
Provinces, the laying out, as it seemed, has been left entirely
to the malee, who has portioned out the ground with narrow,
uniform paths intersecting each other at right angles, after the
pattern of a chess-board. I need hardly observe, that a piece
of land so disposed may answer very well the purpose of a
plantation, but does not deserve the name of a garden. Any
person of but the smallest pretensions to taste can hardly fail
of giving a pleasing appearance to a garden by laying out some
of the paths in a curvilinear form, instead of directing them all
in a straight line, as well as by contriving that those even
which are drawn straight, should intersect in the form of the
letter Y, instead of crossing at right angles. Care, however,
should be taken that trees or large shrubs be planted in the
principal bend of the curved paths, so that the direction given
to the paths may seem to have been a matter of necessity,
otherwise they will be apt to look fanciful and unmeaning. A
garden thus laid out will entail, it is true, a little extra
cost in nuls for conveying water under the paths ; but this is
comparatively of small consideration.

In the gardens of Lower Bengal, where irrigation by water-
channels is not adopted, fruit-trees are cultivated in a detached
piece of ground, and no large trees or shrubs are planted near
the edge of the pathway. In such case the width of the
paths is of not so much importance. But still, I think, no
garden of any size will present a handsome general appearance
unless it has, at least, one wide spacious walk throughout its

CHAP. II. THE LAYING OUT OF A GARDEN. 25

principal extent, from which paths of smaller width are made
to strike out and ramify.

In Bengal the paths are usually made with a foundation of
broken bricks, over which a layer of khoa, or bricks broken into
pieces of the size of a walnut, is spread. Over the whole a
coating of soorkee or brick-dust is then laid, and well beaten in,
till the surface is perfectly level and smooth.

In planting out flowering shrubs, one thing of essential im-
portance is, that the situation selected for them in the border be
where their sunny side is most presented to the sight ; for it
may be often witnessed that, while the southern side of a plant
is loaded with a profusion of blossom, the northern side, shaded
from the ripening influence of the sun's rays, remains unadorned
with a single flower. This is frequently very conspicuous in the
instance of Millingtonia hortensis, and more especially of that
magnificent creeper Bignonia venusta. If Sweet-peas, likewise,
are grown on the southern side of a path, the flowers they put
forth are completely lost to view.

The modern plan of laying out small separate beds for groups
of particular species of annuals is a very beautiful and effective
one ; and where the garden admits of it a portion of ground
near the dwelling-house may be well devoted to this purpose.
The disadvantage attending the plan in Europe is, that during
the long period of the winter months the beds remain bare and
unsightly. But in this country such beds need never lie vacant,
as when one class of annuals is over, another may be immediately
brought to succeed in its place. During the cold months there
wall be the usual English annuals ; during the hot months,
Petunias, Verbenas, Phloxes, Salpiglossis, &c^ will bloom
beautifully ; and during the rains these may be succeeded by
Balsams, Zinnias, Martynia, Pentapetes, &c.

In the formation of these small beds it would not be advisable,
perhaps, to venture upon any figures besides merely the circular
and oval. These are easily designed and always look well; but
many of the geometrical and contorted figures one frequently
sees are at the best anything but pleasing, and when attempted
by the rude skill of the inalee would in all probability prove
only ridiculous.

26 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

LAWNS.

When a garden is of sufficient size to allow room for it, nothing
is more ornamental than a spacious piece of lawn or grass-plot ;
and more especially is the surface of cool green that it presents
soothing and refreshing to the eye in the Upper Provinces,
when the soil of the country around during the hot months lies
all parched and bare.

The grass principally used for lawns in this country is that
called Doob-grass (Cynodon dactylon), a plant of trailing habit,
not growing high, and when in vigorous growth of a soft, dark
green hue. It thrives where scarcely any other kind will, and
delights in the edges of frequented highways. The spot it
seems to like especially is where brick and lime rubbish has
been thrown and trodden down hard. It will also grow in the
poor soil beneath the shade of trees, where other grasses grow
but scantily, if at all. When required for lawns, a sufficient
quantity may easily be collected from the road-side and waste
places. The piece of ground intended for lawn should be well
dug, and then made perfectly level and smooth. Drills should
then be drawn over it a foot apart, in which little pieces of the
roots should be planted out at the distance of half a foot from
each other; and the ground afterwards watered occasionally,
till the grass has become thoroughly established. In Bengal,
further watering will be unnecessary ; but in the Upper Provinces
irrigation during the Hot season is indispensable, as otherwise
the grass would soon become scorched up and perish.

A more expeditious and very successful plan of laying down
a lawn, sometimes adopted, is to pull up a quantity of grass by
the roots, chop it tolerably fine, mix it well in a compost of mud
of about the consistency of mortar, and spread this out thinly
over the piece of ground where the lawn is required. In a few
days the grass will spring up with great regularity over the
plot.

Swampy ground and spots where water lies long after rain
are unadapted for Doob-grass. In such localities it soon perishes,
and grasses of ranker growth, such as Mootho (Cyperus hexa-
stachyus), Kdsh (Saccharum spontaneum), and Ooloo (Imperata
cylindrica), usually come up and supply its place.

CHAP. II. HEDGES. 27

HEDGES.

A hedge is sometimes employed for a boundary to the garden,
instead of a wall, for which, however, it is not a very efficient
substitute. Without constant attention it soon gets out of order ;
either looking unsightly from being overgrown with weeds, or
rendered unserviceable from becoming filled with gaps.

One of the plants more commonly grown than any other,
perhaps, for a hedge is the Agave Americana. This is in itself
a noble-looking plant, and has a fine effect used as a fence, if in
vigorous growth and kept clean of weeds. It is perfectly
impenetrable by cattle, and, from the lowness of its growth, in
no way impedes free ventilation.

Parkinsonia aculeata and Caesalpinia sepiaria are shrubs
armed with powerful thorns, have small-leaved foliage, and,
when kept closely clipped, form neat impenetrable hedges.

When a wall is too low of itself to render the garden secure
from depredation, plants of the Nicker-tree (Guilandina
Bonduc), trained upon it, render it at once an utterly impassable
barrier.

Acacia modesta, a common shrub in the Upper Provinces,
called there Phulaee, forms also a very neat and pleasing hedge.
^Eschynomene Sesban (jait) is very often employed also as, a
hedge in the Upper Provinces, on account of the rapidity of its
growth ; but it is very unsuitable for the purpose, as, though
rather neat and pretty the first season after it has been raised
from seed, it becomes worn out and unsightly a season or two
afterwards.

Hedges that are required not so much for a. fence as for
separating one part of the garden from another, may be made
successfully of nearly any kind of shrub of quick ready growth,
and of small delicate foliage. I have even seen Casuarina
muricata, cut down to the height of six feet, and kept constantly
clipped, afford a close, dense hedge of most agreeable, soothing
character.

For a low, neat, fresh-looking hedge, perhaps no plant is
better adapted than Lawsonia alba (Menhdee) or Duranta.

The Dodoncea has been much sought for of late as a hedge-
plant ; but it is no novelty. In the garden of my neighbour,
Brigadier F. Young, at Ferozepore, I saw it employed for that

28 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

purpose as long ago as 1846. But, if my memory serves me, the
excessive hardness of its wood turned the. edge of a knife, when
the attempt was made to clip it, except when quite young. And
if left undipped it became a nuisance from the profusion of
seeds it shed upon the path.

HOEING AND DIGGING.

Constant hoeing or, the equivalent to it in this country, the
breaking up of the surface soil with the Kodalee, is of the
greatest advantage, as it is not only the most speedy and
effectual way of getting rid of weeds, but it opens and aerates
the earth after it has become caked and hardened in the sun
from the frequent watering to which it is subject. Moreover, it
contributes vastly to the neatness and appearance of the garden ;
for no flowering plants can look well in a border that is as hard
and compact as the common road.

But for the vegetable garden something far more than hoeing
only is essential. The ground must be deeply dug ; and that
not merely just before the time it is to be used for cropping, but
immediately after the cold-season crops are over, in March or
April. The ground should then be dug, if two spits deep the
better, and turned over, and the vegetable refuse at the same
time be buried in. Immediately before the Kains all stable-
litter and other manure at command should be thrown upon the
ground, and lightly covered in by digging. The rains will convey
the goodness of it into the soil below. A plentiful crop of weeds
and grass will most likely soon spring up. The weeds, after
about a month or so's time, should be dug in, and the grass-roots
carefully picked out and removed. This will require 'to be
repeated once or twice again before the Cold season, by which
time the ground will be in the very best condition possible for
the annual crops.

IRRIGATION.

There is, perhaps, scarcely a situation in India adapted for
a garden which does not, during several months of the year at
least, require irrigation. In the North- Western Provinces in
particular, if a regular system of watering be not unremittingly
kept up during the hot months, nearly the whole of the plants,

CHAP. II.

IRRIGATION.

29

30 OPEKATIONS OF GAKDENING. PART I.

shrubs, and fruit-trees will inevitably perish. In Bengal, it is
true, gardens may be, and, indeed, commonly are, kept up, as
far as shrubs and flowering perennials are concerned, without
any artificial watering at all ; but the growth of plants there, as
it appears to me, is not to be compared for vigour with what it
often is in localities where irrigation is of necessity resorted to.
For the cultivation of culinary vegetables with any degree of
success irrigation is everywhere all but absolutely indispensable.
In Bengal the rains generally cease about the middle of
October, leaving the ground sufficiently supplied with moisture
to render watering needless, until, perhaps, the beginning of
January ; after which the earth becomes dry and hard, just at
the period when vegetation, for the most part, is making its
most vigorous growth, and craves from the soil a greater
amount of moisture than at any other time. More particularly,
therefore, to plants that are either flowering or in a growing
condition, and whose roots lie at no great depth beneath the
surface of the soil, the application of water is then of the utmost
benefit. Several shrubs and other plants remain dormant till a
much later season, and do not begin to put forth till March, or
even April : for them, of course, irrigation is quite unnecessary
till their growth commences.

Where irrigation is employed, the method of accomplishing
it must much depend upon the facilities which the situation
offers, and the nearness the water lies to the surface of the
ground. I shall describe the several methods I have seen
adopted, and state what I conceive to be the particular merits
of each.

I. "Where the supply of water is from a well.

1. In the North- Western Provinces the general mode of
raising water is by means of a large bag, made of the hide of a
bullock or buffalo. The bag, suspended from a pulley over the
well by a rope of buffalo hide, is drawn up by a pair of bullocks.
From the brink of the well to a distance as far as the rope
reaches, a piece of the ground is dug out wide enough for two
bullocks to go along abreast, deeper and deeper, so as to make
a declivity for the bullocks to run down as they draw up the
bag. One coolie is employed to drive the bullocks and another
has to stand at the brink of the well, and empty the bag as it
comes to the surface.

CHAP. II-

IRRIGATION.

31

32 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

Where a well-fed, vigorous pair of bullocks are kept, I
believe a more effective and economical method than this
cannot be employed.

2. In the Deccan of India a common way of drawing up
water is by means of a bag and a pair of bullocks, as in the
former case ; but in this instance the bag opens into a leathern
pipe attached to its bottom. The pipe has a rope fastened to it
whereby it is so contrived that the end of the pipe is raised
above the level of the bag whilst ascending ; but when the bag
reaches the pulley, the pipe is lowered down over the brink of
the well, and the water flows out through it from the bag. Of
this an illustration is given in Fig. 2.

The advantage of this method is, that one coolie is dispensed
with, none being required, as in the former case, for emptying
the bag each time it rises 'to the surface. The disadvantage is,
that the bullocks have to walk backwards up the slope to the
brink of the well each time the bag is being lowered again into
the water ; and so much time is lost in this slow upward backing
movement, that I, for my part, think the former method the
preferable one of the two.

3. In the Punjab the all but universal way of raising water is
by what is called the Persian wheel. (Fig. 3.)

In the mouth of the well a large vertical wheel is fixed,
over which a looped chain of earthenware pots is suspended,
the lower part of the loop reaching down into the water. As
this wheel revolves, one length of the chain is continually
rising with pots full of water, which, on reaching the summit,
discharge themselves into a trough fixed in the upper segment of
the wheel, and then turn, and descend empty, to be filled again.
A large beam, passing through the axis of this wheel, has its
extremity fixed in the axis of another large wooden vertical
wheel, from the circumference of which projects a series of
horizontal wooden cogs, or teeth. These teeth work in the
teeth of a large horizontal wooden^wheel. By means of a pole
projecting from it, a pair of bullocks turn round the horizontal
wheel, and so set the whole apparatus in action.

The Persian wheel has the advantage of requiring no coolie
besides the one employed in driving the bullocks; and where
the well is of very large dimensions so as to admit of a wheel of
great size within it— as it always is when employed for agricul-

CHAP. II. IRRIGATION. 33

tnral purposes in the Punjab — the supply of water brought to
the surface in a given time, is, perhaps, greater by this than by
any other means. To wells, however, of the small size they
usually are in gardens, I do not conceive the application of the
Persian wheel to be any benefit. Its construction at the outset
is expensive ; the earthen pots soon become, many of them,
broken ; the woodwork is constantly getting out of order and
requiring repair ; while the quantity of water supplied, though
poured forth in a continuous stream, is far less by the hour, as I
have ascertained by actual measurement, than would be afforded
by the bag in the same time.

II. When the water is to be raised from a river or tank, and
lies near the surface of the ground, as is ordinarily the case in
Bengal.

1. One common plan is to throw up the water by means of a
light wicker shovel-like basket, or scoop, with a string fastened
to each of its corners. Two men, each with two of the strings,
one in one hand and one in the other, stand opposite each other
by the side of the water, lower the scoop into the water, and
with a jerk-kind of movement throw up the water it contains
into a dam made to receive it. If the dam is on the same level
as the ground, the water is conveyed from it to the part of the
garden where it is required, split bamboos being often used as a
channel for it; but if the dam is lower than the level of the
ground, two more men are employed in a similar way to throw
up water from this lower dam to an upper one on the same
level as the ground.

This is a cheap and rude mode of proceeding, resorted to
when only a temporary supply of water is required. It is,
however, a very effective 'one, affording a large quantity in a
very short time.

2. A method also frequently adopted is to drive a stout
stake into the edge of the bank of a tank or river. Upon the
top of the stake a long bamboo is made to turn seesaw-like, a
small part of it with a heavy stone attached moving on the
landward side of the stake, and the longer part, from the end of
which is suspended upright another bamboo, with a ghurra or
earthen pot attached to it, seesawing over the water. A man
forces the upright bamboo downward till the pot dips beneath
the water and is filled ; he then lets the bamboo go, and when

D

34 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

by the weight of the stone the pot is drawn up, he empties it,
and then forces it down into the water again.

3. By a contrivance exactly similar in principle, sometimes
a wooden trough is employed instead of the earthen pot. One
end of the trough is forced down by a man into the water, and,
on then being let go, is raised by the weight of a stone, that
outbalances it, so high that the water is discharged on to the
land at the other end.

In some localities the water drawn from wells is so brackish
that the soil watered with it can never be brought into a fertile
condition, as is the case at Agra and Delhi. In such situations
it is only where gardens lie contiguous to a river, whence water
may be derived for the purpose of irrigation, that they can be
cultivated with much success.

DKAINAGE.

Drainage consists in the withdrawing of water from the soil
when all the benefit needed has been derived from it. No
operation is more indispensable to the well-being of a garden
than this, though often it is found exceedingly difficult to be
effected. In some localities, indeed, in the North- West Pro-
vinces, it proves to be all but impracticable ; for there, from
the country being nearly of a perfect level, there is nowhere
whither the waste water may be carried off. In such places,
after heavy rains, a large portion of the garden will be flooded,
and lie completely under water for a week or more. Few of the
plants that have been in this way submerged, and then after-
wards exposed to the heat of a scorching sun, but soon perish.
Frequently too, about the same time, violent winds prevail, and
fruit-trees and large shrubs, that have had their roots loosened
in the swamped soil, are easily blown over, and, in most instances,
destroyed : as before observed, this is an evil often quite irre-
mediable. The best that can be done is, having ascertained the
portion of ground that lies lowest, to plant out there such things
as are of least value and most easily replaced, as well as those
that are least likely to suffer from excess of wet.

In Bengal, though the ground is equally level, the same
difficulty is not so much experienced, from the numerous ditches
and tanks there, into which the waste water may be speedily
withdrawn.

CHAP. II. CONSEKVATOKIES AND GLASSHOUSES. 35

CONSEKVATOKIES AND GLASSHOUSES.

Glass conservatories, or greenhouses, in the Bengal Presidency,
until lately have been all but unknown. One, indeed, was
erected some time ago by Sir Lawrence Peel in his grounds at
Garden Keach ; but from mismanagement, or from unfitness of
the locality in which it was placed, being under the shade and
drip of a large tree, it proved of little use ; and one, subsequently,
by Captain Tronson against the side of his house in the
premises of the Peninsular and Oriental Company at Garden
Reach, which presented a delightfully ornamental appearance,
being kept scrupulously neat and clean, and filled with a variety
of Ferns, Begonias, Achimenes, &c. What are usually called
conservatories here are nothing more than mere thatched sheds,
with the sides open all round. Such places are serviceable for
sheltering the more delicate plants, which otherwise would be
destroyed by the sun and the heavy rains ; but from want of
sufficient light the plants rarely thrive well in them. The cost
of glass-houses, however, though not excessive, is more perhaps
than many Europeans would care to incur, from the great
uncertainty as to the length of their stay in India, or of their
remaining, while there, long in the same locality. But in
the gardens of the wealthy native gentlemen in the vicinity of
Calcutta, the expense of a greenhouse would be quite a trifle
compared with the great ornament and advantage it would
afford. Buildings of glass, moreover, supplied with the means
of being heated artificially, during the cold months especially,
might in all likelihood afford the facility of cultivating many
plants and fruits, which otherwise it would be hopeless to look
for on this side of India. The great difficulty no doubt will be
found in supplying to the plants a due amount of ventilation ;
and in Lower India, especially during the Kains, unless con-
siderable attention be given to this point, numerous losses will
be sure to occur.

In the Government Botanical Gardens a small greenhouse has
been erected, which has been found of great advantage for the
cultivation of Ferns, Begonias, &c. And at Lahore Dr. G.
Henderson and Mr. L. Berkeley have had similar structures,
which they assured me proved of inestimable service to them.

D 2

36 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

GRASS CONSERVATORIES OR BETEL HOUSES.

Some time ago the happy thought occurred to Dr. Anderson
that structures, somewhat similar to those in which the
natives of Bengal have from time immemorial grown the Pan
or Betel plant, might be employed with advantage in the culti-
vation of plants that in nature exist in a climate nearly alike to
that in which the Betel does. The attempt was made, and
proved a wonderful success. The structure in itself is a very
simple and inexpensive thing. On a piece of ground, measured
out according to the space required, stout bamboos are driven
at intervals, so as to stand erect about six Te*et and a half high.
To these a lattice of split bamboos is attached, much in the way
in which inclosures for fowls are usually made, the lattice only
being very much more open. Over the whole lattice, on the
sides as well as top, a layer of Ooloo grass is bound ; just so
thin as to allow the sunlight to pass through in a subdued
degree. Stages of bamboo,* or better of brickwork, about three
feet from the ground, will be required to rest the plants on,
with room left for paths around or between them. The adoption
of structures such as this has opened out to the gardener quite
a new world, enabling him now to cultivate numberless plants,
which previously it had been all but hopeless to attempt. To
render the Betel-house, containing valuable plants, secure from
depredators of all kinds, a stout tall bamboo fence placed at
some distance round it, with a padlocked gate, would be desir-
able. The fence might be made highly ornamental in itself by
having creepers and climbing plants trained on to it.

DECORATIONS.

There are few opportunities available for the decoration of an
Indian garden, except in the means employed for supporting
creeping and climbing plants.

For this purpose sometimes a single bamboo pole is inserted
in the ground, with two strong pieces of wood on its summit,
fastened horizontally, and crossing at right angles. This has
an exceedingly pretty effect with a plant like Bignonia grand i-
flora trained up it, and letting its large clusters of blossom hang
suspended from the crossbars. A similar pole also, surmounted

CHAP. II. DECORATIONS. 37

with short crossbars, has a pleasing effect when employed for
supporting creepers, such as Ipomoea rubro-coerulea, Quamoclit,
&c. ; but in this case strings should be stretched from the cross-
bars to pegs, fastened in the ground in a circle at some distance
from the base of the pole, the creepers being planted just along
the outside of this circle, and trained up the strings. Thin or
split bamboos would answer better than the strings.

In the Government Botanical Gardens stout iron rods have
of late been introduced for the support of scandent shrubs;
these are let into solid masonry, sunk in the earth. Their chief
merit is their durability. They are of course very expensive,
not so pleasing in appearance as supports of wood, and I cannot
but think, with the excessive heat they acquire under a fierce
sun, must be injurious to the young slender shoots of some kinds
of plants.

Around scandent shrubs of too large growth for a single pole
to support, such as Combretums and the yellow Solfaterre Kose,
four bamboo poles are usually sunk in the ground, and united
firmly by bars above and below, as well as by bars crossing
diagonally.

A very pleasing contrivance for growing creeping plants is,
either at some spot where footpaths intersect, or in a corner of
the garden where the footpath takes a turn at right angles,
to erect at each angle a pillar of masonry, about six feet high
and fourteen inches in thickness. To the sides of these pillars
attach a trellis of bamboo, and upon their summit erect a sloping
roof of trellis. Structures of this kind may unquestionably be
made to look very ornamental, overgrown with plants always in
blossom, like Pharbitis Leari, or Cryptostegia granditiora ; but
some persons might possibly object to them, from fear of snakes
and other vermin being concealed within them.

For creepers grown in pots, trellis-work of bamboo, or frames
of iron, may be contrived of various devices. Common examples
of this kind of ornament are represented in figures 4, 5, 6. For
some plants, such as Ferns, Achimenes, &c., hanging baskets
are much used in England, and considered very ornamental.
In this country, however, the unremitting attention such
things demand in the way of watering will perhaps be
thought to entail more trouble than they merit. Several of the
Orchids, notwithstanding, are grown in this way, and baskets of

OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

PAKT I.

wood, or copper-wire, or cocoanut liusk, of various elegant
devices, are made for containing them, as well as sometimes
perforated earthenware vessels.

Billbergias and their allies, Sir J. Paxton has observed, sus-
pended, with a small ball of moss tied round their roots, bloom
almost immediately, while other and similar specimens have
been several years in pots without flowering. Kusselia juncea,
he remarks also, is well known to look best when hung up in
a pot.

Fig. 4.

Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

For ornamental shrubs and perennials there is nothing, as I
think, that looks better than an ordinary flower-pot, kept scrupu-
lously clean. Absolute cleanliness and neatness in a garden
are, after all, infinitely better than all decorations. In a filthy
pot the handsomest plant fails of being agreeable. The inner
side of the husk of a cocoanut is a capital thing for scrubbing a
flower-pot with when it has become soiled and dirty,

KING-POTS. — These are merely large earthenware cylinders,
about a foot and a half in diameter and two feet long. They
are let into the earth to about half their length ; the remaining
half projecting above ground is filled nearly to the rim with
soil, and has an ornamental shrub of some kind planted in it.
The native gentlemen of Bengal are very fond of growing
their choice plants in these, particularly arranged in rows.
Several Europeans adopt the practice likewise ; but to me they
present far from a pleasing appearance.

CHAP. II. IMPLEMENTS AND UTENSILS. 3fr

A far more ornamental way of elevating plants a little above
the surrounding level of the ground, if that be the object, and
one that may be made far more effective for drainage during
the rains, is to lay bricks side by side, with half their length
sunk in the earth in the form of a circle, so as to present the
appearance of the mouth of a well. Fill this up with earth and
put the plant in the centre. For the same purpose beer-bottles
with their necks downwards may also be employed. To my
eye the bottles have not a very pleasing appearance ; though
they certainly look neat, and are now much used in Calcutta
for edgings to borders.

IMPLEMENTS AND UTENSILS.

The implements of gardening used by the malee need be little
more than mentioned, as they are too well known to require a
lengthened description.

KODALEE. — The implement that serves for the same purpose
as the spade, but having the blade at right angles to the handle,
and used in the same way as the pickaxe. It is highly impor-
tant that this instrument should be examined when new, as well
as every now and then afterwards, and if found to be at all blunt,
be sent to the blacksmith to be sharpened. With a sharp edge
as much work may be done in a couple of hours as would other-
wise take a whole day ; and far more easily and efficiently.

PnAoEA. — The mattock, similar to the pickaxe, but with the
iron ends broad instead of pointed.

XOOEPEE. — An implement resembling a very broad-edged
chisel, serves in the hands of a malee all the purposes of a hoe,
as well as for digging round plants previous to removal : prin-
cipally used in the North- West Provinces.

NEEINEE. — An implement somewhat different from the last
in the form of the blade, and much more slender, but used in
Bengal for the same purposes.

The SPADE and SHOVEL might be found useful on occasions;
but except near Calcutta, they are implements with the use of
which the natives are little familiar.

The BAKE. — This, when procurable, is a most desirable imple-
ment for keeping the borders neat and clean. The malee very
soon familiarises himself with the use of it.

40 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

TKANSPLANTING-TROWEL. — Where much has to be done in
the way of transplanting potted plants, particularly seedlings, a
thin-blsided slightly-curved blue-steel transplanting-trowel is all
but indispensable. After use this should be well wiped and
kept scrupulously clean and polished. If allowed to become
rusty, in the operation of transplanting the moist earth adheres
to it, and considerable injury to the roots of the plant is often
the consequence. The thick strong iron transplanting-trowels
that are sold in England are of no use here for any purpose
that I am aware of.

FORK-TROWEL, or TRIDENT. — A small three-pronged imple-
ment, let into a handle similar to that of a trowel, very useful
indeed for stirring up the soil of potted plants that has become
hardened.

A hatchet, a saw, shears, pruning-scissors, priming-knife, bud-
ding-knife, and grass-cutter, are all indispensable and in constant
requisition.

WATERING-POTS. — These, it need hardly be observed, are
absolutely indispensable. For watering seedlings that have
been lately pricked out, a small can too should be provided,
similar to that by which lamps are usually fed with oil, holding
not more than a pint. This should have no rose.

SYRINGE. — This implement, usually made of brass, is of the
very greatest use, nay all but indispensable, to those who possess
many Orchids. I know of no contrivance whereby its work may
be done anything like so effectually.

NETS. — In nearly all parts of India nets, when they can be
obtained, are of great service for protecting seed-beds, and trees
when in fruit, from the ravages of birds. Sometimes old worn-
out nets, but quite effectual for the purpose, may be purchased
from fishermen at a trifling cost.

BELL-GLASSES, BO requisite for some kinds of cuttings, are
not easily to be procured in India ; but a very good and cheap
substitute for them (as described elsewhere) is easily obtainable.

SCYTHE. — This is a very desirable implement when the grass-
plot is of considerable extent ; and I have seen it used very
deftly by natives in the Eden Garden. But for a lawn, nothing
is at all to be compared to a mowing-machine. Mr. W. Stal-
kart employs one in his garden at Gooseree, and his lawn was
in the most beautiful condition of any I have seen in India.

CHAP. IT. TALLIES.

SHADES.

Shades or screens of some description or other are absolutely
necessary for protecting young plants from the power of the
sun, on being first put out in the open ground. For want of
some such protection, numberless plants that are put out, par-
ticularly in the month of February, of a certainty become burnt
up and perish. Nothing can be better perhaps for small plants
than inverted flower-pots, with a portion of one side cut or
broken off. These should be put over the plant during the day,
with the open part of course towards the north, and removed at
sunset.

The stem of a large Plantain slit in two, and cut into portions,
affords a supply of half-pipes, which serve admirably for laying
over young seedlings to screen them when first planted out.

For larger plants, such as young Mango-grafts, Lichees, &c.,
some coarse kind of matting or chittaee may be employed bent
round and fastened with stakes.

TALLIES.

When it is desired to distinguish potted plants by merely
numbering them, it will be found far the most convenient to
use the tally of the Horticultural Society of London, of which a
representation is here given.

1 23 4 5 67 89 0

Fig. 7.

This represents a pointed flattened piece of bamboo, upon
which the figures cut are always read upward from the pointed
end, inserted in the ground. The uppermost of the numerals,
when any number is to be cut on the stick, will be in the place
of units, the next lower in the place of tens, the next in the
place of hundreds, and so on, as in the ordinary Arabic mode
of enumeration. Thus iv and vn marked on the bamboo will
denote respectively 15 and 511.

42 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. TART I.

LABELS.

Labels of card or paper, inserted in pieces of split bamboo,
are all but certain to be in a very short time pecked off and
destroyed by crows.

When zinc labels are used, a combination of the following
ingredients is said to form an indelible ink for writing upon
them : —

1 dram of powdered sal -ammonia,
i dram of lamp-black.
10 drams of water.

For great durability strong iron labels are often used, painted
black, with the name of the plant they are intended to designate
written upon them in white. A simple and speedy way of
effecting the same thing is to paint the labels white ; and when
quite dry paint them over again black, and while the black
paint is still wet write upon it with a broad-nibbed reed-pen
the name of the plant. The reed-pen, as the writing is pro-
ceeded with, removes the wet black paint, and leaves exposed
the name of the plant on the white paint below.

One of the commonest, easiest, and most serviceable modes
of labelling plants, however, is to prepare splints of bamboo, by
sharpening one end for sticking in the ground, and flattening
the other end ; over the flat end smear some white paint, and
while wet write upon it with a lead pencil any particulars to be
recorded. When the paint dries the pencil- writing will remain
fixed in the body of the paint, and will last indelible for a very
long time.

VERMIN.

Gardens in India are exceedingly infested with vermin of
very many kinds, and unless great vigilance be used to detect
them and arrest the ravages they occasion, the better part of
the gardener's labours will be sure to be in vain.

INSECTS.—" For insects," Miss Maling says, " nothing does
better than a spoonful of soot in a small can of water. It is a
happy certainty that even wire worms hate this." *

The Eev. J. G. Wood disapproves of the use of lime, as when

* 'The In-door Gardener,' p. 131.

CHAP. II. VERMIN. 43

it falls on leaves he says "it burns them, and changes their
lively green to an unsightly yellow or brown." He recommends
ammonia as " a most potent means of destruction, without
damaging the vegetation," and says that the effect of solid
ammonia dissolved in water is rapid and certain. " The shortest
method of preparing the solution," he further states, " is to stir
the ammonia into boiling water, and then add cold water until
it has been sufficiently diluted. Care must be taken to perform
this operation in the open air, and to keep well to the windward
of the vessel in which the preparation is being conducted. The
fumes that arise from the liquid are so copious and so pungent
that they affect the eyes, lungs, and nostrils, and afford a very
sufficient reason for their fatal effects upon insects."

" The ammonia not only exercises no injurious effect upon the
herbage, but is absolutely beneficial to it, giving out some of
the most valuable properties of stable-litter." *

ANTS. — These are perhaps the most formidable of all pests
that the Indian gardener has to contend against. They are
remarkably fond of nearly all kinds of small seed, and will often
clear off every grain of it from an extensive sowing, within
a very short time after it has been made. Lettuce-seed they
are especially fond of, which, when sown in the open ground, it
is very difficult to save from their depredations. With regard
to flower-seeds, when very choice, or when there is but a small
supply, the only safe plan is to make the sowing in a seed-
gumlah, supported on an empty flower-pot, standing in a pan of
water. In flower-pots, moreover, potted with any loose kind of
material, such as employed for Orchids, they are very de-
structive, establishing themselves by hundreds, laying their eggs,
and breeding their young. They cannot be allowed to remain
with safety to the plant, nor can they be easily removed, without
more or less injuring it at the same time. A saucer of sweet
oil is an irresistible bait to them, into which they will rush and
destroy themselves by numbers.

Upon the means of destroying ants, Captain Weston makes the
following remarks : — " The usual way of getting rid of the red
ant is, I believe, by powdered turmeric or huldee. I, however,
found a plan my malee had last year more successful. When
the seeds were sown, a cocoanut, with the kernel in it, was cut

* * Our Garden Friends and Foes,' pp. 110, 161.

44 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART T.

in halves and laid near the seeds ; the ants flocked to it, and
Avhen it was full of them it was immersed in hot water. The
nuts were watched during the day, and in three days no
more made their appearance. A few days after they made
their appearance again, when they were treated in the same
way, and again similarly disposed of. My plan, when I find
a nest of red ants in the road, or any part of the compound,
is to bund the spot round with chiy and pour in boiling
water, and I have found it efficient in the destruction of the
red ants." *

WHITE-ANTS. — No vermin has a worse reputation for mischief
than the white-ant ; yet I believe it is almost exclusively for
the injury it does within the house that it deserves it. In gardens
ihat white-ants infest they certainly are exceedingly troublesome
for the unsightly mounds of earth they cast up ; but all other
harm they do is confined to the consuming of posts and stakes,
or anything made of dead wood. Living plants are altogether
secure from their attack. Complaints, it is true, are often made
of cuttings having been destroyed by them ; but I make no
doubt but that in all cases the cuttings have died first, and
the white-ants have only devoured them afterwards. Moreover
sometimes when a dead plant is taken up, it is found to have
its roots preyed upon by these insects, and the charge is laid
against them forthwith of having caused its death ; whereas its
death had occurred from some other cause before they attacked
it. Mr. Gosse observes : — " Smeathman, who has very minutely
described and illustrated the tribes of Termites, says they do
not usually attack trees in a sound state ;"f and so likewise
Sir E. Tennant states, what any one in this country must have
noticed, that " Termites rarely attack a living tree ; and although
their nests may be built against it, it continues to flourish not
the less for their presence.''^:

THE GREAT CRICKET — CARPENTER-INSECT — Jheengoor —
Sehizodactyla monstrosa. — Westwood, in his edition of * Donovan's
Insects of India/ says this is a scarce insect in Bengal. Well,
indeed, would it be for some of the gardens there if it were so.
This most destructive insect is about an inch and a half long,

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society/ vol. x. p. 81.

f P. H. Gosse's 'Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica,' p. 461.

J Sir E. Tennant' s ' Ceylon,' vol. i. p. 254.

CHAP. TT. VERMIX. 45

and as thick round as a man's little finger, of a chocolate-
brown colour. It bores deep circuitous cylindrical passages in
the borders, in which it lurks during the day. At the dusk of
evening it issues forth and fills the air with its shrill loud
whizzing-kind of chirp. During the night it employs itself in
nipping off the stems of whatever young plants may be in its
neighbourhood, a portion of which it drags down into its retreat.
I have in vain endeavoured to dig it out, as it always eluded
my search. I found, however, by pouring a large can of water
into its hole, it immediately came to the surface, when I was
able to seize and destroy it. Before pouring down the water,
notice must be taken whether the hole be one that has been
vacated or not. The presence of the insect in the hole may be
easily known by the orifice being strewn with fresh earth, like
the castings of a worm, very frequently with a leaf or two drawn
over. When the hole has been deserted, it is left without any
such attempt at concealment.

CATERPILLAKS. — As far as my observation goes, gardens in
India do not, on the whole, seem to suffer much from the depre-
dations of caterpillars ; though there are some few plants, those
of the genus Asclepias perhaps in particular, very liable to be
consumed by them. Some species of Crinum also, and plants
of that description, are occasionally devoured by them to the
very heart in an incredibly short time. I know of no way of
preventing their ravages but by frequently searching the plants
upon which they prey, and destroying them when found. I
have never, that I remember, had to complain of injury done
by them to my plantations of Cabbages and Cauliflowers ; but
it would appear that all are not equally fortunate, according to
Captain Weston, who observes : " When Cabbages, Cauliflowers,
&c., are planted out in the garden, brandy or white claret
bottles should be hung up on sticks in squares of about fifteen
feet apart each. They prevent the appearance of the caterpillar
on them. A field of Cabbages opposite my garden had men all
day picking them out, and my garden had not one in it""
The efficacy of this plan I have understood was communicated
to Captain Weston by a gardener in England. There may
possibly be something in the glitter of the glass which scares
away the butterflies, and prevents them from settling upon the

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society/ vol. x. p. 86.

46 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

plants and laying their eggs. There is no other way in which I
can conceive that the bottles could act.

GRUBS. — These are for the most part the larvae of beetles.
The ravage they commit is almost entirely confined to the roots
of potted plants, in eating away the fibrous parts, and thus
ultimately causing the plants to perish. They are generally
introduced in the cow-manure, employed when the plants are
potted. All that is required to keep clear of them is to examine
the manure carefully before using it, picking out whatever
grubs are found, and destroying them.

COCKROACHES. — I have never, that I am aware of, had any
injury done to my garden by these insects ; but I have seen it
stated that they " often spoil a young shoot or flower-stem of an
Orchid in a single night," and that the following is a successful
plan for extirpating them : — " Get some short twigs, a few inches
long, and divested of their bark ; put one end into the soil, and
cover the other with a composition of spermaceti and arsenic,
well mixed. They will last for months."

THE KED BEETLE. — This most destructive pest is about the
size of a lady-bird, but narrower in form. The ravage it
commits is almost entirely confined to young plants of Melon,
Cucumber, and Squash, eating up the fresh green leaves as soon
as they are produced, thus effectually stopping the growth of
the plants. It is, however, principally plants that have been
raised from English or American seed that suffer, those from
country seed taking little harm from its attacks.

The usual method adopted to preserve the plants is to cover
the leaves with wood-ashes. But by this means the leaves, as
must be obvious, having their pores stopped up, are unable to
perform the functions for which alone they are of any use to
the plant, and might almost as well have been left alone to be
eaten by the beetles.

An old beer-chest, with the top and bottom knocked out and
a piece of cheap green mosquito-curtain leno fastened over
it, appears to me as simple an expedient and as thoroughly
an effectual one as could be employed for covering the plants
with, to protect them from this insect. When the plants attain
a certain age, the beetle ceases to attack them.

WORMS. — These are amongst the greatest nuisances to potted
plants that gardeners are troubled with. The better the soil

CHAP. II. BIRDS. 47

employed, the more eager are they to make their way into it
and consume all its goodness. During the Kains in particular,
unless the pots be supported upon a couple of bricks, laid
parallel to each other, about four or five inches apar£ it is all
but impossible to prevent worms from gaining access through
the aperture at the bottom.

At potting-time also the soil should be carefully examined,
so that none be introduced then.

When, however, after all precautions, it is found that worms
have established themselves in the pot, it is said that a little
clear lime-water will drive them out. They can be easily
removed, Mr. Wood states, by employing the solution of
ammonia.

TOADS. — These reptiles few perhaps would suspect of causing
much detriment to the garden. I have nevertheless found
them a great nuisance to my potted plants, particularly in the
Rain season, when they like to squat upon the damp soil at
night, and to penetrate into it for a place of retreat during
the day. I need hardly observe they should be destroyed
when discovered ; but I know of no way to keep them from
coming.

BIRDS. — CKOWS. — These, when the fit takes them, are
perhaps the most formidable of all enemies to young plants in
pots. It is almost certain ruin to leave freshly-potted bulbous-
plants exposed in any place where crows frequent ; for, even if
they do not pull the bulbs out immediately, they will be almost
sure to peck them to pieces as soon as they have pushed a
little above ground. Paper labels never escape being destroyed
by them.

There are only two ways of protecting plants from their
attacks. The simplest is to shoot one occasionally and hang it
up for a day or two in the spot from whence it is desired to scare
them. The other method is to protect the plants with a net.

SPARROWS. — In the vicinity of Calcutta I have never seen
any harm, to take notice of, done by sparrows ; but in the
North- West Provinces, where they abound in prodigious numbers,
there are few kinds of vermin more destructive. For annuals
they have an especial fondness, and in a very short time will
clear off the young seedlings from almost any number of pots.
Of a sowing of Beet not a particle will escape them as soon as

48 OPERATIONS OF GABDENING. PART I.

the seedlings rise above ground, and upon a crop of Peas they
feed ravenously.

Nets, when they can be obtained, are I believe the only effi-
cient means of sheltering plants from the mischief they do them.

PARROTS. — The little green parrot is a most destructive bird to
ripening fruit, unless nets be thrown over the tree to keep it off.

ANIMALS. — FLYING FOXES. — These commit their depreda-
tions on ripening fruit by night. A net is the only safeguard
against them.

EATS. — No piece of ground where rats have established
themselves can be of any use for cultivation until they have
been extirpated. But this I have never found a matter of
much difficulty. I have succeeded in immediately getting rid
of them by making pellets, about the size of a marble, with
flour and water mixed with a little powdered arsenic. These,
placed at the entrance of the freshly-made holes in the evening,
have disappeared in the morning, and the rats with them.

Captain Weston states that blowing the fumes of sulphur
into their holes by means of a common bellows is an effectual
method of destroying them.*

SQUIRRELS ; BABOONS. — These animals are sometimes very
destructive to fruit, from which I know of no way of keeping
them off, but by driving them away as soon as observed.

BABBITS. — These, where they abound, as I believe they do in
the Botanical Gardens, are very destructive, and I hardly know
any protection from them but a fence of wire-netting.

JACKALS. — These do no very great harm in a garden beyond
occasionally scratching up a hole to the injury of any plant
that may be in the way. For those, however, who consider
them a nuisance they would gladly get rid of, 1 subjoin the
following extract : —

" Our host told us that about two years ago he got some mix
vomica and other poisons, mixed them with tallow, and enclosed
small lumps of this mixture in pieces of the entrails of sheep,
which he dragged about his yard in the evening, and then hung
upon a bush, afterwards dropping pieces containing poison along
the track. The first morning after he had done this, fifteen jackals
were found dead about the premises."!

* 'Journal of Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. ix. p. c.
f Ellis's ' Madagascar,' p. 222.

CHAP. IT. WEEDS. 49

PORCUPINES. — In those parts of India where these animals
abound, they are, I understand, exceedingly injurious to
gardens. The usual method adopted for their destruction is to
dig pits to entrap them.

GOATS. — All kinds of animals, it is needless to observe, should
be excluded as much as possible from a garden, but few more
scrupulously so than goats, for they are about the most pernicious.
They are especially fond of Kose-trees, giving them the preference
to all others. There is some peculiarity in their bite, insomuch
that a stem, once nipped by them, becomes poisoned, and must
be cut completely in, as it will never thrive again afterwards.

THIEVES. — It is well, if possible, to exclude all other servants
but the malees from the garden, as they are much given to
pilfer the best of the fruits and vegetables. But it is princi-
pally in Calcutta and its vicinity that the theft of ornamental
plants is much to be feared, and there it is of continual occur-
rence. When a theft of this kind takes place, it may be laid
down, I believe, for certain that it is either the act of the malee
himself, or done with his concurrence. For many of the thefts,
however, of valuable plants the actual thieves are not so much
to blame as those who purchase of them, as such plants can
hardly by any possibility come into a native dealer's hands
except by thieving.

WEEDS.

Upon the whole weeds do not appear to be a greater source
of trouble in an Indian than they are in a European garden.
There is no other way of keeping the ground free from them,
but by either pulling them up by the roots or cutting them
down with the koorpee. This, of course, is most effectual when
done in the hot weather, as when cut down at that time, they
have little chance of recovering themselves. But it should be
done most perseveringly ; for the beauty of a garden depends
quite as much upon the scrupulous cleanliness with which it is
kept, as on the choiceness of the plants it contains.

The most troublesome weed we have is perhaps the Mootho-
grass. The roots of this produce crops of little kernels, any of
which, left in the ground, retain their vitality and grow after a
very long time. By diligently searching for and digging out
these kernels, the weed may soon be entirely eradicated.

E

50 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

CHAPTEE III.

SEEDS — SEED-SOWING — POT-CULTUKE — PLANTING AND TRANS-
PL ANTING — CUTTINGS — LAYERS — GOOTEE — GRAFTING AND
INARCHING — BUDDING — PRUNING AND BOOT-PRUNING -
CONVEYANCE.

SEEDS.

THOUGH many of the ornamental plants of our Indian gardens
can only be propagated by cuttings or layers, there are at the
same time several which may be as well, or better, raised from
seed. Flowering annuals and culinary vegetables it is of
course impossible to obtain in any other way.

In a paper sent by Dr. E. Bonavia to the * Journal of the
Agri-Horticultural Society/ vol. xiv., p. 190, there are some
remarks upon the acclimatization of seeds, which it may be
found interesting to refer to. Dr. Bonavia there asserts, " If a
plant germinates, grows well, and seeds, there is no sensible
reason why it should not be improved in this country as well as
anywhere else, provided the conditions of healthy and luxu-
riant growth are invariably given. For any one to talk of
degeneration of seeds in this country by acclimatization is simple
nonsense." That much country-saved seed, however, does be-
come degenerate, even when the conditions above mentioned are
secured, my own experience has proved to a certainty. This
may be often, though not in all cases, owing to the want of
protection from the scorching effect of the sun upon it while
yet immature, and when the plant that bears it becomes so
parched that it can afford it no sustenance. This I have
clearly ascertained and provided against, in the case of the
Lupin, as noticed further on ; and it is only reasonable to
conclude that the same may hold good as regards other plants
of a temperate climate that decay soon after they have
blossomed on the approach of the Hot season. But admitting

CHAP. ITT. SEEDS. 51

this, it remains to be explained, why even in England, where
all the above conditions are realised to perfection, it is still
found necessary to import annually at a high price from
Germany the seeds of such things as China Asters, Stocks,
Balsams, &c., as alone to be depended upon to produce the finest
flowers. He furthermore adds, " people complain that flowers
originally double by acclimatization eventually become single.
I have no hesitation in saying at once that when this occurs
the fault is neither in the seed nor in the climate, but in the
gardener. There is little doubt that doubleness depends on
luxuriance, and the tendency of a plant is to transmit that
quality to its descendants, so that if the climate admit of the
growth of the plant at all, luxuriance and doubleness are in
the hands of the grower." This I cannot let pass without at the
same time noticing what is asserted by Dr. Lindley, that
doubleness " can scarcely be from excessive vigour, for no one
has ever yet obtained a double flower by promoting the health
or energy of a species." *

For successful gardening no point is of more importance than
that the seed procured for sowing should be both sound and of
the finest kind. The excellence of seed is not to be tested
simply by its germinating speedily and abundantly, but rather
by the quality of the produce that it yields. Much of his seed
the Indian gardener may save far better from his own garden
than he can procure it elsewhere. The saving of seed, it is
true, involves some little trouble ; but it is well worth it. I
therefore here submit a few suggestions I consider essential to
be attended to for the purpose.

1. Small Trees and Flowering Shrubs. — The seeds of many of
these may be saved at once by merely gathering them when
ripe upon the plants, drying them, and storing them away.
The seeds of some, however, are exceedingly small and fine, and
those of others likewise immediately drop off on becoming ripe;
so that unless precaution be taken beforehand they are all sure
to be lost. A simple and effectual plan of securing them is to
tie a piece of fine muslin round the stem of the seed pods before
ripe, so as to enclose them in a little bag, from which when
ripe they may be removed at leisure.

2. Annuals. — Perhaps it may be thought needless trouble to

* * Theory and Practice of Horticulture/ p. 501.

E 2

52 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

gather the seeds of these, as they may be so easily procured
fresh and good from England, and particularly as several soon
degenerate if sown repeatedly from seed the produce of this
country. There are, notwithstanding, some which do not de-
generate from being raised each season successively from
garden-seed, but which, in Bengal especially, cannot be culti-
vated successfully otherwise. I may instance the Sweet-pea,
which in the neighbourhood of Calcutta, when raised from
English seed, though it thrives vigorously, seldom or never
puts forth a single blossom ; and several annuals besides, the
imported seed of which does not germinate, perhaps, more than
once in two or three seasons that it is sown. During a resi-
dence of several years near Calcutta, the English Larkspur
seed that I sowed each year I never found in a single instance
germinate.

A good way of securing the seeds of most of the annuals
is to pull the plants up by the roots just before the seeds
are quite ripe, and lay them upon the sheet of a newspaper in
a dry room, where the seeds will ripen even better than they
would have done in the garden ; and none that drop off will
be lost.

3. Culinary Vegetables. — Where the seed of culinary vege-
tables is easily obtainable from Europe or America it will
not, I believe, be found advantageous to save any from the
garden, except it be of Peas, Beans, Onions, Mustard and Cress,
and in Lower Bengal Artichokes and Cauliflowers, which in
that locality, when raised from imported seed, are rarely pro-
ductive ; as the produce of what is termed acclimated seed is
unquestionably very inferior to that of imported. Onion-seed
seems to retain its vitality a much shorter time than any other
vegetable seed ; hence imported seed sometimes germinates
very scantily, and frequently not at all. In the Upper Pro-
vinces, likewise, whither the conveyance of heavy seeds, like
those of Peas and Beans, involves a considerable expense, an
abundant supply of the seed of these vegetables may be saved
from the garden each year in succession, without the produce
raised from it being found much, if at all, degenerate. Care,
however, must be taken that the finest seed be saved, and not
that merely which is left, after the best has been gathered for
table use. When a person is dependent entirely upon his own

CHAP. III. SEEDS. 53

garden for his pea-seed, he should make sowings, the produce of
which is to be reserved exclusively for seed.

THE STORING OF SEED.

One point of great importance is, that, before gathered, the
seed be fully developed and perfectly matiire. When this is
attended to the preservation of its vitality, under the most
trying circumstances, is quite astonishing. An instance where-
of may be seen in the length of time tnat it will remain un-
harmed even in sea-water, as stated by Mr. Darwin : " Until I
tried, with Mr. Berkeley's aid, a few experiments, it was not
even known how far seeds could resist the injurious effects of
sea-water. To my surprise I found that out of eighty-seven
kinds sixty-four germinated after an immersion of twenty-eight
days ; and a few survived immersion of a hundred and thirty-
seven days." * Of the intense degree of heat they have the
power of withstanding I once too had a notable proof. A small
tin-box of seeds of annuals was sent me from England. On
opening it I found that the heat of the soldering-iron had
scorched to a dark -brown colour several of the paper packets in
which the seeds were put ; whence I concluded that the seeds
must of necessity have been destroyed: on trial, however, I
found them not in the least injured, as they germinated freely.
An instance, again, of their capability of remaining long without
taking harm, alternately in a dry and wet condition, may be
witnessed in what takes place every year in most gardens in
this country. The seeds of several of the European annuals,
such as Larkspur, Mignonette, Phlox, Petunia, Sweet-pea, &c.,
will fall when ripe, and lie for some two or three months ex-
posed to the influence of a baking sun, and then for the three
or four months of the rains which follow remain embedded in
the swampy soil ; and yet afterwards, on the arrival of the Cold
season, germinate and spring up vigorously.

There is one thing, however, which it should be well borne
in mind seeds cannot endure, and that is sour damp. There is
no way of destroying them more certain than to place, them in
a situation where they are exposed to a constantly humid, un-
ventilated atmosphere. In Bengal, few seeds of any kind

* ' Origin of Species,' p. 358.

54 ^ OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

gathered during the Hot season, and put away merely in a box,
or in a drawer, or on a shelf in the house, but during the Bains
are sure to become musty, and perish before the time for
sowing them, in October. To preserve them it is absolutely
necessary, having first thoroughly dried them, to store them in
well-cleansed bottles, which should then be well corked and
hermetically sealed with wax. Not only is this a mode of pre-
serving them against the baneful effects of damp, but an effec-
tual protection likewise from the ravages of acari and weevils,
by which, in all parts of India, they are very liable to be de-
stroyed.

SEEDS FROM THE GOVERNMENT GARDENS IN INDIA.

Calcutta Botanical Garden. — Seeds of trees, shrubs, and
flowering plants were formerly distributed gratuitously from
this garden to all who applied for them ; but of late years the
distribution has been entirely discontinued ; — a circumstance of
little importance had there been any means of obtaining similar
seeds elsewhere ; which unfortunately is not the case.

Saharunpore Botanical Garden. — Seeds of every description
are, I believe, still distributed gratuitously to all applicants
from this garden. To residents in the North- Western Provinces
the gift of seeds of flowering annuals and culinary vegetables
has been a great boon ; but the seeds of ornamental shrubs sent
out have in most cases hitherto proved very indifferent both as
to kind and quality.

Ootacamund NilgJierries. — Seeds of culinary vegetables are
raised at the Government Gardens on the Nilgherries, and
offered for sale to any who wish to purchase them. Some years
ago a trial of these was made on a large scale by the Agri-Hor-
ticultural Society ; but they were found to give so little satis-
faction, that it was not considered desirable to procure any more
from that source. At this I am in no degree surprised ; as
during a stay of some months at Ootacamund the vegetables
I tasted there, raised from seeds of the place, were in every
instance very indifferent, vastly inferior to such as are raised
during the cold season in the gardens about Calcutta. I was
informed, moreover, by a gentleman who had been a resident
of Ootacamund a great many years, and who bore the reputation
of being the best amateur gardener there, that the produce of

CHAP. III. SEEDS. 55

vegetable-seeds saved in his own garden was so inferior that
he never thought it worth while to sow them, but sent annually
for a fresh consignment to England.

PACKING OF IMPORTED SEEDS.

" As all seeds," says Dr. Jameson, " in this country rapidly
degenerate, it is absolutely necessary that a continual supply be
received jrom Europe or America, to enable us to distribute
good seeds." * It will be seen elsewhere that I am far from
concurring in the statement that all European seeds degenerate,
or that some which do with due precaution need do so. But
there are many notwithstanding which, to save trouble, and on
the score of economy, it is no doubt far better to import ; not to
mention that there are some plants likewise which, in Bengal at
least, never yield seed at all.

For many years past the means of conveying most securely
seeds to this country have engaged the attention of Indian
horticulturists. It may therefore be presumed that the best
plan for the purpose has by this time l#en pretty clearly ascer-
tained ; and I think it may now be stated for certain that
where large quantities of seed are to be conveyed, no plan can
be better than to send them packed in tin cases, hermetically
soldered down. This is the plan that has been uniformly
adopted by the Agri-Horticultural Society with perfect success
in the immense consignments they receive annually from Eng-
land and America. It is the plan, too, that I myself have
found invariably successful in the numerous importations that I
have from time to time made to this country.

Formerly, when much of the seed sent to India proved
worthless, a strong prejudice, for some reason or other, existed
against this mode of conveyance. Mr. M. Hall, for instance,
writing from Goruckpore, says: "Having for the three last
years obtained various flower and other seeds from England per
overland mail, I may say, that, if put up in tin boxes soldered
down, the chances are that not one will reach this country
alive. There is no reasonable hope for their doing so. In no
case have I succeeded in obtaining a single plant from those
packed in tin." t But it has now been made quite plain, I

* * Eeport upon the Saharuopore Botanical Gardens.'
t ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. iii. p. 69.

56 OPEKATIONS OF GARDENING. PART T.

think, that in all instances where seeds thus conveyed have
proved unsatisfactory, the failure has been due to some other
cause, rather than to the circumstance of their having been
packed in tin. Mr. R. Fortune states that some years ago, in
his voyage to China, he took with him a quantity of seeds of
various kinds : a portion were put in tin and soldered down,
and a portion in canvas bags, packed loosely, and suspended in
his cabin. Each plan, he says, proved equally successful ; and
all the seeds nearly turned out good.*

One precaution, however, I think it possibly of some impor-
tance to attend to, and that is, that no other article be put
within the tin case with the seeds. I mention this, as I have
known it occur that a person has been even so indiscreet as to
pack seeds and bulbs in the same case. The effect upon the
whole contents of the case, of one of the bulbs becoming un-
sound, may be easily imagined.

' Again, seeds imported for gardens in a damp climate, like
that of Bengal especially, should be soldered down in separate
tin cases, according to the time they are to be sown ; for if, as
is usual, all are packed in one case, the case must be opened
either much too soon for the sowing of some kinds of seeds,
or too late for that of others. For instance, Asparagus, Cab-
bage, Cauliflower, Celery, and Knol-Kohl seeds should be sown
as early as the first of September, or earlier; but if all the
seeds be contained in one case, and it be opened at that time,
there is every reason to fear that the seeds of Onions, Eadishes,
Turnips, Carrots, Peas, &c., as well as nearly all the annual
flower seeds, will become seriously impaired, if not utterly de-
stroyed by the damp during the long interval of a month and
a half at least that must elapse before they can be sown. I look
upon this as a most essential precaution to be attended to ;
having witnessed in how wonderfully short a time imported
seeds become ruined by exposure to damp.

The transmission of seed by post, when the quantity is
small, is an excellent plan ; and by postal regulations parcels
of seed not exceeding 24 oz. in weight may now be sent
to India at " Sample Post Kates :" namely, 4 oz. for 4^., 8 oz.
for 8d., 12 oz. for Is., 16 oz. for Is. 4d., 20 oz. for Is. 8d., 24 oz.
for 2s.

* * Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society/ vol. vi. p. 134.

CHAP. ITT. SEEDS. 57

LOCALITIES WHENCE IMPOHTED.

America. — Very large supplies of vegetable-seed have been
for several years past imported into this country from America.
The Agri-Horticultural Society derive thence by far the greater
part of the large bulk of vegetable-seeds they distribute annually
to their members ; and the seed has certainly been found in
most cases to possess the one great merit of germinating freely.
This, however, has been its main recommendation ; for as to the
quality of its produce, excepting in the case of one or two kinds
of Peas, I have found it always vastly inferior to that which I
have had annually sent me from England.

Cape of Good Hope. — Until very lately the Agri-Horticultural
Society have had large consignments of vegetable-seeds annually
from the Cape. The advantage of procuring them from that
country was supposed to consist in this, that they must neces-
sarily be fresher than those obtained either from America or
Europe ; inasmuch as, if immediately exported after being
harvested in that hemisphere, they would arrive in India just
in time for our season of sowing ; that is to say, they would not
be more than four months, or so, old when they reached us;
those coming to us from Europe or America being of necessity
at the least as much as twelve months old. This advantage
was, no doubt, to a great degree realised, as for the most part
the seeds germinated vigorously ; but at the same time it was
far overbalanced by the exceeding inferiority of the produce
which the seeds yielded. I for my part considered the seeds of
so little value, that when others could be obtained elsewhere I
never sowed them.

England. — For several years I had small consignments of
vegetable-seeds sent to me from England. These in almost
every instance germinated most freely ; and, as regards quality
of produce, were beyond comparison better than any I ever
obtained elsewhere. The Agri-Horticultural Society have made
trials of consignments for distribution to their members; but
complaints, I believe, are made of their not germinating so
freely as those procured from America. Seeds of flowering
annuals the Society have at different times procured from
several parts of the world, but found none which, for variety and
excellence, were anything like equal to those obtained from their
seedsman in London.

53 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

CAUSES OF THE FAILURE OF IMPORTED SEED.

Whole batches of imported seed, however, from whatever
quarter of the world they may have been derived, will sometimes
utterly fail of germinating. Any one of the following reasons,
or, indeed, more than one of them combined, may often be
assigned for this.

Sometimes the seeds are old, and all but worthless, as they
leave the hands of the seedsman. The mixing with the fresh
seed of the year what remains over from previous years was a
well-known practice with dealers : but, I trust, among seedsmen
of reputation no such dishonesty prevails now. The term
" cooking," I am told, I was wrong in applying to the practice.
That term refers to something even more dishonest — the mixing
of two lots of seed, perfectly similar in appearance, but totally
different in kind, such as Eape and Turnip for instance, having
first boiled the cheap and worthless kind to prevent its subse-
quently germinating, and so exposing the fraud.

Bad packing also is, no doubt, one cause from which seeds
sometimes perish on their voyage to this country. . The tenacity
of life in many kinds, though very great, is not such, that all
precautions for their safe keeping on the voyage hither need be
wholly disregarded.

Again, seed often proves valueless from having been consigned
to this country at an improper season. No seed should arrive
here long before it is the right time for sowing it ; otherwise,
though perfectly sound on its arrival, the risk of its becoming
bad before being put in the ground is very great. In Bengal
this is especially the case ; and seed intended to be sown at
the commencement of the Cold season, that arrives a month or
two previous perfectly sound and good, will, if opened and left
exposed to the action of the humid atmosphere, be all but sure
to fail.

Seeds, however, that in reality are perfectly good when sown
are often pronounced to be bad, for one or the other of the
two reasons :

First, from having been sown too soon in the season they
have not germinated in the time they were expected. Many of
the annuals — Nemophila and Larkspur, for instance — will not
germinate readily, if at all, till the Cold season is thoroughly

CHAP. III. SEED SOWING. 59

set in ; and, if sown earlier, will lie dormant in the soil till the
due time arrives. Celery-seed, again, that is sown in August
(as it should be for cultivating the vegetable) will come up
but very sparingly, after having been more than a month in the
ground; whereas portions of the same seed, reserved till the
Cold season and sown then, will come up plentifully in about
twelve days.

Secondly, seed sown in the open ground is often judged to
have been bad from its having shown no growth ; whereas the
whole sowing, soon after it was made, has been destroyed by
vermin. In some localities, where red-ants abound, if Lettuce -
seed or the small seed of any of the annuals be sown, in a very
few hours scarcely a grain will escape being made away with by
these destructive insects. The seedlings of some plants, more-
over, particularly those of a succulent nature, such as Beet,
Nolana, the Ice-plant, &c., are very liable to be eaten up entirely
by sparrows, before even it is observed that the seeds have
germinated.

SEED SOWING.

The best method of sowing will, to some extent, depend -upon
the kind of seed to be sown. Directions for the sowing of seeds
of flowering annuals and culinary vegetables will be given,
when those plants are respectively treated of. In the meanwhile,
the following suggestions in a general way may, perhaps, be
found useful.

Seeds of any size, such as those of Broad Beans, Yellow
Lupins, and of very many shrubs and trees, the rinds of which
have become hard and tough by keeping, if sown in rather dry
soil, will remain a very long time before they germinate. It is
an excellent plan to throw seeds of this description in a basin
of hot water, pick out those that float, and throw them away as
useless ; let the rest steep for twelve hours, and then immediately
sow them.

When pots or seed-pans are used, about the best soil for
sowing seeds in, and the one most generally available in this
country, will be found, I believe, to consist of one .part leaf-
mould, one part common garden-earth, and an eighth part
silver-sand, well mixed. A light soil, for covering the seeds
with, may be made of equal parts of coarsely-pounded charcoal

CO OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

and leaf-mould. If the seeds remain long before they germ-
inate, the charcoal will have the tendency to keep the soil from
becoming green and sour, as it so often does from continued
watering.

It is laid down as a rule by some of the best gardeners in
this country, as well as elsewhere, that seeds should always be
sown in what is called a "dry bed." Mr. E. Scott at the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens used, during the hot months, to
lay up under a shed, and sheltered from wet, a store of dry
earth, that he might have it, as he said, in a perfectly dry state
on all occasions for his sowings. Mr. J. Newman, Superintendent
of the Botanical Gardens at the Mauritius, says : —

" I find that all seeds, particularly those that have come a long
voyage, ought to be sown in moist, but not wet earth, and not
watered for three days after sowing. In wet weather it is advisable
to have matting to cover the seed-beds until the plants have
appeared aboveground, when they may be watered as usual. By
this simple precaution even many old seeds will vegetate ; whereas
seeds sown in wet earth, or watered immediately, frequently rot,
by having so much water at first. I have tried seeds from the
same packet in a dry place and a wet one at the same time, and it
requires only one trial to prove the superiority of the former."*

This certainly does not accord with what has been my own
experience; nor in the North- Western Provinces would it be
altogether practicable, on account of the dryness of the climate,
and of the light surface-soil, with the seeds in it, being liable to
be blown away by the wind. The practice, which I have found
uniformly attended with success, has always been, except when
moist enough not to need it, to drench the soil immediately
previous to the sowing.

I should certainly hesitate, however, in recommending this
practice had I not the sanction of those whose opinions on such
a matter ought to have far greater weight than my own. Mr.
E. Eoss, formerly head gardener of the Botanical Gardens,
says in his directions for the sowing of seeds : " When sown,
give a little water, with the fine rose of a watering pot : —
afterwards keep damp, but not wet."t And Mr. M'Meekin,
formerly head gardener of the Agri-Horticultural Society,

* ' Transactions of the Agri-Hort. Society/ vol. ii. p. 76.
f 'Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. v. p. 1.

CHAP. III. POTS. f;i

speaks of his success in raising annuals from actually flooding
the ground " when the seeds were sown ;" a treatment which
Mr. John Scott strongly condemns as opposed to theory and
practice.* And lastly Mr. John M'Elroy directs even for the
humid climate of England : " before you sow the seed, ' let the
soil be well soaked with water.' "t It appears to me that if
proper attention be given to drainage, the only effect of the
soil being in a moist condition when the sowing is made, is to
soften the hard integument of the seed and thus enable it
to germinate the more speedily. Unless the soil be drenched to
excess, so as to be kept in a sodden state, it will be found,
except perhaps during the Bains, to dry up far too soon for the
seed to rot through wet.

Pots in which seeds are sown may be, and indeed are the better
for being, kept in a dark place till the seeds show indication of
germinating. They should then be immediately removed to where
they may have as much light and air as possible, provided they
be sheltered from strong winds, heavy rains, and direct sunshine.

POTS AND POT-CULTUEE.

For the cultivation of some of the choicer kinds of plants,
as well as for seed-sowing, pots are absolutely necessary. As
utensils of earthenware, similar to that of which flower-pots are
made, are in universal use among the natives, potters are always
to be met with. Hence pots may, nearly everywhere, be easily
obtained to order, at a very reasonable rate. The pots vary,
however, very much in different localities as regards the good-
ness and durability of the material of which they are made.
Some soon break to pieces by any little force applied to them,
or crumble away by exposure to weather ; while others have a
ring like that of a bell, and last uninjured for a great length of
time. Much depends, I believe, upon the quantity of salt
existing in the earth of which they are made. It is advisable
to have a large stock in hand of all sizes, ranging from the
smallest to the largest. These should not be allowed to lie
out, neglected and exposed to the weather, but should be stored
neatly away, somewhere under cover, ready for use when
wanted. Any old pots, likewise, when out of use, should be

* * Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society/ vol. i., New Series, p. 192.

t ' Gardener's Magazine/ conducted by Shirley Hibberd, for 18GG, p. 206.

62 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

immediately well washed and put away. Uncleansed, dirty
pots are condemned by all good gardeners.

For the sowing of seeds, broad and shallow pots are obviously
the best adapted. In the bazars wide, round pans, somewhat
of a pie-dish form, may commonly be met with at a very cheap
price, excellently adapted for the purpose. They must, before
being used, have a small hole broken through the bottom for
drainage. Pans of this description are also of the greatest use
to hold water, for pots with aquatic plants to stand in.

SEASON FOR POTTING.

With regard to the season most suited for potting, the
following very important directions are given by Sir J. Paxton :—

" There ought to be no such thing as a fixed period for universal
potting. Each specimen ought to be treated according to its indi-
vidual wants. No specimen should be repotted till it begins, or is
about to begin, growing."*

" Potting is too frequently determined by date of month instead
of by progress of the season and state of vegetation.

" It is an infallible maxim that plants should not be repotted till
some enlargement or development of their organs is apparent.

" Early potting is injurious to plants. Water is liberally supplied
when they are wholly unprepared for its absorption. Thousands of
tender plants are annually thus destroyed. If the potting be deferred
till vegetation has commenced, plants will imbibe and evaporate the
water applied with all requisite facility. They will receive no check
if the potting be skilfully executed.

" By potting at the proper period the appearance of the plant will
indicate the nature and extent of its subsequent growth, and the
size of the pot required."f

" Ordinary plants, producing numberless fibrous roots, which are
rather benefited by nearness to the outside of the pot, should be
often and very gradually shifted.

" The only circumstance which can justify repotting is a decided
indication of growth. Woody and herbaceous species must, like
the Orchidacess, never be potted till they show signs of advance-
ment.

" A few exceptions may be made in the case of tuberous-rooted or
bulbous perennials, which may be potted immediately before the
period at which they usually form roots, as it is necessary to take

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. x. p. 48. f Ibid. vol. vi. p. 71.

CHAP. III. POT-CULTURE. 63

away the dry soil in which they have been preserved, and to supply
them with fresh, till they can be watered freely." *

Notwithstanding the unquestionable accuracy of the above
remarks, it so happens that in India there are especial seasons
suitable for removing most kinds of plants. As a general rule
for guidance it may be observed, that plants that are natives of a
cold climate, and that are in the full vigour of their growth during
the Cold season in this country, should be re-potted at the
commencement of the Cold season — some time in November ;
and that plants that are natives of India or of a similar hot
climate are best re-potted either in February, at the commence-
ment of the Hot season, or about the end of June, at the
commencement of the Kains.

The necessity of re-potting a plant, if the pot that it is in be
not unmanageably large, may be easily determined by turning
the ball of earth entire out of the pot, and examining the roots.
This is done by passing the base of the stem through the middle
fingers of the right hand, and then turning the pot upside down,
and knocking the rim of it gently upon the top of a wall, or
upon the edge of a table, till it can be lifted clean off by the
left hand. " It is a standing principle," says Sir J. Paxton,
" with experienced culturists, that no specimen should be
allowed a larger pot till the one in which it is growing is filled
with fibrous roots ; and that subsequent shifting be trifling and
oft-repeated, in preference to only one or two abrupt transitions
annually. This is one of the prime secrets in the right manage-
ment of flowers — the sine qua non to distinguished or even
common success in cultivation." t

" If the soil," he further says, " be closely compressed into a
hard mass, it must be shaken from the roots. For this put the
base of the ball on the ground, and strike gently all round with
the hand. All plants that are thus freed from earth, ought not
to be planted in larger pots."

OPERATION OP POTTING.

When plants are merely to be removed from one pot into
another, if the operation be at all carefully performed, they will
suffer scarcely the slightest check in consequence. But if

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. viii. p. 47. t Ibid. vol. vii. p. 35.

64 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

plants be dug up from the border to be potted, they require
some little attention to be paid to them afterwards, on account
of the injury almost of necessity done to their roots. The best
plan is to put them, as soon as potted, in a dark room or
godown during the day, and bring them out into the open air
at night. By this mode of treatment they will m6stly recover
themselves in two or three days.

Plants, again, that are purchased of native nurserymen or
dealers, are nearly always delivered with their roots kneaded
up in a ball of dense, clayey kind of earth. If the plants be
potted in this condition, just as received, it will probably be
many months before the roots will be able to overcome such
impediment to their free growth. The only way that I know
of removing this dense clayey ball, without in the least injuring
the roots, is to immerse it in a vessel of water. In about an
hour's time it will dissolve and loosen away, and upon the plant
being gently shaken, leave the roots quite free and clean. The
plant should then, without a moment's delay, be potted — care
being taken to press the soil close round the roots, and then to
supply a copious watering. The plant should be removed to a
dark room, to be kept there during the day, and put out at
night, till found that it can bear the light without flagging.

In preparing a pot to receive a plant, the first thing to do is
to put; in it broken pieces of potsherd, charcoal, or some such
material, to the height of full an inch and a half for the purpose
of drainage. Care must be taken that what is placed imme-
diately above the hole be a crooked piece of potsherd, and not
a flat piece of tile, such as malees often lay on, thus effectually
closing the hole, and impeding drainage. Above the layer of
broken potsherds or charcoal spread a small quantity of dry
moss (if to be had), or cocoanut fibre, or any similar material,
to prevent the soil that is to be put in from immediately falling
into and clogging up the drainage below.

The soil best adapted for the general run of potted plants is
common garden-loam, with which are well mixed and in-
corporated about one-eighth of vegetable mould, the same
quantity of well-rotted cow-dung, and a little silver-sand. To
keep the soil open nothing better can be mixed with it than a
small quantity of garden-refuse, charred, and broken into rather
small pieces.

CHAP. III. POT-CULTURE. 65

WATERING OF POTTED PLANTS.

There is no operation in horticulture that requires judgment
more than the giving to a plant just the amount of water
beneficial to it, and no more. If too little be given, the plant
will be starved and stunted; if too much, it will rot and die.
As a general rule, the quantity of water a plant demands
depends entirely upon the more or less vigorous state of growth
it is in at the time. When observed to be making no
growth, only just water enough should be given to keep it alive ;
when showing symptoms of starting into growth, then is the
time to supply water witli a liberal hand.

It is during the Rains that the greatest difficulty is ex-
perienced. Plants that are natives of a cold climate, especially
herbaceous ones and perennials, such as Geraniums, Carnations,
&c., at this season, though in all but a dormant condition,
cannot exist in a soil that is perfectly dry ; and yet, when kept
under shelter, are very apt to perish from the soil turning rank
and sour, however little the water supplied. When the drainage
of the pots in which such plants are grown is perfect, the plants
will sometimes do even better put out and fully exposed to the
Rains; for in that case the soil, though constantly drenched,
does not become sodden with wet, nor ever otherwise than
sweet and wholesome.

In watering young delicate plants, the can should be only
about a quarter filled with water ; for if completely filled the
water will issue from the rose, sometimes with so much force
as to cause considerable damage to the plants. In watering
most potted plants, however, it is best to discard the rose
altogether, and administer water by laying the muzzle of the
watering-pot upon the rim of the flower-pot, or only just above
it. It cannot be too strongly impressed upon malees that it is
the roots of the plants that require water, and not the flowers,
to which they often so injuriously apply it, nor even the leaves.
The leaves of a plant do not imbibe water, and the only
rational object there can be for casting water upon them is
to cleanse them of dust and dirt, so as to keep open their pores
for respiration. But the pores are situated principally upon the
under-surface of the leaves ; therefore the dashing of water upon
them from above is a very ineffectual mode of operating, often,

F

66 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

indeed, serving to splash up much, more dirt upon them from
below than it removes from above.

The only perfectly effectual mode of cleansing the foliage of
a plant is frequently (once a week, perhaps) to wash each
individual leaf carefully and tenderly with sponge and water
above and below. But upon this subject I cannot do better
than subjoin what is stated by Dr. Lindley : —

" It is well known to gardeners that the efficiency of leaves is much
promoted by their being kept clean. The great cause of the un-
healthiness of plants in towns is the amount of dirt which unavoid-
ably collects upon their surface. If such impurities are constantly
washed off, plants will grow as well in. cities as in country places.
This was found experimentally by M. Garreau, who, in the course
of his inquiries into the functions of the skins of plants, found
that soap and water had great value, plants well washed acquiring
a power of absorption much beyond what they possessed in their
unwashed condition. It was found that soap and water had a far
greater cleansing effect than mere water ; thus a fig-leaf which
had been lathered, absorbed 90 parts, while after a mere water-
bath it took up only half the quantity ; and a bramble, which soap
and water provided with 130 parts absorbed, could only consume
10 parts when cleansed with water alone. It was thus shown that
perfect cleanliness is as indispensable to plants as to animals, and
that dirty gardening is necessarily bad gardening. Plants breathe
by their leaves, and if their surface is clogged by dirt of whatever
kind, their breathing is impeded or prevented. Plants perspire by
their leaves, and dirt prevents their perspiration. Plants feed by
their leaves, and dirt prevents their feeding. So that breathing,
perspiration, and food are fatally interrupted by the accumulation
of foreign matters upon leaves. Let any one, after reading this,
cast an eye upon the state of plants in sitting-rooms, or ill-kept
greenhouses ; let them draw a white handkerchief over the surface
of such plants, or a piece of smooth white leather, if they desire to
know how far they are from being as clean as their nature requires.
Half the business of a good gardener consists in sponging and
washing the leaves of his plants."*

I will only observe, in addition to this, that there is no place
where plants are more liable to get into a filthy condition than
where those of the choicest kind are usually kept, that is, in
the verandah of a house. This place, as well as the ground
immediately in front of it, is swept out every morning by the
* ' Theory and Practice of Horticulture,' p. 58, 2ud ed.

CHAP. III. POT-CULTUEE. 67

rnehter, when a fresh and abundant deposit of dirt upon the
leaves of the plants is the inevitable consequence. How
deleterious this must be to many of the Orchids, which in their
native homes live high up on trees far out of the region of dust
and dirt, may easily be conceived.

Sir J. Paxton advises " to maintain a regular supply of
moisture, and likewise obviate the necessity of pouring water
on the soil, so as to endanger the rotting of the plant at its base,
each pot should be furnished with a pan filled with water.
Specimens are preserved sometimes in this way with the greatest
security, as the mere application of water to the surface of a
pot, in which a delicate plant is growing, often causes it to
decay at the juncture of the stems and roots."* A modification
of this plan I have for some time past adopted, and found highly
advantageous, especially with flowering annuals, in the month
of February, when the weather begins to become hot and dry.
At that period, though the malee, when not watched, .often
does little more than just sprinkle the surface of the soil, still,
by any amount of watering from above, it would be almost
impracticable even so much as to damp the roots at the bottom
of the pot.

Several earthenware glazed pans, of the same depth as the
flower-pots, are procured from the bazar. These are filled with
water just so full that, when a flower-pot is placed in one of
them, the water rises up to a level with the rim of the flower-pot.
Each flower-pot may be allowed to remain immersed about six
hours, by which time the water will force itself up through the
hole at the bottom of the pot, and thoroughly saturate the whole
contents of the pot. All the pots are thus placed in the water-
pans in succession, and watered effectually. A plant that has
been thus treated will not require water again for three or foui
days. There need be no fear of the plants suffering from water
lying stagnant at their roots, concerning which such strong
cautions are usually given by those who insist upon the necessity
of thorough drainage, as the water will dry up by evaporation
long before it has time to stagnate. An advantage, moreover,
resulting from this mode of occasionally watering potted plants
of all kinds is, that the action of the water, forcing its way
upwards, tends to loosen and lighten the soil, counteracting

* ' Botanical Magazine/ vol. viii. p. 227.

F 2

68 OPERATIONS OF GAEDENING. PART. I.

that compression to which it has been subject, from the daily
beating down upon it of water from the watering-pot.

Sometimes, when water has to be fetched from a distance for
watering potted plants, a bhistee is employed to go round with
the malee to refill his watering-pot from the mushk, immediately
that it becomes empty. This will be found a very bad arrange-
ment. The bhistee, to get the work over as soon as possible,
when not observed, will water the pots himself from his mushk,
and thus, by the violence of the water dashed down upon them,
often destroy tender and valuable plants. I have entirely
obviated the difficulty by purchasing from the bazar an earthen-
ware vessel, the largest that could be procured, capable of
holding perhaps four or five mushks full of water. This was
sunk to the rim in a spot close to where the potted plants were
placed, and the bhistee directed to fill it every afternoon with
water. The malee dipped the watering-pot into it when he
pleased, and supplied himself without difficulty or delay. The
earthenware vessel must have its sides supported by being sunk
into the earth, or it would soon break to pieces by the weight of
the water within it.

DRAINAGE OF POTTED PLANTS.

There is no point the importance of which is so strongly
insisted on by all gardeners as the drainage of potted plants.
The usual means, however, adopted for the purpose prove in
this country often utterly ineffectual ; the materials placed at
the bottom of the pot, such as pieces of brick, charcoal, and
potsherds, failing to act in the way of drainage altogether.
For in the first place, during the Hot season, from the constant
daily watering that is indispensable, the upper portion of the
soil in the pot becomes so dense and compact, that no water,
however liberally supplied, makes its way down to the drainage,
or even to the soil for some height above it. A partial remedy
for this is to lay flat broken pieces of potsherd, or pebbles, or
small clinkers, over the surface of the soil. The water then
falls with all its force upon these, and trickles between them
into the soil below, without any great tendency to solidify it
and render it impervious. And, again, during the Bains, if
potted plants be put out, with the bottoms of the pots resting
upon the ground, or, indeed, upon any flat surface, no water

CHAP. III. PLANTING. 69

will ever pass out of them from below. Upon this point one
may easily satisfy oneself by merely placing out an empty
flower-pot in the Kains. It will soon become filled with water,
which will remain in it very many days, till dried up by
evaporation. Such being the case with an empty pot, much
more is it likely to be so with one that contains anything
within it.

One remedy for this is, of course, very obvious, being merely
to lay two bricks side by side, about three or four inches apart,
and upon them place the pot with the hole just half-way
between. This also serves to exclude worms, with which, when
pots rest upon the ground in wet weather, they soon become
filled. Another remedy is to have pots made with drainage-
holes round the side, about an inch from the bottom.

For Begonias, Achimenes, and
choice and tender plants of that
description, which require the
shelter of a verandah, an excellent
method, as shown in Fig. 8, is to
procure a shallow pan for the
plant to grow in, and to drop it
into a flower-pot about double its
depth, so that the rim of the pan
rests exactly upon the rim of the

flower-pot. By this means drainage is rendered effectual, and
insects are excluded.

Dwarf choice plants, such as Tetranema, it is always desirable
to grow in pots correspondingly small. To prevent the fluctua-
tions of temperature consequent upon speedy evaporation in
pots so small, it is usual to plunge them in larger ones filled
with sand.

PLANTING.

SEASON.

Planting consists, for the most part, in transferring young
shrubs or trees from the pots, in which they have been growing,
into the places in the open ground where they are permanently
to remain. This, with many plants of a robust nature, may be
done almost indifferently at any season. But the two seasons
more especially suited for the operation are the setting in of

70 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

the Kains, and at the commencement of the Cold season. As
a general rule it may be laid down that plants natives of this
country are planted out most successfully just previous to their
breaking for their summer growth, a little after the commence-
ment of the Kains ; while plants natives of a colder climate,
and that are in the greatest vigour of growth during the Cold
season, as Eoses, for instance, should be planted about October.
Most plants of the former class may, however, be planted out
in February, but in that case those of a less robust habit
demand a vast deal of attention, both in sheltering them from
the sun, and in keeping them well watered during the hot
months.

PREPARING THE GROUND.

The usual method with malees, if not looked after, when
planting out a young shrub or fruit-tree, is to dig a hole in
the ground only just large enough to receive the ball of earth
in which the roots are contained ; whereas the proper plan is
to dig the hole as much as two feet in diameter, and a foot
and a-half deep, for moderate-sized shrubs, and proportionately
larger for those of a larger size and for fruit-trees. The soil
that is taken out should be broken up somewhat small, and
mixed with old stable refuse, decayed cow-dung, and rotten
leaves, and then thrown into the hole again. If the ground be
then drenched with water for a day or two previous, it will sink
to the level at which it will remain, and the plant may be put
down at once to the proper height without any fear of its crown
becoming buried beneath the soil by subsequent sinking, as
might otherwise happen. The plant should be copiously
watered at the time, and for some little time afterwards, when
the soil becomes dry.

TKANSPLANTING.

The following remarks by Sir J. Paxton, on the advantages
of transplanting, are as applicable in this country as they are in
Europe : —

" It is an admirable plan," says he, " to move a plant yearly from
place to place, so that it never remains more than one year in the
same spot. Each specimen should be annually shifted from the
precise mass of earth in which it is growing, if it he even taken to

CHAP. III. TRANSPLANTING. 71

merely a few yards. We are decidedly of opinion that on the last
circumstance the success of all experiments in gaining a superior
race of plants is more dependent than on any of the properties of
the soil, although these must be taken in account as auxiliaries.
Closely connected with the annual removal is the division of the
plants; if herbaceous, the destruction of the central and older
portions, which become feeble and advance towards decay, and the
transplantation only of the young exterior and healthy parts. For
some kinds this care may possibly be superfluous, for others it is
essential." *

There are few things in which the malee will manifest his
indolence more than when employed in transplanting, If not
keenly watched, he will, to make easy work of it, begin digging
round the plant almost close to the stem, so that the ball of
earth he has to take up be as small as possible, cutting through
or tearing away all the large long roots that come in his way,
rather than extracting them carefully out.

In lifting a plant great care and often much patience are
required, so that the roots sustain the least possible injury. It
will sometimes, however, unavoidably happen that the roots
become so much broken or disturbed in the operation that the
plant would suffer severely, if removed at once to the spot in-
tended for it, and immediately exposed to the sun and air. In
such case it will be found advantageous to put it into as small
a pot as will contain it, fill in the pot with soil, and well water
it ; then convey it to a darkened room, and keep it there during
the day, bringing it out in the evening to remain in the open
air and receive the benefit of the dew during the night. After
a few days it may be left out in some well-shaded spot during
the whole day, and in no great length of time, when its wounded
roots have become healed, it will bear any amount of exposure.
It may then be shifted from its pot, and planted in the place
where it is intended to remain. The worst it will have suffered
will be the temporary shedding of its leaves merely.

The following method is recommended as one of remarkable
efficacy in reviving plants dried by having their roots too long
out of the ground. I have never tried it myself, and therefore
can say nothing as to its merits : —

. " In a tub holding about 20 gallons, fill three-fourths full with
* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. ix. p. 86.

72 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

water. Add 20 Ibs. weight of cow-dung, mixed with an equal
quantity of fine rich soil. By working the mixture for a long
time and carefully, you reduce it to the consistency of whitewash.
In this steep the roots of your plants just before putting them into
the ground. The earth thrown after them into the hole sticks to
the roots, which immediately begin to swell. At the very first
movement of sap rootlets appear through the coating, which gives
them immediate manure ; and not only brings on, but secures the
further formation of roots."*

CUTTINGS.

SEASON.

Some plants may be propagated by cuttings at nearly all
times of the year, but the majority most successfully in
the Rains. Some of our choicer plants, natives of a cold
climate, and that are in vigorous growth only in the Cold season,
cannot be multiplied by cuttings successfully except at that
season.

Cuttings, for instance, of Stephanotis strike readily in the
Eains, and cuttings of Habrothamnus, Aloysia, and Verbenas in
the Cold season ; but put down the former in the Cold season,
and the latter in the Kains, and in neither case will they
succeed.

DESCRIPTION.

Some cuttings strike so readily that it is almost immaterial
how they are put into the ground. But most cuttings, it has
been ascertained, strike more readily by being inserted sloping-
wise in the ground, than when they are planted upright.
Indeed it is well to lay them so slopingwise, that their summits
be not more than an inch high above the ground, and then
earth up, and cover all but the two uppermost buds. The
cuttings thus protected are not nearly so liable to become dried
up and to perish as when almost their whole length is left
exposed to the air.

The end of the cutting which is to be inserted in the soil should
be cut across with a clean cut just below a leaf bud (Fig. 9, a).
Some gardeners are of opinion that slips strike more readily
than cuttings. A slip is a small shoot pulled off a plant at its

* < Gardeners' Chronicle,' May 21, 1859.

CHAP. III.

CUTTINGS.

73

Fig- 9.

point of junction with the stem, bringing away with it a heel of
wood and bark from the stem (Fig. 9, 5).

None of the leaves, or as few as possible,
should be removed from the upper end of
a cutting.

Miss Maling describes a method of
treating cuttings, which she says is an
American discovery, and a most efficacious
one: —

" Lay a set of woody cuttings either
amongst slightly-damped moss or else in a
wide-mouthed bottle with a piece of damp
sponge at the bottom of it ; the cuttings being
dropped lightly in, are vleft for ten days or a
fortnight in a cool, airy place. A piece of
muslin should be tied over the bottle to exclude dust and insects,
but allowing air to enter.

" When what gardeners term a slight callus is formed, the cuttings
are all but safe, and put out healthy roots directly they are potted.
A heap of dampish moss or cocoa-nut fibre does as well as the bottle
plan, only the air must not be quite excluded, and no chance must
be allowed of mouldiness." *

The age or condition of the wood from which cuttings are
most suitably taken varies according to the nature of the plant
to be propagated. On this point Sir J. Paxton observes : —

" Some propagate freely by —

" 1. Cuttings of the young and tender wood ; as Melastoma, Bar-
leria, Astrapasa, Inga, &c.

" 2. When the wood begins to assume a brownish colour, or is
half-ripened, as Ixora Bauhinia, Passiflora, Kuellia, &c.

" 3. Some only strike freely when the wood is perfectly ripe ; as
Grevillea, Blakea, &c. . ."t

CHAKACTEB OF THE PLANTS PKOBUCED.

On this subject Sir J. Paxton affords the following very
valuable information : —

" In plants, where there are two kinds of branches, one sort
ascending, and another branching along the ground like runners of

* ' Indoor Plants and how to grow them,' p. 12.
t ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. ii. p. 55.

74 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

Strawberries, the difference is much the same as that between
common shoots and suckers in ordinary shrubs and trees.

" The lower trailing shoots, employed for propagation, form plants
very like those from suckers ; healthy, vigorous, and disposed to
occupy a large space, without blooming.

" Cutting of the upper shoots produces flowering laterals in a very
short time. And a fine blooming specimen may even be raised in
one season by taking off the extremities of the longest shoots as
cuttings. Indeed the dimensions and early blooming of the plant
may be regulated by the distance at which the cutting is taken from
the main stem.

" Cuttings from the extremity flower speedily, and in a dwarf
condition.

" Cuttings from a shoot in an early stage of its growth will con-
stitute larger specimens, and be longer in bearing flowers." *

METHODS OF STRIKING AND SOIL.

A large number of the plants kept for distribution in the
gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society are raised from cut-
tings laid down in common garden-soil during the Rains in an
open situation without shelter either from sun or wet weather.
And possibly a situation thus exposed to the full action of
the atmosphere is the very best for them ; for of all things
most baneful to cuttings is that tendency in the earth to become
sour, which occurs during the Rains, in situations at all shel-
tered and secluded. The native nurserymen I have observed,
to strike their cuttings, make use of a mellow soapy description
of clay, seemingly the substratum thrown up in the cleaning of
tanks. This appears to be singularly tenacious of wet, and yet
to have no tendency whatever to turn sour.

To propagate the choicer kinds of plants, however, a more
careful mode of proceeding must be adopted. Cuttings of these
put down in the open ground will not succeed, but require to
be struck in sand, under glass. The method of effecting this on
a large scale, adopted by Mr. Eoss, formerly head gardener of
the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, is described by him at con-
siderable length in the Agri-Horticultural Society's * Journal,'
vol. ii. p. 384. This method, briefly stated, is as follows : — A
small piece of ground in an open situation is enclosed round
with a wall two feet high. This is filled in with the finest sand

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. viii. p. 205.

CHAP. Ml. CUTTINGS. 75

procurable. In the sand the cuttings are inserted, well watered,
pressed down, covered with bell-glasses, and shaded with a roof
of matting, fixed about two feet above them. " The glasses,"
Mr. Ross says, "are not to be taken off more than once or
twice weekly to give water, and keep the cuttings clean of any
decayed leaves."

An improvement upon this plan now in use in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, and in the gardens of the Agri-Horticultural
Society, is to fill small pots with sand, place the cuttings close
around the inside of them, sink the pots to the rim in the bed
of sand, and cover them with bell-glasses. When the cuttings
are struck the pots may be taken out, and other pots with fresh
cuttings fitted into their places. In this way, when the cuttings
are removed, the bed of sand is not disturbed, as it would be
were pots not employed. Moreover, it is maintained, cuttings
strike far more readily by being laid in contact with the sides
of the pots.

Of course the same end may be obtained by more simple
means than the above ; for except in point of convenience, the
result will be the same if the pots of sand, with the cuttings in
them, be sunk in the earth in any suitable spot in the garden,
and there covered with bell-glasses and shaded.

One of the simplest modifications of the above plan is to
fill a flower-pot half-full of sand ; insert cuttings of length suffi-
cient to reach, within a little, the rim of the pot ; sink the
pot in the earth, and cover with a pane of glass. Each morn-
ing the under side of the glass will be covered with condensed
moisture ; all that is required is to turn it upside down. Sir
J. Paxton states, " Mr. Mearns first recommended this, and
found it answer so well that he greatly prefers it to any other
covering." *

The sinking of the pots to the rim I consider of great im-
portance ; as one point essential to success in striking cuttings
is that the soil in which they are inserted should, if anything,
be of a somewhat higher temperature than the surrounding
atmosphere. Whereas if the pots be left above ground, the
evaporation that takes place through their porous sides must
necessarily much reduce the temperature of the soil within
them, and so be very prejudicial to the cuttings.

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. i. p. 159.

76

OPEKATIONS OF GARDENING.

PART I.

Sir J. Paxton also observes : —

" 1. All hard-wooded kinds of plants make roots best in clean
sand.

" 2. Soft- wooded require a light soil." *

Mr. Errington, head gardener of the Agri-Horticultural
Society, informed me that of some thousands of cuttings he
put down one year in pure sand most succeeded ; but that in
the following year nearly all that he so put down failed. He
therefore had adopted the material employed in the Botanical
Gardens, which, he said, uniformly proved efficacious : that is
to say, three parts of sand to one of fine charcoal. This, then,
in all cases will be the material safest to use. Notwithstanding,
I fancy, in the instance where Mr. Errington failed with sand
only, the sand was not pure ; as, indeed, it hardly ever can be
when used just in the condition in which it is brought from the
bed of the river. And the greater or less degree of impure
matter incorporated in the sand may make all the difference in
the cuttings for which it is employed, not succeeding in one
case, and succeeding in the other. I have myself on occasions
well washed the sand ; and it needs only to do so to find out
how far from pure it is ; but this is a very troublesome opera-
tion, which the admixture of a little charcoal renders needless,
as it is the nature of charcoal to correct all impurity.
Bell-glasses are not easily procurable in this country, but a very
cheap and effective substitute for them
may be easily obtained from any tinman
in the bazar. This, as seen in Fig. 10,
consists simply of a four-sided glass lan-
tern, with the bottom removed, and a
roof of glass, instead of the tin one.
The apertures between the glass and
the tin framework must, of course, be
well closed up with putty.

For the propagation of cuttings the
following contrivance, of which a representation in section is
given in Fig. 11, is the one that, in preference to all others, I
have come at last to adopt.

Procure a wide shallow pan, and lay at the bottom of it a

* * Magazine of Botany,' vol. ii. p. 55.

Fig. 10.

CHAP. III.

CUTTINGS.

77

quantity of crocks, potsherds, &c., for drainage. Over the
drainage, near the circumference, put a layer of equal parts of
leaf-mould and sand, and then fill the pan to within half an
inch of the rim with pure sand. Put in the cuttings with their
bases against the side of the pan, just above the mixture of
leaf-mould, and sloping, so that their summits project out of the
sand in a small circle in the centre of the pan. Then put down
a hand-glass just large enough to enclose the circle of leafy ends.
Sink the pan to its rim in the earth in some shady place, and
water the sand outside the hand-glass daily. Place a piece of
matting over the whole at night, to prevent the effect of cold
from radiation, which would be very injurious.

Fig. 11.

The above plan I conceive to possess the following advan-
tages : —

1. The bases of the cuttings are laid where it is recommended
they should be — against the side of the pot or pan.

2. Being laid very slopingwise the cuttings are well covered
from the air, without their lower ends being too deep in the soil.

3. The hand-glass need not be taken off till the cuttings are
struck.

4. In supplying water to the lower ends of the cuttings,
where it is wanted, none is poured over their leaf ends, where it
is not wanted, and would only be injurious.

5. As water is applied only on the outside of the hand-glass,
very little condensation will take place within, and the cuttings
will not be liable to suffer on that account.

78

OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

PART I.

6. The pan being sunk in the ground, no cold is caused by
evaporation from its outer side.

When neither bell-glass nor hand-glass is procurable, the
following, as shown in section in Fig. 12, 1 have found a simple
and efficacious mode of proceeding.

Procure a large flower-pot, and lay at the bottom of it large
loose pieces of brick just so high that a small flower-pot placed
inside upon them may have its rim on the same level as the
rim of the large pot. Fill in the interval between the pots
with perfectly dry sand or earth. Fill the inner pot with

pure sand, and insert the
cuttings. Take another
pot just of the size that,
when turned upside down,
it inay fit in on the earth
between the rim of the
large and small pot.
Break out its bottom,
and lay over it a piece
of window-glass. Water
the cuttings as they re-
quire it with tepid water,
allowing none to fall on
the earth between the
pots. When condensa-
tion takes place upon the
pane of glass, merely turn it over.

The object in keeping the earth between the pots dry is, of
course, that no evaporation may take place from the outside of
the large pot, and the temperature within be thereby reduced.

Fig. 12.

THE STRIKING OF CUTTINGS IN WATER.

This, Dr. Lindley says, is an old practice, and quotes a
communication to the * Gardeners' Chronicle/ to show the
manner of it : —

" I tie vial-bottles by the necks and hang them in the windows
of our small greenhouse, having filled them with clean soft water.
I then put in slips of Salvia, Calceolaria, Mimulus, Myrtle, or any-
thing I wish to propagate of the same description of plants; in

CHAP. ITT. CUTTINGS. 70

about two or three weeks or a month, the little silver-like roots
appear, and in a week or ten days I plant them in small pots well
watered ; they never seem to flag, or mind the change, and I rarely
lose a slip."*

Furthermore Sir J. Paxton observes : — •

" The cuttings should be of green wood, taken during the full-
growing season ; such succeed best, and never flag beneath a hot
sun. Yery young spring shoots of Erythrinse succeed in this way.
When tubular or fibrous roots appear about the base, transfer to
any light soil. Balsams and Dahlias propagate freely. Plants of
the Melon-tribe may be formed in a very short period (sometimes
in three days), and being transferred to small pots of heath-mould,
will produce perfect balls of roots in less than a week."f

I have myself practised this method during the Cold season
with Verbenas, Habrothamnus, Salvia splendens, and Koses, and
found no method more successful or less troublesome. The
points to be attended to as most conducive to success I conclude
to be the following : —

1. That the cuttings be the summits of the youngest shoots
in a state of vigorous growth at the time.

2. That capacious bottles be used, so that there be less
likelihood of the water becoming foul.

3. That the water be changed often, to insure its being quite
pure.

4. That when changed it be tepid, so as to afford in some
degree the bottom heat, so essential for the speedy formation
of a callus.

5. That the cuttings be sheltered from wind and sun, but
otherwise have all the light and air possible.

6. That they be removed out of the cold air into the house at
night ; and if the bottles be plunged half-way up in a tepid bath,
probably so much the better.

THE STRIKING OF CUTTINGS IN SAND AND WATER.

This is obviously nothing more than a modification of the
practice last described, the sand answering no purpose but the

* ' Theory and Practice of Horticulture,' p. 297, 2nd ed.
t ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. iv. p. 182.

80 OPEKATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

mechanical one of supporting the cuttings. Having tried this
method during the Cold season, and found it in many instances
completely successful, I subjoin a few remarks by Miss Maling
on the subject, only first observing that for cuttings of plants
which take a long time in striking, the sand must be absolutely
clean and pure ; otherwise it will turn green and sour, and the
cuttings rot in consequence : —

" Heliotropes, Verbenas, Lobelias, and Begonias do most beauti-
fully, as do any of the very young soft shoots, when planted in pans
of silver-sand, soaked and overflowed with a little sheet of water.
Many hard- wooded plants, even hard to strike by other means, will
grow in this way well.

" The shoots taken off as short as possible, and as fresh, and
having only the lowest leaves snipped off, if necessary, near the
stalk (not close to it) may be stuck in all over, and if put in a warm
and sheltered place, as over a greenhouse-stove, will grow most
rapidly, and make the most charming bunches of little fibry roots.
These things will often strike even in small bottles of rain-water,
the convenience of which is that they take up so little room.
Previously to drawing out the little plants, it is well to soak the
sand thoroughly, to avoid tearing the rootlets. The cuttings raised
in sand must, as a rule, have their roots filled in with sand when
they are first removed." *

PROPAGATION BY EYES.

Many plants may be propagated very readily by eyes or buds.
I have mentioned elsewhere that this method has been
adopted with great success with the Grape-vine at Lahore, and
there is no reason to doubt that it would prove equally
successful with many other plants in India. The method is
simply to take a plump shoot of the season, on which the leaves
are healthy and the buds not yet started. About half an inch
or less above and below a bud, cut the shoot si oping wise into
the wood, so that the cut each way may meet just about a
quarter of an inch behind the bud. The piece of the shoot, with
the bud upon it just as it is, is planted firmly in a pan of sand,
with the point of the bud just visible above the surface. It is
essential that the bud have a leaf attached to it, which should
not be taken off. The sand is kept moistened and the pan

* ' The Indoor Gardener,' pp. 117,121.

CHAP. III. LAYERS. 81

covered with a pane of glass. This is a practice that has long
been employed in England in raising plants of the Orange tribe,
and has proved equally successful with Camellias and Hoses.

DIVISION.

There are many shrubs and perennials, such for instance as
the Chrysanthemum, which increase by throwing up numerous
rooted stems from the ground. Plants of this, habit are pro-
pagated easily to almost any extent by what is called " division."
This consists in taking them out of the ground and pulling the
stems asunder, each one bringing with it a portion of the roots.
These stems planted out soon establish themselves as separate
plants. Indeed with plants of this habit the process should be
often adopted, whether needed for propagation or not, as the
habit itself indicates an effort of nature in the plant to move
away to fresh soil from that which it has already exhausted.

LAYERS.

Propagation by layering, though generally speaking a slower
process than by cuttings, is a much surer one, for there are few
plants which, when in a thriving condition, cannot be multiplied
by this method. It is obvious, moreover, that larger and more
advanced plants may be obtained by layers than by cuttings.

The operation is as follows : select a branch of ripened wood
of the plant to be layered, that will bear being bent down to
the earth without breaking. Cut the branch half through with
a sharp knife just under one of the leaf-buds towards its
extremity and then pass the knife upwards, so as to slit the
branch about an inch or two up. The slit-piece, with the leaf-
bud at its extremity, called the " tongue," should be kept open
by inserting a small piece of tile. Remove the earth to the
depth of two or three inches from, or place a flower-pot over, the
spot just where the tongue falls on the branch being bent
down ; then carefully bend the tongued part of the branch into
the earth, or into the flower-pot ; secure it in that position by a
peg, and cover it over with earth, which should be pressed
clown and watered. It is recommended to head down the
branch when layered; but this is not always done. If the
layer is put down in the month of February or March, it is

G

82

OPEKATIONS OF GARDENING.

PART I.

very essential that the soil be frequently watered, and never
allowed to become dry and hard. What Mr. Kivers enjoins with
regard to the layering of Koses may, no doubt, be considered
applicable to all layered plants : " Have the tongue at the upper
part of the shoot, so as not to be in the part which forms the bow,
as it is of consequence that it should be within two inches of the
surface, so as to feel the effects of the atmospheric heat. Unless
this is attended to, the roots will not be emitted quickly."*
A modification of the above process, represented in Fig. 13, I

have found attended with
great success in layering
some kinds of Koses and
other plants, the boughs
of which are too rigid to
be bent down : —

Procure a flower-pot
which has had part of its
side broken out, make a
tongue in the branch to
be layered, as before di-
rected. Kaise the flower-
pot up so that the branch,
passing through the
broken side, may have its
tongued part just about
two inches below the
13- level of the soil, when

the pot is filled in. Keep the flower-pot permanently in
this position by some support placed beneath it; insert a
piece of tile in the pot where the side is broken away,
and then fill in with a mellow soil composed of leaf-mould and
sand, which must be kept constantly moist.

For layering any herbaceous plant which roots quickly, such as
a Carnation, an ingenious plan is given in * Le Bon Jardinier : '
A piece of oiled paper is folded round the stem to be layered,
so as to form a funnel, and held together with a couple of pins.
Soil is inserted into this, and retained therein by moss thrust
into the mouth and kept constantly moist.

* 'Eose Amateur's Guide,' p. 153.

CHAP. III. GOOTEE. 83

GOOTEE.

The mode of propagation by Gootee is thus described by Mr.
Masters, formerly head gardener in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens : —

" Select a firm healthy branch, the wood of which is well-
ripened ; and immediately tinder a leaf-bud take off a small ring of
bark, about one inch wide. Scrape the woody part well, so that no
bark remains. Apply a ball of well-tempered clay; bind it on
securely with tow or other soft bandage ; make it fast to a stake,
if necessary ; hang a small pot, having a hole in the bottom, just
over the Gootee ; and supply it with water daily. In a few months
you will obtain a fine well-rooted plant.

" As the fibres are emitted from the buds that are above the
wound, they will descend into the ball of earth and form roots. As
soon as they are seen protruding themselves through the bandage,
the branch may be cut off from the parent-tree, and planted where
it is intended that it should remain. This appears to be the most
expeditious method of obtaining strong well-rooted plants, and, at
the same time, is a sure method of procuring duplicates of any
desirable variety. Of sixty-five Gootees, made in June, of the
Jonesia Asoca, the whole were well rooted in October ; while of
forty-five layers made at the same time, and on the same in-
dividual tree, none were well rooted,
and some only just beginning to form.
The Leechee requires four months to
form good roots."*

Unless some precaution be taken,
the water in the pot above the
Gootee will flow out too fast, and
very often not fall upon the Gootee
at all. To obviate this, therefore,
the following contrivance is com-
monly resorted to : —

A piece of rope has a knot tied
at one end of it; the other end
is passed within the pot and drawn
through the hole at its bottom till
the knot is brought down to fall L

upon and close up the hole. The
rope, thus secured by its knotted end within the pot, is carried

* « Transcations of the Agri-Hoit. Society/ vol. iii. p. 2, and vol. vi. p. 18.

G 2

84 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART L

on at full stretch and coiled round the G-ootee. By this means
the water, when poured into the pot, oozes slowly out, trickles
down the rope and along the coil, and so distributes itself over
the whole Gootee.

GRAFTING.

Grafting, I believe, is never practised in this country. To
those who might wish to attempt it, the following receipt for
a grafting-wax would perhaps be of service : —

" Take 27 oz. of common yellow resiu, and melt it gradually, so
as not to drive off the turpentine. When reduced to the consistency
of a syrup add 10 oz. of alcohol. Shake them thoroughly together,
and pour the mixture at once into a well-stopped bottle.

"When the graft is inserted and tied in its place with a strand
of matting, cover the surface of the whole with this varnish, with
a small painter's brush.

" Such varnish is neither affected by heat, cold, nor wet." *

1NAKCHING.

The operation of inarching is commonly called grafting here,
and is always substituted for it, being performed with far greater
certainty of success ; but, except for Mangos, Sapotas, and in
Bengal Peach-trees, there is not often need to resort to it.
Some of the choicer kinds of Eoses, it is true, are frequently
inarched ; but, with due care, more thriving plants may be
procured by means of cuttings or layers, if not by budding.
The process is performed thus : — Procure a seedling, of about
one or two years old, of the plant to be inarched, or where a
seedling is not to be obtained, a rooted cutting of the same age,
of the plant that is to supply the stock. Put it in a pot, and
when it is well established it will be ready to be operated upon.
Slice away from one side of the young stem a piece of bark,
with a thin layer of the wood beneath it, about two inches long ;
do the same to a young stem of the plant to be inarched from,
and then bring together the two stems that have thus been
operated upon so that the cut parts lie close in contact face
to face, and bandage them with cotton-twist. In course of
time, when the parts have united, head down the stock and
dissever the scion from the parent plant by cutting it through
* ' Gardeners' Chronicle' for 28th April, 18GO.

CHAP. J 11. BUDDING. 85

below the bandage. The grafted plant must then be put some-
where in a shaded place and not removed from its pot till it
has made a vigorous growth, and stock and scion have become
thoroughly incorporated.

BUDDING.

Sir J. Paxton states that " budded plants are more free in
their growth, and no doubt more prolific than those raised
in any other way, although it is several years before they can
be brought to a bearing state."* In this country, however, no
such objection applies, for here they make most rapid growth
and come into bearing all but as soon, if not quite as soon, as
those that have been inarched. At Ferozepore I once budded a
small Mulberry-tree in the month of February, and by October,
eight months after, stems had been put forth from the bud stout
enough to support my weight amongst them. Budded Peach-
trees likewise were almost equally vigorous in the growth of
wood they made.

Budding upon an emergency may be performed upon any of
the shoots of a full-grown plant if all the branches but the
budded ones be cut away. But the proper method is to raise
seedlings, or in the case of Roses strike cuttings, expressly for
the purpose of budding upon. Seedlings of most plants will
generally be ready for the purpose in about a twelvemonth from
the time the seed was sown. They will be the better for having
been transplanted, previous to the operation, either into the spot
where they are to remain permanently, or elsewhere ; but they
must have become thoroughly established before budding upon
them be attempted.

In the Upper Provinces the operation of budding is performed
with great facility at two seasons of the year : first, when the
plants are about to start for their Spring growth, and again
when for their Midsummer growth, as at those times the bark
separates most freely from the wood. But, for some reason I
am unable to explain, I have not found such to be the case in
the vicinity of Calcutta ; and budding can so seldom be per-
formed there with success, that it is rarely or never attempted,
inarching being uniformly adopted instead.

For the operation of budding are required a ball of cotton-

* 'Magazine of Botany,' iv. 61.

86

OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

PAKT I.

twist, such as is used for lamp-wicks, a sharp penknife, and a
budding-knife. The last may be easily made of a thin piece
of ivory, filed into the form and size of a lancet, and fixed in
a wooden handle.

The time when the operation can be performed with success
depends on the fit condition of the plant to be used as the stock.
This can be at once determined by making a cut through the
bark down upon the wood, and trying whether the budding-
knife can be thrust freely between the bark and the wood.
If the bark adheres firmly, so as only to be raised by tearing away,
it is of no use to attempt to bud ; but if the bark is found to
yield readily, the operation may be safely commenced upon.
Make a gash through the bark across the branch in the place

where it is to be budded upon,
and from the centre of this
gash make another gash,
about an inch and a half
downwards (Fig. 15 c). The
bud to be inserted must then
be taken off' the branch on
which it is growing. Select
a plump bud, and if, as is
commonly the case, it has a
leaf growing beneath it, cut
the leaf off, leaving about a
quarter of an inch of its foot-
stalk adhering below the bud-
Then pass the penknife into
the branch about half an inch above the bud, and slice down a
thin piece of the wood with the bark and its bud upon it, bring-
ing the knife out at about two-thirds of an inch below the bud.
The bark with the bud upon it is called the shield (Fig. 15 a).
Before inserting it, it is necessary that the wood adhering to it be
removed ; and to do this without injuring the eye of the bud is
a matter of some little nicety. But it may be done without risk
of failure by holding the shield in the left hand and thrusting
the thumb-nail of the right hand between the wood and bark
of the upper part of the shield, and then removing the wood
from the bark by pulling it off downwards, carefully keeping
the bark all the while quite erect and inflexible (Fig. 15 I). By

Fig. 15.

CHAP. III. BUDDING. 87

adopting this plan a little wood may be left behind, but there
is no fear of the eye being damaged.

In behalf of those who find a difficulty in removing the wood
from the shield, it may be well to mention, that it is by no means
essential to do so ; that the Americans never do it, and even
condemn the practice. They say that the wood assists to keep
the bud moist, and prevents its being destroyed by the heat ;
and that by inserting the bud, just as cut from the shield, the
operation of budding is rendered far more easy, more speedy, and
proves uniformly more successful.

As soon as possible after the shield is ready, the longitudinal
gash that has been made in the branch must be lifted open with
the budding-knife, and the shield slipped down so as to lie upon
the naked wood of the branch, similarly situated as it was upon
the branch from which it was taken (Fig. 15 d). Then cut half
the part of the shield off that is above the bud with a cross-cut,
so that the upper part of the shield may lie close and even
against the cross-cut of the branch ; then bind the whole round
firmly but not tightly with the cotton-twist, leaving the bud
exposed (Fig. 15 e). The first indication of the bud having
taken will be the falling off of the little bit of leaf-stalk that
was left adhering to it. When the bud has pushed forth about
a quarter of an inch, the cotton-binding should be removed ;
but the branch should not be headed close down till the bud
has sent forth a considerable shoot.

For budding Oranges, Dr. Bonavia recommends what he says
is The Native Method, namely a longitudinal gash only,
and no cross-cut, on the stock. He directs that the buds be
inserted on the north side of the stock, as being the most shady.
" Bend the stock towards you, so that the incision may be at
the bottom of the curve. By so doing the edges of the incision
can be lifted from the wood with the greatest ease by means
of the point of the knife. When the incision is gaping, intro-
duce the shield. Twist a thin slip of dry Plantain leaf, pre-
viously wetted, above and below the bud." *

It has been found that wood containing eyes for budding,
if packed carefully in moss, may be sent a journey of many days,
and prove as serviceable for the purpose as fresh-cut wood. In
this simple way new Roses are now easily procured from the

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. xiv., p. 200.

88 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. TART T.

most distant parts of India. Mr. S. Jennings told me, that he
had had wood sent to him at Allahabad even from England, and
succeeded in adding thus several new Eoses to his stock.

Budded plants are for some time very liable to have the
branches broken clean off, at the point where the bud was in-
serted, by strong winds. To guard against this, stakes should
be driven in the ground, to which the branches should be tied.

PKUNING.

FRUIT-TREES. — With the exception of the Peach, the Grape-
vine, the Baer, the Fig-tree, and sometimes I believe the Cus-
tard-apple, there are no fruit-trees which it is usual to prune in
this country. Whether or not several might be benefited by
the operation, if performed with judgment, is a question that
remains to be determined.

FLOWERING-SHRUBS. — Nearly all plants of this kind are
greatly benefited by being pruned closely in after they have
done flowering. They break out again with vigour and blossom
in a much more compact and handsome form the following
season. The appearance of the plants also is vastly improved,
as well as their tendency to flower more freely increased, by
their being kept as much as possible to one stem clean of
branches for some little height above the ground.

1 may here mention an operation which on some plants
seems to have the tendency to cause them to flower, and which
probably might be applied with advantage to very many more.
The operation is to confine the plant to one stem, by stripping
away all the lower shoots and leaves, so as to cause the stem to
make all its growth upwards. To give instances : I have men-
tioned elsewhere how the Heliotrope thus treated comes much
earlier into blossom ; the Carnation, which is rarely known
to bloom in Calcutta, the malee of the Dalhousie Square
Gardens told me he had caused to flower in June by this means ;
for the same purpose the natives prune away the lower fronds
of the cocoanut ; thus also the Yucca is hastened into blossom ;
and it is the practice often recommended to cause Cauliflowers
to form heads.

BOOT-PRUNING. — This, as applied to Mangos, Peaches, and
Grape-vines, is, I believe, a very old practice in India, though

CHAP. III. CONVEYANCE. 89

the principle upon which it is performed appears to have been
but very imperfectly understood.

The mode of proceeding in this country is the very reverse of
that practised of late in England. Instead of removing the
earth at some distance from the tree and cutting away the ends
of the roots there, the practice in India is to open the soil im-
mediately at the base of the stem, clear away some of the small
roots, and after a week or two fill in with manure and cover
over again with soil. This, though apparently opposed to
theory, is, in fact, most efficacious in practice. The trees
treated thus bear prodigiously.

Mr. Kivers remarks : " The object constantly had in view is
to make fruit-trees healthy and fruitful by keeping their roots
near the surface. The root-pruning and biennial removal, so
earnestly recommended, are the proper means to bring about
these results, as they place the roots within the influence of the
sun and air. The ground over the roots of garden-trees, as
generally cultivated, is dug once or twice a year, so that every
surface-fibre is destroyed and the larger roots driven down-
wards."* This object is completely effected by our Indian
practice. On opening, as usual, the soil at the base of the
stem each year, the large dense mass of fibrous roots that
presents itself is often quite astonishing.

CONVEYANCE.

The importing of plants, to this country or the conveyance of
them from any one part of it to another at a considerable dis-
tance, is generally attended with some trouble, and not a little
expense. Where, however, the expense is not minded, unques-
tionably the best of all means of transmitting plants is in what
are called Wardian cases.

A Wardian case is simply a strong wooden box, with a high-
pitched roof fitted on to it. The roof is glazed with small
overlapping panes of glass, across which rows of stout wires are
fastened, to protect them from being broken. One of the sides of
the roof is made to screw on and off, for putting in or taking out
the plants. The bottom of the case is filled with soil, in which
the plants to be conveyed are planted very closely together for
economy's sake. When they have become pretty well established

* ' Miniature Fruit Garden,' p. iv. 10th ed.

90 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART T.

they are watered moderately — not excessively ; the side of the
roof is screwed on, and the case is then ready for transmission.

It was formerly thought that these plant-cases should be her-
metically closed ; but this of late has been found to be a mistake.
The small amount of air that gains access to their interior
through accidental crevices is considered rather beneficial than
otherwise.

A rough mode of conveying Eose-trees to this country from
England, which has been adopted of late years and been
attended with partial success, is as follows : —

An order is given to some nurseryman in England to send
out a selected number of plants. In November, when they have
become dormant, he pulls them up by the roots, without any
earth upon them, lays them in a wooden box, packing them well
in with dried moss, nails the lid of the box on, and so despatches
them overland to this country.

The plants, as soon as possible after arrival, should be potted
off, and their stems bound round with the moss in which they
were packed. They should then be put in some shady place,
out of the way of the wind, and be frequently watered all over.

But this withal is a very rude way of proceeding, involving to
a certainty the loss of a large proportion. A modification of it
for the conveyance of plants of nearly every description, adopted
by Mr. M'lvor at Ootacamund, and attended almost uniformly
with success, was communicated to me by himself, as follows : —

He writes to a nurseryman in England, some considerable
time beforehand, what plants he desires to be sent out to him.
The nurseryman cultivates specimens in very small pots, from
which after a time he removes them, binds the roots, with as
little soil upon them as possible, round with moss, and then sets
them closely side by side. In this way they will grow vigorously,
filling the moss with young roots. On the approach of winter,
when they become dormant, watering is discontinued, and they
are allowed to become quite dry. This is a point most essen-
tial to success. They are then headed down and packed with
care closely in a wooden box. Nearly all the beautiful exotic
plants with which the public gardens at Ootacamund are
enriched were procured from England, Mr. M'lvor assured me,
by adopting this plan.

1 question, however, whether any English nurseryman would

CHAP. III. CONVEYANCE. 91

think it worth his while to take the trouble of carrying it out
for a single order from any private individual.

Upon this subject Mr. F. Halsey, of Umritsur, made the
following important communication to the Agri-Horticultural
Society.*

" I have this year received three cases of plants from England :
one for myself containing 14 Eoses, Camellias, and many other
plants, all but four were dead on arrival, and all looking well now ;
and two for friends, one containing 40 roses, and the other about
100, all of which were alive on arrival. With regard to treatment
in Europe, the plants must be well established with strong roots,
and not despatched before the first week in December. The box
in which they are packed should be made of deal, well screwed
together to prevent ingress of much air ; the ends inside, where
the roots lie, should be lined with zinc and coated inside with thick
felt. Every row of Rose roots should be supported by a small deal
batten, nailed to the sides of the box from the outside ; the roots
to lie in moist pulverised clay mixed with moss.

" On arrival at their destination in India the box should be
opened in a dark and moist room, and each plant be potted ; the
soil made light about the roots, but not wetted for the first week.
Two or three times a day the top and stems should be syringed
freely, but to avoid the water getting to the roots, the pots had
better be laid on their sides, and the moister the atmosphere around
them is kept the better. After the first week they may be removed
from the dark room and a little water may be given them, until
the plants show symptoms of growing. When once the plants
commence growing, cut them back to four eyes of stem. But the
plants must be kept in a moist place and syringed until they have
quite got over their journey. The most important things to
remember in this country are, to give no water for the first week,
and not to allow the sun's rays to fall directly upon the plants
until fully established."

These directions, Mr. Halsey says, were originally given
him by Messrs Ban* and Sugden of London. They are precisely
the same as Mr. S. Jennings, in a subsequent communication,
states he received from the same quarter.

The clay and the zinc, it is obvious, must add considerably to
the weight of the box, and consequently much to the expense of
the carriage ; but far better this than incur the loss of so large
a proportion as otherwise is all but sure to happen. The addi-

* 16 March, 1870.

92 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART T.

tional expense, moreover, would not amount to anything like the
value of the plants that without it would be lost.

The native dealers keep their plants often a long time out of
the ground, conveying them about for sale sometimes for a
period of two or three months. To do this they knead up round
their roots the clayey kind of earth in which they grow them
to a small compact ball.

Fruit-trees and . large shrubs may be dug up in the cold
season and conveyed in native-carts to a great distance, without
suffering much injury, if they be occasionally watered during
the journey. In this way very many plants are annually sent
forth from the Saharunpore Botanical Gardens to different
parts of the North- West Provinces.

When plants have become to a certain extent dried up from
the length of time they have been out of ground during their
conveyance, it has been recommended as an excellent plan to
steep their roots before planting them in a mixture of cow-dung
and water of the consistency of gruel.

M. Ysabeau says, what might be readily taken for granted,
that shrubs, such as young Kose- trees that have suffered from
a similar cause, do well by having their sterns and principal
branches plastered over with a mixture of clay and cow-dung.
This serves to keep them moist and protect them from the air.
The plaster will fall off of itself in due time, when the young
trees have become established.*

But while upon the subject of conveyance, I must not omit
to mention how successful has proved the transmission by sample-
post of cuttings carefully packed in moss. Of fifty sent from
Calcutta to Indore, some, the recipient stated, had even begun
to form a callus by the time they arrived. Mr. S. Jennings of
Allahabad, likewise stated t that he had received fifteen cuttings
thus sent, viz., seven Crotons, five Dracoenas, and three Ixoras,
"nearly the whole fresh and green." The Agri-Horticultural
Society accordingly now present a list of plants that may be
thus propagated, and of which they undertake to send cuttings
to members who apply for them. The mode of treating
these cuttings, when received, will be much the same as that
given for cuttings in general, at p. 79.

* * Le Jardinicr de tout le Monde,' p. 264. t December 15, 1871 .

CHAP. IV. CALENDAR. {»;j

CHAPTEB IV.

CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS.
January.

VEGETABLES.

FROM this month forward vegetables of every kind will need
to be constantly watered, and if once or twice a week with
liquid manure, all the better.

Water Squashes every day copiously.

Make sowings of Radishes, Mustard, Cress, Spinach, and
Lettuce for a succession. In the Upper Provinces Peas may
also be sown during this month ; but not in Bengal. Sowings
of Celery may now be made for young plants to preserve
through till^the following Cold season, if thought worth the
while.

Put out young plants of Cabbage and Knol-Kohl to fill up
vacant places in beds. Put out young Celery plants for suc-
cession.

Celery will now be in a condition fit for earthing up to
blanch.

Keep a few plants of Lettuce, Mustard, and Cress for seed.
Reserve one or two of the earliest formed heads of Artichoke
for seed in Bengal : it is not necessary to do so in Upper
India.

The plants should now be taken up for the manufacture of
Tapioca and Arrowroot.

FRUITS.

Strawberries will now be blossoming and fruiting, and will
require to be well watered : and nets or other means provided
to protect them from birds.

Water Loquats copiously.

Fig-trees, Peaches, Plums, and Grape-vines should now be
pruned.

OPERATIONS OF GARDENING.

PART I.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

Commence giving surface-dressings of fresh cow-manure to

Chrysanthemums will have done flowering, and should be
taken out of their pots, pulled to pieces, and put out in a nursery-
bed for a supply of new plants.

The following plants will be much benefited by being well
pruned in at this season : —

Malvaviscus arboreus.

Musssendas.

Nyctanthes.

Quisqnalis.

Tecomas.

Allamandas.
Bignonias.
Hamelias.
Hibiscus nmtabilis.

rosa sinensis.

Syriaciis.

Ixoras.

Jasminums.

Jatropha panduraefolia.

Lagerstromias.

Lantanas.

February.

VEGETABLES.

Little can be done during this month in the cultivation of
European vegetables, except copiously watering those that are
already in the ground.

Sowings of Lettuce, Mustard, and Cress may still be made.

To Peas that are reserved for seed, less and less water, if any
should be given as they ripen.

FRUITS.

Water Loquats liberally, as well as Peach, Plum, Lichee, and
Mango trees, as soon as the fruit is set.
Earth up and water Pine-apples.
Fertilise Vanilla flowers.
Sow seed of Water-melon.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

This is the best season for transferring such Orchids as re-
quire it to new pots or baskets.

Hoyas will be started into growth, and should either have
the soil in the old pots partially changed, or be potted afresh ;
they will now bear dividing, so as to make several plants out
of one.

Be-pot or re-plant Caladiums, Arum pictum, Manettia cordi-

CHAP. IV. CALENDAR, 95

folia, Cyrtopera flava, Hibiscus Jerroldianus, Gloriosa superba,
and all such-like plants, that have been lying dormant during
the Cold season, as well as the several species of Crinum,
Grlobba, Pancratium, Alpinia, Hedychium, Hippeastrum, and
Kaempferia.

Put in the border Petunias, Phloxes, Salpiglossis.

Sow seeds of Poinciana, Tecoma, &c.

Pot off the choice kinds of Koses raised from cuttings laid
down in November, and keep them in the shade, well watered.

Roses now may be layered with success.

March.

VEGETABLES.

About the middle of this month remove the soil from the
stools of Asparagus and cover them over again immediately
with fresh soil, well enriched with old manure, and commence
watering copiously.

Take up Carrots and Beet, and store them in pots of dry
earth for future use.

Take up and store Onions.

At the beginning of this month, in the Upper Provinces,
seeds of American Squash should be sown.

The stumps of Cabbages that have been cut should be
allowed to remain, and be watered, as by their sprouts they will
afford nice gatherings for the table for some time to come.

Dry the leaves of English Sage and Thyme, and store in
bottles.

Make sowings of Parsley in a shady place.

FRUITS.

Lichees will be ripening ; cover the trees betimes with nets,
to save the fruit from birds.

Well water Peach, Plum, and Mango-trees, and Grape-vines.

Fertilise Vanilla flowers.

Cut back closely all wood, of last year's growth, of Baer-trees.

This is the season both in Bengal and Upper India for sowing
the seeds of fine kinds of Melons.

Thin out Plantains, remove the soil from the roots, fill in
with fresh cow-manure, and water liberally.

00 OPEKATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

Withhold water from Dahlias, and when the stems have died
down, take up the tubers and store them in pots of earth or sand
in a dry godown.

Treat in the same way the several species of Oxalis.

Withhold water from Gloxinia raaculata, Lilium longifolium,
and Richardia Ethiopica, and when the stems and leaves have
died down, remove the pots, with the bulbs within them
undisturbed, to some dry godown, till the time of re-potting in
the following October. Other bulbous and tuberous-rooted
plants of a similar description should, of course, receive similar
treatment.

Cu^ well back the wood of last season's growth of shrubs,
such as Poinsettia, Holmskioldia, Hamiltonia, Phlogacanthus,
Aphelandra, Buddlea, Thunbergia, and Cassia alata, that have
lately finished flowering.

Euphorbia jacquiniflora should be treated in a similar way, and
the cuttings inserted in pots of sand kept in a sheltered place
and well watered : they will afford a nice stock of new plants.

Take up the choicer kinds of Verbena to pot, and keep under
shelter during the Eains.

April.

VEGETABLES.

Little can be done now in the cultivation of vegetables.
Well water Asparagus.
Gather seed of Onion and Salsify.

Put Yams in the ground, and construct trellis-work for them to
trail upon.

FRUITS.

Water Melons unremittingly.
Keep Strawberry-plants watered while the Hot season lasts.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

The leaves of Gladiolus and some other bulbous plants will
be dying down. The pots containing them should be removed
to some dry place, where they may remain till the time for re-
potting comes round again.

CHAP. IV. CALENDAR.

97

Achimenes, which at this time will be starting into growth,
should be potted and well watered as soon as they appear above
ground.

May.

VEGETABLES.

Asparagus will now be in season, and the beds must be kept
most plentifully watered.

Lettuce may be raised in a shady place from acclimated seed.
Beyond this there is nothing that can be done as regards
European vegetables.

At the close of the month is the proper time for sowing most
native vegetables ; the several kinds of country Beans, Cucum-
bers, and other Gourds ; of Maize, Ochro, Brinjals, &c.

This is the period likewise for planting Ginger, Arrowroot,
Jerusalem Artichoke, Kuchoo or Ghoyan, Sweet Potatoes, and
the Tapioca plant,

FEUITS.

Continue to water Pine-apples.

This is the proper season for inarching and making gootees
of layers of all the different kinds of fruit-trees.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

There is little to be done in this department besides
watering abundantly young and choice plants.

June.

VEGETABLES.

Maize and the ordinary country vegetables may still be sown.
There is nothing that can be done as regards European
vegetables.

FRUITS.

Seeds of Mango should now be sown for a supply of stocks
for inarching upon.

The operations of gootee, layering, and inarching may still
be carried on, and cuttings laid down to strike.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

The slips of Chrysanthemum laid down in January will now

II

98 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. TAUT I.

have become large plants. They should be taken up from the
nursery-bed and pulled apart, and each rooted slip be potted
in a single pot, and those of the choicer kinds put under shelter
before the heavy Rains set in.

For potted plants, which are to be left exposed to the
weather during the Rains, bricks should be laid whereon the
pots may rest, out of access from worms.

At the end of this month cuttings of most tropical plants
may be put down for striking.

As soon as the Eains have set in, examination should be
made to ascertain where plants are liable to suffer from the
lodgment of water around them, and the speediest means that
can be devised be taken for draining it off.

July.

VEGETABLES.

During this month sowings of most native vegetables, such
as Brinjals, Ochro, Pulwuls, Cucumbers, and the different kinds
of runner Beans and Gourds may be continued.

Arrowroot, Ginger, Turmeric, and Jerusalem Artichokes
about this time will require earthing up.

FRUITS.

The crowns of Pine-apples of a fine kind, when wrenched
off, should not be thrown away, but inserted in pots of sand
under shelter. If watered regularly, they will soon form
beautiful healthy plants.

This is the best time for budding Peaches, Plums, and trees
of the Orange and Lemon tribe.

Sow Indian Sorrel and Cape Gooseberry.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

At this season sow seeds of

Amaranthus.

Calonyction.

Carthanms.

Cockscombs.

Dahlia.

Datura.

Ipomsea rubro-coerulea.
Martynia diandra.
Nicandra physaloides.
Nicotiana.
Pentapetes phoenicea.

Quamoclit.
Sesamum.
Spilanthes oleracea.
Sunflowers.
Zinnia.

CHAP. IV. CALENDAR. 99

On examining Dahlia tubers that have been stored away in
pots of earth or sand, it will very likely be found that they
have begun to make shoots; if so, they should be potted
immediately.

Gloxinia maculata will now require to be repotted.

Now is the most favourable time for budding Roses.

This is the most successful season for striking cuttings of all
tropical plants which can be propagated in that way.

Cuttings also of Rose Edouard, Devoniensis, and the China
Roses will strike at this period.

August.

VEGETABLES.

Sowings of Celery should now be made in pots, under shelter
from the Rains. The seed will be slow in germinating ; but it
is important that plants should be brought as forward as
possible for planting out when the Rains are over in October.

At this time also Asparagus-seed should be sown, for a
supply of plants to make new beds with in October if needed.

Sow the small kind of Tomato.

FRUITS.

It will be found that Peaches, Plums, and the Orange and
Lemon tribe may now be budded successfully.

Cuttings also of the Orange tribe now laid down will strike
readily.

The fruit of Guavas, Custard- apples, and Pomegranates should
be tied up in fine muslin, to protect them from the attacks of
birds and vermin.

Now is the season for planting out suckers or offsets of Pine-
apples.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

Roses may be budded successfully during this month.
Stephanotis floribunda and many of the choicest tropical
plants may now be propagated by cuttings in sand under glass.

H 2

100 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

September.

VEGETABLES.

Make sowings of Patna Pea. A

Commence sowings of Cauliflower, Cabbage, Knol-Kohl, and
Artichoke in pots under shelter, or on a raised piece of ground
under a hoogla, in order to have plants well forward for putting
out in the open ground as soon as the Kains are over.

FRUITS.

Peach- stones sown now will come up in February, and afford
stocks for budding upon in August.

Prune away the lowermost leaves of Cocoa-nut trees.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

Sowings of German Aster, Heartsease, and Cineraria should
be made this month, as these plants take a long time to mature
for blossoming favourably.

At the beginning of this month sow Balsams.

Eichardia Ethiopica and the several species of Oxalis will
now be moving. They should be potted and brought to the
light immediately they appear above ground.

This is the season for a general pruning of Eose-trees.

October.

VEGETABLES.

As soon as the Eains are well over, no time should be lost in
preparing the ground and making sowings of Turnips, Carrots,
Peas, Beans, French Beans, Lettuce, Tomato, Spinach, Endive,
Salsify, Mustard, Cress, Radishes, Beet, Onions, and Leeks.

Sow in Bengal English Cucumber-seed and American Squash.

Put out in their places in the open ground young plants of
Cauliflower, Cabbage, Knol-Kohl, Artichoke, and Asparagus.

FRUITS.

Now is the season for making up Strawberry-beds and
putting in the plants.

CHAP. IV.

CALENDAR.

101

In the Upper Provinces gather Putwa before it is injured by
the cold.

Sow seeds of

Almonds.
Avocado Pear.
Bencoolen Nut.
Cowa-mangosteen .
Custard Apple.

Guava.

Hog-Plum.

Khirnee.

Lichee.

Peaches.

Plums.
Pumelo.
Strawberry.
Wampee.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

About the middle of this month is the time for making
sowings of all the English Annuals, either in pots or on a
raised border under a hoogla.

Pots containing bulbs of Lilium longifolium should be well
soaked with water; and about twelve hours afterwards, the
soil being thus rendered perfectly loose, the bulbs should be
carefully taken out and repotted.

This is the best time for imported bulbs to arrive for potting,
such as Hyacinths, Anemone, Kanunculus, and the several kinds
of Narcissus, Iris, Ixia, &c.

Repot

Aloysia citriodora.

Antirrhinums.

Carnations.

Centradenia.

Columbine.

Daisies.

Franciscea.

Geraniums.

Geum.

Habrothamnus.

Heliotrope.

Hydrangea.

Iris.

Linum.

Lophospermum.

Pinks.

Plumbago rosea.

Scabious.

Sweetwilliam.

Verbenas.

Violet.

In Upper India repair the paths.

November.

VEGETABLES.

Make succession sowings of Peas, French Beans, Turnips,
Carrots, Kadishes, Lettuce, Beet, Mustard, and Cress.

Thin out betimes Turnips, Carrots, and Beet.

Make succession plantings of Cauliflowers, Cabbages, Knol-
Kohl, Lettuce, and Celery.

Stick Peas before they begin to fall about.

Earth up Potatoes.

102 OPERATIONS OF GARDENING. PART I.

Yams are now fit to be taken up for use.
Plant out Onion-bulbs for obtaining a crop of seed from in
April.

Take up Mint and plant it in a fresh soil, well enriched.

FRUITS.

By the end of this month it is well to lay open the roots of
Mangos, and also of Peaches, Plums, and Grape-vines, and to
withhold water entirely, in order to accelerate the fall of the
leaf and the ripening of the bearing wood.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

This is the best season for putting down -cuttings of all kinds
of Koses, and indeed of most exotics natives of a colder climate.

The several species of Canna may now be dug up, parted,
and planted in fresh ground.

December.

VEGETABLES.

Make sowings of Kadishes, Mustard, Cress, Lettuce, Peas,
and French Beans for succession.

Put out fresh plants of Knol-Kohl, Cabbage, Cauliflower, and
Celery.

The most advanced crops of Celery will be now in a condition
for earthing up to blanch previous to use.

Water well Celery, Squashes, Kadishes, and Asparagus seed-
lings.

Withhold water from old Asparagus plants, that they may die
down and go to rest.

FRUITS.

Gather Koselle.

Well water Cape Gooseberries. In the North- West Provinces
the plants should be covered in at night during the Cold months,
or they will be much injured by the cold, and the fruit will not
ripen.

Place seedling Bilimbis in a warm sheltered place daring the
Cold months.

CHAP. IV. CALENDAR. 103

Prune Fig-trees, Peaches, and Grape-vines.
Towards the close of the month cover again the roots of
fruit-trees that had been exposed with fresh, well-enriched soil.

ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.

Put down cuttings of Aloysia citriodora, Heliotrope, Gera-
nium, Pinks, Carnations, Habrothamnus, and Verbenas.

Allow to dry down Arum pictum, Gesnera tubiflora, Sprekelia,
the varieties of Caladium, and such like potted bulbous plants.

In the North- West Provinces cover over at night, to protect
from frost, young Heliotropes, Tropoeolums, Canary Creeper,
and seedling Menhdee plants.

Keep under the shelter of a warm verandah Ixora Javanica,
Hoyas, and Vanilla plants that are in pots.

Make succession sowings of such quick-growing things as
Browallia, Linaria, Cuphea, Mignonette, French Marigold, and
Convolvulus Major.

German Asters, Cinerarias, and Pansies will require re-
potting in a richer soil.

PAKT II.
GAKDEN PLANTS.

PAET II.— GARDEN PLANTS.

CHAPTEK I.

CULINAEY VEGETABLES.

AMONG the vegetables, the cultivation of which I have here
described, will be found such of the native ones of the country
as are occasionally served at the tables of Europeans. It is only
on rare occasions that these prove acceptable, where European
vegetables can be obtained, though welcome as substitutes
where they cannot. A description of all the plants eaten as
vegetables by the natives would comprise nearly the whole of
the weeds, except those that are absolutely poisonous, that are
to be met with in the country. In fact, it can hardly be correct
to regard many of the plants eaten by the poorer classes as
pot-herbs at all, being employed in their cookery merely as a
vehicle for their curry ingredients.

PRELIMINARY.

%

For vegetables, the seed of which is to be sown broadcast,
the mode of laying out the ground usually adopted by the
malees is perhaps the best ; which is, to part it off into plots or
beds four feet wide. Between each bed an embankment is
raised, about two inches high and a foot wide, of earth well
beaten down and flattened. This is for a .path to give the
malee access to the vegetables for weeding and watering them.
Care should be taken in forming the embankments to use a
line and measure, so as to preserve perfect symmetry, otherwise
the ground will look unsightly. By scrupulous neatness and
regularity in the work a piece of vegetable ground may be
made to look as agreeable as a flower parterre.

It is stating no more than an axiom in gardening to say that
the earth in the beds, immediately previous to using, should
be well dug and thoroughly broken up and enriched with an
abundance of manure. Before sowing of the seed the surface
of the soil must be made very fine, and as free from lumps

108 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

as possible. It will be vastly improved by a coating of leaf-
mould, spread perfectly level over it, for the seeds to ger-
minate in.

If the soil is dry and dusty, it is in a most unsuitable state
for sowing, though indolent malees, if not looked after, will often
sow seed in it in that condition. It should be quite moist and
mellow, and if found not to be so when required, should be made
so by copious watering a day or so before the sowing is made.

Either one of two modes of sowing may be adopted — broad-
cast or in drills. Each has its merits, but the former is the
one almost invariably practised by malees.

In using the broadcast method, an admirable plan is to mix
the seed well with about three times its bulk of dry silver-
sand. By this means it may be insured that the seed be
scattered evenly over the whole bed, not more in one place
than in another.

It has been recommended to stretch a white cloth over the
ground where the seed is sown, until it germinates: and no
doubt this would have the good effect of preventing the heat of
the sun from drying up the moisture from the soil too quickly.

The mode of laying out the ground for the cultivation of
Peas, Beans, Celery, Cauliflowers, and Cabbage will be given
in the places where those vegetables are severally treated of.

THALLOGENS.

AGABICACE^E.

Agaricus.

MUSHKOOM.

Mushrooms are produced spontaneously and in great abund-
ance in many parts of Bengal, and may be had merely for the
trouble of gathering, but the edible ones are so exceedingly
difficult to distinguish from others that are poisonous, that it
would be better, unless absolutely certain of the right ones, to
abstain from them altogether.

The following mode of producing them by cultivation has
been communicated by Mr. D. B. Lindsay : —

" On the floor of an unoccupied bungalow, I laid a layer of

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 100

broken bricks, about three inches thick, and covering a space about
fifteen feet in length, by about three in breadth. Upon the top of
the bricks I built up a bed of three layers of unbroken horse-drop-
pings, about three inches thick, and three layers of good mould,
also about three inches thick ; say, first, a layer of horse-droppings,
and then a layer of mould, and so on. The droppings should be
partially dried, and well beaten down before being covered with
the mould.

" Water the bed occasionally, and in two or three months I will
guarantee a crop of Mushrooms.

" Two descriptions of Mushrooms have grown, one with a brown-
ish top, and the other, which is much the finest and largest of the
two, with a pure white top. The gills of both are a light pink
salmon colour when fresh." *

The character of the Common Mushroom of India Mr. E. J.
Pannell gives as follows : — " The wholesome Mushroom is firm
and solid to the touch. When they first break through the
soil they are closed, and in shape somewhat like a page's
jacket button ; when a day or two old they open out like an
umbrella, and the gills or under-side are found to be of a
delicate pink colour, which changes as the Mushroom gets older
to a reddish-brown, and before it seeds gets almost black. The
upper side is covered with a whitish skin, that may be readily
peeled off from the edge to the centre of the top, and resembles
in texture thin white kid. No Mushroom should be eaten that
lias not a rich and delicate smell, even though it may otherwise
agree with the above description. There are other kinds also
that resemble the common edible one in point of colour of gill,
&c., but these, instead of having a firm, have a weak stem and
a slimy skin, and if cooked by mistake may be known at once,
as they turn to a bright yellow colour, and should be avoided."

He further states that there is no need of a building to grow
Mushrooms in, and that he has raised considerable numbers in
different parts of the country in the open air. He says, how-
ever, that it is necessary to protect the beds in which they are
grown from excessive wet. His plan in essentials is much the
same as Mr. Lindsay's. He makes his bed of a layer a foot
thick of horse-droppings, that have been allowed to. stand till
their first fermentation is over; above this he spreads alter-
nately rather thin layers of loam, and a compound of horse,

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Soc.,' vol. ix. p. 320.

110 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IL

cow, and sheep-dung, old lime or mortar and Deodar sawdust,
the uppermost layer being of loam. He beats or treads down
the whole firmly ; covers the bed during the day and in wet
weather, and leaves it open on fine nights. In about two
months the bed, he says, will be found to be a mass of spawn,
and a few weak or spurious Mushrooms will sprout up, at which
time give a gentle watering every morning, and leave it open
during fine weather. In a few days good Mushrooms will
appear. " When you collect the crop," he adds, " do not
disturb the root, but cut off the top carefully ; as at the root
of each will be found a few young ones, or tubercles, like small
Potatoes, which, if not disturbed, will give a succession of
Mushrooms." *

Morchella esculenta.
MOREL.
Khumb.

An edible fungus, well known in Europe, and produced in
the greatest abundance in Kashmir. Dr. Henderson states that
at Shahpoor and most other districts, where there is Kuller in
the soil, it is very plentiful in August and September after the
Eains. Mr. Pannel says also that it is to be found in Lahore
in considerable quantities.!

Mr. Berkely states that it is grown much in Germany, and
that it is particularly partial to a burnt soil.

Tuber. Sp. var.

TRUFFLE.

Until the successful attempt made by M. Auguste Kousseau,
of Carpentras, some years ago, the Truffle had not been made
subject to the control of the gardener. In this country it is
not likely that it will ever be had but by seeking it in those
spots where it is produced spontaneously. There are several
edible species, but it has not been till lately that any have been
known to be natives of India. Colonel Elphinston pronounces
a certain fungus found in the Kangra Valley to be a true
Truffle; and describes it as a "round rootless tuber with a

* ' Proceedings of the Agri-Hort. Soc. of the Punjab.' Dec. 1865, p. 10.
t Ibid., p. 11.

CHAP. I. CULINAHY VEGETABLES. Ill

thick skin, which when peeled and cut displays the anasto-
mosing veins and granular formation of the true Truffle. It
grows a few inches under the soil, some of the larger ones
making their appearance above the surface. It is of an earthy
yellow colour, not unlike a potato in appearance. The Kangra
Truffle is found only where the Pinus longifolia grows, and there
in great abundance. Colonel Elphinston adds, that when cooked
it proved highly flavoured and of excellent quality.*

ENDOGENS.
GEAMINACEA

Zea Mays.

MATZE— INDIAN CORN.

Blwot — MuJcJca.

The unripe and tender heads of Indian Corn, when cooked,
are considered by most persons a most delicious vegetable.
They are first boiled in milk, afterwards roasted, and then
eaten with butter and pepper and salt.

The plant is a native of Mexico ; but though it has now
become thoroughly naturalised in all parts of India, it seems
to have much degenerated, as the produce it affords is vastly
inferior in every respect to that raised from the seed imported
annually from America by the Agri-Horticultural Society.

The usual season for sowing the seed is about the beginning
of the Eains. It should be sown in rows a foot apart, and the
grains at eight inches apart in the rows. No particular care is
required in the cultivation. The heads will be fit for use in
August and September.

ARACE^E.

Colocasia antiquorum.

KueJi oo — Ghoyan.

A native vegetable, of which the tubers, nearly resembling
in outward appearance those of the Jerusalem Artichoke, are

* See ' Proceedings of the Agri-Hort. Soc. of the Punjab,' Dec. 1865, p. 7.

112 G AKDEN PLANTS. TART 1 1 .

the part eaten. The mode of cooking them is to pare them
and fry them in ghee. They are not in great request with
Europeans in Bengal, where Potatoes may be had all the year
through ; but in the North- West Provinces, where Potatoes are
unattainable during the months of July, August, and Sep-
tember, they are much consumed in the way of a substitute.
In flavour they are not very unlike Salsify.

They are cultivated much in the same way as Jerusalem
Artichokes. The smaller of the tubers, being saved for the
purpose, are planted about the end of May. The ground
should be first well dug and broken up, to render it loose, and
then furrows drawn across it, fourteen inches apart and four or
five inches deep ; in these the tubers should be laid, at fourteen
inches apart, and the soil then covered in. They will require
irrigation about every four days.

ZINGIBEEACEJE.
Zingiber officinale.

GINGEK.

Udruk.

There is no difference, it is stated, between the Ginger of
this country and that of Jamaica but what results from the
way in which it is cultivated.

The planting should be made about the end of May, just
before the Kains commence, in a very rich light soil Drills
should be made a foot apart and two or three inches deep. Jn
these pieces of the tuber should be laid at about a foot apart,
and covered in with soil. When the plants begin to grow they
must be earthed up, and, if the rains have not set in, well
watered. About January the roots will be ripe for taking up,
when, having been well washed, they may be stored away.

For ordinary use, however, it is hardly worth while to culti-
vate Ginger in a garden, as it may always be purchased cheaply
enough in the bazar.; but if it be required for making a
preserve of, it must be grown for that especial purpose. In that
case the tubers should be taken up as early as possible after being
formed, in their youngest and tenderest condition. This will be
when the plants are not more than five or six inches high.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 113

The following directions for making the preserve may perhaps
be found useful : —

Scald the tubers, wash them in cold water, and peel them
clean. This will take some three or four days to accomplish.
Make a syrup of the proportion of a pound of sugar to a pint of
water, into which stir gradually the beaten whites of two eggs.
Boil and well skim it. When quite cold, pour it over the
Ginger ; cover it up and let it remain so two or three days.
Then pour it off from the Ginger, boil, skim, and clarify, if
necessary, the syrup again, and when cold pour it a second
time over the Ginger, and let it remain three or four days.
Then boil the syrup again, and pour it hot over the Ginger.
Proceed in this way till you find the syrup has thoroughly
penetrated the Ginger, which you may ascertain by its taste
and appearance when you cut a piece off, and till the syrup
becomes very thick and rich. If you put the syrup hot to the
Ginger at first, it will shrink and shrivel.*

Curcuma longa.

TUKMEKIC.

Huldee.

Turmeric, of which such large quantities are used by the
natives for curries, may be always procured cheaply enough in
the bazar, and is rather an agricultural produce than one to be
raised profitably in the garden.

The cultivation of it is carried on in the same way precisely
as that of Ginger or Arrowroot. The tubers are put down in
May, a foot or more apart, in rows. The plants are earthed up
when about eight inches high, and then require no further
attention till the crop is ready for taking up in the cold
weather.

MARANTACE.E.

Maranta arundinacea,

ARROWROOT.

Genuine Arrowroot, such as exported from Surinam and Ber-
muda, is the produce of the plant above named; but Arrowroot
* Condensed from Miss Leslie's Cookery Book.

I

114 GAEDENT PLANTS. PART II.

of a spurious kind is also obtained from the roots of two or three
other plants. I have been informed that large quantities, the
produce of Curcuma angustifolia, are exported to England from
the Madras Presidency under the name of Indian Arrowroot.
This is of a very inferior kind, and may be distinguished at once
from the genuine, which is pure white, by its yellow tinge and
by its not thickening in boiling water. Genuine Arrowroot
may also be discovered by aid of the microscope, its granules
being very distinct from those of any spurious kind. I cannot
tell why any but the genuine kind should be produced at all
in this country, or whether any difficulty is experienced in the
cultivation of M. arundinacea on the Madras side; in Bengal
the plant may be obtained in any abundance, and cultivated
with the greatest ease. Dr. Jameson states, too, that it thrives
in the Saharunpore district and throughout the North-West
Provinces.

The roots should be put in the ground in the month of May.
Drills should be made about three or four inches deep and two
feet apart, in which the roots should be laid at the distance of
a foot and a half from one another, and the earth covered over
them. As the plants grow, they should be earthed up in the
same manner that Potatoes are. They love a good rich soil,
and plenty of water during the time of their growth; which
latter, indeed, they get naturally, as their growing time is
during the Rains. They bear their small white flowers about
August, and in January or February the crop may be taken up
for use. A month or two previous, however, water should be
entirely withholden, to allow the roots to ripen. They are of a
pure ivory-white colour, and should be as large as moderate-
sized Carrots. The smaller ones should be reserved for a fresh
planting, and the pointed ends also of the larger ones, at the
extremities of which the eyes are situated, should be broken off,
three inches in length, and kept for the same purpose.

The mode of preparing the Arrowroot is very simple. The
roots after being well washed should be pounded to a pulp in a
wooden mortar, which may be hired for the occasion from the
bazar. The pulp should be thrown into a large vessel of water,
which will become turbid and milky, a portion of the pulp
remaining suspended in it as a fibrous mass. The fibrous part
should be lifted up, rinsed, pounded again in the mortar, thrown

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 115

again into the water, lifted up a second time, rinsed, and then
thrown away. The milky-looking water should be then strained
through a coarse cloth into another vessel, and when the sedi-
ment has settled, the water should be poured gently off and
clean fresh water poured upon the sediment. This, after having
been well stirred up, should be strained through a fine cloth,
and on settling the water should again be carefully and gently
drained away. The sediment, which is then fine pure Arrow-
root, should be dried on sheets of paper by exposure to the
sun.

Canna edulis. '

TOUS LES MOIS.

, An article sold in the shops under the name of Tons les Mois
bears a very close resemblance in quality and appearance to
manufactured Arrowroot, to which it is considered to be
superior as a diet for children, in that it is not of so constipative
a tendency. Dr. Lindley conjectures it to be the produce of
Canna edulis. If it be so, as this plant thrives well in India,
the manufacture would be exceedingly easy by proceeding in
the same way as adopted with Arrowroot. Such would be the
case likewise if, as Mr. I. M. Jones states, " There is also a
giant species of Arrowroot (Canna coccinea), the product of
which is known by the name of Tous les Mois." *

OKCHIDACE^E.
Vanilla planifolia and V. aromatica.

VANILLE.

The Yanille plant thrives well and blossoms and fruits freely
in Bengal ; but the pods that have been produced and preserved
here can hardly be considered satisfactory for use in confec-
tionery. When kept a short time they have somewhat of a
sour smell, quite distinct from the fine sweet scent emitted by
those imported from the Mauritius, even after having been kept
several years. Whether this arises from the climate being un-
favourable to the maturation of the pods, or from the want of

* ' The Naturalist in Bermuda.'

i 2

116 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

proper management in the curing of them, it is difficult to say.
It may possibly be attributable in some degree to both causes.
As the pods are not ready for gathering till December, it seems
not improbable that they require more warmth during the two
or three months when they are completing the ripening process
than the climate of Bengal will afford them.

The mode of cultivation practised in the Mauritius, and
adopted in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, is to build at the
base of some high tree a small rampart of brickwork, about a
foot high, fill it up with a light soil of leaf-mould, plant in it
the Vanille plant, and brick over the surface of the soil. In a
short time the plant will grow to a considerable height up
the tree, clasping it with the aerial roots it throws out as it
ascends.

A flower-pot, however, with suitable soil answers, as far as I
can see, the purpose equally well as the rampart of brickwork ;
for in no great time the Vanille plant, after climbing up the
tree, disconnects itself almost entirely from the soil at the base
of the tree, except by the old dried roots, which seem no longer
to convey any nourishment to the plant.

The plants continue blossoming from February to April.
The flowers expand early in the morning, at which time they
require to be operated upon artificially, or, in this country at
least, they will not set fruit. The operation consists in intro-
ducing the points of small tweezers into the mouth of the flower,
handling it gently, and extracting from the upper lip a small
piece of the membrane which encloses the pollen. If not suc-
cessful, and impregnation has not taken place, it will be known
by the circumstance of the flower not dropping from the ovary
for full a month or more. If successful, the flower drops off in
a day or two.

The plants may likewise be grown with great success in pots,
trained upon a bamboo trellis fixed in them ; and possibly in
Bengal this would be found the best plan to adopt, as the
plants would thus not only be at command during the whole
period of their growth, but might be removed at the commence-
ment of the Cold season to some warm sheltered situation,
instead of being left exposed, as they usually are, to the full
force of the cold winds.

Mr. Thwaites directs that "the pods should be gathered,

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 117

when they are commencing to turn yellow at the apex, and
killed by immersion for a few seconds in boilin°- water or bv
exposure to the sun. I prefer the latter method, and dry them
subsequently in the shade, or with occasional exposure to the
sun, upon tin plates."*

The plant is raised readily from cuttings, which are said to
come into bearing in the third year.

Atnple directions for the culture of the Vanille plant and
the preparation of the pods, as practised at Bourbon, will be
found in vol. ix. of the ' Journal of the Agri-Horticultural
Society.'

LILIACE^I.

Allium Cepa.

ONION.

Peeydj.

There are many varieties of Onion grown in Europe, some
of which, such as the Spanish, are of great size. But for this
country the most serviceable will probably be found to be the
Strasbourg and the Deptford. There are also two large and
good acclimated kinds of Onion, known in the neighbourhood of
Calcutta as the Patna and Bombay.

The seed of the Onion keeps good but a short time — generally,
it is said, not longer than a year ; and as most of the seed that
comes to this country is more than a year old, it is not alto-
gether surprising that, when sown, it is so often found to fail of
germinating.

The surest way, therefore, of securing good seed is at the
commencement of the Cold season to purchase several of the
finest Onions procurable from the bazar, and plant them out in
the garden, about a foot apart. These will grow up, and by the
commencement of the Hot season produce an abundant supply
of seed, which should be stored away in well-corked bottles for
sowing the next Cold season.

The time for sowing seed is about the middle of October.
The sowing may be made broadcast or in drills ten inches
apart. The soil should be light, and enriched with old manure,
* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Soc.,' vol. xiii., p. liii.

118 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

carefully levelled and in a damp state when the seeds are sown.
When the young plants are somewhat advanced in growth, they
should be thinned out to about six inches apart.

If imported seed is used, perhaps the preferable method is to
sow it in large seed-pans, and when the young plants are about
three or four inches high, to put them out in a bed prepared
for them in the open ground. They should not be planted
deep in the soil. Onions are much benefited by frequent
watering. When by the commencement of the Hot season the
bulbs have attained to their full size, the stems should be bent
down in order that they may more speedily decay. On the
stems becoming withered, the Onions should be taken up and
laid out two or three days in the sun, and when well dried
stored away for use.

In the neighbourhood of Calcutta I have not met with much
success in the cultivation of Onions for storing ; but in the Upper
Provinces I was able with little trouble to raise abundant crops
for that purpose.

Allium Porrum.
LEEK.

The Musselburgh and the London are accounted the finest
kinds of Leek. The lower part of the vegetable when well
blanched is very delicious, boiled and served with melted
butter, retaining scarcely any of its Onion-like flavour, and
forming an excellent substitute for Sea-kale, which it then much
resembles. Sowing should be made as soon as the Eains are
over ; and as this vegetable is much benefited by being trans-
planted, the seed is best sown broadcast and thinly upon a light
rich soil. When the plants are about six or eight inches high
the earth in which they are growing should be thoroughly
softened by watering, so that the plants may be taken up
without injury to their roots. In a well-manured piece of
ground rows of holes should be made with a dibble or pointed
stick, at the distance of a foot between each row. The holes in
the rows should be six inches apart and about four inches deep.
Insert in each hole a young Leek, and a small quantity of
earth after it. When all the young plants are put into the
ground, give the whole a good watering. As the plants grow
they will require to be earthed up to blanch them. To thrive

CHAP. T. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 119

well they require a great deal of watering. It is said that the
tops of the leaves should be cut off occasionally, and that this
will induce the roots to swell.

Allium sativum.

GARLIC.

Rushoon.

This vegetable is very much cultivated by the natives in
most parts of India, and is always obtainable at so cheap a rate
from the bazar, that it is hardly worth while, perhaps, to under-
take the cultivation of it in the garden.

The root consists of several small what are called cloves.
For cultivation these are planted out in October singly, in drills
about seven inches apart and two or three inches deep. The
crop is taken up in the commencement of the hot weather, and
the cloves, after being first well dried in the sun, stored away
for use.

Allium Schaenoprasum.
CHIVES.

This vegetable may be met with in some few gardens, but for
the most part is very little cultivated or known in this country.
The thin awl-shaped Onion-flavoured leaves are the parts of the
plant used in cookery. It is propagated by division of the roots
in October.

Allium Ascalonicum.

SHALLOT.

Gundham.

A vegetable but little known, I believe, to Europeans in this
country. The small Onion-like bulbs are the part eaten. It is
propagated by setting out in October the cloves or bulbs about
six inches asunder. By the commencement of the Hot season
the crop \\ill be fit to be taken up to be stored for future use.

Asparagus officinalis.

ASPARAGUS.

The flavour of Asparagus in this country is much inferior to
what it is in Europe. One great recommendation to it, however,

120 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

is, that it is in season just when all other European vegetables
have gone' out.

The seeds should be sown in August, or as soon after as prac-
ticable, under shelter from the weather, in seed-gumlahs, in
very loose mellow earth, both rich and sandy ; for if the soil
be at all retentive the roots, which are very delicate, would at
the time of planting out be sure to be broken, and the plants
much checked in consequence. By the time the Rains are
over the young seedling-plants should be about ten inches high.

The most economical mode of proceeding then is, in a plot of
ground selected for the purpose, to dig cylindrical holes a foot
wide and two or more feet deep, at a distance of a foot and a
half apart. In these, to the depth of about ten inches, throw a
compost of equal parts of mould and well-decayed manure.
Plant one plant in each, spreading the roots horizontally, in a
fan form, and taking great care not to break them in doing so.
Well water them, and continue to do so constantly, never
allowing the soil to become at all dry. As the plants advance
in height, so keep filling in soil well enriched with manure.
In three or four months' time the holes will thus become filled
up to a level with the surrounding ground. About the end of
April or in the beginning of May they will bear flowers, the
removal of which before forming seed, though considered by
some a needless trouble, will conduce to strengthen the plants.
It is, however, of great importance that no portion of the
foliage should be plucked, but rather be encouraged to make as
vigorous growth as possible. When the Rains commence the
plants will require no further attention ; they will send up at
that period several shoots, from which cuttings might be made
for table use ; but it is far better to spare them and allow them
to grow into branches, and not make any cuttings till the
following year. In the Cold season the stems will die entirely
down and the plants remain dormant till March, when they
will make indications of again sprouting. At this time, there-
fore, preparations may be made for what is called forcing them
for the table. The earth should be removed till the roots of
the plants are reached, and a good rich dressing of manure
supplied ; after this they should be well watered daily. In
about a fortnight's time fine green heads will begin to show
themselves above ground, which may be cut for the table.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 121

Asparagus-beds wear out, it is said, in three or four years'
time ; but this depends much, I believe, on the way in which
they are treated. If at the commencement of the growing
season they be well enriched with manure, and afterwards
constantly well watered and the plants not cut too severely for
use, they will last unimpaired probably for very many years.
Salt is usually recommended as a fine manure for Asparagus,
but I have been told by one of our best practical gardeners in
this country that he has applied it without perceiving any
benefit from it.

Asparagus racemosus.
Soot Moolee.

Of the blanched young shoots of this plant the natives
at Dacca prepare a very agreeable conserve, in the way of
preserved Ginger.

DICTYOGENS.

DIOSCOEEACE^E.

Dioscorea,

YAMS.

Dr. Koxburgh describes as many as seven eatable Yams, but
not more than three or four can be accounted of any value for
the table ; and where, moreover, Potatoes are so plentiful
throughout the year as they are in Calcutta, there seems little
inducement for the cultivation of Yams.

1. D, globosa — Choopree Aloo. — This Dr. Koxburgh states to
be "most esteemed of all Yams among the natives, as well as
Europeans." I cannot say that tubers I have purchased from
the bazar under the name of Choopree Aloo seem to merit this
distinction. Others appear to me to be superior.

2. D. alata — Khum Aloo. — This is accounted second in order
of merit.

3. D. purpurea — Rukto Gurdniya Aloo. — This apparently is
the Yam brought by Mr. M'Murray, gardener to the Agri-Hor-
ticultural Society, from the Mauritius, concerning which he
states that it is as much cultivated in the Mauritius as Potatoes

122 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

are in England, and that it is most excellent. The tuber is of
a dull crimson red outside and of a glistening white within.

4. D. rubella — Guraniya Aloo.—K common but very excellent
Yam, as good as any perhaps in cultivation. The tuber is of
great size, crimson red on the outside, and of a glistening white
within.

5. D. atropurpurea — Malacca Yam. — Known also, I believe, in
Calcutta as the Rangoon Yam : is very similar to the last, and an
excellent Yam. A tuber of this was sent to the Agri-Horticultural
Society from the garden of Captain H. B. Weston, measuring two
feet in length and weighing as much as eight seers.

6. D. Japonica — Chinese Potato. — Sent to this country by
Mr. Fortune, but possessing no merit that I can see above the
two last kinds, which it much resembles.

7. D. fasciculata — Soosnee Aloo. — A very distinct kind of Yam ;
the tubers are about the size and form and colour of large
kidney Potatoes, and when well cooked bear a greater resem-
blance in mealiness and flavour to the Potato than any other
Yam I know.

8. D. sp. — New Zealand Yam. — Presented to the Agri-Horti-
cultural Society by Captain Hill, of Bankshall, and remarkable
for producing great ash-grey aerial tubers upon its stems.
From the account Captain Hill gives of it when cooked, it is
more to be regarded as a curiosity than for any value it
possesses for the table. It has been grown in the Barrackpore
Park and found to be exceedingly prolific.

Yams should be put in the ground in April, the soil having
been previously dug deeply and well lightened with old manure
so that the tubers may be able to expand freely. The plants
are extensive trailers, and are usually grown where they may
have some tree to run up, or else have a bamboo-trellis placed
for their support. The crop will be ready for digging up in
December.

The proper mode of cooking Yams — as, I believe, is pretty
well known to all Indian cooks — is, after the tuber has been
boiled, to bury it for half an hour or more beneath the hot
wood-ashes. By this means all moisture becomes dried out of
it, and it is rendered nice and mealy.-

The following directions with regard to the cultivation of
the Chinese Potato, D. Japonica, given by M. Montigny, the

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 123

French Consul, who sent it from Shanghai to France, no doubt
would apply equally well to all other kinds of Yam grown in
this country :

" For propagation the smallest roots are set apart. In the spring
the roots are taken out and planted in furrows pretty near each
other, in well-prepared ground. They soon sprout and form pro-
strate stems, which are made into 'cuttings as soon as they are six
feet long. As soon as the cuttings are ready, a field is worked into
ridges, along each of which is formed a small furrow, in which the
pieces of the stem are laid down and covered with a little earth,
except the leaves. If the weather is rainy the cuttings strike im-
mediately ; if dry they must he watered till they do strike. In
fifteen or twenty days the roots hegin to form, and at the same time
lateral branches appear, which must be carefully removed from
time to time, or the roots will not grow to the proper size." *

Mr. J. Henderson, of Kingskerswell, South Devon, likewise
gives the following practical directions :—

" The manner in which the Chinese cultivate it is extremely
simple. The earth is first formed into ridges, when small tubers or
portions of large ones are planted on the top, at about three feet
apart ; after the plants have attained a little strength, the shoots
are spread over the sides of the ridges, and pegged down at the
leaf end, six or eight inches from each other (care being taken to
cover the joints or parts pegged down with a portion of earth),
when they soon strike root and throw out tubers ; by this means'
immense quantities of roots, of the size of early-framed kidney
Potatoes, are raised on a comparatively small piece of ground. The
above is the ordinary Chinese mode of culture ; but to obtain them
of a large size, small tubers, or portions, are planted on ridges, from
ten inches to one foot apart, and the plants are allowed to grow
freely till late in the autumn, when the foliage is cut away and
dried, or partially dried, and given to cattle ; the tubers by this
means attain on an average 1 Ib. and upwards in weight."f

* « Gardeners' Chronicle,' 22nd July, 1854.
t ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' 23rd December, 1854

124 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

DICLINOUS EXOGENS.

EUPHOKBIACE^].

Manihot utilissima.

TAPIOCA — MANDIOC OR CASSAVA PLANT.

Dr. Lindley describes the Tapioca plant as " a shrub about
eight feet high, extensively cultivated for food all over the tro-
pical parts of the world. Of this plant the large root, weighing
as much as BOlbs., is full of venomous juice, which if taken
internally produces death. The roots are rasped, the pulp
well bruised and thoroughly washed, after which the mark is
placed on iron plates to be heated. In this way the venom
is washed out or driven off, and the residue becomes Cassava.
The powder which floats off in the water is a very poor starch,
which when it settles down becomes Tapioca."*

The plant thrives well in Bengal, and a considerable plantation
of it is raised annually in the garden of the Agri-Horticultural
Society, though the manufacture of Tapioca is rarely, I believe,
resorted to in India.

The season for taking up the crop of roots is in January,
at the same time that cuttings are put down for the crop of the
following year.

In subjoining the following directions to be pursued in the
culture and manufacture of Tapioca, as given by J. P. Langlois,
Esq., in the ' Journal of the Agri-Horticultural'Society,' I need
hardly, perhaps, state how important a point in the manufacture
is the driving off by heat on hot iron plates of the poisonous
properties of the root. The poison is said to be very volatile.

"Soil. — This plant will thrive in any soil, although a sandy loam
is the best.

" Cultivation. — It requires no cultivation whatever, and is occa-
sionally met with in Arakan, growing wild in the Jungle.

" Propagation. — By cutting. Care to be taken to use the stronger
branches. The cutting must be from two to three feet long ; to be
placed in the ground in an upright position, and in rows four feet
apart.

" Preparation. — Twelve months after planting the roots are fit to
be dug up. They must then be well washed, and put into a trough

* ' Vegetable Kingdom.'

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 125

with water, in which they are allowed to remain six hours, when
the outer bark will be easily removed by a pressure of the hand.
The next process is to grate the roots, and then press out the milky
juice, which is poured into a flat tub. This is now suffered to rest
for eight hours, when all the flour will subside to the bottom. The
water is then poured off, and the meal laid upon wicker-frames to
dry in the sun for two or three hours. The flour is then placed
upon hot plates, and well-stirred to prevent it burning.

" The heat will cause the amylaceous substance to coagulate into
small irregular lumps of a transparent and gelatiniform colour. The
Tapioca is then ready for use.

" This is the best mode of preparing Tapioca, as customary at the
Mauritius."

CUCUKBITACE^E.
Momordica Charantia, var. muricata.
Kurela.

A Gonrd of about the size and form of a hen's egg, pointed
at the ends and covered with little blunt tubercles ; of intensely
bitter taste. Much consumed by the natives ; and agreeable
also to Europeans occasionally, as an ingredient to flavour their
curries by way of variety.

. The late General F. Jenkins informed me of two varieties
they have in cultivation at Patna : —

1. Jethuya: a plant growing in the heat of spring and dying with
the first Rains.

2. Bard masiya : which lasts throughout the year.

The seed is, however, commonly sown at the beginning of the
Eains, and the Gourd is in use in the Cold season, when the plant
has rather a pretty appearance, trailing upon the ground, with
its small foliage, bright yellow flowers, and curious fruits.

Luffa acutangula.
Jhinga — Torooee.

A cylindrical, somewhat club-formed Gourd, about ten inches
or a foot long, with sharp ribbed projections from end to end.
Dr. Koxburgh says, " Peeled, boiled, and dressed with butter,
pepper, and salt, it is little inferior to Green Peas."

I am afraid many would be disappointed who put reliance

126 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

upon this statement : however, that is a matter of taste. The
plant is an annual ; the seed is sown in the Bains, and the
vegetable is ready for use in the Cold season.

Benincasa cerifera.

PUMPKIN — WHITE GOURD.

Chdl Koomra — Pdnee Koomra.

A very large, handsome, egg-shaped Gourd, to appearance
covered with a pale greenish-white waxen bloom; whether
much eaten by Europeans I am unaware, but greatly consumed
by the natives. It has a very pleasing appearance upon the
thatched dwellings of the natives, where it may often be noticed
in the most exposed and unprotected situations. On inquiry
whether it was not liable very often to be stolen, I was assured
that other Gourds in a similar situation would likely enough be
stolen, but that there was an especial respect paid to this, upon
certain religious considerations, that rendered it perfectly safe.

The plant is an annual. The seed is sown in the Kains, and
the vegetable is in use in the Cold season.

;.. Lagenaria vulgaris.

BOTTLE-GOURD — FUKEER's BOTTLE.

Laokee — Kudoo.

One of the commonest of the native vegetables, a moderate-
sized Gourd having the appearance of two oval Gourds united
endwise, or of an inflated bladder compressed by a cord around
it. Cultivated in all parts of India ; cut up into slices in the
manner of French Beans, it affords a palatable, but rather
insipid dish about the beginning of the Cold season. The plant
is an annual.

Cucumis sativus.

CUCUMBER.

Keera.

There appear to be two kinds of this vegetable, either domes-
ticated in this country or indigenous; but neither have the
delicacy or fine flavour of the European kinds.

CHAP. I. CULINAEY VEGETABLES. 127

1. The one grows to a very large size, is green when young
and becomes darker as it ripens, and mottled with whitish stripes
from end to end. This seems to be the Nepal kind, described
by Don and other writers as cultivated in Calcutta, and growing
to as much as seventeen inches long. I have not met with it of
that size, but find that it is considered very large when of no
more than twelve or fourteen inches in length. It is hardly
fit for eating uncooked when more than six inches long ; much
beyond that size it is tough and tasteless.

2. The other is of smaller growth, and of a creamy- white
colour when young, turning to a rusty colour at the ends as it
ripens. This answers nearly to the description of the one
called the " White Turkey." It is the better of the two for
stewing; cooked in which way it affords a very delicious
dish during the Eains, when so few other vegetables are to
be had.

»

The plants of these two kinds have very long and powerful
stems, which are generally trained to run up a tree. The seed
is sown in July or later, and the Cucumbers are in season during
all the Eains.

I have tried to raise Cucumber plants from American seed at
the same period of the year, but uniformly without success.
The plants made no growth, became sickly, and perished with-
out blossoming. Towards the end of the Rains I have raised
plants which blossomed and gave promise of fruit, but perished
without yielding any, I have again sown the seed at the end
of October, and the plants, put out in rich soil in large deep
earthen pans, and trained upon a trellis in a verandah, have in
two months' time produced small Cucumbers, with much of the
flavour and delicacy of the European vegetable ; and no doubt
would have been much finer had I sown English seed of a
superior sort. The great difficulty in cultivating this vegetable,
when raised from imported seed, is to protect it from the ravages
of certain small red beetles, which visit the plants in great
numbers, and entirely devour the leaves as soon as the first four
or five are formed. A rough framework of bamboo might be
easily constructed, with common musquito-curtain leno stretched
over it, which would perhaps be a safeguard against their depre-
dations. The trifling expense thus ID cur red would be well
bestowed to obtain this delicious vegetable in perfection.

128 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Cucumis utilissimus.

Kukree.

A bright-red prickly Gourd of the size and form of an ostrich
egg. When young of a cylindrical form, and in that state eaten
much by Europeans in the North-West Provinces, in lieu of
Cucumbers, being in season long before that vegetable, but not
to be compared with it in flavour.

The seed is sown in March there, and the vegetable is in use
in the Hot season.

Cucurbita Melopepo.
SQUASH.

The name Squash is given in America to two or three kinds
of Gourd of the same description as the Vegetable Marrow.

1. One is called the Lima or Cocoanut Squash, from its
resemblance in shape and size to a Cocoanut.

2. Another is called the Marrow or Scallop Squash, from its
similarity in shape to the shell which bears that name.

A writer in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' says : — " Squashes are
extensively grown in America. The seeds are either set in
a hollow basin, one or two in a place, or on hills. They are
of various kinds and qualities, and are boiled green like the
Vegetable Marrow, or mashed like the Turnip with milk and
pepper and salt. When ripe they are made into pies in the
same manner as Pumpkins. Some are gathered in France
when of the size of an egg, boiled whole in salt and water, laid
upon toast, and eaten as Asparagus." *

In Lower Bengal the seeds should be sown in the open ground
about the end of October. The plants will require a large
space of ground to trail over, so select a spot where they may
have room for that purpose.

The best plan, then, is to dig holes in the earth about sixteen
inches wide and as many deep. Fill these with richly-manured
soil, and sow in each two or three seeds. If more than one
germinate! pull all but one up.

When the plants have formed about four of their rough
leaves they will, almost to a certainty, become attacked by
the red-beetle mentioned as so injurious to the Cucumber. The
* ( Gardeners' Chronicle,' January, 1862.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 129

malees usually throw wood-ashes over the leaves to protect
them, but this obviously is very injurious to the plants. If,
however, the plants can be preserved through the earlier period
of their growth, a change seems to take place in the nature of
their juices, insomuch that the young leaves are no longer liable
to be attacked by this insect, and in the course of a week or two
they will come into flower. When they have set as many
fruits as the vine will bear, the flowers upon the plants should
be removed. They require constant and copious watering, and
occasionally with liquid manure.

Care must be taken to gather the Gourds whilst tender and
ready, as they very rapidly become hard and woody. Miss Leslie,
however, observes : " The Green or Summer Squash is best when
the outside is beginning to turn yellow, as it is then less watery
and insipid than when younger."

In the North- West Provinces the sowing of the seed must not
be made before the end of February, as the plants will not live
in the Cold season in that part of India.

Cucurbita maxima.

RED GOURD.

Sufuree Koomra — Lai Koomra.

A brownish-red, globular-shaped, bluntly-ribbed Gourd, of
enormous size, cultivated extensively by the natives for sale
in the bazars, where it is cut up and sold in slices ; in my
opinion the most agreeable far of any of the Indian Gourds.
Dressed and cooked with boiled beef, as Carrots are, it can
hardly be distinguished from them either in appearance or
flavour. An annual; seed sown in the Bains; vegetable in
use during the Cold season ; not often cultivated in gardens.

Trichosanthes anguina.

SNAKE-GOURD — CLUB-GOURD.

Chichinga.

A large, greenish-white, club-formed Gourd, of the length of
a man's arm, and about four inches thick ; of exceedingly rapid
growth ; eaten, sliced and dressed in the manner of French
Beans during the Cold season.

130 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Cultivated principally by the natives, frequently upon the
edge of a tank.

Trichosanthes dioeca.
Pulwul.

A small, oblong, green Gourd four inches long and two
broad. Boiled whole or in quarters, it affords rather an insipid
dish, but being in season during the Kains, when little else
of the vegetable kind is to be had, it proves very acceptable ;
not cultivated in gardens, as it is usually to be had cheaply
from the bazar.

HYPOGYNOUS EXOGENS.

MORINGACE^E.
Hyperanthera Moringa.

HOKSE-KADISH TKEE.

Suhujna.

The root of this tree is generally used throughout India as
a substitute for Horse-radish, to which, however, in flavour it
is much inferior. Plants are easily raised from seed, and are
of exceedingly rapid growth. The long, unripe seed-pods
are greatly consumed by the natives in their curries. When
cut into pieces about four inches long and boiled, they have
a most agreeable flavour, hardly to be distinguished from that
of Asparagus, and would be an excellent vegetable for the
table, were they not of so fibrous a nature. They are produced
in the month of March.

BEASSICACE^].
Nasturtium officinale.

WATEECKESS.

Watercress thrives well in Bengal, and abundance of it may
be easily raised in the Cold season for salad. The plants are
propagated from seed or cuttings. In gardens where there is a
tank the best plan, perhaps, is to sow the seed or plant the
cuttings in rather shallow pans with a few small holes in their
bottom, and half filled with soil. Place the pans along the

CHAP. I. CULINAKY VEGETABLES. 131

edge of the tank, so that the bottoms may be immersed ; the
water, penetrating through the holes, will keep the roots of the
cress continually wet. As the water sinks in the tank, which it
will gradually do during the Cold season, lower at the same time
the pans into it.

Cochlearia Armoracia.

HORSE-RADISH.

Horse-radish has been now for some years grown, but can
hardly be said to have been cultivated in India. As exhibited
at the Calcutta annual vegetable shows, it is always in the
condition of a number of fibrous roots of different degrees of
thickness, twisted in every kind of crooked form, instead of being,
as it ought to be, one single straight stout stick.

The mode of cultivation adopted in England is to bury
pieces of the root, an inch and a half long, a foot deep in the
ground, which, by a year or two after, will grow up and reach
the surface, and then be fit for taking up for use.- I have tried
this method here, but not been successful with it, as the pieces
of root I deposited below the ground I found in a very short
time perished.

The plan I then resorted to, with perfect success, was as
follows : —

Place round the sides of a flower-pot, filled with mould, well
lightened with silver-sand, pieces of the roots, of the thickness
of a quill, and two inches long. These being kept watered,
quickly sprout and form rooted plants. Dig holes a foot and
a half deep, ten inches wide and a foot apart, on a piece of
high ground. Fill the lower half foot with well-manured soil,
and the remaining upper foot with a light mellow soil, and put
one of the plants in each. When they have been established
about a week or two, remove the earth from the roots, and
clear away all the small fibrous roots that have formed, leaving
only one main root to proceed downwards. Eepeat this three
or four times at intervals, removing the earth deeper each time
for the purpose. When the main root has descended about a
foot deep, which it will do in a very short time, by being
cleared of all fibres upon it but those at its very extremity,
it will have reached the rich soil at the bottom of the hole.
Kemove then the uppermost foot of soil, -and fill in with silver-
is 2

132 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

sand. This answers two purposes. The water given to the plants
will immediately sink down through the sand to the roots,
where it is alone wanted ; and the main stem of the root will
not be induced to form fibres on its sides. . The roots will be
ready for use in about four or five months' time.

This plan may seem troublesome, but it is not very much
so in reality. The Horse-radish, however, may be grown like
any other ordinary plant, by merely putting out the plants in
a good soil, on a high piece of ground, at the distance of a foot
or more apart.

Lepidium sativum.

CRESS.

Hdleem.

Cress-seed may be sown in the open ground when the Eains
cease in October. It is best to sow only a small quantity at a
time, and to keep up a succession of sowings, at short intervals,
during the Cold season. As the malees rarely cut it for use till
it is three or four inches high, it is as well to sow it broadcast,
and rather thinly.

If, however, it be required to be eaten, as is usual in England,
when little more than the seed-leaves are formed, it may be
raised at nearly all times in the year. It is best in that case
to make the sowings in large shallow pans, filled with good
light soil. The soil should be well watered, and the seed then
scattered thickly over its surface. Over the pan a covering
should be placed till the seed germinates, and then be removed.
In a few days the cress will be fit for cutting.

In order to save seed, in the early part of the Cold season
plants in the open ground at about six inches apart should be
reserved. These by the commencement of the Hot season will
yield a plentiful supply of seed, which should be carefully
stored away for future use.

Brassica oleracea.

CABBAGE.

The varieties of Cabbage cultivated in Europe are very
numerous ; but between many of them there is scarcely a per-

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 133

ceptible difference, the merit of each consisting principally in
its being better adapted than others for the particular season at
which it is raised. In this country, however, as there is only
one season when the Cabbage can be cultivated at all, a number
of varieties would be useless. A selection, therefore, of some
three or four of the best is all that can be required.

Among these the Early York may perhaps be considered
indispensable, both for the quickness of its growth and the
delicacy of its flavour.

Any one or two of the following kinds, which are all of esta-
blished reputation, may be added : — Battersea, Emperor, Non-
pareil, Paignton, and Imperial. The kinds, seeds of which are
annually imported by the Agri-Horticultural Society from
America and the Cape, besides the Early York and Battersea,
are —

THE SUGAK-LOAF. — So called from its peculiar shape ; not a
very desirable variety for this country, as it has no especial
merit as regards flavour to recommend it ; and its outer leaves
are very apt soon to decay from exposure to the sun.

SAVOY CABBAGE. — A variety with curly or crumpled leaves,
forms a dense compact head, and is of very strong flavour ; bears
the heat of this country better perhaps than any other.

DRUMHEAD. — A coarse Cattle-Cabbage, of immense size, not
admissible into the garden.

BED CABBAGE. — A small variety of the Drumhead kind ;
forms a densely close head ; used only for pickling.

The beginning of September is about as early as sowings
may be commenced with any advantage. The attempt to raise
Cabbages earlier is attended with great trouble, and generally
with but little success. Occasional sowings may be made for
succession of crops up to the end of the year, later than which
it is not of much use to continue them.

The earlier sowings, to be more conveniently protected from
rain, had better be made in large gumlahs. As the seed, if
good, germinates in two days, it is best to test it by a trial-
sowing, and then to sow it only just as thickly as to render it
unnecessary to thin out the seedlings. If the seedlings, not-
withstanding, come up too crowded, they must be pricked out
immediately to two inches apart. To prevent damping off,
they must have as much light as can possibly be given them,

134 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

short of direct sunshine. They must, at the same time, be
carefully kept from exposure to heavy rain.

It is better not to be in too great a hurry to put the young
plants out in the open ground. If they become large and
crowded in the gumlahs, they had better be thinned out and
transplanted into other gumlahs, rather than put out in the
ground before the Eains are over, although that may not be
before the middle of October.

The soil where the plants are to be grown can hardly be
made too rich with manure. The most economical way of
proceeding is to draw rows of lines a foot and a half apart. In
these dig holes about eight inches wide and eight inches deep,
at intervals of a foot and a half apart. Fill up the holes with a
rich compost of mould and manure, and put in each a Cabbage-
plant. The young plants will require to be protected from the
sun for three or four days. A broken flower-pot or a Plantain
leaf placed over them in the daytime and removed at night
answers the purpose well. They should not be suffered to flag
for want of water ; and when they have become well established
and are making growth, the application of liquid manure
will be highly beneficial. Frequent watering will have the
tendency to make the earth cake and harden on the surface.
When this happens, it should be broken up by hoeing round
the stems.

The Cabbage takes about four months from the time of
sowing to come to perfection.

When a head of Cabbage has been cut, if the stump be left
in the ground it will send out side shoots and produce two or
three nice heads, little inferior to the one that was cut.

When the Hot season, moreover, approaches, and the Cab-
bages no longer form heads, young sprouts will be produced
from the old stalks, affording a nice supply of greens for the
table till a very late period.

COLEWORT — COLLAED.

Cabbages cut for cooking when little more than half-grown,
and before they have begun to form a head, are usually called
" Greens." The particular kind above named and Vanack are
accounted best for the purpose ; but some persons consider that
nearly all kinds answer equally well.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 135

In this country, in the way of Greens nothing can equal
Cauliflower-plants, cut when not quite half-grown, for flavour
and delicacy.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

A variety of Cabbage, which, instead of forming one single
head, produces numerous small ones, of about the size of a
pullet's egg. It is in season in Europe during the hard weather,
when other vegetables of the sort are unattainable, and is
accounted then a great delicacy.

I have tried to cultivate it at Chinsurah, but though the
plants throve well they did not produce the crop of little
compact heads they do in Europe, but only ill-formed bunches
of small leaves, quite unfit for the table. At the several
vegetable shows of the Agri-Horticultural Society I have visited
at Calcutta I have never seen satisfactory specimens of this
vegetable exhibited. Possibly it might succeed in the cold
climate of the Upper Provinces, but the cultivation of it would
be hardly worth the trouble. S.

BORECOLE — SCOTCH KALE.

A variety of Cabbage remarkable for its crimped and plume-
like leaves, which spread abroad loosely, and never form, as
other kinds do, a compact head. Its principal merit in Europe
consists in its great hardihood. In this country there can be
no reason for cultivating it on that account. It has conse-
quently little to recommend it but its curious and ornamental
appearance. The time and manner of cultivation are the same
as for any other kind of Cabbage.

CAULIFLOWER.

Phool-Kobee.

There are some eight or nine varieties of Cauliflower given in
the English seedsmen's lists, but none are to be preferred to the
sort called " Walcheren," which is of old and well-established
reputation. In the Upper Provinces this vegetable, raised
from imported seed, may be grown to perfection. Where such
is the case, none but imported seed should be made use of.
But in Lower Bengal it is from acclimated seed only that it

134 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

short of direct sunshine. They must, at the same time, be
carefully kept from exposure to heavy rain.

It is better not to be in too great a hurry to put the young
plants out in the open ground. If they become large and
crowded in the gumlahs, they had better be thinned out and
transplanted into other gumlahs, rather than put out in the
ground before the Eains are over, although that may not be
before the middle of October.

The soil where the plants are to be grown can hardly be
made too rich with manure. The most economical way of
proceeding is to draw rows of lines a foot and a half apart. In
these dig holes about eight inches wide and eight inches deep,
at intervals of a foot and a half apart. Fill up the holes with a
rich compost of mould and manure, and put in each a Cabbage-
plant. The young plants will require to be protected from the
sun for three or four days. A broken flower-pot or a Plantain
leaf placed over them in the daytime and removed at night
answers the purpose well. They should not be suffered to flag
for want of water ; and when they have become well established
and are making growth, the application of liquid manure
will be highly beneficial. Frequent watering will have the
tendency to make the earth cake and harden on the surface.
When this happens, it should be broken up by hoeing round
the stems.

The Cabbage takes about four months from the time of
sowing to come to perfection.

When a head of Cabbage has been cut, if the stump be left
in the ground it will send out side shoots and produce two or
three nice heads, little inferior to the one that was cut.

When the Hot season, moreover, approaches, and the Cab-
bages no longer form heads, young sprouts will be produced
from the old stalks, affording a nice supply of greens for the
table till a very late period.

COLEWORT — COLLAED.

Cabbages cut for cooking when little more than half-grown,
and before they have begun to form a head, are usually called
" Greens." The particular kind above named and Vanack are
accounted best for the purpose ; but some persons consider that
nearly all kinds answer equally well.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 135

In this country, in the way of Greens nothing can equal
Cauliflower-plants, cut when not quite half-grown, for flavour
and delicacy.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS.

A variety of Cabbage, which, instead of forming one single
head, produces numerous small ones, of about the size of a
pullet's egg. It is in season in Europe during the hard weather,
when other vegetables of the sort are unattainable, and is
accounted then a great delicacy.

I have tried to cultivate it at Chinsurah, but though the
plants throve well they did not produce the crop of little
compact heads they do in Europe, but only ill-formed bunches
of small leaves, quite unfit for the table. At the several
vegetable shows of the Agri-Horticultural Society I have visited
at Calcutta I have never seen satisfactory specimens of this
vegetable exhibited. Possibly it might succeed in the cold
climate of the Upper Provinces, but the cultivation of it would
be hardly worth the trouble. S-.

BORECOLE — SCOTCH KALE.

A variety of Cabbage remarkable for its crimped and plume-
like leaves, which spread abroad loosely, and never form, as
other kinds do, a compact head. Its principal merit in Europe
consists in its great hardihood. In this country there can be
no reason for cultivating it on that account. It has conse-
quently little to recommend it but its curious and ornamental
appearance. The time and manner of cultivation are the same
as for any other kind of Cabbage.

CAULIFLOWER.

Phool-Kobee.

There are some eight or nine varieties of Cauliflower given in
the English seedsmen's lists, but none are to be preferred to the
sort called " Walcheren," which is of old and well-established
reputation. In the Upper Provinces this vegetable, raised
from imported seed, may be grown to perfection. Where such
is the case, none but imported seed should be made use of.
But in Lower Bengal it is from acclimated seed only that it

136 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

can be brought to produce heads of any size. The fine-looking
Cauliflowers sold in the Calcutta bazars, as well as the large
specimens sent to the horticultural shows there, are always
raised from acclimated seed. This seed, I understand, is com-
monly obtained from Patna, that being about the most southerly
locality in the plains of India where it can be matured. It
bears a high price at Calcutta, where as much as two rupees is
demanded for one rupee's weight of it.

The directions given for the cultivation of Cabbage apply alike
for that of the Cauliflower, except that the Cauliflower requires, if
anything, a richer soil and a more liberal supply of manure.

In the vicinity of Calcutta, plants raised from imported seed
grow to a great size, and do not form heads till late in the
season, even if they ever form them at all, and then only of
about the siz6 of a tea- cup. These, however, will be found of
very delicate flavour, and in my opinion superior to those raised
from acclimated seed.

Mr. Errington, head-gardener to the Agri-Horticultural
Society, communicated to me likewise the curious fact, that a
large quantity of Cauliflower seed he received a year or two
ago from the North- West, and sowed in the Society's garden,
proved equally unsatisfactory as that from Europe and America
usually does, and produced heads no larger than a wine-glass.

Some cultivators strongly recommend the removal of the
lower leaves, as of great efficacy in causing the plants to form
flower-heads.

A method I have found very successful in the cultivation of
this vegetable has been to put out the plants, when very young,
singly into small pots, and when they have outgrown these to
shift them into others just about large enough for them to
complete half their growth in ; and when the Kains are over
to transfer them to their places in the open ground. If planted
so deep that the whole of the stem is buried beneath the soil,
very little, if any, earthing-up will be required afterwards. JBy
exposing the plants to the sun a few days before removal from
the pots, they will not flag or in any way suffer on being put
out into the open ground. This may seem an unnecessarily
troublesome mode of proceeding. I am, however, inclined to
believe that it is one which involves less trouble than any other.
The pots can be kept in a place where the plants are protected

CHAP. T. CULINAEY VEGETABLES. 137

from over-much wet and sun, and, with the exception of being
regularly watered, left almost to themselves. Thus all the
earthing-up and constant attention which takes up so much of
the malee's time may be saved, and the risk of damping-off
avoided as well. Moreover, the cramping of the roots in pots
during the earlier period of their growth has been attended, as
I have thought, with the usual beneficial effect of inducing the
plants more readily to form heads of bloom ; and this, as regards
plants raised from imported seed, is a point of the greatest
consequence.

SPROUTING-BROCCOLI.

A variety which, instead of forming one large single head,
produces numerous small ones on the axils of the leaves. Its
principal merit in Europe consists in its supplying an excellent
dish at a period of the year when no other variety of Broccoli or
Cauliflower is to be had. It is, however, an inferior vegetable,
and possesses no particular merit to recommend its cultivation
in this country.

I have made attempts to cultivate it in my garden at Chin-
surah, but with no success; nor have I seen at the Calcutta
vegetable-shows any specimens but what were uniformly most
unsatisfactory.

BROCCOLI.

Of this vegetable there are several varieties mentioned in the
English seedsmen's lists. Broccoli, however, is itself only a
description of Cauliflower, or more properly, perhaps, a name
given to a group of Cauliflowers which are able to sustain a
severer degree of cold. A distinction, therefore, between Broccoli
and Cauliflower is hardly to be recognised in this country, where
the cultivation of both vegetables must be in every respect
essentially the same, and carried on at precisely the same season.

KNOL-KOHL — KOHL-RABI. — TURNIP-ROOTED CABBAGE.

There are two varieties of this vegetable, the purple and the
green, very much the same in point of merit. The best seed is
obtained from the Cape of Good Hope.

For the manner of cultivation the same directions apply in
every respect as for the Cabbage, except that the plants, not

138 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

requiring so much room, may be put out somewhat nearer to
one another.

Knol-kohl takes about six weeks or two months to arrive at a
state fit for the table, and is always most acceptable, as being
the earliest European vegetable of the season. If allowed to
grow to a great size it becomes hard, woody, and strong in
flavour. It is in its best condition when about the size of a
tennis-ball. The upper half of the vegetable is always the
most tender.

Brassica Rapa.

TURNIP.

Selgum.

There are several varieties of the Turnip, both of the white
and of the yellow. Kemarkably fine specimens of many of
these are raised in this country, but they mostly have a strong
and rather acrid flavour, rendering them far from agreeable.
For cultivation, therefore, the earliest sorts would be the more
desirable, being quickest in growth and of mildest flavour.
None, perhaps, will be found to surpass the Whitestone.

The time to commence sowing the seed is about the middle
of October. The sowing may be made broadcast ; and in order
that it may be done evenly, which is of great importance, the
seed should be mixed with about four times its bulk of dry
silver-sand. But the better plan, perhaps, is to sow it in drills,
about a foot apart, and then at the very earliest stage of their
growth to hoe out the seedlings to the distance of a foot from
each other. Nothing can be more injurious to the plants than
to allow them to be in the least crowded, for in that case they
expend themselves in leaves, without forming bulbs.

The soil, which before the sowing should be well dug up,
ought to be of a light quality, but not recently manured.
The plants require to be abundantly watered to promote rapid
growth.

Sinapis alba.

MUSTARD.

Edee.

Scarcely any directions can be required for the cultivation
of Mustard. The seed, sown broadcast and very thickly in a

CHAP. T. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 139

small piece of ground at any time in the Cold season, will be
up in two or three days, and shortly afterwards supply cuttings
for a salad. To secure seed, a few plants raised at the com-
mencement of the Cold season should be allowed to remain.
These will afford an abundant crop of seed just as the Hot
weather sets in.

Crambe maritima.

SEAKALE.

This vegetable, as far as I am aware, has never been
cultivated with success in India, nor do I see the probability
that it ever can be. The plants require to be two or three
years old before they can be brought into culture for the table ;
and in this country it is not likely that they can be preserved
till they attain to that age, even if they can be kept through a
single Hot and Kain season.

The seed is very small, and contained in a seed-vessel of the
size of a pea, of a hard horny nature, and which takes a month
or more to lie in the ground and soften before the seed can
sprout. I have raised plants from seed sown in October. They
put forth a few thick leathery leaves, but though apparently
healthy and vigorous, made little growth, and soon perished after
the commencement of the Hot season.

Raphanus sativus.
KADISH.

Moolee.

There are two principal kinds of Kadish, the long-rooted and
the turnip-rooted. The former is, perhaps, of the two the more
tender and delicate, but the latter requires less care in cultivation.

Kadishes raised from seed sown much before the middle of
October will generally be found tough, acrid, and hardly eatable.
It is little better than wasting the seed to commence sowing
earlier.

The soil, if of a close nature, will be the better for being
lightened with wood-ashes. It should not have been recently
manured. A partially-shaded situation is the best.

The sowing may be made broadcast, which is least trouble-
some ; but the way recommended by English gardeners, and

140 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

the more economical one, is to sow in drills. The drills should
be in rows, three or four inches apart, and the seed should be
buried in them a quarter of an inch deep. After the sowing
the ground should be well trodden down, or the Kadishes will
not be well formed. When up, the young plants may be
thinned out to three or four inches apart.

The seed usually germinates in three days, and the Kadishes
are ready for pulling in somewhat less than a month afterwards.
Consequently repeated sowings for succession-crops had better
be made at intervals of ten days or a fortnight between.

" The turnip-rooted," Captain Weston states, " transplant very
well if taken up young, and give much finer Kadishes than the
seed-bed, being larger, milder, and more crisp."

Kadishes require to be well watered during growth, and
the soil upon becoming at all dry and caked should be hoed.
There is a description of Radish, apparently indigenous to this
country, produced sometimes of an enormous size, and much
consumed by the natives in the Upper Provinces during the
Cold weather. It is extremely mild and tender, but totally
devoid of the fine flavour for which the best European kinds
are distinguished.

Kaphanus caudatus : Kat-tailed Kadish, is a singular vegetable
that has lately come into cultivation, and is remarkable for the
strange-shaped pods it bears, which soon reach a length of as
much as three feet. The plants when up will needs have to be
thinned out to about a foot and a half from each other.

MALVACEAE.

Abelmoschus esculentus.

O C H E O — O K K A — G 0 B B O.

Dhenroos — Ram- Torooee.

This vegetable, so common in all parts of India, grows to
about two or three feet high, and is familiar to most persons for
the large handsome yellow flower it bears. The erect horn-
like pods, when cooked for the table, are of an agreeable
flavour, but on account of their slimy nature are not generally
in favour with Europeans. This sliminess may, however, be in

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 141

a great measure removed by cutting them into small pieces,
and frying them, instead of boiling them only, as is more
commonly done.

They are valuable, moreover, for affording a dish at the
close of the Rains, a season when frequently Potatoes and other
vegetables are scarcely to be had.

The seed should be sown at the beginning of the Rains, and
the plants put out at two feet apart. Any ordinary garden-soil
suits them.

POLYGONACE^E.

Rheum.

RHUBARB.

A vegetable extensively cultivated in Europe, for the delicious
tarts and preserves made of its large thick leaf-stalks.

I have succeeded in raising plants from seed sown in Novem-
ber, the leaf-stems of which attained before the Hot season to
the length of four inches, arid the thickness of a man's little
finger. The seed was sown in a gumlah, and the young plants
put out into large pots full of soil well enriched with old cow-
manure and wood-ashes; one in each pot. They perished at
the commencement of the Hot season.

There seems, indeed, little probability that Rhubarb raised
from seed can ever be cultivated successfully in the plains of
India, for seedlings take two years before they become fit to be
cut for table use — an age they could never attain to here, as
the plants will not live through the Hot season.

But as Rhubarb is cultivated in the Nilgherries, it is not
improbable that were plants of one or two years' age brought
down thence in October, and planted out, two feet apart, in
well-manured ground in a shady situation, and abundantly
watered, they would yield a supply of cuttings for the table in
February. This might easily be tried, and if found successful
would well repay the trouble and expense.

When in full vigour of growth Rhubarb delights in very rich
manure, and requires the most shady situation that can be
given it.

142 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Rumex montanus.

FRENCH SORREL.

This plant has large succulent leaves of the size of those of
a Cos-lettuce, and less acid than those of the common Sorrel,
which in appearance it in nowise resembles. It is an excellent
ingredient to use abundantly in soups, and serves to impart a
peculiarly fine flavour to omelettes.

Dr. Fabre Tonnerre told me he had it in his garden at Calcutta
thriving well, and available for use all the year through. Even
in Europe it requires a shady situation, more especially therefore
will it do so in this country. It requires, no doubt, a rich soil
and abundant watering, as the quicker and more luxuriant its
growth the milder and more agreeable its flavour. It is easily
raised from seed ; but the more ordinary mode of propagation
is by division of the roots.

AMARANTACE^E.
Amaranthus oleraceus.
Sag.

This and its varieties are extensively cultivated by the
natives all over India : the plants are fit for use during the
Kains : the part eaten is the soft succulent stem, which is sliced
into small pieces, and dressed in the manner of French Beans.
To my taste a most insipid vegetable, hardly acceptable even
when nothing else in the way of green vegetable is to be had.

Dr. Eoxburgh says there are

" Several varieties cultivated as pot-herbs, of which the following
are remarkable : —

" a. viridis. — The common green sort. Most cultivated.

" ft. ruher. — A beautiful variety, with a clear bright-red stem,
branches, petioles, nerves, and veins, and the leaves themselves
rather rust-coloured.

" y. albus.— All the parts that are red in /? are here of a clear,
shining, white colour. Much cultivated in Bengal.

" 8. giganteus. — Five to eight feet high, with a stem as thick as
a man's wrist. The tender succulent tops of the stems and branches
are sometimes served up on our tables as a substitute for Aspa-
ragus."

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 143

Amaranthus Gangeticus.
Lai Sag.

The same remarks apply to this as to the last. Dr. Roxburgh

says : —

" Varieties of this species, many tolerably permanent, differing
chiefly in colour from green with the slightest tinge of red, to
rufous, liver-coloured, and bright red. They are more generally
used among the natives of Bengal than any other species or
variety."

CHENOPODIACE^.

Spinacea oleracea.
SPINACH.

There are two varieties of Spinach : the prickly-seeded with
triangular leaves, and the smooth-seeded with round leaves.
In Europe these are sown at two distinct seasons, but in this
country the same season is suited to each.

The seed should be sown in October, when the Eains are over,
broadcast, or in drills, which is the better plan. - The distance
between each drill should be a foot, and between each plant in
the drills four inches. Spinach loves a rich soil and a shady
situation well watered. The young plants, if not protected by
a net or some other means, are very liable to be devoured by
sparrows.

Beta vulgaris.

BEET.
Chinehinda.

This vegetable appears to be far more generally cultivated
in India than it is in England. When sliced and dressed with
vinegar it affords during the Cold season an immediate and
most delicious pickle. Care should be taken that the root be in
no way damaged or cut open before it is boiled, or the colouring
matter will be discharged, and it will in consequence lose much
of its handsome appearance.

There are several varieties of the vegetable, but they vary
more perhaps in form and in colour than they do in flavour ; for
the table that of the deepest blood-colour is generally held in
highest estimation, as it is undoubtedly the handsomest.

146 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

For size and excellence of flavour of its Pea, no kind surpasses
Bedman's Imperial. It is not of very high growth, and yields
abundantly, and in long succession.

Equally excellent also is the Pea, annually imported from
America by the Agri-Horticultural Society, called the Peruvian
— a large, full Marrowfat, with black eye, as is likewise the
Eugenie, an early wrinkled variety. The Sugar-Pea, remarkable
for its great flat eatable pods, though occasionally grown about
Calcutta, is not much to be commended.

3. The late wrinkled Peas, of which there are several
varieties, do not appear to me well adapted for cultivation in
this country ; first, because the seed does not keep so well as
that of the Summer varieties, and as often as not proves
unsound when sown ; and, secondly, because for the most part
they grow to a great height, take a long time to complete
their growth, and are almost sure to be prostrated by a high
wind, either before they come into bearing or when laden with
their crop.

Except in a soil that has been exhausted by over-cropping
the Pea seems to be abundantly productive without the aid
of much manuring. The earth should be well dug over towards
the end of the Kains to be in a state of preparation for the
sowing, which, however, must not take place till the Kains are
completely over.

Dr. Liebig states that " The Pea thrives best if the seed is
put two or three inches deep in the soil. The roots of the
Pea-plant do not spread sideways, but go deep into the earth ;
hence Peas require a deep soil tilled down to the lower layers,
and a loose subsoil. Fresh manure has scarcely any influence
upon the growth of Peas." *

Before sowing the ground should be again dug over and
broken up fine, and drills made, running north and south, about
two inches deep and about thirty inches apart. In Europe,
where it is recommended that Peas should have as much light
and air as possible, the rows are made as much as four or five
feet apart; but I have found in this country thirty inches
ample, and that the plants thrive better for the certain amount
of shade they afford one another from their closeness. I also
consider that they do better in a spot where they are partially

* ' Natural Laws of Husbandry,' p. 154.

CHAP. T. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 147

shaded than where they are exposed during the whole of the
day to the full power of the sun.

It is better to make a trial-sowing a week or so previous, in
order to determine how thickly the seeds should be sown, as
well as to check dishonesty on the part of the malee, who has
sometimes a trick of purloining the seeds from the ground after
they are sown, and then maintaining that they were too old
and bad to germinate.

If in the trial- so wing only a small proportion be found to
germinate, it is perhaps the best plan to sow the whole batch
in a very light sandy soil in gumlahs, and then transfer to the
drills those that prove sound as soon as they have sprouted.
This plan it will be found advisable -to resort to, more particu-
larly with the wrinkled Marrowfats, which from their softness
and apparent immaturity often come to this country in a less
sound state than other kinds.

If the seed, however, prove satisfactory, and nearly all good,
it may be sown in the drills in a single line a little less than
an inch apart. To sow more thickly would not only be to
waste the seed, but to have two or three crowded and emaciated
plants in the place of each stout and vigorous one. The earth
should be damp, as indeed it will be if the sowing is made
immediately after the, Bains; for later sowing it should be
watered twelve hours previously, to render it sufficiently moist.
The Peas, if sound, will sprout in three or four days ; but if, on
examining the sowing about the fourth day, by gently removing
the earth from the surface, they be found in a foul, dirty
condition with the moist earth clinging around them, it may
be decided that they are decayed, and preparation should be
immediately made for a fresh sowing.

When the plants are about half a foot high they should be
earthed up : it is then also the best time to stick them before
they begin to fall about. The mode of sticking I adopt is to
make the sticks of every two rows lean together so as to cross
each other at about eight inches from their tops, and to tie
them where they cross.

The plants need not be watered till they come into bearing,
when water may be advantageously applied, in order to keep
the Pea tender, and to prevent it from ripening too soon.

To gather the pods when ready, the malee should be furnished

L 2

148 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

with a pair of scissors for cutting them off, and not be allowed
to wrench them, as is usually done, from the stems, often
causing thereby great damage to the plants.

Sowing for succession should be made at intervals of about a
month, but in Bengal not later than the middle of December.

There is perhaps no vegetable that deteriorates less from
sowing seed saved in the country, year after year, than the
Pea. Any one, therefore, who has once received a good
supply of seed, particularly in the Upper Provinces, whither
the expense of carriage of imported seed is very great, need
require no fresh supply from Europe for many years, if he ever
does at all. The seed saved, however, must be the best produce
the plants yield, and not the mere refuse, left after numerous
gatherings for the table. An especial crop should be grown for
the sole purpose of saving seed from.

The seed, when well dried, should be stored in bottles and
carefully corked, as there is a small species of beetle which
preys upon them, and which would otherwise enter and destroy
the whole stock.

Canavalia gladiata.
MuJchun Seem.

A native vegetable : the pod is large, flat, sword-shaped, fully
nine inches long, and more than an inch and a quarter wide ;
though rather coarse-looking, when sliced and boiled is exceed-
ingly tender, and, as I think, about the nicest of all the
native vegetables, little if anything inferior to French Beans,
and thoroughly deserving of cultivation in the garden.

The plant is a perennial, and a most extensive climber,
ascending to the summit of the loftiest trees., and bearing year
after year, from the end of the Kains, throughout the Cold season,
an abundant crop aloft in the branches. Sow the seed in June.

Dr. Koxburgh describes three varieties thus : —

" a. Erythrosperma : flowers and seeds red.

" /?. Erythrosperma : flowers white and seeds red.

"y. Leucosperma*: flowers and large seeds white. Pods about
two feet long, often twenty seeded. This variety is considered the
most wholesome of them all, and is extensively used at the tables
of Europeans, as well as by the natives of Sylhet, where it is in-
digenous."

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 149

Mucuna nivea.
Khamach.

A very excellent native vegetable, but little known, I believe,
to Europeans.

Koxburgh says : " By removing the exterior velvety skin of
the large fleshy tender pods, they are when dressed a most
excellent vegetable for the table, and the full-grown Beans are
scarcely inferior to the large Garden Beans of Europe/' To me
the Beans seem to partake rather of the agreeable flavour of the
Lima Bean, and afford a very nice dish during the latter end of
the Kain season.

The seeds should be sown in July, and the plants, being
supplied with some kind of support to climb upon, demand no
further care in their cultivation.

Dolichos Sinensis.

ASPABAGUS BEAN.

Burbuiee — Lobeea.

A runner Bean, native of India, and common in all parts
of the country. In appearance the pods differ little from
those of ordinary Kidney Beans, but are very indifferent as to
flavour, and have little to recommend them, except that they
are produced during the Rains, when Beans of other kinds are
unattainable. The seeds should be sown in July.

Lablab vulgare.

A native vegetable : the pod is a broad, flat kind of French
Bean, and is dressed and cooked in the manner of French Beans.

Four eatable varieties, met with for sale in the bazars during
the Cold season, are thus described by Dr. Roxburgh : —

"a. Albiflorum : Sliwet-seem: flowers white, smallish ; cultivated
in gardens, and supported by poles, often forming arbours about
the doors of the poor natives. The tender pods eaten like French
Beans ; the seeds never. The plant has no disagreeable smell.

" /?. Kubifloram : Jeea-seem : flowers red ; cultivated like the last,
and much esteemed by the natives.

"y. Purpurascens : Goordal-seem : flowers large, purplish. A
large variety ; cultivated like the last. Legumes broader, with the
seeds more remote than any of the other varieties.

" 8. Purpureum : Bukto-seem : stem and the large flowers purple.
Pods deep purple."

150 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Lablab cultratum.

A native vegetable of the same character as the last, of
which the following description is given by Dr. Roxburgh : —

" All the varieties of this species are cultivated during the cold
season in the gardens and about the doors of the natives, forming
not only cool shady arbours, but furnishing them with an excellent
pulse for their curries, &c., in their tender pods. In short, these
and their varieties of L. vulgare may be called the Kidney Beans of
the Asiatics.

" a. Eectum : Panch-seem : pods straight ; seeds reddish ; flowers
white, large.

" ft. Falcatum minus : Bdghonuko-seem : pods falcate, size of the
little finger ; flowers white, largish.

" y. Falcatum majus : Dood-pituli-seem : pods falcate, much longer
than in ft ; flowers purple.

" 8. Gladiatum, flore albo : Sada-jamai-puli-seem : pods gladiate-
clavate, length of the little finger ; flowers white.

" e. Gladiatum, flore purpureo : Pituli-jamai-puli-seem : pods as
in y ; flowers reddish purple.

" 0. Macrocarpum : Gychi-seem : the largest of all ; pods six to
eight inches long ; seeds black, with a white eye ; flowers red."

Psophoearpus tetragonolobus.

GOA-BEAN— CHEVAUX-DE FEISE BEAN.

Chdri-Jconi-Seem.

A native vegetable : bears a curious four-sided pod, six or
eight inches long and half an inch wide, with a leafy kind of
fringe running along the length of its four corners. The pod is
cooked whole, in the manner of French Beans, to which it is far
inferior in flavour.

Though as a vegetable of little value, the plant is well worth
a place in the garden, being ornamental for the large blue
flowers it bears in the Cold season, as well as for the effect
of its curious pods hanging upon it. The seed is sown in the
Bains.

Faba vulgaris.

BROAD BEAN.

Seem.

Of this vegetable, which possesses in India little of that
peculiar flavour for which it is esteemed in Europe, there are

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 151

two principal varieties : the Long Pod and the Broad Windsor.
The latter takes a longer time to mature, is of higher flavour,
and for that reason better suited for this country.

Sowings should be made about the middle of October. The
seed should first be immersed in a basin of water as hot as the
hand can bear, and be allowed to steep twelve hours or more.
Unless this mode of softening their rinds be adopted they will
remain a long time in the ground before germinating, or if
the ground be dry will fail of germinating altogether.

The seeds are to be put in the ground two inches deep, in
rows of double drills four inches apart, with a space of two feet
between each row of double drills. When the plants come into
full blossom, about an inch should be nipped off from the top
of each. This will prevent the formation of more blossoms, and
cause those already opened to form pods.

A good plan, and one that saves trouble in the end, is to
place the seeds, after they have been steeped, in a gumlah of
moist earth, and when they sprout sow them in the ground
where they are to remain. It will then be certain that none but
sound seeds are sown, and there will be no risk of great gaps
occurring in the drills, and of much ground being thus wasted.

Or a better plan still, perhaps, is this : — Sow the steeped
seed in large seed- pans filled with soil of a loose texture, about
an inch apart. When the young plants are about two inches
high, and have become seasoned by exposure to the sun for
a day or two, transfer them to their places in the open ground.
Close the earth up rather high about the stems. Abercrombie
says the fruiting is accelerated nearly a week by transplanting.
In Bengal I have found the Broad Bean very shy of fruiting ;
possibly transplanting may conduce to render it more prolific.

Phaseolus multiflorus.

SCAKLET KUNNEB.

This is an extensive climber, and bears very large seeds, when
ripe of a mottled dark-purple character. It is a perennial, and
is said to be a native of India ; but it will not survive through
the hot months, and therefore must be raised from seed each
season afresh. With the cultivation of it as a vegetable I have
never had much success, the produce always proving very scanty
and unsatisfactory.

152 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

The seeds should be sown in October, when the Bains are
over, in a row, at the distance of three inches apart. I have
sown the seeds earlier, and had plants in blossom in the Eains.
Their old familiar scarlet flowers looked very pretty ; but they
dropped off without setting a single pod. The plants, when
about three inches high, should have sticks put in the ground
for their support.

Phaseolus vulgaris.

FKENCH OR KIDNEY BEANS.

1. KUNNERS. — Kunner French Beans I have found to be far
less prolific in this country than the Dwarf kinds ; and as they
in no way compensate by their flavour for their scanty produce,
it is perhaps desirable to make the principal sowings consist of
the Dwarf kind.

The Dutch, bearing small ivory-like seeds, next to the Dwarf
kinds has proved with me the most productive. The plant is
of slender habit, does not grow high, and bears long, narrow,
very delicate pods.

The seed should be sown in October, in a row, about three
inches apart. I have had the plants in blossom in the Eains,
but found them utterly unproductive at that season.

2. DWARFS. — Of the Dwarf kinds of French Beans, as those
are called which require no sticks for their support, there are
a great many named varieties. The principal or only difference,
however, between them seems to consist in the form and colour
of the ripened seeds. In . flavour, at least as regards those
cultivated in this country, the several varieties are as much
alike as possible.

The first sowing may be made about the beginning of
October in a good soil. The seeds should be put in two
inches apart, about an inch deep, in rows, two feet between
each row.

The seed, if sound, will germinate in three or four days ;
and the plants will come into full bearing in about six weeks
from the time of sowing. As the crops are of short continuance,
sowings should be made in succession at intervals of about ten
days to keep up a constant supply.

I have not found Dwarf French Beans thrive well except in
a situation considerably shaded. Where much exposed to the

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 153

sun the plants not only make slow growth, but are. apt to have
their leaves preyed upon and much injured by insects ; they
then become entirely unproductive.

Phaseolus lunatus.

LIMA BEAN.

The seeds of this Bean are annually imported from America
by the Agri-Horticultural Society, and distributed to members
in their usual packet of vegetable seeds. The plant, notwith-
standing, is a native of India.

The Lima Bean, Miss Leslie says, is in America held in
highest estimation of all. In this country, however, it is not
by any means as well known and appreciated as it deserves to
be. Besides being a most delicious vegetable, it possesses also
the merit of coming into season just when most others are gone
off. The pods are rather coarse-looking, and are not eaten ; but
the large, flat, ivory-like Beans are shelled, laid in a pan of
cold water, and boiled about two hours, or till they are quite
soft. They then are exceedingly agreeable, having a mealy
roast-chestnut-like flavour.

The seeds should be sown in October, when the Kains are
over, about four inches apart in rows. The plants are of
extensive growth, and require strong sticks for their support.
A moderately shaded situation suits them best.

SOLANACE^].
Capsicum.

C. frutescens— Goat Pepper.

C. baccatum — Bird Pepper.

C. annuum — Chilli.

C. grossum — Bell Pepper.

C. fastigiatum — Cayenne Pepper.

There are two principal kinds of Capsicum; the larger, with
fruits of the length of a man's forefinger, usually termed for
distinction Capsicums ; and the smaller, with fruits about an
inch and a half long, or less, usually called Chillis. The seeds
of the latter when ground form what is ordinarily called
Cayenne Pepper.

154 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

There are a great many varieties of Capsicum grown in
India, some of which are very ornamental when grouped
together, and bearing their crops of pods of different shapes and
colours — some orange, some bright red, some pale amber,
and some purple-black. One in particular bears a remarkably
beautiful fruit, fully of the size of a large lemon, perfectly
smooth, and of a fine amber-like appearance.

Seeds may be easily procured from England, where the
seedsmen's lists contain as many as from ten to fifteen kinds ;
and among them one, called the " Sweet Spanish," mild enough
to be used in salads.

For culinary purposes, however, only two are required in
the garden : the common country kind, Ldl-murich, and the
very small sort called Bird's-eye. The latter is of a most fiery,
pungent nature, and is used principally for making Chilli-vinegar.

The seed may be sown at any time of the year. The plants
bear fruit at all seasons ; they do well in any common garden
soil, and thrive best in a shady spot.

Solanum tuberosum.

POTATO.

Aloo.

The varieties of Potato cultivated in Europe are very nume-
rous. In this country there do not appear to be more than
four or five varieties ordinarily met with, and those not of very
high character, the best being the red, but rather rare, kind
called the Eed Californian. The introduction of some of the
finer varieties from Europe would be very advantageous : they
are generally ready for taking up there by the end of August ;
and if sent out about that time overland to this country
they would arrive just at the proper season for putting in the
ground.

In this country, however, where Potatoes may most commonly
be obtained from the bazar, it is doubtful whether it be worth
while to cultivate them in the garden, whence the produce can
be so easily stolen without detection.

The time for planting Potatoes is towards the end of October.
It is the general practice in this country to put them in the
ground whole. Drills are made two feet apart, and three or

CHAP. I. CULINAKF VEGETABLES. 155

four inches deep, into which the tubers are dropped at the dis-
tance of a foot apart. The drills are then covered in with earth.
When the plants are about eight inches high, they should be
earthed up, and water given occasionally, as the ground becomes
dry. It is of benefit to the plants to pluck off the flower-buds
before they open.

A good, rich, loose soil suits the Potato ; but not one that
has been dressed with fresh manure. It is important that the
crop should not be grown two successive seasons in the same
spot. There is no plant that rejoices more in entirely fresh
ground than the Potato.

When the plants come into blossom, they are considered to
have completed the number of tubers they will produce. The
Potatoes should not be dug up till the leaves and stems of
the plants have quite dried up and perished ; for it is not until
then that they are thoroughly ripe. Water should be withholdeu
a fortnight or more previous to the taking up of the tubers.
The attending to the thorough ripening of the Potato not only
renders it better for the table, but also makes it keep better
when laid in store.

The supply of Potatoes at Calcutta and its vicinity is kept up
throughout the year by means of crops raised in the plains and
on the hills at two distinct seasons. Those sown in the middle
of October in the plains are dug up in February, and continue
in use till August or September, at which time supplies are
obtained of those that have been grown in the hills, where they
were planted in perhaps March or April.

In the North- West Provinces the supply of Potatoes grown
in the plains was principally from Futtehpore, where large
quantities were annually produced. These failed about July ;
and from that time for nearly three months, till supplies come
down from the hills, no Potatoes were to be had.

Solanum Melongena.

BKINJAL — EGG-PLANT — AUBERGINE.

Begoon.

One of the most common of the native vegetables of this
country, cultivated in all parts of India. There are two
varieties, one with the fruits of the size of a large Orange, and

156 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

in form like an egg ; and the other with fruits more of the
form of a Cucumber. The fruits of both kinds are of a fine,
polished, deep-purple colour.

I was informed by the late General F. Jenkins that at Patna
there are as many as five varieties of this vegetable, thus named
and distinguished : —

1. Mdnik: three to five to the seer; globular, black.

2. Gorbhanta: smaller.

3. Sara Mdsiya : cylindrical, black.

4. Valayeti: oblong, almost cylindrical, white.

5. Bhdtin : many prickles ; fruit cylindrical.

The seeds are sown at the beginning of the Eains, and the
plants are put out at the distance of a foot and a half apart ;
though, like all other vegetables, benefited by a rich soil,
the Brinjal succeeds ordinarily as well as could be desired in
common garden earth.

The vegetable comes into season in August, and remains in
season from that time to the end of the Cold weather. It is
valuable for the table during the first two or three months,
when few vegetables of any kind are attainable.

Solanum lycopersicum.

TOMATO — LOVE-APPLE.

Bilaetee Begoon.

In the catalogues of the English seedsmen there are given
several varieties of this vegetable. In one I find as many as
twenty set down. But except as a matter of curiosity, or merely
for ornament, no more than one or two kinds can possibly be
required. The fruit of the old kind, commonly cultivated, was
apt to become disfigured by ribs and creases, so much so indeed
as not unfrequently to split off into portions. The " New
scarlet Pear-shaped " is said to be free from this defect, and a
very handsome fruit. " Trophy " is spoken of as being the largest.
But the most recent, " Hatha way's Excelsior," is thus described
by a writer in the ' Journal of Horticulture ' :

" This is a strong grower and very prolific. The fait is larger,
heavy, and handsome, being nearly as round as a cricket-ball, not
a rib upon it, and ripening well up to the stem. The skin is thin,
smooth, and shining, and the flesh moderately firm. It is a most

CHAP.. I. CULINAKY VEGETABLES. 157

excellent sort for slicing up in Tomato salads, and is one of the
best Tomatos for general cultivation. The Boyal Horticultural
Society have had it on trial at Chiswick, and awarded it a first-
class certificate."

The " Cherry " and the " Ked Currant " are small-fruited kinds
pretty for decorative purposes.

The seed should be sown in October in seed-pans ; and the
young plants may be put out at the distance of three feet apart
almost anywhere in the garden, as it does not require high
culture. It is usual in Europe to keep pinching off the tops of
the stems, just above where they have opened their flowers ; but
such trouble is hardly needed in this country. It is well that
the plants should be grown in a different piece of ground each
year in succession.

There is a small kind about the size of a Plum very common,
raised from country seed. This is sown about the beginning of
the Bains, and yields its produce in October.

CONVOLVULACE.ZE.

Batatas edulis.

SWEET POTATO.

ShuJcar-Kundo.

One of the native vegetables of this country, and in common
cultivation in all parts of India. The plant is of a very exten-
sively trailing habit, and produces large handsome pink flowers
with purple eye ; the tubers it bears are of a long, cylindrical
form, of the thickness of a man's finger, and have a Potato-
like, mealy consistency, with a sweetish taste. There are two
varieties, the one with red and the other with white tubers.
The red tubers are accounted the best. When Potatoes are
not procurable, they serve as a useful substitute, though their
sweetness is far from agreeable to most persons.

The tubers may be planted out in June, about a foot and a
half apart, in rows, and the crops will be ready for use in the
Cold season; but it is a vegetable rarely, I believe, if ever,
cultivated in gardens.

158 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

LAMIACE^B.

Mentha viridis.

MINT — SPEAKMINT.

Podeena.

The Mint of this country appears to be a different variety, if
not a different species, from the well-known herb of that name
of the English gardens. The Indian Mint has a roundish crimped
leaf, not longer than broad ; very deficient in flavour, especially
when cooked. The true English Spearmint has leaves compara-
tively smooth, and, as its name denotes, lance-shaped, more than
twice as long as broad. I brought down plants of this latter
kind from Ootacamund and introduced them into my garden at
Chinsurah, where they throve vigorously. But I found that the
herb lost in course of time the full strength of scent and flavour
which it possessed when grown in the hills, and became no better
for culinary use than the common Indian kind, which I had
displaced for it.

The plant is most easily propagated by division of the roots.
Every sprig nearly will strike, if planted in a damp, shady
situation.

Mentha piperita.

PEPPERMINT.

Peppermint in habit and appearance much resembles common
Mint. It thrives well in this country, delighting in a good soil
and a shady situtation. It is easily propagated in the Cold season
by setting out in the ground sprigs, pulled off from the plants,
with a small portion of root attached to them, and keeping
them well watered and shaded till thoroughly established.

Meriandra Bengalensis.

BENGAL SAGE.

This herb is in general use in Lower Bengal for culinary pur-
poses under the name of Sage, for which, however, it is rather
an indifferent substitute. It has much larger leaves, but its
appearance is sufficiently similar to lead a casual observer to
mistake it for the true Sage of the English gardens. It is easily
propagated by division of the roots.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 159

Salvia officinalis.
SAGE.

The true Sage of European gardens is in the climate of India
a very delicate plant, and can be kept alive through the Hot
and Rain seasons only with great care. Dr. Yoigt states that
the Sage plant was introduced into the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens in 1809, and that during the five subsequent years it
never flowered.

It is easily raised from seed in the Cold season. The sowing
had better not be made before November, or the young seedlings
will be nearly sure to damp ofi' and perish. The sowing more-
over is best made in the open ground in a well-manured soil,
protected from sun and rain by a matting supported on a bamboo
frame. When the plants have four or six leaves, they may be
thinned out to four inches apart and the matting removed. By
the end of February they must be transferred to some spot
sheltered from the full power of the sun, and protected
likewise from heavy rain, or they will be sure to die.

There is, however, so much difficulty in keeping them through
the Hot and Rain seasons, that the best plan perhaps is to raise
a large number of plants in the Cold season, and when they are
in full vigour, just upon the approach of .the Hot season, to pull
them up and pluck off the leaves, and having carefully dried
them, store them away in well-corked bottles for future use.

Origanum vulgare.

MAKJORAM.

Marjoram is a herb of very little value, I believe, for use in the
kitchen. It grows well in the open ground all the year through,
and requires little or no attention bestowed upon its cultivation.
It is best, however, to renew it annually in October, which may
be easily done either from seed or by dividing and putting out
in fresh ground the roots of the old plants.

Thymus Serpyllum.

Dr. Yoigt states that this herb continued in existence in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens for a period of more than twenty

160 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

years without blossoming. I have, however, experienced the
greatest difficulty in keeping it alive even through a single Hot
and Eain season, and have come to the conclusion that the best
method of obtaining a supply of it for domestic purposes is to
treat it in the same manner as recommended for Sage, that is : —
Sow the seed of it annually in October, and on the approach of
the following Hot season gather all the leaves from the young
plants, dry them w.ell, but not in the sun, and then keep them
in well-corked bottles for use when required.

EPIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

ASTEEACE^E.
Helianthus tuberosus.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE.

This delicious vegetable is cultivated successfully in most parts
of India. The tuberous roots are the parts used for the table,
and are in season in November. The ordinary soil of the garden
generally suits it without the addition of much manure. The
tubers are put into the ground in May, in rows about a foot and
a half apart, and with the same distance between each plant,
and three inches deep. The plants grow to three or four feet
high, and produce their Sunflower-like blossoms in abundance ;
these possibly it would be of considerable advantage to remove
before opening.

When the tubers are taken up they should be stored away
in large flower-pots, well covered in with earth, or they will be
liable to shrink and shrivel from exposure to the air.

Cynara Scolymus.

ARTICHOKE.

This vegetable is, I believe, better known and more generally
cultivated in India than it is in England. Probably it is from
the very large space the plants take up that they are so seldom
seen in ordinary English gardens.

Any time from the end of July to the beginning of September
is suitable for sowing the seed, which usually germinates in about

CHAP. T. CULINARY VEGETABLE!?. 101

ten or twelve days after sown. The sowing should be made in
gumlahs under shelter from the rain, but exposed as much as
possible to the light, otherwise the young seedlings are very
apt to damp off.

The plants bear a long tap-root, which is liable to become
broken if they are allowed to grow large before being trans-
planted. They are best planted out when about a hand high
at a distance of three feet apart at least. Like all other vege-
tables, they thrive best in a rich soil. I have heard elephant's
dung recommended as a manure, and have known instances
where it has been liberally applied, but as far as I could learn
with no marked advantage. Sea- weed is the manure which,
when obtainable, is said to suit them best, and in default of that
any manure in which salt is an ingredient. The plants require
to be grown in open unshaded ground, which- it is desirable should
be changed each season. They come into bearing towards the
end of February. Some few will survive through the Hot and
Kain seasons, at the close of which they should be dressed with
a liberal supply of manure. These will be productive con-
siderably earlier than those raised fresh from seed. Plants,
however, raised fresh from seed produce far superior heads.

In the Upper Provinces plants raised from American or Euro-
pean seed prove abundantly productive of fine large heads during
the months of March, April, and May. But in the neigh-
bourhood of Calcutta only what is called acclimated seed can be
used with any prospect of success, as it is very rare indeed that
a single head can be obtained from plants raised from imported
seed. Nor have I seen any advantage in preserving plants, that
have proved unproductive the season they were raised, until the
succeeding one, for I have found them continue as barren then
as they were at the first. Continual shifting of the plants, when
young, has been recommended in order to promote fruitfulness.
I have tried this plan, but with no success.

Those who have once become possessed of acclimated seed
can of course secure a succession of it from year to year by
reserving a few of the earliest-formed heads for ripening.

CHARD. — A name given to the young offsets of the Arti-
choke when submitted to the same mode of cultivation as the
Cardoon.

162 GAEDEN PLANTS. PAET II.

Cynara cardunculus.
CAKDOON.

Between this vegetable and the Artichoke there is scarcely a
perceptible difference, but the mode of cultivation is altogether
different. It is not much cultivated anywhere, and seems to
be hardly known in India.

The seeds are sown at the same time and in the same manner
as those of the Artichoke. When the young plants are about
nine inches high, they are put out at a distance of three feet
apart in ground that has been well enriched with manure.
They are then treated much in the same way as Celery. When
the vegetable has become blanched by being earthed up, it is
ready for use, and is taken up and stewed like Seakale.

Cichorium endivia.
ENDIVE.

There are two principal varieties of this vegetable, the
Batavian, or broad-leaved, often used for stews, and the curled,
called sometimes Capuchin's Beard, used as a garniture for salads.

The seed should be sown in the middle of October, broadcast
and very thinly, in good soil. The young plants should be thinned
out to twelve inches apart. They do not bear transplanting well.
Those prove finest which are allowed to remain unmoved.

When the plants have completed their growth, they should
be blanched, by being tied up in the form of a cone with bandages
of Plantain-leaf fibre.

Leontodon taraxicum.

DANDELION.

A thick-leaved variety of this plant has recently been pro-
duced in France, and is now elevated to a place among vege-
tables for the salad. It is cultivated much in the same way
as Endive, and the leaves are eaten either blanched or green.

Tragopogon porrifolius.
SALSIFY.

7 A solitary bundle or so of this vegetable is usually exhibited
at the Calcutta shows ; but it is not much cultivated in India.

CHAP. I. CULINAKY VEGETABLES. 163

In England it is in very little request, and to many persons
scarcely known. The root is the part eaten, and is 'when ready,
about three months from the time of sowing, of the thickness of
a man's forefinger, and nine inches long.

The seed should be sown when the Bains are over, either
broadcast or in drills eight inches apart. The plants in the
drills must be thinned out to four inches apart, and frequently
watered. They require a soil that has been previously well
dug up, and then lightened with a mixture of well-decayed
manure and silver-sand or ashes.

The seeds imported from England are very uncertain of
germinating. The best plan, therefore, is to allow as many of
the plants to run to seed as will supply a sufficiency for sowing
the following season. The vegetable would probably suffer no
deterioration by adopting this plan, as it is not one of those
that have been brought to high condition by cultivation.

The Americans call it the Oyster-plant, from the fancied
resemblance of its flavour to that of an oyster. As the mode of
dressing it may not generally be known, I subjoin the follow-
ing:—

" Having scraped the Salsify roots and washed them in cold
water, parboil them, then take them out, cut them into large pieces,
and fry them in butter.

" Salsify is frequently stewed slowly till q\iite tender, and then
served up with melted butter. Or it may be first boiled, then
grated, and made into cakes to be fried in butter.

" Salsify must not be left exposed to the air, or it will turn
blackish."*

Scorzonera Hispanica.

SCORZONEKA.

This vegetable requires the same mode of cultivation as
Salsify, to which in most respects it is very similar, except that
it has broader leaves, and that the roots are black and require
to be scraped before being cooked. In Europe it is not con-
sidered fit for the table till the second year of its growth. In
my garden at Chinsurah it continued in a thriving condition
through the Hot and Kain seasons, and produced its handsome
lavender-coloured flowers in September.

* Miss Leslie's 'Cookery Book,' p. 195.

M 2

164 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Lactuca sativa.

LETTUCE.

There are two kinds of Lettuce, the Cabbage-lettuce and the
long upright kind called the Cos-lettuce. It is a matter of
taste which of these two is to be preferred. For sweetness and
tenderness the Cos, when in perfection, will perhaps be the
favourite. This kind affords also a very delicious dish when
stewed. Of the two kinds, moreover, there are several varieties,
many of which possibly are excellent, when seed is obtained
true to its name. Of the Cos kind I have never seen any very
favourable specimens in this country, except those I have raised
of the variety called Carter's Giant White. There is no vege-
table of which the cultivator should be more careful about
obtaining superior seed than the Lettuce. For the Cold season
crops country seed should be entirely rejected, and none but
that of European produce sown.

A commencement of sowing may be made at the beginning
of October. The seed is rather small, and in some cases will be
in the ground perhaps a month or two before the whole that has
been sown germinates. It is very liable to the depredations of
insects, of the red ants in particular, which devour it greedily ;
it is therefore a good plan to make the sowing in a large shallow
seed-pan, and isolate this by placing it upon an empty flower-pot
standing in a vessel of water. Another seed-pan of equal size
inverted upon the one in which the sowing is made will keep
the soil from drying too rapidly. The soil used should be made
light and mellow by mixing with it leaf-mould and a little sand.

The plants should be pricked out as soon as they have made
their second pair of leaves, and planted out, at about eight or
ten inches apart, in a piece of ground of a light rich soil.

When plentiful, the seed may also be sown broadcast in the
open ground : those will be by far the finest Lettuces which
grow up on the spot where sown, as they always suffer more or
less from transplantation.

If two or three plants be reserved and allowed to run to seed,
the seed thus saved may be sown almost immediately, and a
supply of plants secured, which if grown in a spot tolerably
sheltered from the sun and excessive wet, will come into use
during the Hot and Kain seasons.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 165

Apium graveolens.

CELERY.

Of this vegetable there are two principal kinds, the white
and the red ; of each of these there are also several varieties.
The red varieties in this country are of larger growth, and
produce firmer and denser heads than the white ; but the white,
when raised from good seed and well cultivated, are by no
means inferior.

The perfection to which Celery may be brought depends, un-
questionably, in a great measure on the quality of the seed. I
have seen no finer specimens of Celery in India than those for
which my malee gained the bronze medal and first prize at the
Calcutta Horticultural shows. They were of Cole's solid Bed
and Crystal White. Another kind, also, which with me has
proved of great excellence, is the Incomparable Dwarf White.

Celery takes a long time to complete its growth in ; sowings,
therefore, may be made as early as the beginning of August.
The seed, however, which at a later and more congenial season
germinates in about twelve days, at this early period may be
expected to come up not until, perhaps, six weeks or two
months after sown, and then only partially. It should be
sown in gtfrnlahs in a light soil, and if the seedlings come up
too thickly, they should be pricked out to about two inches
apart, and remain till they become strong, healthy plants, three
or four inches high, before being removed to their places in the
open ground.

The usual mode of preparing the ground for the young plants
is to dig trenches eighteen inches apart, eighteen inches deep,
and as many wide. The trenches are then filled up with a com-
post of two parts of well-decayed cow-manure to one part of
common earth, to the height of nine inches. In these trenches
the young plants are put eighteen inches apart. They are then
kept frequently watered, and about once a week supplied with
liquid manure. Saline manure is said to be highly beneficial,
and to tend to make the vegetable crisp.

Most cultivators commence the process of blanching by
earthing up the stems at a very early period, and continuing to
do so till the vegetable is taken up for use. One method often

1G6 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

employed is to take a piece of large bamboo eighteen inches
long, and slit it in two; and having pointed the ends, drive
them into the earth, one close on each side of the Celery-plant.
The plant thus encompassed by the bamboo is earthed up. Some
place earthenware nuls over the plants for the same purpose.

But with the adoption of either of these plans the plants are
very apt to decay. Sir J. Paxton says that earthing up much
impedes the growth of the plants, and that they should be
allowed to grow to maturity before this is resorted to, when it
takes about a fortnight to blanch them. I have myself acted
upon this statement, and found it result both in great advantage
to the plants and in the saving of a vast deal of trouble to the
malee.

A more economical mode of proceeding, and one that I have
uniformly practised myself, is to dig a row of circular holes in
the ground, nine inches in diameter, a foot deep, and six inches
apart. Fill these with soil, well enriched with manure, to
within three inches of the top. Put one young plant in each,
and then proceed with the cultivation as above directed.

Celery takes about six months from the time of the seed
germinating to attain its full size ; but for the table I consider
it preferable when taken up after about five months' growth.
In my opinion nothing whatever is gained by the attempt to
grow Celery of an extraordinary size ; as the great chance is
that when the vegetable is taken up it will be found overgrown,
unsound, and perhaps worthless. Or if this be not the case, at
least so much of the outer leaves will have to be cut away as
coarse and uneatable as to reduce the size to what it was a
month previous, when the whole plant would have been found
perfectly sound and of far finer flavour.

Celery may be grown in India quite equal in quality, though
not, perhaps, in size, to any raised in Europe.

For a succession crop a second sowing may be made about a
month after the first. The first sowing, however, will generally
supply as many plants as are required for the season.

On account of the uncertainty attending the germination of
seed sown in August, some cultivators raise their seedlings at
the close of one Cold season and keep them on through the Hot
and Kain months, to plant out early at the commencement of
the following. This, however, I believe is almost needless trouble.

CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 167

Apium graveolens var. Rapaceum.

CELERIAC — TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY.

A variety of Celery, of which the part eaten is the root, de-
veloped by cultivation to a very large size, and having then a
very agreeable, filbert-like flavour.

It is cultivated in the same way as Celery, except that no
earthing-up for blanching is resorted to. The'plant delights in
a great abundance of water. Few persons, however, will per-
haps be induced to cultivate it, as it entails nearly the same
amount of trouble as Celery, to which on the whole it will
generally be considered inferior.

Petroselinum sativum.

PARSLEY.

Peetercelee.

Parsley-seed may be sown about the middle of September in
gumlahs, placed somewhere under shelter from the heavy Bains.
The seed germinates in about ten days. When the plants are
three or four inches high they may be planted out in a row,
about half a foot apart, in a shady place, and kept well watered.

About March the plants will yield seed, some of which should
be stored away, and some sown immediately for a fresh supply
of p lants for use during the Hot and Eain seasons.

Fceniculum officinale.

FENNEL.

This herb thrives well in Bengal, and where it has been once
grown will come up each Cold season afterwards from seed self-
sown. No particular care is required in the cultivation of it ;
there is, however, so very little use to which it can be applied
in cookery, that it scarcely merits a place in the garden.

Pastinaca sativa.
PARSNIP.

This vegetable is hardly, if at all, known in India. It is said
that the seed, if more than a twelvemonth old, rarely germ-
inates ; and as the seed imported to this country must of

168 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

necessity be older than that, there need be little surprise that
it commonly fails.

The mode of cultivation would be precisely the same as
practised with the Carrot. But the Parsnip takes much longer
time in becoming mature for table use, and indeed requires the
effects of an English winter to bring it to perfection. Under
these drawbacks, perhaps few would care to attempt the culti-
vation of it in this country.

Daucus Carota.

CABROT.

Gdjur.

There are two very distinct kinds of Carrot : the long-rooted,
comprising the Long Surrey, Altringham, and Long Orange ;
and the Horn kind, of a blunt spindle form, and not going down
far into the earth. These latter are the more easily cultivated,
come into season earlier, and are tender and of a mild flavour ;
but the long-rooted, in my opinion, have more of the true Carrot
taste, and are the preferable vegetable.

Sowing may be commenced about the middle of October,
when the Rains are over. A good, loose, and deeply-dug soil is
desirable for every kind of Carrot, but not so indispensable for
the short or early Horn as for others. The seed is more com-
monly sown broadcast, but the better and more economical plan
is to sow it in drills. The drills should be in rows, eight inches
apart. If the seed be mixed, and rubbed together with a little
sand, the sowing may be managed much more easily. The
plants when they come up in the drills should be hoed out to
six inches apart. As they make growth the ground should be
well watered to enable the roots to penetrate into the earth,
but a soil over-enriched with fresh manure is said to give the
roots a tendency to fork.

Carrots, when they have attained to a size fit for table use,
may be taken up and stored in large earthen vessels, filled up
with well-dried earth closely pressed down. Before taking up
the Carrots it is well to cut away the green leaves down to the
crown, so as to allow the tops of the roots to dry a day or two
in the sun.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. "169

CHAPTEK II.

DESSEKT FKUITS.

THE fruit-trees I have here described comprise not only those
that are met with in ordinary cultivation, but all besides, as far
as I have been able to ascertain, that have been introduced into
the country. Many of the latter have proved altogether worth-
less as regards their produce, and fully realise what has been
observed by Baron Humboldt :

" It is striking to see plants in particular localities grow with the
greatest vigour without producing flowers. It is thus with Euro-
pean olive-trees, which have been planted for centuries between
the tropics near Quito ; and also in the Isle of France with walnut-
trees and hazel-nuts." *

Moreover, it is a fact only too well known to all who have
cultivated a garden in Lower Bengal, that many fruit-trees prove
all but utterly unproductive there, which in other parts of India
produce fruits in abundance and of excellent quality. I need
but mention, for example, Apples, Pears, Plums, Figs, Grapes,
the China Flat-Peach, and Oranges.

Much possibly might be done towards the improvement of our
Indian fruits by skill and contrivance. It remains yet to be
ascertained, for instance, whether or not the system, now much
practised in Europe, of dwarfing the trees by grafting upon
stocks of a different but allied species, might not answer equally
well here. The advantages of this practice are that the trees
come into bearing much sooner, occupy comparatively little
room, and may therefore be cultivated in very small gardens;
they are easily manured and root-pruned, and when ripening
their fruit may without difficulty be covered by nets to protect
them from the ravages of birds.

Attached to the gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society was
a large orchard of fine, vigorous, full-grown Mango-trees of the
sorts held in the highest estimation. These trees were almost
completely unproductive, and what little fruit they sometimes

* ' Aspects of Nature,' p. 184.

170 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

bore very indifferent. The grafted plants, however, taken from
them, produced in other localities, I am assured, abundance
of unexceptionable fruit. This circumstance at once suggests
the expediency of trying with fruit-trees in this country the
method that in like cases has been so successfully carried out
in England* The method consists either in biennial transplan-
tation practised from the commencement, or in shortening the
roots, cutting them back annually so as to confine them within
a ball of certain limited dimensions. By this treatment the
trees are kept dwarf, and the roots prevented from going down
deep into a soil that does not suit them.

Certain devices are sometimes resorted to in order to render
fruit-trees productive, as well as to improve the size and quality
of the fruit. Each of these, though varying in the means, seems
referable to the same principle, that is to say, the obstruction
of the flow of the sap in its descent from a fruit-bearing bough.
One long known and practised in Europe is what is called
" Kinging." This consists in either binding the stem round
tightly with a ring of strong wire, or of removing entirely a
ring of bark, about an eighth of an inch in width, so as to lay
the wood beneath bare. Two other devices, said to be attended
with the same result, I have only heard of as practised in this
country : the one consists in punching out here and there on
the stem pieces of the bark : and the other — which my informant
assured me rendered trees of his previously barren immediately
fertile — consists in driving a large nail into the stem of the tree
just below where the branches fork out.

Bearing upon the same object also, I quote a communica-
tion I made some little time ago to the Agri-Horticultural
Society :* —

" The following mode of treating the Lichee was communicated
to me by Mr. E. Solano, of Shahabad, about a year ago. He told
me the result of it was that the stone of the fruit became much
lessened, and the pulp consequently much more abundant, and
considerably improved in flavour. At any time during the Cold
season select a branch that is to "be used afterwards for inarching.
Split up carefully somewhat less than a span long. From both
halves of the branch thus split scoop out cleanly all the pith ; then
bring the split halves together again, and keep them "bandaged till

* Dec. 19, 1866.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS, 171

they have become thoroughly united. At the usual time, the
beginning of the Eains, inarch the branch thus treated upon a
suitable stock, taking for the place of union the portion of the
branch just below where the split was made. Upon a branch of
the tree thus produced a similar operation is performed, and so on
in succession, the result being that the stone of the fruit becomes
less and less after each successive operation.

" Being unable, as indeed I still am, to conceive on what principle
a proceeding like this could have any such effect, as was stated, I
must say I felt at first rather incredulous on the subject. Mr.
Solano, however, assured me that from having practised it in his
own garden he could bear full testimony to its efficacy. He also
informed me that the process had been applied likewise to the
Grape-vine at Malaga in Spain, and that plants thereby had at
last been produced which bore the finest fruit without the slightest
vestige of a stone within them. Subsequently to this, and some
little time after my arrival at Gowhatty, the late General F.
Jenkins, with his usual liberality, kindly put at my disposal a large
manuscript book of notes he had made upon gardening. On read-
ing it through I met with the following, of which I made an
extract : — * To prevent the formation of seed in Guavas, take a
young tree, split it in the middle with a carving-knife, about 12 or
1 5 inches up and down ; pick up the pith ; close it ; cover it up
with earth, and bind it up with straw. The tree will grow as
before, but the fruit will have no seeds in them.'

" The General told me he had never tried the process himself,
and could not therefore testify as to its merits; nor could he
remember where he had learnt it."

Where fruit-trees bear over abundantly, it is well to what is
called " thin-out." This consists in pinching off a very large
portion of the young fruit soon after it is formed, or, better still,
the blossoin-buds before they expand. The fruit that is left is
thus rendered much finer in size and quality, and the pro-
ductiveness of the tree on the following year is not impaired, as
it otherwise would be. The practice, however, though often
in Europe considered indispensable, is seldom if ever adopted in
India.

172 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

ENDOGENS.

PALMACE^E.

Borassus flabelliformis.

PALMYEA-TREE — FAN-PALM.

Tdl gaehh.

This well-known Palm is about the commonest tree we have
in Bengal. It produces in the Cold season a crop of great round
black fruits, the interior of which consists of an insipid, gelatinous,
pellucid kind of pulp, about the size of a large Orange, eaten by
the natives, but not likely to be at all acceptable to Europeans ;
but a good preserve, it is said, may be made of it, and when of
about the size of a fowl's egg it is often used for pickling.

Phoenix dactylifera.

DATE-PALM.

Kliajoor.

The Date-tree abounds and is productive in the Punjab, but,
as Dr. Yoigt states, it " does not thrive in Lower Bengal. In
the Calcutta Botanical Gardens some male trees have lived to
flower, soon after which, however, they uniformly perished.'*
Mr. S. H. Robinson maintains that Phrenix sylvestris, known as
the Wild Date of Bengal, is identical with P. dactylifera, and of
this he writes, that " it flowers about April or May, and the fruit
ripens in July or August; the latter is, however, of a very
inferior description in Bengal, and is seldom gathered except
for its seed, from which the young trees are raised. The fruit,
indeed, consists more of seed than of pulp, and altogether is
only about one-fourth the size of the Arabian kind brought
annually to Calcutta for sale, and when fresh imported a rich
and favourite fruit there."*

Mr. John Scott, again, of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens,
says : " The Arabian Date Palm has been cultivated for many
years here, but never, as far as I can hear, produced fruit. With
the exception of one plant about ten feet high, which I am told

* Prize Essay on the Cultivation of the Date-tree, ' Journal of A.-H. Society,'
vol. ix.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 173'

was introduced by Dr. Wallich, all the plants here of the
Arabian Date are small, but remarkably healthy." *

Mr. W. Coldstreain states, that " in the Muzaffagarh district
this tree does not grow abundantly in the sandy tracts, but
flourishes on its borders in the most wretched soil ; and where
hardly any other vegetable exists it is often found in luxu-
rient groves. The produce varies much according to the soil in
which it is rooted. The large succulent head of the palm, cut
out from among the mass of the leaves at the top of the tree, is
commonly eaten, and is esteemed a delicacy."t

Mr. M. P. Edgeworth states that " the true Date was intro-
duced by the Arabian Caliphs in the ninth century, when they
conquered the country. The trees are planted in vast groves —
very extensive at Dehra Ghazi-Khan — beyond the Indus — both
sides of the Chenab, and up the Ravi. No fruit can be more
excellent than they are when fresh."

" There was one tree at Mooltan which had no stone (bedana),
which was in former times considered a royal tree, and the fruit
preserved for the reigning sovereign. There used to be some fine
true Dates at the Botanical Garden at Saharunpore, which bore
well, especially in years when the Eains are late — for the fruit is
destroyed by rain. That is, I believe, the reason why the true
Date cannot flourish in Bengal. It requires a dry climate.
There are, or were, true Dates in the Lahore and Uinritsur
districts, a few also in the north parts of the Jullundur district.
The wild Date was pretty abundant in the Umballah and
Shahjehanpore districts.

" The * Cabbage ' is most excellent either raw or cooked. The
fresh fruit makes an admirable pudding, in taste like a plum -
pudding, without its richness." J

BKOMELIACE^E.

Ananassa sativa.

PINE- APPLE.

Ananas.

The Pine-apple, introduced originally from South America,
has long ago become all but naturalised in the lower parts of

* « Journal of the A.-H. Society,' 17th July, 1867.
t Ibid. vol. xiii. p. 174. J Ibid., Nov. 20, 18G7.

174 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

India. It is grown in vast abundance about Calcutta, but whether
it be that, with the exception of the Cayenne, we have not there
any of the established European varieties of this most delicious
fruit, or whether sufficient attention has not been given to the
cultivation of the kinds we have, it is certain that the fruit
produced in this country is not to be compared for flavour to
that raised in the hot-houses at home.

1. The Bengal kind is not by any means an indifferent fruit
when grown in a situation exposed to the sun. The large
insipid fruits sold in such quantities in the bazars are nearly
all produced under the shade of trees, in out-of-the-way places,
the shade conducing as much perhaps to the size as it tends to
detract from the flavour. The following are the varieties
issued from the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society : —

2. The Ceylon, introduced originally by Mr. Eobinson, is
decided to be the finest in flavour of all. The fruit is rather
large, greenish when young, and of an orange colour when ripe.

3. The Sylbet, or Koomlah, is a small fruit, compact in form,
of very high reputation ; when young of a black colour, and
bright yellow when ripe. It is peculiar, too, for the very large
size of its eyes, and for not having more than seven or eight
of them.

4. The Dacca ; also a fine fruit, remarkable for the smooth-
ness of its rind and white colour of its eyes.

5. The Penang : one or two sorts introduced from Penang
differ but little from the ordinary Bengal kind.

.6. CONICAL-CROWN: a variety of curious long sugar-loaf
form, but of no particular excellence.

7. Striatifolia : a variety I believe from Java. With its
merits I am unacquainted, as it is unproductive here. The
beauty of its leaves, striped with red and white, seems to be
its principal recommendation.

8. CAYENNE : a variety much cultivated in Europe, where it
is in high estimation, and where it is accounted the best kind
for winter fruiting. There are two sub-varieties, the Smooth
and the Prickly. The one we have was introduced in 1860
from Peridenia in Ceylon ; is remarkable for the deep verdant
green of its leaves, and for their being almost entirely divested
of spines. It has not fruited here yet.

9. Moscow ; 10. Queen : Mr. L. Berkeley informed me that

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 175

he had imported these two varieties from Europe, and that the
former had fruited in his glass-house at Lahore.

The Pine-apple flowers in February and March, and ripens
its fruit in July and August. After which, in September and
October, it makes its principal growth. It sometimes, however,
happens that plants, instead of making growth then, break into
flower, and so produce fruit in the Cold months. This is by no
means desirable, as the fruit produced thus unseasonably is,
from want of heat sufficient to ripen it, almost invariably acid
and uneatable. Young shoots and suckers not required should
be removed from the plants as soon as they make their ap-
pearance.

After the Eains no water need be given them till they have
set their fruit in February and March, when, as well as during
all the time that the fruit is swelling, it should be bestowed
abundantly. It is important also that at the same time the
leaves should be well cleansed by occasional drenchings from
above, in order to remove the dirt and dust that would other-
wise clog their pores, and so impede the passing off duly of the
water they imbibe at their roots.

The proper season for planting out Pine-apples, as will be
easily understood from the above, is in August. A situation
should be chosen for them where they may be fully exposed to
the sun. They should be placed in rows, at a distance of three
feet at least between each row, and at a distance of two feet
from each other in the row.

A writer in the c Gardeners' Chronicle ' states that for soil, " a
compost of two parts of mellow turfy loam to one of strong turfy
peat, with a liberal sprinkling of clean, sharp sand, and some
crushed, or broken bones, will be found to answer perfectly."*
A writer again in the ' Gardeners' Magazine,' vol. ix.,f directs
that " at all events the soil must be rich — it scarcely can be too
rich : the Pine-apple is a gross feeder, and will thrive in
vegetable manure however rich and fresh." In accordance
with the latter writer Mr. Speede also states that for the
cultivation of the Pine-apple in this country "no soil can be
too rich and no manure too strong." He directs that in
February the roots should be opened, and a basket of rotten
dung be given to each plant, and above that the like quantity

* May 10, 1862. f Quoted from the * Encyclopaedia Britannica.'

176 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

of fresh stable-dung with litter, and over this a thin layer of
earth. Dig a trench from each end of the plants, and fill it
every day with water. Water overhead with watering-pot once
a week over leaves and fruit. " In this way," Mr. Speede
asserts, " Pines may be obtained as large and fine-flavoured as
in any part of the world." I cannot say that I have been very
successful in the adoption of this plan, having found my plants
inclined to rot and perish from an over-supply of manure. A
soil thoroughly lightened with leaf-mould, well-decayed cow-
dung and sand, may be relied upon, I believe, as that in which
they will thrive to perfection.

But one point, which must be insisted upon as of great
importance, is that the plants be removed after comparatively
short periods into an entirely new soil. This is a fact that seems
not by any means commonly recognised ; still it accords with
what I find in the MSS. notes of the late General Jenkins, as
the " cultivation recommended by a native of Dacca. Let the
soil be ploughed and well cultivated, and the plants be planted
on it. After the lapse of a year let the old trees be extirpated*
and the smaller plants be transplanted from their places. The
oftener the plants are transplanted, the more will their growth
and quality be improved."

Very similar in effect to the above is the mode of proceeding
prescribed by French horticulturists. M. Ysabeau writes :
" The Pine-apple is subjected to a treatment which few other
plants could endure, the constant success of which goes to show
how essentially robust its constitution must be. All the roots
of the plant are cut off clean at the collar, and the Pine-apple,
after the wound has been well dried in the open air, is inserted
in a large pot of prepared soil, some of the lower leaves having
been first removed."* In'Le Bon Jardinier' it is said that
« the plants should be thus treated in October, and that in three
weeks they will have made new roots." f

The Pine-apple, it is said, is much improved by having the
leafy crown of the fruit twisted out when about four inches in
height, and a piece of tile laid upon the top. General Jenkins
states likewise that " the Bengalee malees force their Pines by
cutting off the crowns when they are nearly full grown, but

* ' Le Jardinier de tout le Monde,' p. 327.
f ' Le Bon Jardinier ' pour 1866, p. 417.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 177

this they say takes away their flavour." Such too I should
certainly expect would be the result. The General moreover
adds : " When Pine -apples are gathered they should have their
crowns plucked out, which tends to ripen them quickly, and
then to increase their flavour ; as the crown draws its nourish-
ment at that time entirely from the fruit."

Dr. Lindley states that Pine-apple plants "are capable of
existing in a dry, hot air, without contact^with the earth, on which
account they are favourites in South American gardens, where
they are suspended in the buildings or hung to the balustrades
of the balconies, situations in which they flower abundantly,
filling the air with fragrance."* I have never been able to
detect the slightest odour emitted from the plants when in
blossom in this country. Dr. Jameson states that " the Pine-
apple fruits occasionally at Saharunpore." It is, however, not
commonly met with in the North- West Provinces ; though with
proper management under glass there appears no reason why it
should not "be raised in as high perfection there as elsewhere.

Plants are propagated most readily during the Rains by
striking suckers or the green crowns from the fruit in sand.
Dr. Lindley also remarks that, " instead of throwing away the
stump of a Pine-apple, it should be placed in a damp pit, when
the latent eyes will spring forth, and a crop of young plants be
the result." f

MUSACE^.
Musa.

PLANTAIN — BANANA.

Kela.

By some the Plantain and Banana are considered as two
distinct species ; but it has now been decided to a certainty, I
believe, that the latter may be regarded as merely a variety of
M. sapientum. The name Banana is rarely, if ever, used in
this country ; but all kinds indiscriminately are termed
Plantains. Dr. Voigt says: "The numerous varieties of
Plantain we have in vain tried to put into some order." But
this is a matter of little importance to the horticulturist, as there

* ' Vegetable Kingdom,' p. 147. t ' Theory of Horticulture,' p. 302.

N

178 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

are, in Bengal at least, only a few, and those very distinct and
marked kinds, which are worth cultivating in the garden.

Sir J. Paxton states that " the plants which have fruited in
England have been uniformly insipid or nearly tasteless, which
indeed is almost the general character given them by Europeans,
even by many of those who have eaten them in the tropics."*
This, no doubt, is the true character of the inferior kinds, of
which immense quantities are grown in this country, and
which possibly are the only ones which many Europeans who
come here ever taste. But most unquestionably there is not a
more delicious fruit in the world than that of some of the finer
sorts described below.

The Plantain delights in a very rich soil. Plants should be
put out six or eight feet apart in a trench, about a foot or more
deep and three feet wide, which should be well supplied from
time to time with fresh cow-dung, and abundantly watered.
There should not be allowed to remain more than three stems
to each plant, and the suckers, which will be constantly spring-
ing up, should be removed as soon as they make their appear-
ance. . The stem that has once borne fruit should be cut down
close to the ground, as it will never bear a second time, and a
fresh sucker should be allowed to grow up to replace it. The
Plantain, however, as it appears to me, soon wears out the soil
in which it grows, and is immensely benefited, I consider, by
removal about every two or three years into entirely new ground.

The fruit should not be gathered until two or three of the
uppermost on the bunch have ripened. The bunch should
then be cut down, and hung up by a cord in the house, where
in a few days the rest on the bunch will gradually ripen. The
Plantain is in the last stage of ripeness before it attains to the
perfection of its flavour.

A curious notion is prevalent among the natives, that the
Plantain may be made to bear two or more kinds of fruit upon
the same bunch. This result they affirm is brought to pass as
follows. A young sucker is dug up from each of two kinds of
Plantain. The suckers must be as near as possible of the same
size. These are split up cleanly in half with a sharp knife.
A half of one of the kinds is then applied and closely bound to
a half of the other kind, and then planted in the ground in the

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. iv. 54.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 179

ordinary way. These halves will soon unite, and form one
plant, which eventually will throw up a stem bearing two kinds
of fruit.

Plantains were growing at Ferozepore when I resided there ;
but there is little probability of obtaining good fruit from them
so far north, as the frost cuts down the plants in the Cold
season, and they only recover themselves, so as to begin to
bear fruit, when the Cold season comes round again, and they
are unable to mature it.

Musa sapientum.

Of this the varieties cultivated in the vicinity of Calcutta
are : —

1. Chumpa: This, in my estimation, is decidedly the finest
of all the Plantains, rivalling in lusciousness and delicacy of
flavour the most delicious Pear.

The plant is easily recognised by the pervading tinge of red
on the stem, and more particularly by the redness of the great
central rib of the leaf, both on the upper and under side. The
fruit is about six inches long, ripens of a pale straw colour, and
is not fit to be eaten till it can be removed from the bunch
without the slightest effort.

2. Cheenee Chumpa: differs only from the preceding in being
a much smaller fruit — not much larger than a man's thumb. It
is borne in large, densely compact bunches.

3. Martaban : also a very delicious fruit ; in flavour con-
sidered by some as equal to the Chumpa, which in size and
colour it much resembles. The plant is known by the rib of
the leaf being devoid of red both above and below, and by its
rim, particularly at the base, having a slight border of reddish-
brown, which becomes larger and more prominent upon the
sharp upper edges of the footstalk.

4. Daccae, or Daccde-Martaban, as sometimes called by the
natives, possesses a flavour surpassingly rich and luscious, and
quite distinct from that of the preceding.

The plant bears a strong resemblance to the Martaban, but is
at once distinguished from it by the red border upon the upper
edges of the footstalk being three times as broad ; as well as,
more especially, by the large quantity of lime-like powder
coating the stem and under-side of the leaves. The fruit is

N 2

ISO GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

about four inches long, and about half as broad as long, with a
very thick rind. It ripens of a pale yellow, the tip and stout
stalk remaining of a bright green. This fruit, unlike the
Chumpa, remains firm and tight on the bunch when fully ripe.

5. Kuntela. This is a very inferior fruit, of pithy consistency
and insipid flavour, though the one cultivated the most exten-
sively of all, and sold in great quantities in the bazars. The
cause of the very great demand there exists for this particular
kind among the natives is on account of its being employed in
offerings to Seeva, being the only sort, too, they think right to
use for that purpose. The inferiority of its flavour as a fruit,
moreover, is of little concern to them, as it is principally in its
immature state for cooking in curries that the Plantain is con-
sumed. The head of the flowers, likewise, before the sheath in
which they are enclosed expands, is often cut off, being es-
teemed a most delicate vegetable. The plant is distinguished
by the pure rich green of the leaves and footstalks, darker than
that of the Kutch Kela. It grows to a great height. The fruit
resembles in appearance the Martaban.

6. Kutch Kela : a fruit of great size, used only in its unripe
state by the natives for their curries. When boiled it has
somewhat of the flavour of the Parsnip, and is a nice vegetable
to eat with roast meat.

The plant is known by the pervading rich yellowish green of
the leaves, being quite devoid of any tinge of red.

7. Mahlrltliog, or Mdhun-Hhog, is to my thinking a fruit not
much superior to the Kuntela, which it somewhat^ resembles,
though in very high estimation with some.

Musa rubra.
Earn Kela.

When in good condition a remarkably fine fruit, much re-
sembling in flavour and buttery consistency the Daccae.

The plant is unrnistakeable at a glance, having its stem and
footstalks and midribs of the leaves of a dull red colour. The
flowers are also of the same colour.

The fruit, which is about seven inches long and rather thin,
at first of a very dark red, ripens of a yellowish red. This kind
is not very common.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 181

Musa Chinensis.

CAVENDISH PLANTAIN.

A very delicious Plantain, of rich and peculiar flavour.

The plant may be recognised in a moment by its dwarf and
compact form, not growing to above half the height that other
kinds do, and bearing very large, wide, thick, dark-green
leaves, which lie closely one upon the other. The fruit is
borne in enormous bunches, is about teri inches long, of moderate
and uniform thickness, and ripens of a pea-green colour. It is
exceedingly difficult to obtain in perfection, as it is uneatable
till quite ripe, and on its becoming ripe commences almost
immediately to decay. Its English name was given it by Sir J.
Paxton, in honour of the Duke of Devonshire.

Musa Arakanensis.

ARRACAN PLANTAIN.

On sending plants of this species to the Agri-Horticultural
Society some years ago, Captain Kipley observed: "If well
manured the fruit of this tree is one of the best Plantains there
is ; the old trees yield particularly fine fruit."

Arracan seems to be especially rich in the variety of Plan-
tains it produces, for, besides the above, Captain Kipley sent to
the Society in September of 1857 as many as eighteen kinds, of
eleven of which he wrote in high commendation. But whether
from inattention, or from their being unsuited to the climate,
I found, on inquiry in 1861, that the whole had perished. I
subjoin the names, with Captain Kipley's remarks : —

1. Hpeegyan: has a thick rind of a darkish brown, is a very
pleasant fruit, being of a mellow subacid flavour.

2. Thenasia : a small-sized fruit, but of excellent flavour.

3. Beela : a good Plantain.

4. Nathdboo : this is a very luscious fruit.

5. Byat Taus : is a large, well-flavoured fruit.

6. Gyeeswe : the Hog-deer's Tooth, is a long thin Plantain of
good flavour.

7. Moungbya : is much liked ; it has a pleasant sub-acid flavour.
The skin is of a dead white, and very thick.

8. Peemwe: also a sweet, well-flavoured fruit.

182 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

9. Wet Tswaij : the Boar's Tusk. Is an excellent-flavoured,
handsome fruit.

10. May dauletthe: a long narrow Plantain, growing in hand-
some bunches, with a luscious fruit.

11. Moungore : a thick-skinned Plantain of good flavour.
Musa Africana. — A late introduction, with the merits of

which I am unacquainted.

OEONTJACE^].
Monstera.

M. deliciosa.— Native of Mexico; described as a climbing
plant, producing its flowers in a spathe, and bearing a succulent
fruit with a luscious Pine-apple flavour : lately introduced, but
with what success I am unaware.

DICLINOUS EXOGENS.
EL^AGNACE^E.

Elaeagnus conferta.

OLEASTER — WILD OLIVE.

The fruit of this tree is of the form and size of a Damson, has
a stone in the centre, and when ripe is of a pale red or cherry
colour. It is very acid, and though not generally considered
an edible fruit, when cooked and sweetened with sugar makes
a very agreeable compote. It would, I have no doubt, answer
excellently for preserving. The tree flowers in the Cold season,
and the fruit ripens about the middle of February or beginning
of March, and is borne usually in great profusion. The plant,
which is a large scandent shrub, of ornamental character from
the silvery appearance of the under-surface of its leaves, is
easily propagated by seed.

Morus nigra.

MULBERRY.

The Mulberry of the English gardens, said to be a native of
Persia, was introduced into this country many years ago;

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 183

but, as far as I can ascertain, has never been productive. Dr.
Voigt states that for a period of nineteen years plants in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens had never flowered. In other places,
too, plants have been raised from seed, and though they have
thriven well and become large trees, have shown no disposition
to blossom. Whether the attempt has been made to cultivate
the Mulberry in the Upper Provinces of India — where, no doubt,
it would thrive, and where the prospect of its being fruitful
would be possibly much greater — I am unable to say.

In reply to my inquiries upon this point, I learnt that " the
English Mulberry grows in Kashmir, and has been grown success-
fully at Jullunder; only a few small seedlings exist in the
Society's garden at Lahore."

Morus Indica and Morus multicaulis.

INDIAN MULBERRY.

Toot—Shahtoot.

These two trees, so very common in all parts of India, bear a
description of Mulberry as unlike as possible, both in quality
and form, to that of the European kind. The fruit is of a long
cylindrical shape, resembling a pepper-corn, very sweet, but very
deficient in flavour. There are two sorts, the black and the white,
both much alike as to taste, and, in my opinion, fit for little but
to be left to the birds. The fruit, such as it is, ripens in February
in Bengal, and a month or so later in the Upper Provinces. No
plant strikes more readily from cuttings than the Mulberry.

Ficus Carica.
FIG.

Unjeer.

In most parts of India Fig-trees are to be met with, thriving
vigorously and bearing fruit abundantly. There are about two
or three varieties. In my garden at Ferozepore I had the fol-
lowing two kinds : —

1. One which bore fruit of the size of the small Turkey Fig,
ripening of an ashy grey colour, exceedingly sweet and luscious.
The tree was of very stout growth, having the lower part of its
trunk sometimes as thick as a man's body. This appears to be
the variety found in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

184 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

2. Another, brought me by a native nurseryman from Cawn-
pore, bore a much handsomer fruit, of the size of a pullet's egg,
and when ripe of a deep purple colour. This, unless when very
ripe indeed, was deficient in flavour and rather insipid.

These two varieties dropped their foliage and remained leaf-
less during the three or four months of the cold weather. About
March they broke out again into leaf, producing at the same time
their fruit buds, which ripened fruit in July. About this time,
too, a second crop was produced, which, however, never ripened.

" Figs," I learnt, " are grown in the Punjab, of many varieties,
some of which, both black and white, are of very superior quality.
Two imported plants of the black Ischia Fig are growing in the
Society's garden."

3. THE COMMON ENGLISH FIG. — In passing through' the
Deccan in the month of March I found fine fruit of this for
sale very abundant.

Some years ago Mr. H. Piddington sent a very large well-
formed Fig, the produce of his garden in Calcutta, to the Agri-
Horticultural Society with the following remarks : —

" I beg to send herewith a fine Fig, weighing two ounces (troy),
and six and a-half inches in circumference — a size and weight, I
think, equal to good hot-house Figs in England. If dried and
flattened, this one would probably equal in size the largest Turkey
Fig. In spite of the severe season, I have had about three dozen of
very fine flavoured Figs from a very young tree, by the simple
precaution of shading the fruit by a linen or paper bag. My tree
is from Chandernagore ; and I shall note, for those who desire to
cultivate this delicious fruit, that the productive trees are those
with somewhat narrow, dark-green, and deeply-lobed leaves. The
variety with broad, light-green, but faintly-lobed leaves (which,
by the way, seems to be the only one in the Botanical Gardens)
never, that I have yet seen, ripens its fruit, though it produces
plenty." *

The Fig is, notwithstanding, still a great rarity in Calcutta.
From some cause or other unknown, the locality seems very ill
suited to it. The two or three small stunted trees of the only
one variety they have in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens remain
as unproductive as they were at the time of Mr. Piddington's
communication.

* ' Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society,' vol. v. p. 24.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 185

On one or two occasions young plants, stated to be of superior
kinds, have been sent to the gardens of the Agri-Horticultural
Society from Bombay, but they remained in pots, much in
the condition in which they came, for a long time without
making any growth. One of these, after having been put out
in the garden for several years, had a stem no thicker than a
stout walking-stick. I tasted the fruit it bore for the first time
in 1861. The Figs were small, but sweet and agreeable. The
tree died a month or so afterwards.

In Europe the practice is to prune the Fig-tree very sparingly,
indeed merely in the summer season to pinch off with the finger
and thumb the ends of the tender shoots. But in India the
malees cut the trees in most severely in the cold weather, taking
off all branches as thick as a man's thumb. During the time the
trees have been at rest I have opened the roots and applied to
them a large quantity of blood from the shambles, but with no
perceptible advantage. Copious irrigation, after the fruit is well
formed, I found to accomplish all that could be wished.

" The Fig," observes Mr. Mclntosh, " is not difficult to accom-
modate with a soil, provided it be dry at bottom ; if there be a
preference to any other it is certainly one of a calcareous nature."*

In those parts of the country where it thrives, no plant is more
easy of propagation than the Fig. A branch cut off, however
rudely, and stuck in the ground, with shade and watering, is
almost sure to take root and grow.

AETOCAKPACE^E.
Artocarpus integrifolius.

JACK-FRUIT.

Kuntul.

The fruit of this tree is perhaps about one of the largest in
existence, and is an ill-shapen, somewhat oval-formed, unat-
tractive-looking object. The interior is of a soft fibrous consis-
tency, with the edible portions scattered here and there, of about
the size and colour of a small Orange. By those who can manage
to eat it, it is considered most delicious, possessing the rich spicy
scent and flavour of the Melon, but to such a powerful degree

* * Book of the Garden,' p. 552.

186 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

as to be quite unbearable to persons of a weak stomach, or to
those unaccustomed to it.

If the edible pulp of the fruit be taken out and boiled in
some fresh milk, and then be strained off, the milk will, on
becoming cold, form a thick jelly-like substance of the consistency
of blanc-mange, of a fine orange colour, and of a Melon-like
flavour. Treated in this way the fruit affords a very agreeable
dish for the table.

There are said to be two varieties : —

1. The Kujja or hard kind, distinguished by the large size of
the edible pulp, and by the abundance and thickness of its juice.
The exterior of the fruit is smooth to the hand, and green, and
the nuts or seeds comparatively small. The leaves, too, are of a
rounder form than those of the second variety.

2. The Ghila, or soft kind, is reckoned a much inferior fruit,
with the inner pulp small in quantity, and its juice scanty, thin,
and watery. The fruit is much smaller than the preceding,
with a rough exterior, and with the seeds very much larger.

The Jack-Fruit is not borne, like most other fruits are, from
the ends of branches, but upon stout footstalks projecting from
the main trunk and thickest branches of the tree. In no other
way, indeed, could its ponderous weight be sustained. The
situation of the fruit, moreover, is said to vary with the age of
the tree, being first borne on the branches, then on the trunk,
and in old trees on the roots. Those borne on the roots, which
discover themselves by the cracking of the earth above them,
are held in highest estimation.

The tree opens its blossoms and sets its fruit in November,
and continues to do so even until March. The flowers when first
opened give out a sweet, agreeable scent, very similar to that of
the Magnolia pumila.

The tree grows to a considerable size, and is found in nearly
all parts of India, but in greatest profusion in Lower Bengal. " It
is very rare," I learn, " in the Punjab ; though the few trees they
have in Lahore thrive well and bear fruit." Major Drury states,
" that if planted in a stony soil it grows short and thick ; if in
sandy ground tall and spreading, and if the roots happen to
come in contact with water the tree will not bear fruit."

The following ingenious mode of training the tree is some-
times resorted to by the natives. Sow the seed imbedded in its

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 187

own pulp. Fix over the young shoot, immediately upon its
appearing above ground, a narrow hollow pipe, made by the
union of the two halves of a bamboo that has been split in two,
in order to remove the enclosures at the knots, and tied
together again with string. This bamboo-pipe must be about
three or four feet high. The Jack will soon ascend the pipe,
and make its appearance at the summit. When it does so,
remove the halves of the bamboo. Lay the young shoot, which
will be found perfectly supple and pliant, upon the Aground,
and twist it into the form of a spiral coil, with the crown of the
root for its centre. Cover this coil well over with earth, leav-
ing the end of the shoot to project from the ground. The
plant thus treated will grow in about five years' time into a
tree, the spiral portion of it below ground enlarging corre-
spondingly at the same time. Upon this spiral the fruit will
uniformly be produced, and of the finest quality and largest
size.

Artocarpus incicus.

BEEAD-FKUIT.

A handsome tree, with very large, polished, dark-green, slashed
leaves, a native of the South Sea Islands, Moluccas, and Java.
The fruit is of an oval form, and of the size of a large Melon,
and in general appearance much resembles the Jack-Fruit. It
is, however, perfectly scentless. Its exterior is not muricated,
but is marked with reticulations, with slightly prominent areolae.
It is without seeds, and when roasted is said to resemble the
crumb of a new loaf. I have bought specimens in the bazar at
Point de Galle in Ceylon. These, when sliced and fried, seemed
to me, as well as to all who partook of them, to be hardly dis-
tinguishable from an excellent batter pudding. Fruit of a large
size is said to be produced in Bombay, and in some parts of the
Deccan, as well as in the Straits, but the fruit is quite unknown
in the Bengal Presidency.

BREAD-NUT.

A variety of the above, which produces fruit containing seed,
with the exterior split into deep lobes, and covered over with
the sharp-pointed tops of the calyces. Lofty trees of this variety
are growing in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, introduced,

188 GARDEN PLANTS. PAKT II.

according to Dr. Yoigt, in 1794. These had not flowered up to
1814, whence Dr. Koxburgh came to the conclusion that "the
winters of Bengal were too cold for them." They, however, now
both blossom and bear fruit regularly, yielding abundance of
seed, from which young plants are raised.

Artocarpus Lacoocha.

MONKEY-JACK.

Dephul

A tree of moderate size, native of Bengal, with handsome
oblong, entire, dark-green leaves, about eight inches long and
four broad. In the Kains it produces an ill-shapen fruit of the
size of an Orange, with a smoothish rind of the colour of dirty
wash-leather. It is of an austere taste, but it is sometimes
eaten ; and I have moreover met with those who said they liked
it, a fact that I could otherwise have hardly credited.

EUPHOKBIACE^.

Emblica officinalis.

Amid.

A small, rather handsome tree, with graceful foliage ; native
of India : admitted sometimes into gardens for the small round
green fruit it produces in the Cold season, which, though exceed-
ingly acid, and quite uneatable raw, is made use of for either
pickles or preserves.

Gicca disticha.

OTAHEITE GOOSEBEEKY.

Nuree — Nurphul.

A small tree, native of India, with light graceful foliage : yields
a white fruit, in size and form resembling a large round ribbed
button, with a hard stone in the centre. The fruit is commonly
used by the natives for pickling. It has a sour, sorrel-like
flavour, and is unfit to be eaten raw ; but cooked with sugar it
makes a most delicious compote, hardly to be distinguished from

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 189

a preserve of green Gooseberries. Crops are produced twice in
the year, about the end of April and again about the end of
August. Plants may be propagated by sowing the stones.

CUCUKBITACE^:.
Cucumis Melo.

MELON.

Khurlooza.

The culture of the superior kinds of Melon requires consider-
able attention, but there is hardly a fruit that better deserves it.
The kind which ranks as finest of all, called the Surdah, is a
native of Caubool, and has not, that I am aware, been cultivated
with success in any part of India. The fruits are brought
occasionally to the Punjab for the wealthy natives, and a friend
told me that when at Mooltan an offer of six rupees which he
made for a single one was refused, so highly are they prized.
I have several times raised plants in my garden at Ferozepore.
They throve moderately well, but bore only one or two fruits,
which always rotted on the under side before beginning to ripen.
From a portion of one which remained partially sound I was
enabled to discover how delicious this fruit must be when raised
in perfection. The seeds of this kind are at once to be distin-
guished from those of any other, being fully four times larger.

The next kind, second perhaps only to the Surdah, and superior
to any other with which I am acquainted, is, I believe, also of
Caubool. Like the Surdah, too, it is of the green-flesh sort. It
is of large oval form, with very smooth, pale-green exterior,
traced here and there with a delicate network. This succeeded
most satisfactorily at Ferozepore, and was the one which I
cultivated exclusively. The seeds of this also may be known by
the largeness of their size.

" Seeds of two kinds of fragrant Melon seed from Buxar "
have been lately presented to the Agri-Horticultural Society
by Mr. W. H. Bartlett, who remarked: "With culture in a
manured soil, the smaller of these Melons may be grown to a
size somewhat larger than a large goose's egg, with a bright
yellow rind. The flavour is slightly sub-acid, exceedingly

190 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

pleasant with the addition of a little sugar. The time for
sowing is June, though I think it might be sown earlier in
Bengal, say April and May, and watered. The beds should be
raised like those of a Tea-nursery, and watered if the weather
is dry ; it fruits from July to September. I also enclose seeds
of another larger, well-scented, and very luscious variety,
peculiar to the Deorah lands of Purneah and Bhaugulpore : the
great thing is to sow them in raised beds."

Melons of superior kind, it appears, have been cultivated in the
locality of Calcutta with complete success, when proper attention
has been bestowed. More than twenty years ago a silver medal
with Ks. 200 was awarded to Mr. A. Millett of Entally, by
the Agri-Horticultural Society, for his successful cultivation
of the Musk Melon. The method he pursued is given at p. 9 of
vol. v. A.-H. S. Trans.

A few years later Mr. Chew, after many experiments attended
with failure, succeeded at last in finding the treatment by which
the Melons of Afghanistan might be raised in the locality of
Calcutta with tolerable certainty of success. A short time ago I
made inquiry of his brother, residing at Seebpore, whether
in the years subsequent to his communication to the Agri-
Horticultural Society's Journal he found his mode of culture
equally successful. The reply was that he did, and that he
only discontinued the cultivation on consideration of the trouble
and expense.

The mode of culture will be the same for all parts of India,
only that in the North- West Provinces it will not commence
till a fortnight later perhaps than in Bengal.

1. The situation should be open and exposed as much as
possible. Mr. Chew states that he has succeeded well with
gumlahs on the roof of a house in Calcutta.

2. The soil of the ground, he says, should be one-eighth sand
to seven-eighths clay. But this cannot be a point of any great
importance.

3. Mr. Chew then directs that holes two feet deep, and two or
two and a half feet in diameter, be dug at the distance of about
four or six feet apart.

But the plan recommended by Major Napleton seems more
convenient, and when the plants are to be watered by means
of watercourses from the well, is the only one that can be

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 191

adopted. "Dig a trench fourteen inches deep and two feet
broad, and sow a double row of seeds in each trench. When the
plant is a foot high, train it along the dry ridge above the trench,
taking care that it does not come in contact with the water, the
roots only being watered."

4. The compost with which Mr. Chew directs the holes to be
filled is composed of half well-decomposed horse or cow-manure
and half earth.

5. About the middle of March Mr. Chew recommends as the
most suitable time for sowing, and states that Afghanistan
Melon-seed sown at that time grew with surprising vigour, and
bore fruit simultaneously with plants that had been raised two
months before.

6. Mr. Chew makes a great point of steeping the seeds in
warm water, letting them remain twenty-four hours. He con-
siders this absolutely essential. After the steeping he directs
that they should be covered with a wet cloth, or kept in wet
ashes two or three days until they sprout.

7. As soon as sprouted, Mr. Chew directs, sow them at about a
foot apart and an inch or an inch and a half deep. Immediately
deluge them with water, and so every evening until the plants
are two inches above ground. After that an occasional drenching
will be beneficial. A great deal depends, Mr. Chew observes,
upon the plants being well watered at first, for those that spring
up with vigour are not so subject to insects.

The above directions given by Mr. Chew, which differ in no
essential particulars from those given by Mr. Millett, are perhaps
as good as can be followed. It should however also be kept in
view, that the withholding of water when the plants are in
blossom, and the giving it freely after they have set their fruit
up to just when it is ripening, and the withholding of it again
then, is as important to be observed in the cultivation of this as
it is of every other fruit.

The Melon, if possible, should be always sown in the spot where
it is to remain, as it can ill endure transplantation, and its roots
should be disturbed as little as possible.

M. Ysafceau states : "It has been well ascertained that the
fruit of the Melon is so much the better the nearer it is borne to
the collar of the root. A system of pruning is therefore usually
resorted to, for the twofold purpose — first, of causing the fruit

192 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

to be produced as near as possible to the collar of the root ;
secondly, of arresting the growth of the stem beyond the Melons
so soon as they begin to swell, and thus preventing the sap from
being conveyed away from the fruit. The mode of proceeding is
this : — Pinch off the central shoot of the young'plant beyond the
four first leaves so soon as they are formed. This will cause it
to send out two lateral shoots. When these lateral shoots are
about foui* inches long, pinch them in the same manner, and in
a few days they also will put forth two side shoots each. This
will give the plant four branches, which, pinched again when
they have attained sufficient length, will give eight good shoots,
which will be enough.

" Each shoot giving one or two fruits, about a dozen may be
counted upon in all. These should be let grow just long enough,
till it can be decided which are the best to be preserved ; and
then a severe pruning should be made so as to leave the plant
on an average two branches, each bearing a fine fruit."*

Another eminent^ French writer states that the secondary
branches commonly produce male, or sterile flowers, and the
tertiary almost invariably female, or fertile flowers.

He adds also: "The following method is a more simple one,
and one likewise by which it is said better results are obtained.
Pinch off the shoot above the second leaf as soon as the seedling
has formed it. Leave the two shoots which will then be formed
till they have at least six leaves, and then stop them once for all
above th^e fifth, sixth, or even seventh eye, and then let grow
freely all the shoots that after that are produced. These bear
fruit as soon as those that have been more frequently stopped,
the plants are more vigorous, and the Melons better nourished.

" As in the former method, when good fruits are set, pinch the
shoot to one eye above each fruit which the plant is allowed to
bear, and nip off all other fruits that are there, or may after-
wards be formed. The young fruits thus plucked off may be
preserved like Gherkins, or cooked, when they will be found
exceedingly delicate, treated in the same manner as Cucumbers
or Squashes."!

The Melon in the earlier stage of its growth is, like the
Cucumber and Squash, very subject to the depredations of a small

* ' Le Jardinier de Tout le Monde,' p. 215.
t * Le Bon Jardinier,' pour 1866, p. 518.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 193

red beetle, by which it is infested. The usual means adopted to
keep this away is sprinkling of wood-ashes over the leaves. This,
however, is only to remove one evil by introducing another
almost as bad ; for the plants can hardly be expected to thrive
with the pores of their leaves thus stopped up. A piece of
common gauze stretched upon a frame, as suggested elsewhere,
would no doubt be a cheap and effectual remedy.

The following remarks by other writers are interesting, and
perhaps may be found useful. Mr. Knight stated that " suffi-
cient breadth of foliage is the main point for bringing Melons
to perfection."

Morier says that " in Persia pigeon's dung has from time im-
memorial been sought after for manuring Melons."

Another writer says that "soil holding any salt of iron is
sterile in its application to Melons. This may be tested by
burning a portion and applying a magnet."

A writer in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' states that the way of
cultivating the Caubool Melon in its native locality is, " when
the fruit is of the size of a walnut, cover with a handful of clay,
and scrape holes in the ground for it to sit in."

Another writer in the same paper says : " I defy any one to
produce a Melon fit to be seen in a loose sandy soil. The
stronger, the stiffer the loam the better. I use grafting clay,
and have Beech wood Melons twelve pounds in weight and un-
surpassable in quality."

The usual mode of cleaning the seeds from the pulpy mass in
which they are contained is to mix them up with wood-ashes,
whereby, after they have been well rubbed and then spread out
to dry, they will be rendered quite clean.

Where it is intended to save seeds, caution should be -taken
that no inferior Melons be cultivated anywhere near. For being
a monoecious plant it is as likely to become impregnated with
the pollen of the inferior plant as with that of its own kind.
And even with every such precaution a wandering bee from
some adjacent garden may fly over and do a world of mischief,
only to be detected by the produce afforded in the following
season.

194 GARDEN PLANTS. PART TT.

Cucumis momordica.
Phoontee.

A very common fruit, cultivated by the natives all over India.
It is of the size and form of a large Cocoa-nut, perfectly smooth,
and of a pale yellow colour when ripe, and has the flavour of a
very indifferent Melon.

It is cultivated in precisely the same way as the Melon.

Cucurbita citrullus.

WATER-MELON.

Turbooza.

The Water-Melon is met with in common cultivation in all
parts of India. The fruit is of oval form, of the size of the
largest Pumpkin, perfectly smooth, and when ripe of a dark
green colour. It is very insipid, having little more flavour
than that of merely sugared water, but some persons consider
it refreshing and agreeable in the hot weather, when it is in
season.

The cultivation of it demands no particular care. The seeds
are sown in February in common garden soil, in a spot where they
have plenty of room to trail. The plants require abundance of
water.

The natives often cultivate Water- Melons in great quantities
on the shoals of rivers, from which the water has subsided. A
plan it appears they have is in the middle of April to dig
a hole under each Melon and bury it, with sand, making the
hole large enough for the Melon to swell.

PAPAYACE.E.

Carica papaya.

PAPAW.

Pepiya.

The Papaw-tree is a native of South America and the West
Indies, but has become thoroughly naturalised in this country.
The fruit, which is in the form of a Pear, and much larger than

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 195

a Cocoa-nut, ripens of a pale greenish yellow. The finest are
said to be produced from the Singapore and Moulmain stock.
The fruit presents a tempting appearance when cut open, resem-
bling that of a fine orange-flesh Melon. Though not of high
flavour, it is very cool, refreshing, and agreeable, when eaten
with sugar raw.- This is the only way in which I have ever known
it eaten in India, but Don, speaking of it as grown in South
America, says that " when young it is generally used for sauce,
and when boiled and mixed with lime-juice and sugar, it is not
unlike or much inferior to that made of real Apples, for which it
is commonly substituted." And Sloane says: "The fruit in general
is gathered before it is ripe, cut into slices, soaked in water till
the milky juice is out ; it is then boiled and eaten as Turnips or
baked as Apples."

The small, olive-coloured, shot-like seeds with which the in-
terior of the fruit is filled, are liked by some for their watercress-
like flavour, and moreover are considered very wholesome.

The tree comes into flower during the Kains, emitting at times
a fine fragrance all around from the numerous small greenish-
yellow blossoms. It generally produces an immense crop of
fruit, and continues blossoming after the fruits on the lower part
of the branch have attained to a great size. The fruit is in
season during the whole of the cold months.

The proper mode of cultivation to be adopted is obviously to
remove all but a few of the fruits, when of a small size, as
well as to nip off all flowers afterwards from the upper branches
of the tree, and during the period the fruit is swelling to
!td minister, when the soil is dry and seems to require it, copious
supplies of water; but this trouble, I believe, is never taken,
and few perhaps will think the fruit of sufficient value to
deserve it.

At Gowhatti, however, I have partaken of fruit — subjected, I
conceive, to such treatment — that from its excellency was hardly
to be recognised, being of the size of a Water-Melon, and
delicious in flavour.

Plants are raised from seed, and are of very rapid growth,
rising to eight or ten feet high, and coming into bearing in about
ten months. In the earlier period of their growth the plants
have a pretty palm-like appearance, but on growing old they
become rather unsightly. The flowers with male and those with

o 2

196 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

female organs are borne on distinct plants, therefore among
several trees some will of course be unproductive.

Don says : —

" The most extraordinary property of the Papa w- tree is that
which is related first by Browne in his ' Natural History of
Jamaica ;' namely, that water impregnated with the milky juice of
this tree is thought to make all sorts of meat washed in it tender ;
but eight or ten minutes' steeping, it is said, will make it so soft,
that it will drop in pieces from the spit before it is well roasted, or
turn soon to rags in boiling. This circumstance has been re-
peatedly confirmed. Old hogs and old poultry, which are fed upon
the leaves and fruit, however tough the meat they afford might
otherwise be, are thus rendered perfectly tender and good if eaten
as soon as killed ; but the flesh passes very soon into a state of
putridity. In the third volume of the Wernerian Society's Memoirs
there is a highly interesting paper on the properties of the juice of
the Papaw-tree by Dr. Holder, who has witnessed its effects in
the island of Barbadoes, and speaks of them as known to all the
inhabitants. The juice causes a separation of the muscular fibres.
Nay, the very vapour of the tree serves this purpose ; hence many
people suspend the joints of meat, fowls, &c., in the upper part of
the tree, in order to prepare them for the table." *

Dr. Davy, however, who made some careful experiments to
ascertain the truth of what is above stated, came to the con-
clusion that the Papaw-tree possesses none of the singular
properties which have been assigned to it, more than any other
tree.f

HYPOGYNOUS EXOGENS.
FLACOUKTIACE.E.

Flacourtia cataphracta.

PUNEEALA-PLUM.

A small tree, native of India, grows to the height of about
twenty or thirty feet, with small leaves and branches covered
with numerous thorns.

The fruit ripens during the months of September and October,
and is of the form and size of a Cherry or Tiparee, slightly com-

* Don's ' Gardener's Dictionary,' vol. iii. p. 44.

f See ' Journal of Agri-Hort. Society,' vol*4x. p. 73.

CHAP. TI.' DESSERT FRUITS. 197

pressed into a five or six-sided shape. It is of a deep dull purplish
chocolate colour. In flavour it is suggestive of something better
than a Sloe, but worse than an indifferent Plum. The usual
plan before eating it, whereby it is rendered softer and more
agreeable, is to turn it round between the thumb and forefinger,
gently pinching it at the same time, and then roll it between
the palms of the hands. By this means it becomes much sweeter
in flavour, losing that austerity it before had. It affords an
exceedingly nice compote when cooked with sugar. The tree
seems to be unknown in the Punjab.
Plants are propagated from seed.

Flacourtia inermis.

TOMI-TOMI.

This tree, which is easily distinguished from the foregoing by
its being entirely thornless, and by its large handsome leaves,
bears a somewhat similar but very inferior fruit a month or two
later in the season.

PASSIFLORACE^E.
Passiflora.

GKANADILLA.

There are about four or five varieties of Passiflora described
as bearing edible fruits, called Granadillas.

1. P. quadrangularis — COMMON GRANADILLA, bears a fruit of
an oblong form, about as large sometimes as a child's head. The
flavour is sweet and slightly acid, very grateful to the taste, and
refreshing in a hot climate, where it is usually eaten with wine
and sugar.

2. P. maliformis — APPLE-FRUITED GRANADILLA or SWEET
CALABASH.

3. P. laurifolia — WATER-LEMON, is most extensively cultivated
in the tropics, being agreeable to most palates.

4. P. edulis — PURPLE-FRUITED GRANADILLA, produces fruit of
the size and shape of a hen's egg, green at first, but when ripe
of a beautiful plum colour.

5. P. incarnata — FLESH-COLOURED GRANADILLA.

198 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

In addition to the above thus described by Mackintosh,* might
perhaps be numbered Tacsonia mollissima, which I have seen at
Ootacamund, bearing in great abundance a pale-green fruit of
the size of a goose's egg, and of rather agreeable flavour,
but the plant does not seem able to bear the climate of the
plains.

P. quadrangnlaris is the only Granadilla that has been
known to bear fruit here, and that not commonly about
Calcutta. I found the plant in a garden at Gowhatti, grown
upon a Bukayun tree, and bearing in great profusion in
December ; but the fruit fell far short of the description
given of it above, both as to size and flavour, being of an
oblong form, of the size of a large Lemon, and very insipid
to the taste. It was sometimes put in tarts, but required
flavouring. The natives used it also for curries. A writer in
' Rees' Cyclopaedia ' says : " To flower and fruit in perfection it
requires to be cut down every year to the main trunk, which
soon acquires the size of a small Cherry-tree. We have seen it
laden with huge flowers, magnificently variegated with violet
purple and crimson and green, with leaves a foot long." P. mali-
formis does not appear to have been yet introduced ; and P.
incarnata, formerly in the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, does not
exist there now.

If the plants be worth cultivating for their fruit, which is very
questionable, possibly success might be arrived at by attending
to the mode of cultivation prescribed for the purpose.

The following is Mr. Appleby's mode of setting P. quadran-
gularis : —

" The whole of the calyx, corolla, and crown must be cut off
with a sharp pair of pointed scissors, and this must be done
without injuring the flower-stem. When all these are cut away,
there only remain the essential parts of the flower — the stamens,
five in number, and the three stigmas. Then cut off one or more
of the stamens bearing the anthers ; and do this without shaking
the dust or pollen out of the anther, covering them with the
fertilising powder. Take an opportunity of performing this
operation early in the morning, at the very time when the anthers
are observed to be bursting." |

" When the crop is all off, the shoots must be well cut in. As

* * Greenhouse,' p. 380. t ' Cottage Gardener's Dictionary,' p. 439.

CHAP. TT. DESSERT FKUITS. 199

little old wood as possible besides the main stem, and a few pieces
(about two or three feet of each) of the old branches, should be
retained ; for all that is to be trained to bear in each year ought
to be the growth of two years' standing. "*

STERCULIACE.E.
Adansonia digitata.

BAOBAB — MONKE Y-BKEA D.

Bildetee Imlee.

In Senegal, its native locality, this grows to become one ot
the largest trees in existence ; but the trunk, even in small trees,
has an inflated, gouty appearance, suggestive of its bulkiness
being rather the result of disease than of natural, healthy growth.

The fruit is of about the size and form of an ostrich egg, with
a rind similar in texture and colour to that of a tamarind pod.
An agreeable sherbet is said to be made from it, which indeed
seems the principal purpose for which it is used.

There are two or three large trees in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, but the fruit they bear is small and indifferent, no
larger than a hen's egg. The village of Nalcha, near the cele-
brated old city of Mandoo, in the Deccan, is famous for the
number of trees that grow there. They are rarely met with in
other localities on this side of India.

Durio zibethinus.

DUEIAN — CIVET-CAT FRUIT.

A large forest-tree, growing to the height of eighty feet, is
a native of Malay, and thrives well in Burmah and the Straits.

The fruit is described as being of about the size of a man's
head, within which is the seed, with its edible enveloping pulp
of about the size of a hen's egg. The pulp is said to be pure
white, resembling blanc-mange, and as delicious in taste as the
finest cream. The bulk of the fruit, however, in which this
creamy pulp is enclosed is described as intolerably offensive,
having the smell of putrid animal substance, or rotten Onions.
The seeds, when roasted, are said to have the flavour of Chestnuts.

* Sabine, in * Hort. Trans.'

200 GARDEN PLANTS. PART 11.

Plants have "repeatedly been introduced into the gardens
about Calcutta, but they have never risen to more than about
three feet in height, when they have uniformly died off, the
climate of that latitude being quite unsuited to them.

MALYACE^].
Hibiscus sabdariffa.

ROSELLE — INDIAN SORREL.

Putwa — Mesta.

An annual, native of the West Indies, but now cultivated in
most gardens in India.

The part of the plant made use of is not the fruit itself, but
the large thick succulent sepals which envelope it. Of these
most delicious puddings and tarts are made, as well as a remark-
ably fine jelly, hardly to be distinguished from that of the Eed
Currant, for which in every respect it forms an excellent sub-
stitute.

There are two kinds, the red and white, much the same,
except that the white seems a trifling degree less acid.

The seeds are sown about the end of May, and the plants are
put out in the ground at the distance of four feet from each
other. It grows to the height of three or four feet, and bears
a large handsome yellow flower, with a dark crimson eye. The
gathering for use may be made in November or December in
Bengal, but it must be somewhat earlier in the Upper Provinces,
before the plants are destroyed by the cold.

It seems to thrive best in the damp climate of Lower India.
In Ferozepore I found the full-grown plants very apt to perish
before coming into bearing.

TILLAGES.

Grewia Asiatica.

Phdlsa.

A coarse-looking, unattractive shrub, somewhat resembling
the Hazel in foliage ; native of India, and common in all parts
of the country.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 201

The fruit is a berry about the size of a Pea, with a stone in
the centre, sour and uneatable, but a sherbet is made from it
considered agreeable by some. The fruit is produced during
the Hot months.

Grewia sapida.

This also, like the last, produces during the Hot season its
crop of berries, sometimes used for making sherbet.

SAPINDACEJS.

Blighia sapida.

AKEE.

A large tree, native of Western Africa. The fruit is of the
size and form of a small Lemon, somewhat ribbed, and when
ripe of a brilliant vermilion colour. Though much eaten, and
held in high esteem in the West Indies, it is never, that I can
learn, eaten in this country. Sir J. Paxton declares it to be
" not much inferior to a Nectarine in flavour." Don says that in
Guinea the tree " is greatly esteemed for the excellence of its
fruit, which is of a grateful sub-acid flavour." It appears, however,
to be treated rather as a vegetable than as a fruit, according to
the description given of it by Dr. Macfadyen, who says : —

" The fruit is brought in great abundance to the Kingstown
market. The arillus, which supports the seed, is the part which
is eaten. It is prepared "ky parboiling in water with salt, and
afterwards stewing or frying with butter, or by simply boiling in
soup. It is very wholesome, and from its soft, rich flavour well
deserves the appellation of the Vegetable Marrow." *

Mr. Leonard Wray also, in presenting seeds to the Agri-Hor-
ticultural Society, accompanies them with the remark : —

" Akee, an ornamental small tree, and a delicious vegetable,
sometimes eaten raw, but generally fried together with butter and
black pepper."

In the Calcutta Botanical Gardens there are two trees which
have grown to a great size, and in the garden of the Bankshall
at Calcutta there is also a tree. It appears to have been some-

* ' Flora of Jamaica,' vol. i. p. 160.

202 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

what scarce in India some time ago, for Dr. Gibson says of it :
" The Gardens at Parell and at Dapooree can boast of the Blighia
sapida of New Zealand, now producing fruit (at least at Dapooree)
annually." * At Calcutta it comes into blossom in June and
ripens its fruit in October.

In the public gardens at Madras are small trees about ten
faet high, which, when I saw them in the month of September,
looked remarkably ornamental, covered with their scarlet fruit,
contrasting beautifully with the fine rich foliage amongst which
it hung. As far as I could learn by inquiry, the fruit was never
eaten by any one there.

Nephelium lichi.

LICHEE.

A large-growing shrub or small tree, of dense handsome foliage,
native of China. It blossoms about the middle of February with
sprays of small pale-green flowers, and ripens its large bunches
of fruit about the end of April or beginning of May. The fruit
is of the size and form of a large Plum, with a rough, thin,
scale-like rind, which while the fruit is hanging ripe upon the
tree is of a beautiful red tinge, but gradually becomes of a dull
brown colour a short time after gathered. The pulp of the
fruit, which is as delicious perhaps as that of any fruit in exist-
ence, resembles the white of a plover's egg, and contains in its
centre a stone. In the best fruit the stone is very small compa-
ratively ; and in this respect the fruit produced on different trees
varies much.

It is stated that there is only one province in China where the
Lichee is grown to perfection. In the gardens, however, about
Calcutta, and at Chinsurah in particular, fruit of the finest
quality imaginable may be met with. That produced on the
trees in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens is of a very inferior
description, the pulp being scanty in quality and acid in flavour :
fruit of a similar kind likewise is usually sold in the Calcutta
bazars, probably the produce of trees formerly distributed from
the Botanic Gardens.

I have tasted the variously-named kinds in the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, from which plants are propagated
for distribution ; and in my opinion the sort called M'Lean's is

* Dr. Spry, ' Hants for India,' p. 62.

CHAP, II. DESSERT FRUITS. 203

decidedly the best, though not finer than is frequently met with
in private gardens.

A variety is to be found in some gardens, though rather rare,
bearing fruit of a conical form, quite green when ripe, distinct
in flavour, and of very sweet taste.

Don says that when eaten to excess, Lichees are apt to occasion
an eruption over the whole body. They are eaten in great
quantities in India, but with no deleterious effect that I ever
heard of.

The Chinese suffer the fruit to dry till it becomes black and
shrivelled, in which condition it is commonly met with for sale
in the London grocers' shops.

Birds are exceedingly fond of the fruit. The trees must be
protected from their ravages by having nets thrown over them
some time about the beginning of April.

The Lichee tree will grow well in all parts of India ; but in
the North-West it is liable to be killed by the cold in severe
weather. It loves a damp climate and abundance of water,
and is said not to yield fruit at any considerable distance high
up from Calcutta.

Colonel Sleeman states that at Lucknow the Lichee cannot
be brought to thrive at all. Small plants throve tolerably well
at Ferozepore. I had several in the lowermost part of my garden
there, which were swamped for more than a week during the
heavy rains in August. Most plants under such circumstances
would have perished, but these seemed benefited thereby.

Lichees may be propagated by seed, which it is said will not
keep, but must be sown at once ; but the sure way to obtain
plants that will produce good fruit is to propagate by gootee
about the end of May. The gootee made at that time will be
ready for removing and potting off by the commencement of the
cold weather ; and may be planted out, where it is finally to
remain, in the following Eain season.

Nephelium longanum.
LONGAN.

Asliphul.

A tree, native of India, and cultivated in China and Cochin-
China.

204 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IE.

The fruit, which in the vicinity of Calcutta is produced about
the end of June, is about the size and form of a marble, of a
russet colour, and borne in bunches like Grapes. The fleshy
part of the fruit, which resembles that of the Lichee, is sweetish,
and, though not disagreeable, is vapid and vastly inferior in
flavour to the Lichee. The mode of cultivation is the same as
for the Lichee.

Nephelium lappaceum.

EAMBOUTAN.

A fruit-tree, native of the Malay Islands, nearly allied to the
Lichee and Longan. Of the merit of the fruit I possess no
information. Dr. Yoigt states that for sixteen years from the
time of its introduction into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens
the tree had not flowered there. It does not appear to be in
existence there now.

Pierardia sapida.
Lutqua.

A small tree, native of Burmah and Eastern Bengal.

The fruit, which, like that of the Lichee, is borne in large
clusters, is said to be equal in point of merit to either the Lichee
or the Loquat, which latter it resembles. Koxburgh describes
it as an agreeable fruit, round, of the size of a Gooseberry,
smooth and yellow, and cultivated by the Chinese under the
name of Lutqua.

The tree abounds* in Sylhet and Burmah, but appears to be
hardly known in Calcutta. Formerly there were fruit-bearing
trees in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens six or ten feet high,
introduced from Tipperah, of the produce of which the malees
there still speak in high praise. But these were cut down many
years ago, and now none but young plants are to be found there.
It is a very common tree in the district about Gowhatti in
Assam. Its fruit, which it produces in large den^e bunches,
in great abundance at the end of June and beginning of July, is
of a roundish form, and in outward appearance bears a strong
resemblance to a yellow Plum. It has a dense leathery rind,
and contains, or rather is all but filled up with, three or four
large seeds, each surrounded with a tough kind of pulp, which
can hardly be said to be more than just moistened by the small

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 205

quantity of sharp-flavoured juice it contains. In my opinion a
very poor and valueless fruit; but under good cultivation it
might possibly prove far different.

MALPIGHIAOE^E.

Malpighia glabra.

BARBADOES CHERRY.

Sir K. Schomburgk says : —

" The fruit is much used in Barbadoes in preserves and tarts,
and there is something in the taste reminds rather of the .Raspberry

than of the Cherry It bears eatable fruit, in appearance

and size resembling Mayduke Cherries, but, though juicy and
sweet, in every respect inferior to M. urens : the fruit of this may
be likened to common wild Cherries of our plantations." *

Both the above species are very common in the gardens about
Calcutta, thriving well, and forming very handsome flowering
shrubs. M. glabra bears in the Cold season a few scattered
bright-red fruits, somewhat like Mayduke Cherries it is true,
but very small ones. Such as I have eaten I have found to be
mere worthless berries, pithy, tasteless, and juiceless.

CLUSIACE.E.
Mammea Americana.'

MAMMEE- APPLE.

A large timber-tree, native of the West Indies.
The fruit Dr. Lindley mentions as " the wild Apricot of South
America, said to rival the Mangosteen." It is described as

" Yellow, not unlike, either in shape or size, one of the largest
russet Apples. The outer rind, which easily peals off, is thick and
leathery ; beneath this is a second very delicate coat, which
adheres closely to the pulp, and should be carefully removed before
eating the fruit, as it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. The
seeds, of which there are two or three in the centre, are resinous
and very bitter ; but the pulp under the skin, which when ripe is

* Paxton's ' Flower Garden/ ii. 18.

206 GARDEN PLANTS. PAET IT.

of a deep yellow, resembling that of the finest Apricot, and of
considerable consistency, is very fragrant, and has a delicious but
very peculiar flavour. It is eaten either raw and alone, or cut into
slices with wine and sugar, or preserved in syrup."

Dr. Macfadyen describes it as " of a sweetish aromatic taste,
bearing a resemblance to that of a Carrot."

It was introduced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens very
many years ago, where it has flowered, but never yet borne fruit.

Garcinia Mangostana.

MANGOSTEEN.

The Mangosteen is a native of the Malay Islands.

The fruit is held in the very highest estimation. Don declares
it to be " in flavour the most delicious fruit in the world, par-
taking of the Strawberry and the Grape." It is said that to taste
the fruit in perfection it must be eaten as it is gathered from the
tree. The specimens brought occasionally to Calcutta from
the Straits are of the size of a middling-sized Apple, perfectly
smooth, with a dense rind, which, when removed, the centre is
found to consist of a soft, white, pellucid, most agreeable pulp.
But these convey hardly a notion of the fine flavour of the fruit
when gathered fresh. The cultivation of the Mangosteen, in the
open air at least, as high north as any part of Bengal, seems
now pretty well decided to be impracticable. Plants have been
repeatedly introduced into the gardens about Calcutta, but have
never been known to yield fruit. Mr. K. Solano, notwithstanding,
assured me that he had in his garden at Shahabad three trees,
about six feet high, and that one of these had borne fruit two
years in succession.

Garcinia Cowa.

COWA — COWA-MANGOSTEEN.

A very handsome tree, with fine luxuriant foliage of large
laurel-formed leaves ; native of Southern India.

The fruit ripens at the beginning of June, and is of the size
and form of a small Orange, ribbed, and of a russet-apricot colour ;
and were it not a trifling degree too acid, would be accounted
most delicious. It makes, however, a remarkably fine preserve.

Plants are raised easily by sowing the fibre-covered stones with
which the centre of the fruit abounds.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 207

Xanthochymus pictorius,
Toomul,

A fine handsome tree from thirty to forty feet high ; native of
this country ; bears in April rather large white flowers.

The fruit is remarkably handsome and luring, of the size and
form of an Orange, but with surface perfectly smooth like that
of a Plum, and of a bright yellow colour. If it were possible by
cultivation to subdue its intolerable acidity, it would rank in
merit, I consider, with any fruit grown. Don says, " it is not
inferior to many Apples ; " but I see no point of similarity in it
to suggest such a, comparison. The greatest degree of acidity
resides in the thick fleshy rind. The pulpy part in which the
seeds are enclosed is less acid, but very acid still ; indeed so
much so as to put any one's teeth out of order for a day or two
after having partaken of it. Underlying this intense acidity,
however, is a fine flavour, resembling, as I think, that of the
Apricot. The fruit begins to ripen about the middle of Sep^
tember, when, if not protected, it is greedily devoured by flying
foxes.

I have endeavoured to make a preserve of it, thinking that
the acidity might be so far overcome by cooking as to render it
agreeable to the palate. But I found that the resinous property
with which it abounded made it then quite unfit for eating.

Calysaccion longifolium.
Woondee.

A small tree remarkable for its fine handsome dense Laurel-
like foliage, said to be frequently met with in the Deccan of
India, though hardly known in Bengal, except by some two or
three thriving specimens in the vicinity of Calcutta.

The fruit is about the size of an acorn, to which also it is very
similar in appearance. It encloses a large stone, between which
and the rind is a soft pulpy juice of rosewater-like flavour, con-
sidered very agreeable by some. It is not, however, accounted
an edible fruit. It ripens about the middle or end of May.

Easily propagated by sowing the stones.

208 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART TL

ANONACE^B.

Anona squamosa.

CTJSTAKD-APPLE.

Aid — Shureefa — Seeia-phul.

A small tree ; " no doubt," Dr Voigt observes, " a native of
tropical America, notwithstanding St. Hilaire's reasonings, which
would make it of Asiatic origin." Dr. Anderson in his recent
catalogue sets it down as a native of both tropical Asia and
America. It is most abundant in Bengal, and produces its
rather large, greenish-yellow flowers about the middle of May.
This fruit and the Bullock's heart are not known, I am told, in
the Punjab.

The fruit is of the size of the largest Apple; and when
thoroughly ripe difficult to raise without the tortoise-shell-like
compartments of the rind bursting open, and the fruit dropping
to pieces by its own weight. The custard-like substance of the
interior has a most delicious and delicate flavour. Dr Mac-
fadyen, however, speaking of it as produced in the West Indies,
says that he " has never met with a European who was -partial
to it."* This would seem to imply that the fruit produced in
India, where it is so universally approved of, must be vastly
superior to that grown in what has been assigned as its native
locality. It is in season in this country during the greater part
of the Rains and cold months. The tree, when bearing, requires
to be covered by a net, or the produce, before fit to be gathered,
will almost be sure to be devoured by birds or squirrels. To
effect this more conveniently, as well as to improve the bearing
properties of the tree, a judicious system of pruning may with
advantage be adopted. Or the fruit may be preserved by
wrapping each one up severally, when about the size of a hen's
egg, in a piece of thin muslin.

General Jenkins writes : " The fruit as brought to market are
generally forced in straw, being gathered long before they are
ripe, otherwise they would require netting. This tree grows in
the highest perfection, in the most rocky, hot, and barren parts
of the country, and spontaneously. The largest I remember to
have seen were at Punnah, the most barren of sterile places.

* ' Flora of Jamaica,' p. 9.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 209

The tree grows out of crevices of rocks and old walls, and
apparently wild." *

Plants are propagated from seed, and are of very rapid growth,
coming into bearing in two or three years' time. A supply of
old cow manure to their roots during the cold months is of
great benefit to them.

Anona reticulata.

BULLOCK'S HEART — SWEET SOP.
Nona — Edm-phul.

A small tree, native of tropical Asia and America, and very
common in India.

The fruit differs from the Custard-apple in having a perfectly
smooth rind, and derives its name from the resemblance it bears
to a bullock's heart. The interior is full of a thick, luscious,
custard-like substance. It is not of so fine and delicate a flavour
as the Custard-apple, but being in season during the hot months,
when Custard-apples are not to be had, it is accepted as a very
agreeable fruit. While ripening it requires to be protected
from the depredations of birds and squirrels and bats, by a netting
or by some other means.

Plants are propagated from the pips.

Anona muricata.
SOUR-SOP.

Bilaetee Nona.

A small shrubby tree, native of the West Indies, with dark-
green, shining, laurel-like leaves of a pungent odour, something
like that of the Black Currant, and a very ornamental object
when bearing, in July, its fine large heart-shaped fruit. The
fruit Mr. Gosse describes as " lusciously sweet, and of a delightful
acidity ; often larger than a child's head ; covered with flexible
prickles."t Grown in this country it by no means realises the
above description, but is considered by most persons of so harsh
and unpleasant a flavour as to be quite uneatable.

This tree, by no means common in India, I found rather

* General Jenkins' MS. notes.

f ' Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica/ p. 46.

210 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

plentiful at Gowhatti in Assam, where it produces fruit as large
as a moderate-sized Jack.

The fruit begins to ripen about the latter end of June, and is
in season in July and August, retaining when ripe its dark
green colour. It is of the form of a bullock's heart rather pro-
longed, and not unfrequently of a kidney-form, from the apex
taking a curve upwards. The substance of the fruit amongst
which the seeds are scattered is of a soft woolly pulp, intermixed
with a juicy mucilage of a strong, rather vinous flavour, some-
what like that of the Pine-apple ; but it is wanting in sweetness,
and has a certain degree of rankness that causes it to be disliked
by most persons who have not acquired a taste for it. To most
palates, however, it may be made agreeable by putting the
pulp into a tumbler, sweetening it with pounded loaf-sugar,
and pouring over it a glass of sherry. There is a considerable
difference in the produce of different trees, some proving vastly
superior to others.

Plants are raised easily from the pips.

Anona cherimolia.

CHERIMOYER.

The fruit of the Cherimoyer is described as "of the size and
form of the Sour-sop, and of a light green colour, or as holding
a middle place between the Sweet-sop and Custard-apple, being
subsquamous like the former, and reticulated like the latter."

It is a native of Peru. Mr. Gosse states that the fruit is
grown to perfection in Jamaica, but only in certain mountainous
localities.

Mr. Markham says : —

" They have most of the other kinds of Anonas in India, but the
Cherimoyer fruit, the most exquisite of all, has yet to be raised.
He who has not tasted the Cherimoyer has yet to learn what fruit
is."

"The Pine-apple, the Mangosteen, and the Cherimoyer," says
Dr. Seemann, "are considered the finest fruits in the world. I
have tasted them in those localities in which they are supposed to
attain their highest perfection— the Pine-apple in Guayaquil, the
Mangosteen in the Indian Archipelago, and the Cherimoyer on the
slopes of the Andes — and if I were called upon to act the part of a
Paris, .1 would without hesitation assign the apple to the Cheri-

CHAP. II. DESSEKT FRUITS. 211

moyer. Its taste, indeed, surpasses that of every other fruit, and
Haenke was quite right when he called it the masterpiece of
nature." *

Dr. Lindley observes : —

" Fenelle says, one European Pear or Plum is worth all the
Cherimoyers of Peru." f

Plants are to be met with in the gardens of the Agri-Horti-
cultural Society as well as in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens,
where they were introduced a great many years ago, but their
cultivation has been attended with no success. Dr. Jameson
states also in his Eeport that the Cherimoyer had been intro-
duced into the Saharunpore Gardens, but had been found not to
succeed there. Whence perhaps it may be fairly concluded
there is little prospect of this fruit ever being produced in India,
unless possibly upon some spot on the slopes of the Himalaya,
or on the Nilgherries, where plants have recently been raised
from the seeds imported by Mr. Markham.

DILLENIACE^E.

Dillenia speciosa.
CJiulta.

A tree of considerable size, native of India ; bears a dense
head of exceedingly handsome foliage, with large noble leaves,
and produces in July great beautiful, pure white, fragrant
flowers, succeeded by fruit, having as they hang upon the tree
a resemblance to enormous green Apples. These are gathered
for use about the middle of September. The part made use of
for the table is not the fruit itself, but the large thickened sepals
of the calyx, by which it is firmly enclosed. Tasted raw these
have the exact flavour of a very sour unripe Apple, and when
cooked with sugar have also exactly the flavour of the same
fruit cooked in the same way. The great objection to them is
the large quantity of fibre they contain. They are very commonly
mixed as an ingredient in curries, especially in those made with
prawns, to which they impart a most agreeable flavour.

Plants are propagated by seed.

* « Travels in Peru and India,' p. 337.

f * Transactions of the London Hort. Society,' vol. v. p. 102.

p 2

212 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Vitis vinifera.

GKAPE.

Ungoor.

The varieties of Grape found in different parts of India are
no doubt very numerous, and some, probably, as large in size and
as fine in flavour as are to be met with in any part of the world.
In my grapery at Ferozepore I had some four or five sorts (the
names unknown to me), all of exquisite flavour. Dr. Jameson,
speaking of the vines in the Saharunpore Botanical Gardens,
says, " The different varieties of Cashmere vines are very fine,
and well worthy of extensive cultivation, particularly the varieties
Kishmish, Monucka, Honsanee, Muska"

The Aurungabad Grape is one of the most celebrated varie-
ties in India. It is a black fruit of large size, sweet, and of
livery consistency, much like the Portugal Grape sold in grocers'
shops in London. It is cultivated to great extent in the vineries
of Doulutabad, and is much in request in that part of the country,
being conveyed for sale to a considerable distance around, and
realising four times the price of the ordinary white Grapes
grown there.

None of these grapes appear to have reached the district of
Calcutta, or, if so, have probably perished, from the climate
being unsuited to them. I myself brought to Chinsurah from
Ootacamund in the year 1859 four choice varieties of Euro-
pean vines ; but they made no growth whatever, and at the end
of two years were poor stunted plants of much about the same
size as when I first obtained them.

Mr. L. Berkeley gives me the following as the names of the
Grape-vines he has growing in his garden at Lahore, imported
by himself from England : 1, Black Frontignan ; 2, Black Ham-
burg ; 3. Golden ; 4, Muscat ; 5, Constantia ; and 6, a dwarf
French kind (name lost), bearing a very delicate and sweet-
flavoured fruit, which lasts for months without decay. He tells
me, moreover, they have in the Punjab the Bedana, or stoneless
Grape, said to be indigenous there.

From Dr. Henderson I learn that he has introduced at Lahore
as many as sixteen kinds of Grape-vines from Europe.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 213

It will be a matter of the highest interest to ascertain the
result of the introduction of these several kinds of vines, as I
find it asserted by Mr. J. L. Denman that " no attempt hitherto
made to transport a particular species of vine to another country
has ever been attended with such a measure of success as to
reproduce in the new site precisely the same distinctive properties
that signalized it in the old. Whatever care may be bestowed
to select an identity of nutrition, aspect, and climate, the Grape
on removal loses its former and special attributes. . . . No
European plant retains its identity when transferred to American
ground." *

There are three varieties of Grape-vine issued from the Gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society, — the Black Hamburg, the
Malaga, and the Muscatel. In the Gardens of the Society these
vines produce no fruit. Whether the plants propagated from
them do so elsewhere in the neighbourhood I am unaware. An
unthriving-looking vine of the Black Hamburg creeps along
a dingy unwholesome wall in the Metcalfe Hall compound, and
is stated to bear fruit sometimes.

The most successful cultivation of the Grape-vine that I have
any knowledge of in the vicinity of Calcutta has been with some
large vines trained upon the portico of Mr. W. Stalkart's house
at Gooseree. The cuttings whence these vines were raised, Mr.
Stalkart told me, were brought out overland by a friend in his
trunk. The success he met with appeared to me to arise in
some measure from the robust nature of the particular kind of
vine; for the great difficulty with most kinds of vine near
Calcutta is to get them to make any growth at all : just as in
the North- West Provinces it is the exuberance of their growth
which it is found so difficult to counteract.

The Grape-vine will not do well without some kind of support.
The usual one in this country, and about the best that could be
adopted, is constructed as follows : —

Along each side of a pathway about ten or twelve feet wide,
and running north and south, construct brick pillars, about
fifteen inches square and seven feet high, at intervals of seven
or eight feet apart. Between the pillars place a trellis-work of
bamboo. Lay a beam or strong pole from the top of each
pillar to the top of the one on the opposite side of the pathway,
* « The Vine and its Fruit/ p. 4.

214 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

and in the centre of each beam fix a strong stake two or three
feet high, in order to support a trellis of bamboo made to meet
in the form of a pent-house roof over the path. Between each
pillar plant a vine.

A grapery of this kind is in itself a great ornament to a garden,
and if not made on too narrow a path, as is often the case, a
most pleasant place for a stroll, when the sun is too much up
for a walk elsewhere. Potted plants also that require shade
can often be put along the sides of it, between the pillars, with
great advantage.

The training of the vine is a very simple matter. Its figure,
properly trained, may be aptly likened to a huge gridiron
standing upright with its handle stuck in the ground, its top-
most horizontal bar removed, and the vertical ones two feet
apart. The young shoots near the base of a vine are easily bent
and secured so as to grow into this form ; and all wood but what
conduces to give it this form should be cut away at the proper
pruning season. Upon these bars young shoots will put forth
in March, each bearing two or three bunches of Grapes. These
fruit-bearing shoots will go on growing and lengthening till the
Cold season arrives, when they must be all cut back to two
eyes ; and at the same time all thin unripe wood that has been
made, of about the thickness of a cedar pencil, be cut clean away.
The vine will then present much of the naked gridiron form
again. From the two eyes thus reserved young shoots in the
following March will be produced, bearing their bunches of
Grapes, which in their turn must be cut back to two eyes in
the next Cold season, and so on.

Were the annual fruit-bearing shoots not thus cut back to one
or two eyes, but left at their full length, in the following season
from every eye upon them fresh shoots would put forth, each
bearing bunches of Grapes. The crop would be very great, but
of very inferior quality, and the vine much exhausted and
injured. In neglected gardens this is too often allowed to take
place, year after year perhaps, till the plants become an intricate,
unmanageable, and unproductive jungul. Fortunately the vine
bears the knife well ; and my recommendation is in such cases
to use it unsparingly. Cut away everything, if needs be, till
only the stump remains. This will put forth strong, vigorous
shoots, which may be trained in the way above directed for a

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 215

young plant. It will be of course at a sacrifice of all fruit for the
first season, but the gain a year or two after will be immense.

The cultivation of the Grape-vine in this country is conducted
all but in the same way as that adopted with the Peach. In
October, when the Bains are fully over, the soil is removed from
the roots, and they are allowed to remain bare a month or two.
By this time the leaves will have fallen, and the trees should
then be primed. In the beginning of February, just before the
vines put forth their new shoots and blossom, fill in over the
roots any description of rich manure that can be obtained,
although perhaps nothing can be better than old cow-manure.
Fish, when obtainable, is strongly recommended. A compost
which I have found excellent for manuring vines is made thus : —

A large deep hole is dug in the earth, into which plenty of
fresh cow-dung is thrown. A quantity of oilcake (khurree) is
boiled in an earthen pot over the fire till dissolved. This, with
an equal quantity of molasses (goor) and a small portion of lime,
is thrown into the hole containing the cow-dung, and well stirred
up. The hole is then covered over and allowed to remain so a
month or two, only being opened occasionally for stirring up the
contents. This compost must be applied to the roots of the
vines. It has a most offensive smell ; but if earth be thrown
over it — fresh earth, and not the old soil that had been removed
— the bad smell will soon pass off.

From the time the fruit sets, and as it increases in size, water
should be given to the roots constantly and in great abundance.
When the Grapes are just about ripening, irrigation should be
discontinued entirely.

It is a matter of consequence that the ripening take place
before the approach of the Rains, or the fruit under the influence
of much wet becomes liable to burst.

Mr. L. Berkeley had vines in his glass conservatory at Lahore ;
and by thus protecting his Grapes, told me he was enabled to
preserve them a much longer time than he could otherwise
have done.

The vine is readily propagated by cuttings.

These are best made, perhaps, and put down at the time of
the annual pruning at the end of November. They should be
laid slanting-wise in the soil, with about two buds above the
surface, and the earth well pressed upon them.

216 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

When the plant is of a choice kind, or one that it is desired
to make the most of, it may, as is usually done in England, be
multiplied by single eyes. For this purpose, wood of the current
year's growth is cut into pieces of about two inches in length,
each with one bud in the centre, and split in half. The half
bearing the eye is laid firmly in a horizontal position, with the
eye uppermost, upon a light mellow soil, and covered with fine
sand, so that all but the eye is buried. Dr. G. Henderson informs
me that they have adopted this mode of propagating the vine
with great success in the Punjab, but I believe it is not the
practice there to split off half the wood.

In the vicinity of Calcutta, and indeed elsewhere in India, the
Grape-vine seems capable of being made to bear fruit at very
variable seasons. Mr. Thompson, for instance, gives an account
of an old Grape-vine which, according to the time of pruning
and dressing, produced ripe fruit in February, May, July, and
September, respectively.* And Dr. Spry thinks it a circumstance
worth recording that " a pensioner at Meerut presented Mr. H.
Cope, on Christmas-day of 1841, with a ripe bunch of grapes of
good size and very tolerable flavour."! On the 14th February,
1844, W. Storm, Esq., "presented to the Agri-Horticultural
Society a very perfect bunch of Grapes, the produce of a vine
growing in his compound at Calcutta. The vine was pruned in
September, and the grapes are all now ripe."

No person, however, whose object is to obtain from his vines
the richest flavoured fruit they can produce will endeavour to
ripen them at an untimely season. The driest and hottest period
of the year is when Grapes ripen finest. This will be March in
the Deccan, May in the vicinity of Calcutta, and June in the
Upper Provinces.

Sir E. Tennent gives this very interesting piece of information
respecting the culture of the vine in Ceylon, which may perhaps
lead to important practical results in the cultivation not only of
the vine, but of several other fruit-trees in this country.

"Mr. Dyke has succeeded in cultivating the Black Grape of
Madeira trained over a trellis — the want of winter-rest for the
plant being supplied by baring the roots and exposing them to
the sun. The vines give two crops in the year, the principal one

* ' Agri-Horticultural Journal/ vol. viii. p. 181, and vol. ix. p. 6.
t Dr. Spry's ' Plants for India,' p. 82.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 217

in March, and the second in September ; but the operation of
stripping the roots is only resorted to once, about the time of
pruning in July." *

AUKANTIACE^:.

Triphasia trifoliata.

Cheena Narunga.^

A small, unpretending, thorny shrub, native of China ; bears
small white fragrant flowers. The fruit, which is spoken highly of
by some authors, both in respect to its flavour and its excellence
for preserving, is about the size of a large Black Currant. It
encloses a stone which fills nearly the whole of the centre, leaving
room for a small quantity of juicy pulp of an agreeable aniseed-
like flavour. It can, notwithstanding, be hardly regarded as
better than a mere berry. The plant, which is almost constantly
bearing, produces its crop principally in February, when the
bright red fruit gives it rather a pretty appearance. It may
be propagated either by seed or by cuttings.

Cookia punctata.

WAMPEE.

A small tree, native of China ; rises to about twenty feet in
height; is of rather handsome growth, with fine luxuriant
foliage ; blossoms in the early part of April with small dense
bunches of whitish sweet-scented flowers, and ripens its fruit in
June. The fruit is borne in clusters, and when ripe resembles
a diminutive Lemon, being about the size of an acorn, with a
rough orange-like rind. It contains three large seeds, which
nearly fill the interior. The small quantity of juicy pulp between
the seeds and the rind is of an aniseed-like flavour. In the
vicinity of Calcutta, where the tree is not uncommon, the fruit
can hardly be considered better than a poor unserviceable berry.
Possibly in China, and in other localities more congenial to it,
a more palatable fruit may be produced.

A variety however is met with, I understand, in some gardens

* Sir E. Torment's « Ceyloii,' vol. ii. p. 539.

218 GAEDEN PLANmS. PART II.

in Bengal, but not common, which be* 3 a fruit of quite a dark

colour, and of much superior quality the green kind.

Plants may be propagated from * *d or by cuttings : they
grow well in all' parts of India.

Feronia elephantum.

WOOD-APPLE — ELEPHANT-APPLE.

Kuth-bel.

A common jungul tree of this country. The fruit is round, ot
a pale green colour, and about the size of a cricket-ball. When
the hard shell-like rind is cracked, the interior is found full of
a brown, soft, mealy kind of substance, rather acrid, having a
strong smell of rancid butter, and by no means palatable. It
ripens in October. Dr. Wight says : " The pulp of the fruit
affords a very pleasant jelly, so closely resembling black-currant
jelly, as to be only distinguished by a trifling degree of astrin-
gency." The jelly, however, I have prepared from it appeared
to me to possess rather the flavour of Apple, with a sharp cider
taste, and to be such as it is not likely would be approved of
by many.

The tree may be propagated by seed or by cuttings put down
in the Bains, but it is not entitled to a place in the garden.

JEgle Marmelos.

BALE-FRUIT — BENGAL QUINCE.

Bel-phuL

A small tree, much covered with sharp spines, native of this
country, and common in most parts of India.

The fruit varies much as to size. The largest are sometimes
seen bigger than a man's head, while those of the ordinary size
are not much larger that a cricket-ball ; the very large ones,
however, are considered of not nearly so good a quality as those
of a more moderate size. The rind consists of a thin, pale green
shell, which it requires considerable force to crack. The interior
contains a soft, yellow substance of pease-pudding-like con-
sistency, intermingled with a limpid kind of slime, of a very
fragrant scent, and of a flavour very agreeable to those accustomed
to it. The high reputation it bears for its medicinal properties

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 219

induces many to partake of it, and those who do so usually
become remarkably fond of it. It is in season principally during
the months of January and February.

The tree may be propagated either by layers or by seed. I
am not aware that any trouble is ever taken to improve it by
cultivation.

Citrus Aurantium.

ORANGE.

Kumla neeboo.
Narungee — Sungtura.

The Orange is a native of India, and grows in nearly all parts
of the country except in Lower Bengal, within a region about one
or two hundred miles from Calcutta. Even as high as Purneah,
I understand, though the tree bears fruit, it never ripens it.

In Europe the varieties of Orange are numerous, but in India
there do not appear to be more than three or four varieties in
ordinary cultivation.

1. The SYLHET ORANGE : a round, plump, thin-skinned fruit,
answering very much to the description of that so common in
England, and known as the China Orange. This fruit is brought
down during the cold months in great abundance to the Calcutta
market from Sylhet, to the hills in which locality its growth
seems in a great measure confined.

2. An ill-shapen fruit, with a thick, deep-coloured rind, much
larger than the pulp can fill out, in this respect resembling the
Mandarin Orange as well as in its scent and flavour, but differ-
ing from it in form, and in being of nearly four times the size.
This is the variety cultivated almost exclusively in the Upper
Provinces and in the Deccan of India.

3. A small Orange, not larger than a Plum, and bearing to
other kinds much about the same relation that a Crab does to
an Apple. The tree, however, in full bearing is a very pretty
object, and the fruit, though fit for little else, makes an excellent
preserve.

4. A kind much resembling the Sweet Lime ; an insipid and
worthless fruit.

The SEVILLE ORANGE: C. vulgaris. Mr. W. Stalkart has
this variety in his garden at Gooseree, where he tells me it bears

220 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

fruit abundantly. This kind, from which in Europe the finest
marmalade is made, appears to be the only one that does thrive
and bear fruit in the vicinity of Calcutta.

According to General Jenkins, rt the Oranges of Sylhet grow
from the foot of the mid region of the Khassya Hills. The
ground is rocky debris of limestone and sandstone. The best
Oranges are said to be the produce of the upper groves — a thin-
skinned and so very delicate Orange, that it ought to be procured
in the vicinity. There are as good Oranges to be had in several
parts of Assam." * The General, moreover, says : " At Nagpore
Oranges blossom in February and March, and ripen their fruit
in June and July. They blossom again in the end of July and
August, for thec old weather crop, which lasts till March. The
Nagpore Sungturas are undoubtedly the finest Oranges in India.
They are of two colours, orange and dark-green ; both thin and
loose-skinned, and of great size and exquisite flavour." f

In reply to my inquiry on the subject of these Oranges,
Mr. A Ross, Secretary of the Agri-Horticultural Society of
the Central Provinces, kindly favoured me with the following
communication : —

" The Nagpore gardens are still famous for their Oranges. I
have been over most parts of India, and never saw finer. The
trees under very favourable circumstances attain a height of
twenty to twenty-five feet, covering a space of the same diameter,
and are prolific bearers, the branches having frequently to be
propped up to prevent their breaking down with the weight
of the fruit which clusters on them, as if piled in a basket.
They are propagated both- by budding and grafting-by-approach.
The former method is preferred. Both sour and sweet lime
stocks are employed. The plant bears fruit in the third year.
After the Eains are well over, in October, the roots are opened
out for a space of about four feet in diameter and nine inches
or a foot deep ; all their fibres are removed, and after about a
fortnight's exposure, the holes are filled in with well-decayed
cow-shed manure or night-soil.

" The great enemy of Orange cultivation is a grub which at-
tacks the tree when five or six years old. It perforates the
stem, where the branches divide, and working up through their
cores, causes them to wither, as if by blight. Native gardeners
* MS. t Ibid.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 221

make a great secret of the remedy for this pestilence ; but it is
nothing more than pouring into the orifice made by the insect
a small quantity of Assafoetida and Buckh (orris-root) boiled in
oil, which has the effect of bringing the insect to the surface,
when it can be picked out by a thorn or pin.

" The Oranges are not of two colours, but you have been cor-
rectly informed that there are two crops. The blossoms of the
first crop (Ambeeabar, from their coming in with the Mango
blossoms) appear in February, and the fruit ripens in November,
lasting on the trees till January. The tree flowers again in the
beginning of July (Mirigbart from the setting in of the Kain
season), and the fruit ripens fully in March and April. The
Oranges of this second crop are the sweetest, and coming in at
the beginning of the hot weather, they are in great demand,
and are plucked early in March, and even in February, while
the rind is yet green. Hence the impression that the fruit is of
two colours.

" The Nagpore Oranges were introduced by Kaja Kaghqjee II.
from Ourungabad and a place called Seethakolee. The Ourun-
gabad stock is distinguished by a peculiar formation of the
fruit at the peduncle, where it rises in the form of a nipple,
having a marked depression all around. The Seethakolee
Orange is quite round. Both descriptions are of two distinct
kinds, viz., the Sunthura, or thin, smooth, and close-rinded ; and
the Koomla, or thick, rough, and loose-rinded. The latter are
the largest, being sometimes as much as five inches in diameter.

" I believe that the double crop is owing to a peculiarity in the
Nagpore Orange. It has retained that peculiarity when removed
elsewhere ; though, in the very limited number of instances in
which it has been removed, the fruit has been found to deterio-
rate.

" I was recently down at Bombay, where I found in a Parsee
nurseryman's garden a description of Orange that I had never
seen before. It is in colour and appearance very like a Sweet
Lime — quite as juicy, but slightly acid, and fully as large as our
largest Oranges : indeed it looked like a young Pumelo ! The
Parsee said he had a sour variety of this Orange ; but this is a
fruit not uncommon here, known as the Jumbairee Leemoo. It
is exceedingly sour, but not distinguishable from the Seethakolee
Koomla Orange except by the taste."

222 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Mr. L. Berkeley likewise states, " There is a variety of Orange
grown at Delhi which fruits twice a year ; it is called Doordjee,
and is so much valued that plants are very difficult to obtain."*
Upon this Mr. Ross observes that he does not remember seeing
the Doomrajee Oranges at Delhi later than March.

Some years ago Orange-trees of as many as six kinds were
introduced at Goojranwalla in the Punjab, where they throve
well and bore abundantly. They were, 1, The Tangerine, the
small flattish variety, so called in the fruiterers' shops in London,
sometimes quite diminutive, of a fine perfume, occasionally mis-
taken for, but quite distinct from the Mandarin ; 2, St. Michael ;
3, Small Blood; 4, Large Blood: 5, Large Oval; 6, Large
White. These trees, procured originally at great expense by
Colonel Clarke, appear to have been much neglected ; and no
means have been taken to propagate them. By a late account
given of them by Mr. Brandreth, in the Blood kinds the blood
colour is gradually dying out, owing, he considers, to want of
due culture.f

Oranges of two or three kinds also have been introduced from
Malta by Dr. Bonavia at Lucknow, where they have been pro-
pagated and distributed freely.

It does not seem that even in Europe Oranges are subjected,
like other fruit-trees, to a regular course of pruning, but are
left pretty much to themselves ; and such is invariably the case
in this country. No tree makes wood more freely after severe
cutting in than does the Orange. Hence it may be early trained
into any desired form without much interfering with its pro-
ductiveness ; seeing likewise that it bears its flowers upon wood
of one year old, and upon the new shoots.

In Europe the application of manure to Orange-trees is con-
sidered indispensable to keep up their fertility ; and refuse of
every description that can be turned to account for the purpose,
according as it is available, is made use of. Hence it may be
said to feed strongly. Dr. Bonavia recommends "each tree
should have a good top-dressing of rotten night-soil every rainy
season."

" All the Orange tribe," it is stated, " may be easily propa-
gated by cuttings or by layers ; but they rarely make satis-

* ' Proceedings of the Agri.-Hort. Society of the Punjab.'

t ^Proceedings of the Agri.-Hort. Society of the Punjab,' June, 1866, p. xxvi.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 223

factory plants. The usual and far better way is to graft a bud
upon seedlings of the Lemon raised for the purpose. The seeds
germinate in about a fortnight, and the plants will be ready for
grafting upon in the course of the same year."*

Dr. Bonavia considers best for stocks seedlings of the common
country sour Orange, when about a year old; and mentions
February and March as by far the most favourable time for the
operation of budding/I"

Citrus decumana.

PUMELO— POMPOLEON — POMPELNOSE.

Batavee Neeboo — Chukotura.

This fruit, which grows to such perfection in some parts of
Lower Bengal, I do not remember to have seen at all in the north
of India. Neither in the Shalemar Gardens, near Lahore, nor
in the Bam-Bagh at Umritsur, so rich in trees of the Orange
and Sweet Lime, was the tree to be found. In my garden at
Ferozepore I had several young plants, brought by a native
nurseryman from Cawnpore, but they made during the two or
three years I possessed them but very slow growth.

The fruit grown in Calcutta and its immediate neighbourhood
that I have tasted has been mostly tough and dry, and poor in
flavour, but that from some of the gardens about Chinsurah and
Hooghly has been pulpy and full of juice of the most agreeable
flavour. The fruit is, however, often condemned when the fault
lies in its having been gathered too soon. It is the better for
being left as long as possible on the tree. It is in season in
October and November.

Dr. Macfadyen in his * Flora of Jamaica ' describes two
varieties : J

" a. Maliformis, of which the fruit is globose, with the pulp of a
pale pink colour, approaching to a very light yellow.

" (3. Pyriformis : of this the fruit is more or less pear-shaped,
and the pulp of a crimson colour more or less intense. This
variety is the most esteemed, being sweet and juicy, and having
only in a slight and palatable degree the acidity which abounds in
the first."

* * Le Bon Jardinier ' pour 1866, p. 378.

t ' Journal of Agri.-Hort. Society,' vol. xiv. p. 199, where see an excellent
practical paper upon the cultivation of Malta Oranges. + Vol. i. p. 131.

224 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

We have both varieties, that with red pulp and that with pale
yellow, equally common here. But no such distinction exists
between them as Dr. Macfadyen has above indicated, either as
regards the form or merit of the fruits. The pear-shaped form,
which some fruits take, seems merely an accident of growth, both
that and the globose form being often found at the same time
upon the same trees of either variety. The fruit has also been
distinguished as—

1. POMPOLEONS or PUMELOS, when of the largest size.

2. SHADDOCKS, those of intermediate size ; after the name of
Captain Shaddock, who first introduced them into Europe from
China.

3. FORBIDDEN-FRUIT, when somewhat larger in size than the
largest Orange, with pulp of the colour of that of a Lemon, and
rather acid. This variety, often se3n in the fruiterers' shops
in England, I have never met with in India. They call this
however Pumelo, giving the name of Shaddock indiscriminately
to the two first kinds.

AMOY-PUMELO is the name of a variety sent in the year 1851
from China by Mr. Fortune to the Agri-Horticultural Society,
and described by him as " the finest fruit of the kind in China."

CANTON PUMELO is the name of another variety sent also
about the same time by Mr. Fortune. Neither of these two
varieties have hitherto (1862) fruited, but remain in an un-
thriving condition, as though the climate did not suit them.

Except putting out the plant in the spot it is to occupy, no
trouble, I believe, is ordinarily taken with the cultivation of the
Pumelo, though the goodness perhaps of the fruit may depend
much more on the soil in which the tree is grown than on the
excellence supposed to belong to any particular variety. No
doubt the opening of the roots in January and afterwards covering
them with a rich soil would be as beneficial to this as it is to all
other fruit-trees.

A dressing of salt to the roots of the trees I have been told
by a friend, who tried it upon several in his garden, has a sur-
prising effect in improving the quality of the fruit, rendering it
tender as an Orange, and all but bursting with juice.

Plants are usually propagated by gootees, or by layers made
in pots supported on high among the branches by a bamboo
scaffolding.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 225

Any tree had better be spared from the garden than the
Pumelo. Its fine foliage, the large and fragrant flowers it bears
in February, and the noble fruit hanging from its boughs long
afterwards, render it a truly ornamental object.

Citrus Japonica.

KUMQUAT — OTAHEITE ORANGE*

A small tree, native of China, of recent introduction into India.
The fruit resembles a diminutive Orange^ about the size of a
Lichee, and is produced in great profusion during the Cold
months, rendering the tree upon which it is borne an exceedingly
ornamental object to the garden. A very fine preserve is made
from it by the Chinese4 It may be propagated by layers or seed.
But Mr. Fortune observes^ " in order to succeed with it as well
as the Chinese do, one little fact should be kept in view, viz., that
all the plants of the Orange tribe which bear fruit in a small
state are grafted," *

Citrus acida,
LIME.

Neeboo.

Of the Lime there are several varieties* but it is hardly worth
while, especially where the Lemon is also cultivated, to allow
room for more than two or three of them in the garden. The
trees are the least ornamental, and the flowers the meanest and
least possessed of scent of any of the Citrus genus.

1. Pdtee: a small round fruit, esteemed by the natives
highest of any.

2. Kaghuzee : of the size and form of a hen's egg ; ripens of a
pale lemon colour, the one perhaps in most general cultivation
of all.

3. Gora : a small oval fruit, much cultivated.

4. Cheenee Gora: a sub- variety of the previous one, and
reckoned superior to it ; of the size of a large Orange, thin-
skinned and fine-flavoured.

5. Kamuralee : a large handsome fruit, of pale lemon colour,
and of about the size of a Cocoa-nut.

* « Tea Districts,' p. 123.

226 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Besides the above, Dr. Voigt describes the following three,
with the merits of which I am unacquainted : —

6. Runypore : a round, smooth-skinned fruit.

7. Taba : a large, globose, spongy-skinned fruit.

8. Arabian : a large thick-skinned sort.

9. A very pretty variety, growing in Baboo Jibbon Kissen
Paul's garden at Hooghly, bears perfectly round lemon-coloured
fruits, in size little larger than a marble.

10. A variety in the same garden bearing fruit of the form
of .a Nutmeg, and but little larger. These two varieties I
understood were introduced originally by Mr. F. Pareira from
China.

The Lime is easily propagated by layers or by sowing the pips.
Varieties, such as the two last, are perhaps best budded or grafted
on stocks of some kind of stronger habit.

Citrus limetta.

SWEET LIME.

Meeta Neeboo.

The fruit of the Sweet Lime is of the form and size of a mode-
rate-sized Orange, with very smooth, pale-green rind. It has
scarcely any flavour perceptible besides that of sweetness, but
being in season during the hot months of August and September,
when Oranges are not procurable, it is found very refreshing
and agreeable.

Young plants are raised from sowing the pips, or those that
come into bearing earlier by layering.

Citrus limonum.

LEMON.

Korna Neeboo.

The varieties of Lemon grown for distribution in the Gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society are : —

1. The Common Spanish so much used in England. This is
not altogether similar in shape to the European fruit. The
tree is very valuable for being in constant bearing all the year
through.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 227

2. Burtons : peculiar for the large beak with which the fruit
terminates.

3. The (so-called) large Lemon.

4. The NINGPO : plants and seeds of this were sent in the year
1854 by Mr. Fortune from China, with the following remarks:* —

" I draw your attention more particularly to the Ningpo Lemon,
a fruit which is much esteemed by the Chinese on account of its
fragrance. In the autumn, when this fruit ripens, it is met with
in all the houses of the rich. An ornamental plate of old China, on
a stand, is filled with the fruit piled one above another, and placed
upon a table in the hall or reception-room ; here it remains for
several weeks, and diffuses a delicious perfume throughout the
house."

The plants sent by Mr. Fortune have never yet fruited since
they have been introduced.

Plants of all varieties of the Lemon may be raised from pips
or by layering.

Citrus medica.
CITRON.

Beg-Poora.

The fruit of this tree is well known for its great size, as well
as for its dense spongy rind, from the external portion of which
such excellent preserve or marmalade is made ; the leaves are
peculiar in. not having, like most of the Citrus genus, winged
footstalks. There are three well-distinguished varieties met
with in this country, and possibly there may be more that I am
unacquainted with. The fruits all terminate in a blunt-pointed
beak.

1. The Common Citron, of the size of an ostrich egg, or some-
what larger, much knobbed and warted.

2. A Citron of enormous size, full a foot or more long. This
seemingly is the kind known in Europe as the Poncire.

3. The fingered Citron, a curious fruit, resembling a man's
hand with the fingers bent up with cramp ; not uncommon in
the North- West Provinces, but I have not seen it near Calcutta.
It has been stated that the rind of this variety is very fragrant,
and that the Chinese place it on dishes in their apartments to

* ' Agri-Hort. Soc. Journal/ ix. 100.

Q 2

228 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

perfume the air. I perceived no very powerful fragrance in the
fruits I used to gather from my garden in Ferozepore.

The Citron is usually propagated by layering ; the plants in
consequence remain dwarf, with a sprawling habit, and witli
their fruit hanging close to the ground. It would seem a far
preferable plan to bud or graft it upon the Pumelo stock ; a
handsome tree would thus be obtained, which would produce its
ornamental fruits up on high, well exposed to view.

In Assam a curious plan is adopted to bring the Citron to
perfection. When the fruit is as yet but small, the branch that
bears it is bent down, so that the fruit may be lowered into a
large earthen vessel with narrow aperture, sunk for the purpose
in the ground. The fruit which, the natives say, if left in its
natural position on the tree would never become large, confined
in that situation grows to a prodigious size, and completely fills
the vessel. When extracted from the vessel, which of course
must needs then be broken, it diffuses a wondrous perfume*

MELIACE^E.
Lansium domesticum.

LANGSAT OR LANSEH.

Native of Java and of the Moluccas.

Mr. Low in his work on Borneo describes the fruit of this tree
as " pulpy, aromatic, and delicate, produced in bunches from
the stem and branches of the tree." And Dr. Ward says of it :
" This delightful fruit is the produce of a large tree. It grows
in clusters : each is about the size of a cricket-ball. The brownish
thin skin being broken displays the pulp in six cloves of a plea-
santly acid taste, enclosing a greenish kidney-shaped seed. It
is by many reckoned the finest fruit in the Peninsula. The
month of July is the season at Malacca in which it is had in
greatest perfection."* Dr. Voigt mentions the plant as existing
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but doubts whether it has
ever flowered. I understood from the malees that two trees
were growing there in Dr. Wallich's time which bore fruit abun-
dantly, but that they died long since.

* 'Our Tropical Possessions in Malayan India,' by J. Caineroh. Appendix i.

CH'AP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 229

ANACARDIACEJE,
Mangifera Indica,

MANGO.

.A

Am.

The Mango, in its uncultivated state, rises to become a forest-
tree of stately growth, with wide-spreading, noble foliage. It is a
native of India, where it may commonly be seen in the outskirts
of villages, in large topes, under the sombre shade of which the
traveller is wont to find shelter from the rays of the mid-day
sun.

The cultivated Mango, however— that which has been propa-
gated by cutting or graft — becomes altogether dwarfed in cha-
racter, attaining then to a size not too large for it to find a place
in the orchard or garden.

The Mango-tree blossoms about the middle of February, with
sprays of small greenish flowers, which for a week or two scent
the air for some distance around with rather a heavy but agree-
able fragrance. The fruit of most kinds begins to come into
season towards the middle of May.

The fruit of the Mango is generally of an oval form, some-
what flattened, and with a kind of heel near the apex. There
is no fruit of which the several varieties vary more in size, the
smallest being no larger than a pullet's egg, and the largest
attaining to the size of a small Pumelo. They are equally
distinct also in quality and flavour. The worst have been, not
inaptly, likened for flavour and consistency to tow soaked in
turpentine ; while the finest, having the soft bland consistency
of blanc-mange, so as to admit of being eaten with a spoon,
certainly rival, if not excel, any fruit in the world for delicious-
ness of flavour.

It would be almost impossible to describe or even to enumerate
the various kinds of Mango found in India. Many, probably of
exquisite flavour, are beyond access, existing only in private
gardens, in remote parts of the country, known scarcely to any
one but the owners ; while the majority of those offered for sale,
as well as those frequently met with in gardens, are of very
inferior description, and unworthy of notice. All I am enabled
to do is to mention such as have come under my own observation,

230 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

as being fruits of high character, and to state the localities where
they are to be met with.

The following are the kinds grown in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens : —

1. Alphonso : from the vicinity of Bombay ; a Mango of high
repute.

2. China : a small fruit, of little merit ; remarkable principally
for the tree bearing a second crop in October.

3. Gopdl Bhog : from Malda ; in high estimation ; of moderate
size, of a deep amber and orange colour when ripe, the flesh of
livery consistency, of peculiar flavour.

4. Kysapatee : from Malda ; a small fruit of rich, exquisite
flavour.

5. Langera : an excessively large fruit, of inferior quality. It
remains upon the tree and ripens a month or more after the
season of other kinds is past. Probably this is the one described by
Dr. Lindley, under the name of Dodol or Calappa, as " the largest
variety, sometimes being as big as an infant's head, or middling
Shaddock, weighing more than two pounds; called in Goa
Barera" *

6. Large Malda: a middling-sized fruit, of an olive-green
colour when ripe, the interior of a deep orange colour ; about
the finest, if not the very finest of all. To those who have not
partaken of it, no words can convey an idea of the merit of this
exquisitely luscious fruit. It comes into season about the 20th
of May. The Botanical Gardens are rather rich in the number
of trees of this kind they contain.

7. Peter: a moderate-sized Mango, of roundish form, with a
projecting heel on one side. It ripens of a dull russet colour
with a reddish tinge, and may fairly be considered of first-rate
merit, having a distinct taste of a ripe Gooseberry.

8. Singapore: a fruit of the largest size, ripening all over
of an uniform greenish golden yellow ; accounted by some
a first-rate sort, but in my estimation of but secondary
merit.

9. Soondershaw: a large fruit, when ripe very gorgeous in
colour, of bright orange and vermilion ; in flavour only a second-
rate fruit at best ; those produced in the Botanical Gardens are
not even that.

* ' Transactions of the London Horticultural Society/ vol. v. p. 113.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 231

Besides 10. Arbuthnot, and 11. Moorshedabad, with the merits
of which I am unacquainted.

The following- arc the several kinds grown for distribution in
the Gardens of the Agri- Horticultural Society : —

1. Bombay: or Large Malda.

2. Madras : introduced thence, but originally from Bombay ;
a moderate-sized fruit, ripens of a straw colour, and is of very
fine flavour.

3. Gopal Ehdg.

4. Kysapatee.

5. Bindobunnee: a small egg-formed fruit of fine flavour;
green when ripe.

6. Bhutoora : a small fruit of long and flattened form, ripens
of a dark-green with vivid red streaks on the sunny side ; the
interior of a straw colour, very delicious, having a spice of
aniseed in its flavour.

Besides the following of no great merit : Goa, ChucJcchuJceea,
and Feroghdbunnee, from Malda. Arracan, Soondershaw, De
Cruzes Favourite. Also Lucknow, Ndgrroo, Davies, and the
three, Tarse, August, and Madame, from Mauritius; with the
merits of which I am unacquainted.

The garden of Baboo Jibbon Kissen Paul, at Hooghly, con-
tains, or did contain, in addition to many already described,
a very choice selection of different kinds of Mango, of which I
give an account below. I have been told, I must first state, by
one who inquired about them of the Baboo, that he did not
recognise the names of some. All I can say is, that if I am
inaccurate in any instance as to the name, I am to a certainty
correct in the description of the Mango to which the name
is applied. The names I took down from the Baboo's malee
with each fruit as I received it.

1. Archdee (Bombay) : a fruit of first-rate excellence, ripening
some time after the season for other kinds is over. The tree
which bears it is remarkable for the purple or inky colour of
the young shoots.

2. Bel Mango: a very peculiar and curious description of
fruit, of a flavour in no way distinguishable from that of the
fruit whose name it has ; the leaf also of the tree has a strong
parsley-like scent.

3. Bdtavee: a moderate-sized fruit of first-rate excellence,

GAKDEtt PLANTS. * PART II.

when ripe of a pale apricot colour, the flesh of a pale primrose
colour ; resembles closely in delicacy of flavour the " Madras "
of the Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens.

4. Bogul: a very large cylindrically-formed fruit, of a pale-
green colour when ripe, the flesh of a butter-like consistency,
and of a most delicious apricot-like flavour.

5. Kuchchdee Meethea: a fruit remarkable for being sweet
and eatable in its unripe state ; eaten pared like an Apple.

6. Kala Puhdr: a first-rate fruit.

7. Kelood : a moderate sized fruit, of orange colour, and fine
gooseberry flavour.

8. Kheera Chota (Bombay) : a first-rate fruit.

9. Koptit Bunga : of moderate size ; in colour of a pale ashy-
green, with a tinge of orange on the sunny side ; a most delicious
fruit, second only in merit to the Malda.

10. Mohun Bhog : a small red fruit of the very highest merit.

11. Ndreech (Bombay) : a very large whitish coloured fruit,
ripe in August.

12. Pheeta Klids : flesh of a pale straw coloui-j very sweet and
luscious.

13. Phoolee : a small fruit* red outside ; flesh of primrose
colour, of exquisite flavour.

14. Surees, or Surees Khds : a long flat-formed fruit of mode-
rate size ; when ripe of a dark-green on one side with stripes of
red on the sunny side ; flesh of a deep orange colour, second
only to Malda in fineness of flavour.

15. Tdrah l a fruit of moderate size, flesh orange coloured ; of
a fine acid flavour.

Besides, Airman, a very large handsome fruit, in colour resem-
bling a Nectarine, but poor .in flavour, as was Asmantdrah ; two
good country kinds, Booree and Chchdeton Moora ; Mookh-Machee,
Pydrd-Khds, Shah-pusand, Soonddleea, Phreet (Bombay),

The Mango may be propagated readily enough from seed ;
but Mr. Ingledew, who seems to have had much experience in
the cultivation of this fruit in Mysore, maintains that —

" The produce of the seedling Mango is very uncertain, and less
to be depended upon than that of most other seedlings in the quality
of its fruit : and it is probable that not one in several thousands of
those trees will bear good fruit in ordinary situations." *

* ' Journal of Agri-Horticultural Society,' vol. i. p. 262.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. ' 233

Opposed however to this, Dr. Jameson states respecting the
Bombay kind that —

" The seedling of the grafted tree gives fruit in five years, and is
nearly equal to the grafted plant. It, too, will grow in many soils
where the grafted plant will not succeed." *

Mr, P. Homfray likewise, in a communication to the Agri-
Horticultural Society, mentions, respecting a fine variety of
Mango introduced from Java, that of several seeds sown in his
garden at Howrah, the trees raised, all without exception, bore
precisely the same kind of fruit in flavour, appearance, and
quality as that produced by the parent tree. He further adds : —

"Mr. J. Homfray has likewise in his garden a grafted tree,
received from the Botanic Garden, of the Mazagon Mango, stones
from the fruit of which he planted, and one or two of the trees
raised therefrom produce fruit exactly alike, and fully equal in
every respect to the fnut of the parent tree."

Major W. Stokes also states the same of a peculiar sort he
found at Kyak Phyoo.

In a conversation I had with Mr. P. Homfray, many years
after he made the above communication, he told me that he
had since sown the seeds of other kinds, but had not met with
the same result from them. The seedlings did not yield fruit
equal to that of the parent tree. The Java kind, however,
always came true as a seedling.

I have it from General Jenkins that " the natives say, that for
seed you should skin the fruit, leaving all the pulp about the
stone* and so • throw it into milk, and there let it remain for
three days, and then take it out and plant it."

The mode of propagation almost always resorted to is by in^
arching. Stones are sown at the time the fruit is in season, and
the plants raised from them are potted off into single pots to be
inarched upon on the setting in of the Kains in the second year
after. At the close of the Eains the union between the graft
and the stock will be complete ; and the plants should then be
separated and removed to some shady spot, where it is well to
keep them till the following Kains, that they may become
thoroughly established before planting out. Grafted Mangos
come into regular bearing when about five years old.

* ' Keport of Botanic Gardens in N.-W. Provinces for 1864.'

234 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

The Mango, like all other fruit-trees, is much benefited by
having the earth around it removed, and the roots left exposed
for a space of two or three weeks. This should be done in
November, and in December the roots should be well supplied
with manure, and then covered in again with entirely fresh
earth, and not that which had been previously removed. Like-
wise, when practicable, during the month of April, when the
fruit is swelling, copious drenchings of the soil around the
stem with water or liquid manure would no doubt be of
great advantage. The Mango usually makes two growths in
the course of the year, one about the end of February and
another in July. It sometimes makes a third one in October;
when it does so it may be pretty well decided that the new
wood then formed will produce no blossoms at the usual time
in February.

In the neighbourhood of Calcutta, when the trees are in full
blossom, nothing is considered so prejudicial as the morning fogs
prevalent at that season. When they occur to any great extent,
nearly all the flowers drop without setting fruit.

The two principal localities in India where Mangos of the
finest description are said to be produced are Mazagon at Bom-
bay, and Malda ; but to what circumstances the superior merit
of the fruits raised in those spots is attributable, whether to any
peculiarity in the soil or climate, or to some particular mode of
cultivation, it seems hardly possible to decide.

Spondias dulcis.

OTAHEITE APPLE.

Bilaetee Umra.

A small tree, native of Otaheite and the Friendly Islands,
with handsome foliage resembling that of the ornamental Sumach
of the English gardens. It blossoms with sprays of small yellow
flowers about the beginning of March, and ripens its fruit about
the end of September.

The fruit, which has a large fibre-covered stone in the centre,
is of the size and form of a large hen's egg, and of a deep amber
colour, blotched for the most part with rusty russet like the
colour of tarnished gold. Its appearance is very inviting, as is
also its exquisite fragrance, resembling that of the Quince. To

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 235

the taste, however, it is very acid, with a flavour like that of an
exceedingly bad Mango.

Not much can be done with it in the way of cooking, either
as a preserve or in a pudding. Don speaks of it notwithstanding
in high commendation, and says that in its native locality it "is
esteemed one of the most wholesome of fruits, and has almost
the flavour of the Pine-apple ; that it not only assuages thirst,
but is given to the sick without distinction." He adds likewise
that it has a " somewhat nauseous, fetid smell." Whence it
would almost seem that the fruit grown with us cannot be that
described under the same name by Don.

I am told by those who say they have often sown them, that
the stones never germinate. Young plants are usually obtained
by grafting upon seedlings of S. mangifera, the common country
Umra.

Spondias mangifera.

HOG- PLUM.

Umra.

A coarse-looking jungul tree, native of India, with leaves like
those of the Walnut, which fall off in the Cold season, when the
tree remains bare and unsightly for two or three months.

The fruit, which ripens in October, when largest is of the size
of a goose's egg, of a rich olive green, mottled with yellow and
black, with but a trifling degree of scent, and none of the quince-
like odour of the other species. The inner part nearest the
rind is rather acid, but that being removed, the part nearest the
stone is sweet and eatable. But withal it is not an agreeable
fruit.

It is propagated readily by sowing the stones.

OXALIDACE^E.

Averrhoa carambola.

Kumrunga.

A small tree, native of Moluccas; common in the gardens
about Calcutta; grows to the height of from fourteen to twenty
feet ; very beautiful and ornamental for its foliage alone, but

236 GARDEN PLANTS. PART 11.

especially so when in full blossom, with the crowded clusters of
its small pale rose-coloured ribes-like flowers. Dr. Bruce states
that its leaves are sensitive, and even its branches.

The fruit is remarkably handsome, of the size of a Lemon,
deeply ribbed or winged ; when perfectly ripe semi-transparent
and of a fine rich amber colour. Previous to becoming quite
ripe it possesses a flavour somewhat between that of Sorrel and
a green Gooseberry. When well ripened it has a very strong
and agreeable scent, as nearly as possible like that of the Quince,
as well as a very fine and peculiar flavour. It has, however,
even then a degree of acidity which renders it hardly fit to be
eaten raw. It does not bear cooking well, as it then becomes
tough and horny ; but when the tough part of the fruit is removed,
the pulp affords a very delicious jelly. The fruit ripens towards
the end of September, at which time the tree comes again into
full blossom, and produces a second crop of fruit in January.

It is propagated from seed.

Cheenee Kumrunga.

A variety of the above ; bears a fruit smaller by about half,
when ripe of a deep-green colour, and not nearly so handsome ;
without the acidity of the ordinary kind, but also entirely
without its fine flavour. This is always propagated by grafting
upon stocks of the other.

Averrhoa Bilimbi,

BLIMBING — CUCUMBER TREE.

JBilimbee.

A small tree, native of Moluccas ; common in the Deccan, but
not often met with in Bengal. It has rather a stout trunk, and
grows to about thirty feet in height. It comes into blossom
about the middle of February, with pretty ribes-like bunches of
flowers, and continues to blossom and bear fruit till the cold
Weather.

The fruit is of the form and size of a Gherkin, with a smooth,
thin, pale-green, translucent rind, like that of the White Grape.

When ripe it is as soft as butter, and has somewhat of the
flavour of an unripe Gooseberry, too acid to be eaten, except
when cooked or pickled. When laid by a short time it acquires

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 237

the scent of Strawberries, without, however, possessing in the
slightest degree their flavour. It makes a very agreeable
preserve. The way in which the fruit is borne on the tree is
very singular* hanging merely by slight thread-like footstalks,
in clusters of eight or ten, from the oldest branches, but prin-
cipally from the trunk itself.

In the square within the cloisters of the Koman Catholic
church at Bandel, near Hooghly, is a row of remarkably fine
trees. Propagated easily from seed ; but the young seedlings
are very delicate, and in the locality of Calcutta, unless kept in
some warm sheltered place during the first two or three Cold
seasons, are all but sure to perish.

POLYGONACE^E.

Coccoloba uvifera,

SEA-SIDE GRAPE*

A stout shrub, with largish glossy round leaves ; native of
the West Indian Islands. Its fruit, sold in the markets there,
is described as sweetish-acid, rather agreeable, but not valued
much. A solitary plant or so is found in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens* where Dr. Yoigt speaks of it as bearing in October.
I have at that season observed a few scanty fruits upon the
tree, resembling little green, half*grown, hard Gr rapes— mere
worthless berries.

PERIGYNOUS EXOGENS,
LAURACE^E.

Persea gratissima*

AVOCADO PEAR — ALLIGATOR PEAR*
SUBALTERN'S BUTTER.

A native of the West Indies ; in this country a moderate-
sized tree ; but Humboldt states that near Caraccas he met with
" enormous trees " of Persea, and that it may be watered with
either fresh or salt water. Though now tolerably common iri
Lower India, it does not appear to have been long introduced*

238 GARDEN I LANTS. PART II.

The trees in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society
flowered and bore fruit for the first time in 1854. T-he tree is
as yet unknown in the Punjab. It comes into blossom in the
locality of Calcutta at the beginning of February, bearing sprays
of very small pale yellow flowers ; and bears ripe fruit from the
end of August to the middle of September.

The fruit in outward appearance bears the strongest resem-
blance to a very large green Pear. In the centre is a stone of
about the size of a Walnut. The fleshy part of the fruit around
the stone is of a bright yellow colour, of the consistency of firm
butter, and of the fine flavour of a fresh Walnut ; this eaten with
salt is very delicious. But Sir J. Paxton states that " however
excellent when ripe, the Avocado is very dangerous if pulled
and eaten before maturity, being known to produce fever and
dysentery."*

In this country it is usually propagated by seed. Sir J. Pax-
ton says that it may be struck from cuttings of half-ripened
wood, and planted, without mutilating the leaves, in sand under
glass.

CHKYSOBALANACE^E.

Chrysobalanus Icaco.
CALLIMATO-TREE: SPANISH NECTAKINE.

ICACO — COCOA-PLUM.
The fruit of this tree is described by Don as —

" About the size of a Plum, ovate, roundish, varying much in
colour, either red, yellow, but commonly purple ; the pulp white,
adhering firmly to the stone ; the taste sweet, with some austerity,
but not unpleasant ; eaten either raw or preserved ; sold in the
markets in the West Indies."

A large handsome shrub, with dense foliage of blackish- green
leaves, has existed in a flourishing condition for many years past
in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, but has never
yet fruited or blossomed that I am aware of. Dr. Lindley
states that it " requires a cool moist soil to bring its fruit to
perfection."t

* ' Flower Garden,' vol. ii p. 54.
t ' Transactions of the London Hort. Soc,' vol. v. p. 78.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 239

FABACE^E.

Tamarindus Indica,

TAMARIND.

Imlee.

This large tree, a native of India, and so common in all parts
of the country, produces its small yellowish blossoms in May,
and matures its fruit in February. The varieties mentioned
are : —

1. The Sour-fruited.

2. The Sweetish-fruited.

3. The Ked-fruited.

The last of these, having the pulp of its pod of a rose-colour,
is of highest merit, and is that which, when obtainable, is always
employed for preserving.

Plants are always raised from seed, but whether the varieties
may be depended upon to come true to their seed I am unable
to say. To make certain, however, of a tree of the best sort, as
well as to render it of a size conveniently small for the garden,
unquestionably the best plan would be to propagate a plant by
means of a gootee. The natives have an idea that the Tamarind-
tree renders the neighbourhood of the spot where it grows un-
wholesome.

DKUPACE^E.
Amygdalus Persica.

PEACH.
/\

Aroo.

The varieties of Peach cultivated in this country seem to me
to be very few. Indeed I know of only three between the
fruits of which there is any material difference.

1. The Saharunpore Peach, cultivated generally in the North-
West Provinces, is a very large, fine, sweet, and mellow fruit ;
but at the very best wanting, as it seemed to me, in the luscious
and melting quality of the Peaches of Europe.

2. The Flat China is a very curious fruit, resembling in form
a man's open hand without thumb and fingeis, with a small

240 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

round stone in the centre. I have not met with it in Bengal,
though it is down in the list of the Agri-Horticultural Society,
and is cultivated in the North-West Provinces as commonly as
the Saharutipore, which in flavour and quality it closely resembles,
though perhaps a little inferior. It has the merit of ripening
better, and at times when the other often fails to do so at all.

3. The Calcutta Peach, of which the varieties mentioned
hardly differ but in name, is more of the ding-stone description,
and has much more of the melting quality of the Nectarine
than the two preceding. It is of a blood-red colour next the
stone> and has always a smack of bitterness ill its flavour more
than is quite agreeable. I may here state that I form my
opinion of this fruit not merely from such as is usually sold
in the bazar, but from the samples I have tasted of two or
three so-called varieties . in the Agri-Horticultural Society's
Garden; but more particularly from a basket of remarkably
fine Peaches presented to me by Mr. W. Stalkart from his
garden at Gooseree.

I strongly suspect this Bengal Peach is little else than the
fruit as it is produced in its wild condition ; an opinion in soine
degree confirmed by the statement of Mr. Hampton, on pre-
senting some Peaches from his garden at Howrah generally
admired for their size and beauty, that they were the produce
of trees not grafted, but raised from seed.*

4. Plants of the four several varieties, George IV., Cooledge's
Favourite, Lemon-cling, and Early Crawford, were brought in a
ship laden with ice from America several years ago, and pur-
chased by the Agri-Horticultural Society for their Garden * But
these have never yet borne fruit, blossoming uniformly in the
month of March, far too late to afford any hope of their being
productive. Whether as yet they have been subjected to any
judicious mode of treatment to promote earlier blossoming I
am unable to say.

In this country the Peach makes such vigorous growth of
wood, that shortly after the close of the Kains some artificial
plan is necessary to be adopted to assist in ripening it. For this
purpose the earth should be removed from round the stem to
the distance of perhaps a foot and a half, and the roots laid bare,
and be allowed to continue so during five or six weeks. If the
* Bee ' Agri-Hort. Soc. Trans.' vol. viii. p. 390.

CHAP.II . DESSERT FRUITS. 241

trees have made great growth during the season, pruning of the
roots will conduce greatly to the ripening process. After this
drying of the roots by exposure to the air is over, and not before,
while the new wood is as yet full of sap, the trees should be
pruned. The pruning of the Peach-tree consists merely in
cutting out the wood according to the form in which it is desired
to train the tree, and in shortening the bearing wood (which is
that of the same year's growth) to six or seven buds.

After this it is the usual practice to cover the roots with
some rich manure or compost. But the plan I have adopted,
in my opinion preferable, has been to cover the roots again with
dry earth, and so leave them without the application of anything
wet or of an exciting nature till the trees have blossomed and
set their fruit, which they generally have done by about the
middle of February. I then immediately remove the earth
again, and apply new soil well enriched with old stable or cow
manure. At first a sparing application of water is given, which
should be increased in quantity as the fruit grows larger, and
then be supplied in abundance continually till just before the
fruit ripens, when it must be withhold en entirely.

In the North- West Provinces the expediting of ripeness in
the bearing wood that it may blossom early is of the utmost
importance ; for if the fruit be not formed sufficiently soon to
become ripe before the hot winds set in, it never becomes so,
but remains on the tree then quite hard till it drops.

To propagate the Peach-tree the fruit stones are sown in the
open ground in September or October, and in February the young
plants spring up, which, according to Mr. Hampton, would give
as good fruit and produce it nearly as soon as grafted plants.

However for certainty it is always usual either to bud or inarch,
the former process being as uniformly adopted in the North- West
as the latter is in Bengal. The plants raised in February will be
ready for either process by June or July ; and the following Cold
season they will be ready for planting in the spot where they are
finally to remain. They come into bearing in two years' time.

It is a great point in the cultivation of the Peach-tree to keep
the roots as little below the surface of the soil as possible. This
is sometimes effected by placing tiles underneath where the
trees are planted. But caution must be taken against the adop-
tion of this plan in the North- West Provinces ; or, as happened

B

242 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

with me, the strong winds, which uniformly follow two or three
days of heavy rain, will be sure to uproot them.

" During my residence of more than forty years in India," re-
marks Colonel Sleeman, "I have never seen so bad a place for
Peaches as Lucknow. I have many trees in my own garden here,
but not one of them produces a fruit that would be tolerated at
any other station in India, and those produced in the public garden
are not a bit better. The Grapes here are as bad as the Peaches." *

Mr. W. M'lvor gives the following very interesting informa-
tion respecting the cultivation of Peach-trees on the Nilgherries.

" It was remarked in my previous reports that the introduction
of the best varieties of Plums and Peaches had proved a failure,
inasmuch as these could not be induced to produce fruit. I have
now much pleasure in being able to state that these are now more
promising, some of the varieties having produced fruit, such as the
Barrington and the late admirable Peaches, the Golden Drop, and
the Greengage Plum. This has been effected by placing the plants
in partially shaded and damp situations, being quite the reverse of
the site usually chosen for these trees in Europe." f

Amygdalus Persica var. Isevis.

NECTARINE. -

The Nectarine is generally considered to be nothing more
than a variety of the Peach. All therefore that has been said
regarding the cultivation of the one will apply alike to the
other. At Ferozepore I never saw the fruit growing, but it used
occasionally to be brought about for sale, so there must have
been productive trees somewhere in the neighbourhood. The
tree grows in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society,
whence also young plants are distributed ; but neither there nor
elsewhere in the vicinity of Calcutta have I heard of fruit ever
being produced.

Prunus Armeniaca,

APRICOT.
Zurd Aroo.

The cultivation of this fruit on the plains of India has no-
where, I believe, been attended with satisfaction. Nor has its

* * Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society.'

t ' Report of the Ootacamund Garden for 1858,' p. 18.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 243

introduction in the Nilgherries met with better success. Mr. L.
Berkeley informed me that they had in the Saharunpore district
trees of the Brussels or Breda kind, which bore fruit that was
tolerably good to eat from the tree. Dr. Gibson states that it
" blossoms abundantly at the level of Poonah, but does not ripen
fruit."* The tree is found in some of the gardens about Calcutta,
but not in a very thriving condition. Mention is made in the
' Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society' of " an Apricot
grown in his garden at Howrah, which Mr. P. fiomfray con-
sidered a very good specimen of the fruit in point of size, being
about four and a half inches in circumference.''!

In the same Journal it is also stated that " at the Horticul-
tural Show of April, 1850, Apricots from Mr. Stalkart's garden
showed satisfactorily to what perfection they may be brought."
I have seen the trees in Mr. Stalkart's garden : they are small,
and not very thriving. The little fruit they produce, Mr. Stal-
kart told me, though answering tolerably well for preserving,
never ripened sufficiently to be palatable, eaten uncooked.

The Apricot, I am told by Captain I. Temple of Sangor, who
had imported three kinds, the Beauge, Moorpark, and Hemskerk,
grows with amazing vigour when budded upon the Peach-stock.

Primus domestica.
PLUM.

Aloocha.

The Plum has been grown in the vicinity of Calcutta a great
many years ; but of what variety it is difficult to say, for the
plants have hardly done more than just set their fruit, and then
drop them. A rather small dark kind of Plum, however, seem-
ingly the fruit in its original wild state, is met with in most
parts of India, and even as near Calcutta as at Hooghly. The
fruit is uneatable unless cooked, but in that condition is very
delicious in tarts, preserves, and puddings.

In the North-West Provinces plants of two or three varieties
used to be issued from the Saharunpore Botanical Gardens ; one
in particular ripening of a fine amber colour. But these, too,
were hardly palatable, except when cooked or preserved, and
for this purpose they were equal to the finest European kinds.

* Spry's ' Plants for India,' p. 63. f Vol. iii. p. 56.

R 2

244 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

I was surprised to find on the Nilgherries that the Plums grown
there, though large handsome fruits, were nearly as unfit for
the dessert as those produced on the plains in the North of India.

The general mode of cultivating the Plum in this country is
as near as possible the same as that adopted with the Peach.

Dr. Eiddel states that he never succeeded in budding the
Plum on the Peach. At Ferozepore I made many buddings of
the Plum on the Peach-stock, and found not the least difficulty
in doing so. The plants, however, made such prodigious growth
as to become quite unmanageable. It seems far preferable to
bud Upon seedlings of the Plum itself as stocks.

Prunus Bokharensis.

BOKHARA PLUM.

Aroo Bokhara.

The fruit of this tree is well known in India from the quan-
tities of it brought down annually in a dried state from Caubool.
The tree itself thrives vigorously in the Upper Provinces, and is
very common in gardens in the Punjab, where it bears abun-
dantly. The fruit makes a good preserve, but is only eatable
when cooked.

Cerasus vulgaris.

CHEERY.

Every attempt to cultivate the Cherry in the plains of India
has hitherto proved an utter failure. There seems not the
remotest probability of its ever being brought to succeed in a
climate so decidedly uncongenial to it.

Two or three species of Cherry, however, indigenous to India
are met with in the hills. One, C. Jenkinsii, a native of Khassya,
thrives and bears fruit at Gowhatti ; but such as is only eatable
in tarts or preserved in brandy.

POMACES.

Cydonia vulgaris.

QUINCE.

The Quince-tree is not uncommon in the Upper Provinces.
At Lahore it ripens fair-sized fruit at the end of June and in

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 245

July, which is used for preserving, and is only eatable when
cooked. . Dr. Voigt states that the tree has been in the Calcutta
Botanic Gardens twenty years without blossoming. Dr. Riddel
says that the fruit is plentiful at Sattara, and that he has met
with it at Poonah, and that he has seen the tree blossom else-
where, but not produce fruit.

It is propagated usually by cuttings, which strike very readily.

Pyrus malus.

APPLE.

8eb.

There are certain localities in India in which the Apple appears
to be cultivated with complete success.

In April, 1837, Major Moore sent some Apples to the Agri-
Horticultural Society from Hydrabad, remarking : —

" I have this day sent you a specimen of the Nonpareil Apples
grown in my garden ; and those which we have taken from the
same tree have been fully as good as any I ever tasted in England.
Some I have taken from the tree measured ten and a half inches
in circumference." *

In Tirhoot, Mr. S. French is reported to have grown Apples
of a superior kind in the year 1838. And at the Calcutta Horti-
cultural Show in March, 1854, a few splendid, large, and well-
flavoured Apples from Mr. William Moran's garden in Tirhoot
were placed on the table.

In 1858 I tasted some very large specimens of an excellent
Apple grown at Duronda in Chota Nagpore, sent to the Agri-
Horticultural Society. These bore every resemblance to the
Eusset, so valuable for cooking purposes in England. In our
gardens at Ferozepore we had a small and very delicious Apple,
like the White Joanneting, but superior to it in flavour, produced
in great abundance during the month of April. It is difficult to
tell where this Apple originally came from. It seems to have
been not at all known lower down the country, as a visitor from
Umballa, who was with me during the time it was in season, told
me he had seen nothing of the kind there. It is unknown also,
I am informed, in the Punjab.

* ' Agri-Hort. Soc. Trans.' vol. v. p. 21.

216 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Dr. Kiddel enumerates as many as four varieties of Apple met
with in the Deccan, namely, two English varieties :

1. The BROWN KUSSET (probably the kind before mentioned
as sent from Dnronda).

2. A yellow striped PIPPIN.

And two Persian sorts of a small description, commonly found
in most native gardens in the Deccan:

1. One sweet and luscious, grows in bunches.

2. A larger, with a rough taste, better adapted for tarts.

A species of Apple, P. Indica,is found indigenous in the Khassya
Hills, of which ripe specimens were brought to me at Gowhatti
in the month of February. They were of the size and form of
the Golden Pippin, of a deep burnished gold colour, spotted
with crimson, and scarred a good deal with russet ; and of a fine
quince-like odour. They were too austere and tough to be eaten
raw.

There are some localities, however, where it has been pretty
well decided that this fruit cannot be grown with any degree of
success. According to Dr. Gibson —

"The Apple attains some size in the higher level of Ahmed-
imggur, but it is not such as to be worthy of a rank with either
English or tropical fruits." *

At Ootacamund, in the Nilgherries, where the Apple might
very reasonably be expected to thrive to perfection, I met with
nothing better than mere Crabs, both as regards size and flavour.
At Bangalore, too, another locality seemingly most favourable
for the growth of this fruit, several varieties were brought
me for sale when I was there in April, 1859. But nearly
all were unsound, and a most exorbitant price was asked for
them.

At Calcutta the cultivation of this fruit has uniformly proved
a failure. In the year 1850 some young Apple-trees were brought
to Calcutta in a ship laden with ice from America. Being kept
dormant by the cold of the ice, on which they were laid, they
arrived in full health and vigour. They were purchased by the
Agri-Horticultural Society, and have by this time become large
thriving trees in their garden. They have blossomed often ; but
if they have set fruit, it has been only to drop it immediately

afterwards.

* Dr. Spry's ' Plants for India,' p. 62.

CHAP IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 247

Apple-trees in India are propagated by layering. General
Jenkins says: "Cuttings of Apple-trees may be planted in
January and February, and in the Rains, near water. When
they shoot strongly they should be planted out, and cut down
to two or three buds. Of these let the strongest shoot grow,
and rub off the others. Train it up straight to about three feet,
cutting it down when it appears to grow too fast, and rubbing
off any side-shoot you do not approve. Graft in March."f

Pyrus communis.
PEAK.

Nashpdiee.

The Pear-tree thrives well in most parts of India. In Bengal
as low down as Calcutta it blossoms, but never sets fruit ; but in
gardens at any distance beyond about a hundred miles higher
up, fruit is often met with, of moderate size, very hard, and
unfit to be eaten uncooked, but excellent for baking and
stewing. Pears of this description, too, I learnt from General
Jenkins had been introduced from the Bootan Hills, where they
are indigenous.

Any mellow and melting kind of Pear has not, I believe, been
cultivated with success in the plains of India. Possibly Pears of
this description may have been introduced ; but as the Pear is a
fruit which does not ripen upon the tree, but which, after being
gathered, requires to be laid by some time in a cool place before
it becomes mellow, it is not likely perhaps that in this country
it can ever be cultivated with satisfaction for the table. Young
plants of two or three varieties were brought a few years ago to
Calcutta in a ship laden with ice from America. These were
purchased by the Agri-Horticultural Society for their Gardens,
have grown vigorously, and are now fair-sized trees. They pro-
duce blossoms abundantly every year, but nothing more.

The Pear-tree is easily propagated by layers.

Eriobotrya Japonica.
LOQUAT.

A small tree with handsome foliage and large noble leaves ;
native of Japan and China ; succeeds nearly everywhere on this

* MS. Notes.

248 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

side of India, The fruit, borne in clusters, resembles a very
small Pear. Although there are no distinct varieties specially
named, there is a great difference in the fruits produced from
different trees.

One sort is remarkable for its deep apricot colour, while an-
other ripens of a light primrose colour. Others are more or less
distinguished by their acidity or sweetness, or the largeness of
their stones, and by the size of the fruit itself.

It is probable, however, the merit of this most delicious fruit
may depend much upon the cultivation bestowed upon it. The
season is usually very dry when the fruit is swelling. Un-
doubtedly an abundant supply of water at that period, as well as
occasional drenches of liquid manure, would be highly beneficial.
The late Captain Hollings* stated that Loquats produced in
the gardens at Lucknow weighed as much as three tolas each.

The trees come into blossom twice in the year : first, in August,
when, however, they set no fruit ; and again about the end of
November. The flowers are borne in erect bunches, are of a
dingy white colour, and emit a delightful fragrance, somewhat
like that of the Hawthorn blossom. The fruit is in season from
about the middle of March till the middle of April. Besides
being so excellent for the dessert, a remarkably fine preserve
may likewise be made from it.

Plants are usually propagated from seed, which should be
sown immediately, as it is said not to keep ; but to make certain
of a good sort it is best to obtain grafts from some tree the merit
of whose fruit has been already ascertained, and not to rely upon
what a seedling may chance to produce.

The Loquat rarely makes a superabundant growth of wood.
Pruning, therefore, is perhaps best abstained from altogether,
except it be the cutting in of the small branches that have just
borne fruit. Care, however, should be taken not to shorten, on
the approach of the Cold season, any of the young shoots of the
past season's growth, as it is from the extremities of these that
flowers are always produced.

The Loquat grows to a great size in Assam. In a garden at
Gowhatti a tree I measured had a trunk as much as fifty inches
in girth, and was correspondingly high. It seemed to be wholly
unproductive.

* ' Journal of the Agri-Horf. Society,' vol. iii. p. 72.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 249

Crataegus Layi.

The name of a species of Hawthorn, several plants of which
were introduced by Mr. Fortune from China in 1854 ; desirable,
he said, on account of the fine preserve that is made of the fruit.
The plants were, however, seemingly unsuited to the climate,
for all have perished.

ROSACES.
Rubus Id se us.

RASPBERRY.

Dr. Spry states, in his * Plants for India/ that " some red
Easpberry -trees at a garden belonging to a private Englishman
in Calcutta produced ripe full-sized fruit in 1840." As the
scientific name of this Kaspberry is not mentioned, it is unknown
whether or not it was the Eubus Idaeus, the common Easpberry
of Europe. I question whether this has ever been, or can be,
grown in the plains of India.

Rubus rosaefolius.

MAURITIUS RASPBERRY.

This plant, a variety of which produces double white flowers,
very like Eoses, common in all gardens about Calcutta, is a native
of Mauritius ; whence plants bearing single flowers were
introduced some little time ago. These bear fruit about the
middle of February, very similar in appearance to the English
Easpberry, but filled with hard seeds, and having no better
flavour than that of a bad Blackberry.

Easily propagated by 'removal of suckers, or by seed.

Rubus albescens.

HILL OR MYSORE RASPBERRY.

A large-growing straggling kind of Bramble, remarkable for
the pure white kind of down with which the young shoots are
entirely covered ; native of the Nilgherry Hills, where it grows
wild everywhere in great abundance.

The fruit, except in bearing a hoary appearance, is very

250 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

similar to the common English Blackberry, but vastly superior
in flavour. Indeed there is no fruit in the country from which
more delicious tarts are made.

Though rarely met with, the plant thrives well in the neigh-
bourhood of Calcutta. It blossoms in February, and bears fruit
in March ; and by judicious attention to the cultivation might,
no doubt, be rendered very productive.

The treatment it demands seems to be very similar to that
bestowed upon the Raspberry in England. The shoots that have
once borne become afterwards barren, and should be cut away
completely out of the plant. Otherwise, if they do not actually
die, as is most commonly the case, they become aged and un-
sightly, and draw the nutriment of the soil from the bearing
canes, to which it should be entirely directed.

It requires a good rich soil, and a frequent renewal of it, or,
perhaps better, a complete change of ground altogether. This
is best effected by raising a fresh stock of plants by digging out
suckers during the Eains.

Fragaria vesca.

STKAWBEREY.

The produce of the Strawberry in India is generally very poor
as to size. Occasionally some fine-flavoured handsome fruits are
borne, not anything however like as large as are ordinarily met
with in Europe. To what it is owing I am unable to say, whether
to climate, or difference in the character or variety of the plants
themselves ; but leaving the mode of cultivation out of the ques-
tion, it is certain that the Strawberry is grown in some parts
of India much more satisfactorily than in others. In Meerut
especially, I believe, and Saharunpore, the fruit is produced
most abundantly ; and Captain Hollings has stated that " the
Strawberries produced at Lucknow are very fine, attaining to
the weight of nearly a tolah each." * The neighbourhood of
Calcutta, on the other hand, appears far from favourable to the
growth of this delicious fruit.

The Alpine Strawberry I have raised from seed, and cultivated
in my garden at Chinsurah. I found it exceedingly vigorous
in growth, and much more productive than the other kinds, to

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. iii. p. 72.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 251

which, however, it is unquestionably very inferior. It is a long
sugar-loaf-fornied fruit.

The time for planting out young Strawberry-plants is about
the beginning of October. I have put them out a month earlier
than this, but without advancing the growth of the plants in the
slightest degree. The finest fruit in England is obtained from
plants of two years old. But in this country it seems all but
universally agreed that young plants only of the current year's
growth can be employed with success.

Having chosen a piece of ground fully exposed to the snn, dig
rows of holes in it eight inches in diameter and six inches deep,
the holes a foot apart, and the rows also a foot asunder. Between
each third row make a small raised path ten inches wide to give
access to the plants. Fill the holes with a mixture of equal parts
of old cow-manure, leaf mould, and common soil, and in each
put down a Strawberry-plant. Water the plants at the time, and
as often afterwards as they seem to require it. When they have
become well established, they will perhaps begin to send out
runners. These it would be well to remove, though some persons
are of opinion that the doing so causes a larger development of
leaves than is favourable to the productiveness of the plants.
By February they will have become good large plants, and may
be expected then to be in full blossom. But at this period, in
the vicinity of Calcutta at least, the cultivator often meets with
considerable disappointment. Sometimes the plants will expend
themselves only in leaves, and produce no flowers, or will
exhaust themselves in putting forth flowers in unbounded
profusion, and not set a single fruit.

On first observing the flowers die off without being productive,
I imagined they must be such as contained only stamens, or
male organs, as it is well known often happens in Europe, and
indeed always so with the Hautbois, which bears the male
and female organs on distinct plants. But on examination I
found the flowers to contain both sexual organs. Such plants
as bore fruit I noticed did so invariably only on footstalks which
supported but one single flower. But to what to attribute the
general barrenness of the plants, that so often occurs, I have
altogether failed in ascertaining. In England, however, it is
believed that a fall of rain when the plants are in bloom is
essential to the setting of the fruit. This rarely happens in

252 GAKDEN PLANTS. PAET II.

India. Perhaps a watering overhead with the watering-can
might conduce to the same result.

The Strawberry requires daily watering during the time of
its growth and bearing. And afterwards likewise during the
dry season it suffers severely, and is almost sure to perish if
not frequently watered. On the other hand it is not at all
injured by the Kains, particularly if planted on ground somewhat
raised, so as to escape being flooded. The fruit requires to be
covered with a net, or protected in some other way when
ripening, else it is sure to be devoured by birds.

EHAMNACE^E.
Zizyphus vulgaris.

LONG PLUM — ROUND PLUM.

Kool-Phul

A small thorny tree ; native of Syria and the Levant : com-
mon about Calcutta. Comes into blossom towards the end of
September, bearing small greenish-white flowers, and ripens its
fruit towards the end of January.

The fruit has a thin pale-green smooth rind like that of an
Apple, and bears a stone in the centre. Between the stone and
the rind is a pleasant, crisp, refreshing substance like that of a
juicy Apple, but with no very marked flavour. Dr. Hogg, in
his report on the Paris International Exhibition of 1867, states :
f<This is sold in Covent Garden Market under the name of
Japonicas, with what reason it is impossible to tell. It is from
this fruit that the confection called Jujubes receives its name,
and which should consist of gum Arabic and sugar dissolved in
the decoction of this fruit and then evaporated to its proper
consistence ; but as made in England the fruit forms no part of
the ingredient."

There are two varieties ; one of the form and size of a Swan's-
egg Plum, the other of the same size, but round. The tree that
bears the oval fruit has oval leaves, and the one that bears the
round fruit round ones. The tree is of the most rapid growth ;
immediately after it has produced its crop of fruit, it is the
custom of the malees to prune it severely, and to cut in branches
even that are nearly as thick as a man's wrist.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 253

Plants cannot be raised true from seed, but require to be
propagated by grafting. " Trees," says General Jenkins, " may
be grafted in several ways, but the usual process in Bengal is
by ingrafting a ring of bark about one inch long on stocks of
the common Baer. The ring is to have one eye, and to be
soaked some time in water, after being drawn off, and then
placed upon the stock intended, and from which the bark has
been cut off in size equal to the ring to be fitted on. Protect
from the weather, and cut away all other branches from the
common Baer."*

Zizyphus Jujuba.
Baer — Narikelee Kool.

A small, very thorny tree ; native of India ; blossoms in the
Bains, and ripens its fruit at the beginning of the Cold season.

The fruit, which is usually borne upon the tree in unbounded
profusion, is perfectly'round, of the size of a very large Cherry,
smooth, shining, and of a tawny yellow colour ; rather acid in
flavour, and not altogether unlike a Siberian Crab- Apple. It
affords a very nice dish cooked with sugar.

The tree of this likewise is of extraordinarily rapid growth ;
cut down to the ground after fruiting it will spring up again to
the height of fifteen feet, and be covered with an amazing crop
of fruit the following season.

Propagated from seed, and requires no care bestowed on its
cultivation.

Hovenia dulcis.

A large tree ; native of China, Japan, and the hills of Northern
India.

Don and Dr. Lindley state that the peduncles of the fruit be-
come extremely enlarged and succulent, subcylindrical, smooth,
and an inch long ; contain a sweet red pulp, having in flavour
much the resemblance of a ripe Pear, and are in much esteem
in China.

The tree has been a great many years in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens ; but never, that I can learn, has produced anything
there fit to be eaten in the way of fruit.

* MS.

254 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

SAPOTACE^B.
Chrysophyllum Cainito.

STAR-APPLE.

This tree, which is a native of the West Indies, is described
as bearing

" Flowers which grow in small purplish bunches, succeeded by a
round, fleshy, smooth fruit, resembling a large Apple. In the
inside it is divided into ten cells, each containing a black, shining,
rhomboidal seed, and surrounded by a white or sometimes purplish
gelatinous pulp, of a very sweet, agreeable flavour. When cut
across, the seeds, which are regularly disposed round in the axis of
the fruit, present a stellate figure, from whence the name of Star-
apple is derived." *

This is evidently not the tree which exists in the Government
Botanic Garden under the above name, and which bears small
yellowish-white flowers, and about the middle of February a fruit
of the size, colour, and form of a Damson or ripe Kuronda, of a
shining purplish-black colour, with a stone in the centre. It has
a juicy insipid sweetness when fresh gathered from the tree ;
but when dried a short time in the sun it has a very agreeable
flavour, much resembling that of dried Cherries. This seems to
correspond in every respect with the species called Chryso-
phyllum oliviforme, " The Damson Star-apple."

These trees are cultivated much for the beauty of their leaves,
which have on their lower sides (as the name of the plant
denotes) a bright golden metallic lustre.

Lucuma mammosa.

MAMMEE-SAPOTA — AMERICAN MARMALADE.

Don says of this tree that it is a

"Native of South America; bears a large oval or top-shaped
fruit, covered with a brownish, rough skin, under which is a soft
pulp of a russet colour, very luscious, which is called natural mar-
malade, from its likeness to marmalade of Quinces. It is cultivated
much in the West Indies and South America for its fruit."

Dr. Voigt states that it was introduced from China into the
Calcutta Botanical Garden in 1807, but had not flowered up to
1814. It is not in existence there now.

* ' Penny Cyclopaedia.'

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 255

Achras sapota.

SAPOTA — SAPODILLA — BULLY-TREE.
NASEBERRY OR NEESBERRY.

A tree of moderate size ; native of Jamaica ; with foliage of
so ornamental a character as to render it on that account alone
a desirable object for the garden.

The fruit is of the size and form of an Orange, with a rough,
brown, bark-looking, but thin and tender rind. The interior
containing black almond-formed seeds, consists of a pale-brown
juicy pulp. A more luscious, cool, and agreeable fruit is not to
be met with in this or perhaps any country in the world.

The tree bears two crops in the year : one during August, of
not much value; and one in all February and March. Two
varieties of the fruit are mentioned, distinguished by the one
being round, and called Zapotilla, and the other by being of the
form of an egg. In point of flavour or merit I have discovered
no difference whatever between these so-callecl two varieties.
The fruit, though common enough in the neighbourhood of
Calcutta, does not seem to be much known in other parts of the
country. The tree blossoms in bunches of small dingy flowers.

Plants are propagated by grafting upon seedlings of the
'Mimusops Kauki for stocks. Young plants are likewise easily
raised from seed ; but these, the malees say, do not till after
a long time come into bearing, nor are they considered suitable
for grafting upon.

Mimusops Kauki.
Khirnee.

Dr. Hooker states that "this tree is cultivated in China,
Manilla, and Malabar, for its esculent, agreeably acid fruit.'*
In this part of India its produce, borne in the Hot season, is
sometimes eaten by the natives ; but otherwise it hardly deserves
enumeration among the fruits of India. The tree is not a
common one here, nor does it possess any merit to claim for it
admittance into the garden, except perhaps for its foliage, which
is very handsome, resembling somewhat that of the Camellia,
but of a pale olive-green.

256 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

EBENACE^L v
Diospyros kaki.

DATE-PLUM.

Bildetee Gab.

A large tree, native of China, with large-leaved handsome
foliage; unsuited for gardens except of great extent; thrives
well, and bears abundantly in the neighbourhood of Calcutta.

The fruit ripens during the month of August, and is about the
size of a large Apple, with twin almond-like stones in the centre.
The rind is of a rich ruddy crimson colour, in texture somewhat
resembling, but rather rougher than, that of the Peach. It has
rather a disagreeable odour. In flavour it is suggestive of an
over-ripe and very mellow Apple, of which the flesh possesses
something of the same consistency, with a little of the taste
of a Melon. Though not unpalatable, it is a fruit which few
perhaps would . care to partake much of. A fine preserve is
said to be made from it by the Chinese, for which indeed it
seems well adapted.

Easily propagated by sowing the stones.

APOCYNACE^E.

Carissa carandas.
Kuronda.

A small shrub, with dark shining leaves, and most formidable
thorns ; native of India, and common in all parts of the country.
Don describes it as a tree of fifteen to twenty feet high ; but I
have never met with it more than at most four or five
feet high. It is in blossom in February, and the fruit is
in season in August and September. A milky juice exudes
from the wounded part of the fruit when gathered, which is
very adhesive and difficult to remove if allowed to fall upon
the hands.

The fruit when ripe, in shape, size, and colour bears a strong
resemblance to a Damson ; but bears within it a number of small
seeds. It is of great value for making preserves of. In its un-
ripe state, moreover, it may be used from about the middle of

CHAP. IT. DESSEKT FRUITS. 257

May to the middle of July for tarts and puddings, for which
purpose no fruit of the country is preferable. It has when cooked
much of the flavour of the green Gooseberry. The trifling tough-
ness of its skin is the principal objection to it.
Plants are propagated from seed.

Garissa Chiiiensis.

CHINESE KUR6NDA.

This was introduced some years ago by Mr. Fortune into the
gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, but no plants of it
exist there now. Probably the climate was unsuitable to it. Of
the merit of the fruit I know nothing, but no doubt it must be
considerable to have induced Mr. Fortune to send plants of it
here from China.

Arduina bispinosa.

NATAL PLUM.

A small thorny shrub, native of Natal; bears a strong resem-
blance to the Kuroada, to which indeed it is so closely allied as
in general aspect to appear but a superior variety of that plant ;
very handsome when in full blossom with its bright sparkling
white flowers, and, as may be seen at the Cape, with its dark
rich fruit ripening upon it at the same time.

The fruit is of the form and size of a small Egg-plum, and
when ripe of a deep purple colour like a Damson or Kuronda.
The gardener at the public gardens at Cape Town told me it
was in great request there for cooking purposes, and was held
in high esteem.

I raised plants from seed I brought with me from the Cape ;
but during the six years they were in my garden they were
never productive. It has existed many years in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens ; but I learnt that it has never produced
more than a solitary fruit or two there. I was told by Mr. M'lvor
that it thrives well and bears fruit abundantly at Kulhuttee on
the Nilgherries.

It would in all probability bear being grafted upon the
Kuronda, and might possibly thus be rendered productive.

258 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

OLEACE^E.

Olea Europsea,

OLIVE.

The Olive-tree is a native of the south of Europe, and though
introduced into this country a great many years ago, has never,
as far as the bearing of fruit is concerned, been cultivated with
success. The tree seems to thrive tolerably well, but is unpro-
ductive. Dr. Yoigt says that it " was introduced into the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens in 1800, but had not flowered up to
1814 ; " and Dr. Graham states that " the climate seems to suit
it, and it may possibly hereafter become of some importance."
Trees, however, exist in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens still,
but up to the present time have never borne.

The cultivation of the Olive has been attempted of late to
some extent in the Punjab, but not seemingly with the prospect
of any success. A very hot climate, M. Du Breuil states, is
as prejudicial to it as a cold one, and that though it has been
seen to attain to an immense size at Cayenne and St. Domingo,
it has never fruited in those parts.

SOLANACE^E.
Physalis Peruviana.

PERUVIAN CHERRY — CAPE GOOSEBERRY.

Tipdree.

A herbaceous perennial, native of Peru ; naturalised at the
Cape, and very generally cultivated in this country.

The fruit, which exactly resembles that of the Winter-cherry
of the English gardens, to which indeed it is closely allied, is
concealed in a dry leafy appendage, is of a bright amber colour,
of the precise size and form of a Cherry, and as delicious and
serviceable as any the country produces. No fruit in the world
perhaps affords a more excellent preserve.

Seeds should be sown in May or June, and the seedlings planted
out in the open ground in rows four feet apart, and at the dis-
tance of two feet from each other. They will thrive in common
garden soil, but better in that which has been somewhat

CHAP. IT. DESSEKT FRUITS. 259

enriched with manure. When about eight inches high the
plants should be earthed up to half their height. When they
come into blossom it will be of advantage to nip off the ends of
the shoots, as this will conduce towards keeping them less
straggling, as well as towards throwing greater nourishment
into the fruit. The fruit ripens in all January and February.
Though perennial, in cultivation the plants must be treated as
annuals; and the old ones, after they have once borne, be
rooted up and thrown away ; and in the proper season sowings
be made for a fresh supply.

The plant is of a tender nature, and will not endure much
cold. I endeavoured to cultivate it several seasons at Ferozepore,
but without success. It throve vigorously all the Hot season,
but the cold destroyed the large crop of fruit before it could
ripen.

EPIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

MYRTACE^E.

Punica Granatum.

POMEGRANATE.

Andr.

The Pomegranate-tree is common in all partd of India, but
never produces fruit at all to be compared with that brought
down annually by the Afghan traders from Caubul. The Pome-
granates of the Punjab likewise, Dr. Henderson informs me,
are but of inferior quality.

There are two kinds met with in the neighbourhood of Cal-
cutta : the Desee, or country kind, a hard, dry, valueless fruit,
and the so-called " Patna " kind, of much larger size, and in
high estimation among the natives.

Captain Burton describes three which he met with in Arabia :

" The best is SMmi (Syrian) : it is red outside, and very sweet. I
never saw in the East, except at Meccah, a finer fruit than the
Shami ; almost stoneless, like those of Muscat, they are deliciously
perfumed, and as large as an infant's head.
"2. The Turki is large and of a white colour.
"3. The Misri has a greenish rind, and a somewhat sub-acid
and harsh flavour." *

* ' Pilgrimage to El Medina and Meccah,' vol. i. p. 388.

8 2

260 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Sir A. Barnes also mentions a " famous Pomegranate without
seeds grown in gardens under the Snowy Hills near the Caubul

river."

The finest varieties of this fruit, however, seem to have been
quite unknown in India till very recently* Mr. W. H. Bartlett
sent to the Agri-Horticultural Society seed of fruits he had
raised " from Caubul stock," in his garden at Buxar. One of
these fruits he states was of the size of " an ordinary human
head ; " and one of " a small Shaddock." He manured and
constantly well watered the tree, he adds, till it showed signs of
flowering, and afterwards while the fruit was ripening.

The Pomegranate will always maintain its place in an Indian
garden, if it be only for the splendour of its brilliant scarlet
blossoms, which no flower can surpass, and which it is producing
more or less during all the Hot season and Kains. It bears its
fruit principally during the Cold season, which, if not protected
in due time, is almost sure of being destroyed. An insect, which
I have detected to be a certain hairy caterpillar, penetrates the
hard rind when the fruit is a little more than a quarter grown,
and by devouring part of the interior causes the remaining part
to canker and rot. To obviate this, the fruit, when as yet small,
should have the large fleshy calyx by which it is surmounted cut
cleanly off, and then be tied up loosely in a piece of linen cloth.

The native malees recommend a large proportion of soorkee
(bricks broken fine), together with old decayed cow-dung, to be
mixed with the soil in which the Pomegranate is grown. It is
not, however, particular as to soil. It succeeds even in the
driest, but it does not thrive in one that is surcharged with wet.
To yield fine fruit* it must be manured each year. This is best
done perhaps in December. The Pomegranate sends up a great
deal of young wood from its base, which should from time to
time be cut clean out, as it not only chokes up the plant, but
tends to withdraw the nutriment which should go to the fruit-
bearing stems. The fruit is produced from the extremities of the
young branches formed the same year, which after bearing it is
well to cut closely in.

Plants may be multiplied either by seed, by cuttings, or by
layers. The best plan is to raise seedlings, and to graft upon
them, when of sufficient height, from trees of a superior kind.

* Feb. 5, 1874.

CHAP. IT. DESSERT FRUITS. 261

Psidium Guajava.

GUAVA.

Pydra — Unjeer.
Umroot — Sufree-Am.

The Guava-tree is said to be a native of South America, whence
originally it was introduced into this country. It is, however, so
thoroughly naturalised in all parts of India as to lead one to
suppose it must be indigenous to this country, a conclusion
Dr. Wight seems to have come to, as he has included it in his
Prodromus.

It is a vigorous, stout-growing shrub, rising sometimes to
become a small tree of fifteen feet high or more. It commences
to blossom during the Hot season, and continues to do so as
well as to bear fruit during the Eains, up to the end of the Cold
season. The finest fruit, however, is to be met with when the
general season of bearing is over. About the end of January
fruits of extraordinary size and beauty are usually exhibited at
the Calcutta Horticultural Shows.

To preserve the fruit on ripening from being devoured by
birds, bats, and squirrels, each one at an early stage must first
have the calyx on its summit cut clean off, and then be tied up
loosely in a piece of fine cloth.

Young plants are easily raised from seed ; but to make sure
of a good kind, propagation by layers is usually resorted to.
Kooted suckers, also, may be occasionally taken from the base
of the main stem.

PEAR GUAVA.

Of this there are two varieties.

1. The fruit of the best cultivated kind is of the size and form
of a Lemon, with a perfectly smooth exterior, of a pale straw
colour outside and white within; soft as butter, with a very
strong perfume. This is borne one only upon the footstalk.

2. Caffree is the native name of a variety very distinct in
appearance from the previous one. It is a large irregular-formed
fruit, warted and furrowed not unlike a Citron. Of the two kinds
this is considered somewhat the inferior, though the difference
perhaps is trifling. Of this variety I have observed as many
as three borne on the footstalk.

262 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

APPLE OR RED GUAVA.

The shrub that bears this variety is somewhat smaller, with
smaller and darker leaves, and is distinguished also by bearing
more than one flower on the footstalk. The fruit, which is red
inside, is of a fuller and more strawberry-like flavour, but has
generally the fault of being densely filled with seeds.

Why the one variety should be denoted as the Pear and the
other as the Apple it is difficult to tell ; for in external appear-
ance they are commonly so decidedly similar that, until cut open,
it is impossible to distinguish the one from the other.

Psidium Cattleianum.

PURPLE-FRUITED GUAVA.

Don describes this species of Guava as " a tree of from ten to
twenty feet in height ; a native of China." Sir J. Paxton makes
it synonymous with P. Chinense ; but whether a distinct variety
does not appear. It has been described as a fine foliaged plant,
whose thick, leathery, perfectly smooth obovate leaves somewhat
resemble those of Camellia Japonica. Sir J. Paxton says of it : —

" Not many plants have a greater claim on our attention. Its
dark, shining foliage and pendulous branches make it a great orna-
ment. ... It is, perhaps, the most perfect and graceful evergreen
that an amateur of plants ought to desire, or even can possess." *

The fruit, according to the description given of it, is of the
size and form of a large Plum, of a deep claret colour.

Mr. Tillery says, " he has six or seven varieties of Guava ; but
all are worthless compared with Cattley's."

There seems a doubt whether this species, by all accounts so
desirable, has ever been introduced into this country. Dr. Yoigt
enumerates it among the plants still wanting up to the year 1841.
A solitary small tree exists in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens,
which the malees point out as having had the name assigned it
by Dr. Wallich, but is far from answering to the description of
the plant given by Don and others. It has never yet yielded
fruit. Another small plant, likewise of recent introduction, has
been shown me there, which corresponds more nearly with the
ordinary descriptions; but as it has not fruited or flowered,

* 'Magazine of Botany,' vol. i. p. 118.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 263

the matter is still uncertain, I notice, however, the Psidium
Cattleianum is comprised in the List of Plants in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens recently given by Dr. Anderson.

Psidium pumilum.

A moderate-sized shrub, native of India ; at once recognisable
by the smallness of its leaves, resembling somewhat those of a
Myrtle. Dr. Voigt states that it bears in the Bains, and that
its fruit is of a delicious flavour. That, however, which I have
gathered has been nothing better than a hard uneatable berry.

Psidium Guiniense.

GUINEA GUAVA.

A shrub of the height of eight to twelve feet ; native of Guinea ;
said by Don to bear a "berry fulvous, rather pubescent, red
inside, about the size of a Nutmeg, and of an exquisite taste."

There have been plants for a great many years past in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, where, as Dr. Voigt states, they
bore fruit in the Rain season. They are, however, not known to
bear fruit there now.

Psidium polycarpon.

MANY-FRUITED GUAVA.

A moderate-sized shrub, said to be a native of Trinidad, and
described by Don as bearing a fruit of delicious taste. The fruit
produced by the plant to which the name is assigned in the
Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society is a poor, turpentine-
flavoured berry, quite worthless ; pale yellow, pear-shaped, and
of the size of a Plum. The plant blossoms at the end of March,
and ripens its fruit at the beginning of July.

Propagated by seed.

Psidium sp.

STRAWBERRY GUAVA.

This species, the name of which I have been unable to ascer-
tain, is met with in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society,
as well as in some few others in the neighbourhood of Calcutta.
It is a small, low shrub, with large, dark, pendulous, shining
leaves, and ripens its crop about the end of September, after

264: GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

which it blossoms almost immediately again, and ripens fruit
a second time in December.

The fruit is of the size of a Nutmeg, pale yellow, contains a
soft pulp, and possesses in a high degree the delicious fragrance
and flavour of the Strawberry. It has, however, the great fault
of being densely full of small hard seeds.

Propagated easily by seed.

Myrtus tomentosa.

HILL GUAVA — HILL GOOSEBEKKY.

This is a remarkably handsome shrub, with fine dark foliage,
bearing numerous pretty pink blossoms which resemble some-
what those of the Peach.

From the fruit, which is a berry of a pale, dirty-yellow colour,
a jelly is made, in flavour a little like Apple-jelly.

The plant is found in abundance amongst the jungul of the
Nilgherries. It has been introduced into the plains, where,
however, it does not appear to thrive. Dr. Voigt states that for
a period of sixteen years, during which the plant was growing in
the Government Botanical Gardens, it never flowered. I do not
find that it even exists there now.

Syzygium Jambolanum.
Jdmun.

A large timber-tree with fine verdant foliage, very common
in all parts of India; blossoms at the beginning of the Hot
season, and bears, about the beginning of the Eains, a juicy kind
of fruit, with a stone in the centre, much resembling a Damson
in appearance, with a flavour something like that of a Kadish,
scarcely fit to be eaten except by birds and boys.

Propagated by sowing the stone.

Eugenia Michelii.

BRAZIL CHERRY — CHERRY OF CAYENNE.

A large, ^handsome, bushy shrub, native of Brazil, bears small,
pale-green uninteresting flowers. Two or three large thriving
plants are to be met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens
which ripen their fruit in May.

CHAP. II. DESSEKT FRUITS. 265

The fruit is about the size of a button, round and ribbed, and
is considered agreeable by the natives.

It blossoms again in June, but does not yield a second crop
of fruit.

Fine large plants have been growing likewise for many years
in the gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, but they have
hitherto been unproductive.

Jambosa vulgaris.

EOSE- APPLE — JAMROSADE.

Goolab Jam.

A tree of rather handsome growth, with verdant oleander-
formed leaves, a native of India, where Dr. Voigt states it
belongs to both peninsulas. Dr. Kiddel says that in the Madras
Presidency " he has only met with the fruit at Hyderabad, and
that he has made every attempt to introduce it elsewhere with-
out success." It blossoms with large greenish-white flowers in
February, and bears fruit in the Bains and during the Cold
season. The fruit is exceedingly handsome, being of the size
and somewhat of the form of a small Apple, of a fine opaque
Apricot colour with a beautiful blush of red upon it, and with a
fine delicate rose-water perfume. It is, however, cultivated more
for ornament than for use, as it can hardly be considered eatable,
being of a poor flavour and of a dry, pithy consistency.

Plants are propagated by seeds or by layers.

Jambosa Malaccensis.

MALAY APPLE — OTAHEITE CASHEW.

Malaka Umrool.

A remarkably handsome tree, with fine large, laurel-formed,
verdant, deep-green foliage ; native of Moluccas. It blossoms
in the Hot season with large, beautiful crimson flowers, and
towards the end of the Rains and during the Cold season ripens
its fruit. The fruit is of the size and form of a very small
Apple, perfectly smooth, of a pure translucent white with a
beautiful blush of crimson. Some persons eat it, but it is not
worth eating.

Plants may be propagated by seed or by layers.

266 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

Jambosa alba.
JumrooL

A moderate-sized tree, with large, dark, handsome foliage,
native of the Islands of the Indian Archipelago, very ornamental
when covered with its crop of fruit in the Rain season.

The fruit is of the size of a small Apple, pure white, shining,
and wax-like, has a raw, watery, insipid taste, and is hardly fit
to be eaten.

Propagated from seed.

Jambosa aquea.
Lai Jumrool.

A tree of considerable size, native of India, with foliage of
large, noble, lanceolate leaves, blossoms in March, and bears
fruit in May and June, when, as Koxburgh truly says, it is
"conspicuously beautiful with the drooping branches of the
full-grown, brilliant-coloured fruit appearing through the dark
deep-green leaves."

The fruit is of the size of a small Apple, of a waxy appear-
ance, and has a somewhat aromatic taste, but is hardly eatable.
There are two varieties, the one perfectly white, and the other
of a beautiful lively pale rose colour.

Propagated from seed*

CACTACE^E.
Opuntia vulgaris.

PKICKLY PEAR — INDIAN FIG.

A description of Cactus, with flat, succulent,oval, spinous leaves,
which bears a large pear-like fruit, covered with sharp, needle-like
spines. On cutting open the thick succulent rind of the fruit a
jelly-like pulp is found, which, though of little flavour, is cool
and refreshing. It is sold in immense quantities in Egypt, where
the poor almost live upon it. The plant is a native of South
America, and has been introduced into Lower Bengal, where,
however, Dr. Yoigt states that it has never flowered. Probably
it might prove productive if tried in the Upper Provinces.

It may be propagated by seed, or by removing a leaf and
inserting the stalk-end an inch or so in sand.

CHAP. II. DESSERT FRUITS. 267

Pereskia aculeata.

BARBADOES GOOSEBERRY.

A Cactus kind of plant, with round, prickly, succulent stems ;
native of the West Indies, and not uncommon about Calcutta.
Dr. Voigt states that it does not flower here ; but that seemingly
is a mistake.

The fruit is said by Mackintosh to be less esteemed in point
of flavour than most of the other Cactuses. In that case its
unproductiveness here can be little matter for regret.

GROSSULARIACE.E.
Ribes rubrum and R. nigrum.

CURRANTS.

The attempt to cultivate the Currant-tree in the plains of
India has been frequently made, but always been attended with
signal failure. Plants have often been raised from seed, as well
as on one or two occasions been imported in ships that have
brought ice from America. There does not indeed seem the
least probability of the plant ever being brought to succeed in
any part of India. In Lower Bengal, more particularly, it has
been found quite impossible to keep it alive through the Hot
and Kain seasons. On the Nilgherries Currant-trees manage to
live, but do not thrive even there, and their cultivation is at-
tended with very unsuccessful results. At Ferozepore I raised
a plant of the Black Currant from seed in the Cold season, and
managed to preserve it during the heat and Kains until the
following Cold season. But it perished then, as often happens
with delicate plants, upon the effort to start into growth at the
approach of a season more congenial to them.

Ribes grossularia.

GOOSEBERRY.

Every attempt to cultivate the Gooseberry in the plains of
India has uniformly proved a failure. The climate is so utterly
unsuited to it that it cannot even exist here.

268 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

CINCHONACE.E.
Vangueria edulis.

VGA VANGA.

A small tree, covered with formidable thorns ; native of Mada-
gascar ; produces what is said to be a good dessert fruit, eaten
by the natives of Madagascar and the Mauritius. Plants have
been in existence in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens for a great
many years past, which seem in Dr. Yoigt's time not to have
blossomed, but now bear fruit annually, about May. Of the
merits of the fruit produced here I cannot speak from personal
knowledge, not having tasted it. It has a rather large stone in
its centre, by the sowing of which the tree may be propagated.

CAPKIFOLTACE.E.

Sambucus nigra.

ELDEK.

The Elder-tree I have never met with in India. Dr. Voigt
states that it was to be found in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens
in 1814, and had been there fifteen years without having flowered.
This may perhaps be taken as satisfactory assurance that in
Lower Bengal, at least, its cultivation is not likely to be attended
with success. ~No plants are in existence at present in the
Botanical Gardens, nor can I find from those engaged there that
they remember it to have been there during their time, a period
of more than twenty years.

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS.

CHAPTER III.
EDIBLE NUTS.

ENDOGENS.

PALMACE^E.

Cocos nucifera.

COCOA-NUT.

Nurikel.

BESIDES the ordinary kind of Cocoa-nut tree met with so com-
monly in Lower Bengal there are several distinct varieties, of
which may be mentioned in particular : —

1. The King Cocoa-nut tree. This Mr. Kobinson describes
as "very handsome, of a golden orange-colour, and as never
attaining to more than fifteen or twenty feet high." This is a
choice kind, native of Ceylon, where, Mr. Robinson observes, it
is " not easily procured, being confined to the gardens of the
higher Cingalese and a few European gentlemen."

2. The Dwarf Cocoa-nut. This, Mr. Eobinson states, "attains
to about fifteen feet, and is much sought after in Ceylon
gardens." *

3. The Brahmin Cocoa-nut produces large handsome nuts of
a clear deep golden colour, principally esteemed for the milk
they contain, but considered inferior as regards the quality of the
kernel.

M. Le Goux de Flaix states, " There are three kinds culti-
vated in Hindostan, -and four more in the isles of the seas
adjacent to this country ;" and describes them as follows : —

'' 1st. The Cocoa-nut of the coast of Coromandel exhibits a husk
very smooth and shining, of a reddish yellow colour, on which
account it is called by the Hindoos ' The Brahmin Cocoa-nut.'
The sutures opposite to the side on which the eye is placed are
more swelled towards the base, a part which is also more flattened
than that opposite to it, even when enveloped in its husk.

* { Agri-Hort. Society's Journal,' vol. iii. p. 162.

270 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

" 2nd. The Cocoa-nut of Canara. This species has for its dis-
tinguishing characters a form perfectly oval, a ligneous and more
solid shell, a husk exceedingly green, and filaments remarkably
hard ; all its sutures so little prominent that they are sensible
to the eye, but not to the touch.

" 3rd. That of the Coast of Malabar, which is turbinated : that
is to say, larger at the hole which is found under the covering
that binds and fixes the pedicle of the fruit to its cluster.

"4th. The Cocoa-nut of the Maldives, sandy islands, is very
small, and absolutely spherical ; its sutures are very much raised,
and far more prominent in the upper part than those opposite to
its pedicle.

" 5th. That of Achem, a small island situated on the south side
of those of Sonda and the Moluccas, is distinguished by its ovoid
form, its extreme smallness, and the thickness of its kernel,
which is so pulpy that there is scarcely any vacuity in it, and
that it contains very little liquor.

" 6th. The species cultivated in the Nicobar Isles, situated in
the upper part of the Bay of Bengal, which is the largest of
all the varieties of this fruit. Its external form is triangular ;
its husk is remarkably thick ; the nut is oval, and a little flat-
tened at its two poles, and there issues from the upper pole a
sharp point, — on which account it is called the Needle Coeoa-
nut.

" 7th. The Cocoa-nut of Ceylon is a very elongated spheroid ;
it has its suture corresponding to the orifice or eye of the germ,
more prominent by a strong line than those of the other
countries."

He likewise mentions : " About the eighteenth or nineteenth
day after a Cocoa-nut is sown, the point of the germ is observed
issuing from the earth like the small tooth of an elephant, and
as white and smooth. This point retains this form for a fort-
night or three weeks. It is then exceedingly tender, saccharine,
of an agreeable taste, and exceedingly delicate to eat either raw
or roasted in ashes. It is often presented at the best tables of
the Europeans."*

Sir E. Tennent thus describes the culture of the Cocoa-nut in
Ceylon : —

* ' Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine,' vol. xx. p. 316, translated from the
' Bibliotheque Physico-Eeonoraique,' Nos. 5, 6, 7, &c., 1804.

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS. 271

" The farther the Cocoa-nut Palm is removed from the shore and
the influences of the sea, the more its growth is diminished and

the less abundant its fruit The Palms require constant

irrigation during the earlier stages of their growth.

" The ripe nuts are put down in April, and covered an inch deep
with sand and sea- weed, or soft mud from the beach, and watered
daily till they germinate. In September they are set in holes
three feet deep and twenty to thirty feet apart. Before putting in
the young plants it is customary .to bed the roots with soft mud
and sea-weed, and for the first two years they must be watered and
protected from the glare of the sun by shades made of the plaited
fronds of the Cocoa-nut Palm or leaves of the Palmyra. After the
second year irrigation becomes unnecessary. Each alternate year
the young Palms are dressed with sea- weed and salt manure.
Towards the end of the fifth year, though sometimes not till the
seventh, the flower- stalk may be expected to appear. Each nut
requires a year to ripen." *

The natives consider it a point of great importance in the cul-
tivation of the Cocoa-nut in Bengal, that in the month of Sep-
tember the lower fronds of the Palms should be well pruned
away. They say that otherwise the trees are not nearly so pro-
ductive.

GYMNOGENS.
TAXACE^E.

Salisburia adiantifolia,

GINGKO — PAK-O.

A tree of immense size, remarkable for its peculiar foliage, the
leaves being of the size of a man's hand, and resembling in form
those of the Maiden-hair Fern, whence it derives its name, or
more nearly perhaps those of Caryota urens. Humboldt says,
" the original native country is unknown to us."| It was intro-
duced into the Calcutta Gardens many years ago from China,
and again very recently by Mr. Fortune. Bat it makes no
growth whatever here, remaining year after year of much* about
the same size as when first brought. I saw it growing in the
Public Gardens at Ootacamund on the Nilgherries ; but no better

* Sir E. Tennent'a ' Ceylon/ vol. ii. p. 529.
t 'Aspects of Nature,' vol. ii. p. 114.

272 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

success, I understand, has attended its introduction there. The
fruits, it is said, are roasted and eaten in China as Chestnuts are
in England.

DICLINOUS EXOGENS.

ABTOCAKPACE.E.
Brosimum alicastrum.

JAMAICA BREAD-NUT TREE.

Dr. Voigt, quoting Swartz, says that the roasted nuts of this
tree are used instead of bread, and have much the taste of
Hazel-nuts. The tree was introduced, he says, in 1804 into the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but had not flowered up to 1814.

Artocarpus incisus.

BREAD-NUT.

The seeds of the Bread-Fruit, it is stated, when roasted are
as good as the best Chestnuts. They are about the size of large
Peas.

Artocarpus integrifolius.

JACK-FRUIT NUT.

Kuntul.

Eoxburgh says that the seeds of the Jack-Fruit, when
roasted, are not inferior to the best Chestnuts. Those which
I have roasted and eaten have bad certainly the mealiness
and consistency of roasted Chestnuts, but so far from having
the fine flavour of the Spanish Nut, had not, so far as I could
discern, any flavour at all, and were perfectly insipid. They are
about the size and form of a large Broad Bean.

The natives use them in their curries, as well as eat them
cooked in ghee.

EUPHOEBIACE^].
Aleurites triloba.

LUMBANG NUT — INDIAN WALNUT — BENCOOLEN NUT.
CANDLE NUT OF THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

Akrot.

A tree of moderate size, with large round lobed leaves ; native
of India ; produces a very inferior description of nut, possessing

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS. 273

somewhat of the flavour of the Walnut, but of a dense pithy con-
sistency like that of a roasted Chestnut. The nut is of a roundish
form, of the size of a Walnut, and is contained in a green husk,
exactly resembling that of the Walnut. It breaks out into blossom
in March with large bunches of small delicate white flowers, and
ripens its crop towards the end of July, at which time it comes
into full blossom again, but without yielding a second crop.
Propagated by sowing the nuts.

COEYLACE^.

Corylus avellana.

FILBEKT.

Neither the Filbert nor any variety of Hazel-nut is to be met
with in this country. Numerous attempts have been made to
raise plants by sowing the kernels, but have invariably proved
unsuccessful. Even if plants could be raised, in all probability
they would never be productive, as has been found to be the
case in the Mauritius.

Gastanea Chinensis.

CHINESE CHESTNUT.

This tree, Dr. Voigt states, was introduced from China into the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens in 1807, but had not flowered up to
1814. In the year 1854 a hundred seedlings were introduced into
the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society by Mr. Fortune,
who said that the tree produced a nut quite equal, if not superior,
to the Spanish Chestnut. The climate of Calcutta seems however
little suited to them, as they have made no growth, and still
continue in an unthriving state.

Gastanea vesca.

SPANISH CHESTNUT.

This tree, Dr. Voigt states, has been introduced into the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, and existed there for the space of
fifteen years without flowering. I find by inquiry that it is not
in existence there now.

274 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

JUGLANDACE^E.

Juglans regia.
WALNUT.

The Walnut-tree is common on the hills of Northern India,
and produces there its crops abundantly. It is not found on the
Nilgherries ; neither is any productive tree, that I am aware of,
to be met with in the Plains. Plants are however easily raised
from seed ; but these, both in the vicinity of Calcutta and in
other parts of India, after reaching to a height of about two or
three feet, make no further growth, and remain the same for
some years, until they ultimately die off.

HYPOGYKOUS EXOGENS.

STEECULIACE^E.
Southwellia balanghas.

CHINA CHESTNUT.

This tree is a native of India, and produces seeds which,
Dr. Roxburgh states, when roasted are nearly as palatable as
Chestnuts. In Dr. Roxburgh's time trees of large size were in
existence in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but these have been
removed, and only small plants are now to be met with there.

NELUMBIACEJE.
Nelumbium speciosum.

LOTUS— SACKED OR EGYPTIAN BEAN.

Kuuwul.

This beautiful Water-Lily is a common plant in the tanks of
Bengal, as well as in other parts of India. It displays its hand-
some Pseony-like flowers during the Hot and Rain seasons, and
at the beginning of the Cold season ripens its seeds in their
curious, drooping, cone-shaped capsules.

Sir E. Tennent says : —

"In China and some parts of India the black seeds of these
plants, which are not unlike little acorns in shape, are served at
table in place of Almonds, which they are said to resemble, hut
with a superior delicacy of flavour. I tasted the seeds in Ceylon
and found them delicately flavoured, not unlike the kernel of the

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS. 275

Pine cone of the Apennines. This has clearly no identity with
the fruit which Herodotus describes as the food of the Lotophagi
of Egypt."*

On this point Dr. Lindley states : — " The Lote-Bush, which
gave its name to the ancient Lotophagi, is to this day collected
for food by the Arabs of Barbary. It is the Zizyphus Lotus of

botanists." f

In their unripe state the nuts of the Sacred Bean are eaten
raw, when to me they seem to have much of the flavour and
crispness of Filberts. On ripening they become hard, and are
then roasted before eaten.

ANACARDIACEJE.
Pistacia vera.

PISTACHIO NUT.

Pista Bqddm.

The well-known nut of this tree which, when fried in butter,
forms so delicious an addition to the dessert, is obtainable in
great abundance in the Cold weather in the bazars of most parts
of India. It is not, however, the produce of this country.
The tree is a native of Syria. Dr. Voigt states that it has been
introduced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but is unaware
whether it has ever flowered there. It is not to be met with there
now, nor has been, as fas as I can learn, for many years past.

Dr. Kiddel states that the nuts are brought from Bussorah in
great abundance. The Afghan traders, who bring them about
for sale, state that they obtain them from Balk, and that they
are not produced in Caubul. Dr. Lindsey Stewart, however, in
his 'Notes of a Tour/ mentions having found a good many
Pistacia in the Punjab Salt Eange.

Anacardium occidentale.
CASHEW NUT.

Hijlee Baddm — Kajoo.

The Cashew nut-tree is a native of this country, as well as of
the West Indies. Major Drury states, " that it grows to a large

* Tennent's « Ceylon,' vol. i. p. 123. f ' Vegetable Kingdom,' p. 582.

T 2

276 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

size in the Deccan, is very ornamental in leaf, and bears sweet
smelling flowers." It is also, I am told, very abundant in Burmah,
and is of quick growth, yielding annually, after the second year,
an abundant crop. Dr. Roxburgh states, " that it is found only
in the vicinity of the sea, where the soil is almost perfect sand."
Two or three trees are to met with in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, where, however, they seem to thrive indifferently,
though they blossom and bear nuts. They produce their small,
white, insignificant flowers in April, and their crop in the Rain
season.

Dr. Macfadyen states that " the kernel of the roasted nut is
not inferior to the Sweet Almond or Pistachio-nut ; " and Don
mentions that "the broken kernels are sometimes used for
mixing with old Madeira wines. It is also an ingredient in
puddings." The nuts are sold plentifully in the bazars. They
are of the size and form of a small kidney, and have exceedingly
thick, hard, polished shells. Between the shell and the kernel
is an acrid brown oil, very difficult to remove, and which
imparts to the kernels, even when roasted, a pungent taste.

Dr. Macfadyen states that the fruit, consisting of the pyriform
fleshy peduncle on which the nut is seated, when stewed with
sugar or syrup forms an excellent preserve.

Mr. Dillwyn states that " there is a considerable difference
between the East and West India Nuts, and that they are pro-
bably of distinct species." * And Mr. Bates, in his description
of Santarem on the Amazons, says : —

" The Caju is very abundant ; indeed some parts of the district
might be called orchards of this tree, which seems to prefer sandy
or gravelly soils. There appear to be several distinct species of it
growing in company, to judge by the differences in the colour,
flavour, and size of the fruit. This, when ripe, has the colour and
figure of a Codlin Apple, but it has a singular appearance, owing
to the large kidney-shaped kernel growing outside the pulpy
portion of the fruit. " f

Buchanan! a latifolia.

A large tree thirty feet high, native of the mountainous parts
of Coromandel and Malabar. It produces fruit, the kernels of

* Keview of Eheede's ' Hortus Malabaricus,' p. 12.
t * The Naturalist on the River Amazon,' vol. ii. p. 22.

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS. 277

which are said to be a general substitute for Almonds, and are
eaten roasted with milk. Trees are to be met with in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but they are not productive.

PEKIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

THYMELACE^E.
Inocarpus edulis.

OTAHEITE CHESTNUT.

A large tree, native of the Society and Friendly Islands, pro-
ducing fruit the kernels of which, Dr. Voigt remarks, are edible,
but by no means pleasant to the taste. The tree exists in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, where it yields nothing, however,
but a dry, uneatable seed.

FABACE.E.
Arachis hypogaea.

EAKTH NUT — MANILLA NUT — UNDERGROUND KIDNEY-BEAN.

Cheenee Baddm — Mom pliulee.

An annual, native of South America, but naturalised in all
parts of India, well known for its curious property of thrusting
its seed-pods, as soon as formed, beneath the earth, to grow and
ripen there. It flowers in June, and the crop is ready for
digging up in January. The legumes contain two or three ir-
regularly f6rmed beans of nut-like flavour, somewhat resembling
the Pistachio, but far inferior. They are eaten raw, but are
much better for being roasted.

When the crop is dug up, the old plants should be destroyed,
and a fresh piece of ground chosen for sowing the seed for crop
of the succeeding season. The habit of the plant sufficiently in-
dicates that it requires a loose light sandy soil. Plants are rather
difficult to eradicate from a piece of ground where once grown.

Castanospermum Australe.

MORETON-BAY CHESTNUT.

A small tree, native of Moreton Bay in New Holland ; pro-
duces large pods containing two or three round seeds of the size

278 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

of a Chestnut. These when roasted, Don states, have somewhat
the flavour of Chestnuts, and Europeans have subsisted on
them, when roasted, for two or three days without ill effect.

Young plants have been recently introduced into the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, though the tree seems to have been in exist-
ence there in Dr. Voigt's time.

At Bangalore I was shown a fine tree in the Public Gardens,
which, however, I found was more esteemed for its beautiful large
crimson blossoms than for the fruit it yields. The fruit, the
gardener told me, no one ventured upon eating ; and not even
squirrels or birds attacked it.

Bauhinia racemosa.

A large scandent shrub of excessive growth, producing, it is
said, branches from two to three hundred feet long, with leaves
nearly a foot in diameter ; bears festoons of white flowers in
March and April. The seeds, Dr. Koxburgh states, eaten raw,
when ripe, taste like Cashew-nuts. Large plants are met with
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but I cannot find, from the
malees employed there, that the seeds are ever eaten.

DKUPACE^E.

Amygdalus communis.

ALMOND.

Badam.

Dr. Yoigt states that the Almond has been tried repeatedly in
the vicinity of Calcutta, but without success. And Dr. Koxburgh
observes, " it does not succeed in India, and requires much
nursing to keep it alive." In the North- West Provinces, how-
ever, it is found to thrive to a certain extent, and is rather a
beautiful acquisition to the garden, as well for its flowers and
peculiarity of foliage, as for its fruit. At Ferozepore I have
sown the kernels, and two or three years afterwards gathered
fruit from the plants raised from them.

It is the better plan to crack the shells before sowing the seed,
in order to remove as much as possible all impediment to the
germination of the kernel. Immediately upon germinating, the

CHAP. III. EDIBLE NUTS. 279

seed begins to send a tap-root deep down into the earth, thus
rendering the plant difficult to transplant without injury. It is
therefore best to select the spot where each tree is designed to
remain permanently, and after having prepared the soil, to sow
three or four kernels, and if more than one germinate, to destroy
all but one.

EPIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

COMBEETACE^].

Terminalia Catappa.

INDIAN ALMOND.

Desee Badam.

A large forest-tree, native of India, of handsome stately
growth, with long branches spreading horizontally, and clothed
with large, noble, dark-green polished foliage ; produces a nut
of a fine filbert-like flavour, with a crispness like that of a fresh
Walnut: beyond comparison the most delicious of any kind
the country affords. The kernel resembles a small fold of
white paper, and is contained in a large green husk of the size
and shape of the shell of an Almond, of remarkable toughness.
The kernels, when extracted, are generally put on the table in
a plate of water.

It blossoms and bears its crop twice in the year. In the
month of May it bears a crop, and at the same time comes into
blossom with a profusion of small white flowers, closely crowded
together upon long spikes, resembling somewhat those of
Buddlea Neemda. The second crop comes into season at the
beginning of the cold months.

HALORAGACE.E.
Trapa bicornis.

WATER CALTEOPS — WATER CHESTNUT.

Singhdra — Panee-phul.

A common aquatic plant, native of the tanks in Bengal, and
much cultivated in many parts of India for the nuts it bears.

280 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

These are quite black, of very curious form, resembling a
bullock's head, with two large horns. Though much consumed
by the natives, they are considered hardly worth eating by
Europeans. They are most agreeable when peeled and fried.
The plant is rather an ornamental one, especially when in the
Rain season it opens its pure white flowers towards the close of
the day. It is said, however, by Colonel Sleeman, to be very
injurious to the tanks in which it is suffered to grow, producing
a great quantity of mud, and soon filling up the tank.

LECYTHIDACE^E.

Bertholletia excelsa.

BRAZIL-NUT.

A tree of enormous size, native of the districts of the Orinoco
and the Eiver Amazon. At Tapaiunquara, says Mr Bates, may
be seen " grove after grove of Brazil-nut trees on the mainland.
This is one of the chief collecting-grounds for this nut. The
tree is one of the loftiest in the forest, towering far above its
fellows; we could see the woody fruits, large and round as
cannon-balls, dotted over the branches." *

Every one nearly must be familiar with these nuts, so common
in the fruiterers' shops in London. Endeavours were made some
years ago to raise plants in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticul-
tural Society from nuts obtained from Europe, but unsuccess-
fully. The nuts being of a very oily nature do not probably
retain their vitality long. If plants, moreover, could be raised,
it does not seem in the least degree likely they would be found
suited to this climate.

* ' The Naturalist on the Eiver Amazon,' vol. i. p. 135.

CHAP. IV.

ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS.

281

CHAPTER IV.

ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS.

FEW persons, perhaps who in this country care to cultivate a
flower-garden at all, would be willing to dispense with Annuals.
It is true they are but transitory, but while in blossom they
recall, as few things else do so vividly, many pleasing recollec-
tions of home and its associations, independent of the enjoyment
experienced in the contemplation of their beauty ; and, from
the time even of their first appearing above ground, through
the whole period of their growth, are a never-failing source of
interest and delight. Such, at least, I can affirm, has been my
happy experience.

For those who do not desire to cultivate more than a limited
few, I subjoin a list of such as are never likely to cause disappoint-
ment in flowering, if only the seed prove good and germinate.

Acroclinium roseum.
Ageratum Mexicanum.
Aster Chinensis.
Brachycome iberidifolia.
Browallia elata.
Cacalea coccinea.
Calendula pluvialis.
Calliopsis, of sorts.
Callirhoe digitata.
Centranthus macrosiphon.
Cuphea purpurea.

Delphinium.

Dianthus Chinensis.

Didiscus cseruleus.

Gaura Lindheimeria.

Iberis.

Ipomoea limbata.

Linaria.

Linum grandiflorum.

Lobelia ramosa.

Lupinus, of sorts.

Malcomia maritima.

Mimulus.

Nemophila insignis.

Petunia.

Phlox.

Portulaca.

Eeseda odorata.

Ehodanthe Manglesii.

Salpiglossis.

Tagetes, of sorts.

Tropceolum, of sorts.

Whitlavia grandiflora.

The following is a list of those the seeds of which should be
sown in June and July : — •

Amaranthus tricolor,

caudatus.

hypochondriacus.

Carthamus tinctorius.
Celosia cristata, and

varieties.
Crotalaria juncea.
Datura, of sorts.

Desmodium gyrans.
Exacum tetragonum.
Gomphrena globosa.
Hibiscus giganteus.

Lindleyi.

Ipomcea rubro-cserulea.
Martynia diandra.

Nicotiana, of sorts.
Nicandra physaloides.
Pentapetes Phoenicea.
Quamoclit vulgaris. ,
Sesamum Indicum.
Spilanthes oleracea.
Zinnia elegans.

282 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

THE TIME FOE SOWING THE SEED. — This in the case of most
Annuals is when the Kains are over, about the middle of October.
In the Upper Provinces the sowing should take place as soon
as the abatement of the heat will allow, in order that the
seedlings may be well advanced before the weather sets in at
its coldest, during which period they remain quite stationary,
making little or no growth whatever. Nasturtiums, for instance,
with the pretty Canary Creeper, must be sown in time to make
a good growth before the frosty nights come, when they have to
be carefully protected from the cold, If the sowing be deferred
till the Cold season is over, the plants will be killed by the
approach of the Hot season before they have put forth a
blossom.

In Bengal again there are certain of the Annuals which take
the whole of the time that the cold weather lasts to complete
their growth, and only come into blossom just at its close. If
the seeds of such kinds be not rsown very early, it amounts
almost to a certainty that the plants will die without flowering.
Among these in particular may be mentioned Cineraria, German
Asters, Jacobaea, and Salpiglossis.

Others, on the other hand, blossom within a much shorter
period ; of such it is advisable always to reserve a portion of the
seed for sowing in November. Among these may be mentioned
more especially Nemophila and Larkspurs, the seed of which
will not germinate till the weather has become quite cold, and
when sown early is liable to be lost before germinating.

There are others, moreover, of which if sowings be made
much before the approach of the cold weather, the seedlings
will spring up so readily as to exhaust themselves by the
rapidity of their growth, becoming so attenuated that it requires
the greatest care to keep them from perishing. To this may be
attributed, as often happens, the damping off of the whole batch
of seedlings.

MODE OF SOWING. — Sowing in pots is, no doubt, the more
sure and economical plan ; for in that case the seeds are com-
paratively safe from the ravages of ants, of all things the most
to be guarded against.

It is essential that the soil used should be of a loose descrip-
tion, so that there be as little risk as possible of breaking the
tender thread-like roots of the seedlings in the process of what

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 283

is called "pricking out." No better compost can be used than-
that recommended by Mr. Koss for the purpose, consisting of

Leaf mould 8 parts.

Common mould ... 8 parts.
Sand 1 part.

The seeds when sown should be covered with nothing more
than a mere sprinkling of soil, pressed down upon them gently
with the hand, or, better, with the bottom of a flower-pot.

It is of the utmost importance that the seedlings should, from
the very first, have, during the day, all the light and air that
can possibly be given them short of absolute sunshine, and at
night, when the weather will admit, be put out in the open to
receive the dew.

The mode of raising Annuals, however, attended with least
trouble is to select a small plot of ground just of sufficient size
for the purpose; well dig it, and make it very light and
mellow with vegetable mould, and perfectly level. Then divide
it off into little compartments, and in each sow a different kind
of seed, and affix a label. But a better plan yet, in my opinion,
is to draw drills over the plot at the distance of half a foot
between each drill, and sow in them the different kinds of
seed in succession. It is thus known exactly where to look for
the seeds to come up ; when up also they are far more easily
transplanted from drills than when the seed has been sown
broadcast. Still, whichever plan is adopted, the whole plot
must be sheltered from the sun during the day, and in bad
weather at night, with a covering of hoogla, supported on a
bamboo frame about three feet from the ground. About four-
and-twenty hours previous the soil should be well drenched so
that at the time of sowing, without being wet and cloggy, it
may be found moist and mellow.

The disadvantage of this plan, and nearly the only one, I
believe, is that the greater portion of the seed is apt to be
carried off by red ants ; but this is of not so great importance
if seed is abundant, as quite enough will probably be left to
supply as many plants as required. The seedlings come up
with far greater vigour and robustness than they do when raised
in pots, and never damp off.

TRANSPLANTING.— " Annuals/' says Sir J. Paxton, " with the

284 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

exception of a few particular sorts, all will derive great benefit
from being transplanted. It will check the natural exuberance
of their growth, and promote the production of flowers." * "I
am convinced," says Mr. M'Meekin, head-gardener formerly to
the Agri-Horticultural Society, " that annuals in this country
are improved by transplanting."

It must be observed, however, that the season here is of so
much shorter duration for Annuals to mature their growth in
than it is in Europe, as well as the length of the day so much
shorter, that many cannot allow of the check to their growth
which a transplanting always more or less causes. As a general
rule for guidance in this matter, I have observed, with regard
to all herbaceous plants, as well as Annuals, that those which
love a rich, damp soil, such as Mimulus, Nemophila, German
Aster, Cineraria, Balsams, &c., in no way suffer, but are rather
benefited by transplantation ; while those plants the natural
locality of which is a dry, arid soil, such as Lupins, Portulaca,
Poppy, Eschscholtzia, Mignonette, &c., suffer severely and often
irrecoverably from the process.

Seeds of Annuals, such as it has been stated suffer too great a
check from being transplanted, may, especially when seed is
plentiful, be very advantageously sown at once in the border on
the spot where they are to remain. The following excellent
directions, given by Sir J. Paxton on the subject, apply equally
well in this country as in Europe^ —

" Make the soil fine with the hand. With the finger draw a
circular drill of about six inches in diameter, and one inch or less
deep. Cover the seeds lightly with moist soil. Place an inverted
flower-pot over them, and allow it to remain till the seeds begin to
grow. Then prop it on one side two or three inches high, until the
plants are able to bear the weather. Afterwards remove it alto-
gether." |

The seed must not be cast merely on the hard, dry soil of the
border, but a little mellow leaf-mould or old well-decayed cow-
manure be mixed up with the soil on the spots where the
sowings are to be made.

Annuals in the border require daily watering. The plan of
flooding the border in the Upper Provinces is very prejudicial

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. vi. p. 96.
t ' Botanical Magazine,' vol. i. p. 19.

CHAP. IV. OBNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 285

to some kinds, causing them to rot at the collar of the stem
just previous to blossoming. With a little care this may be
easily prevented. If the border be perfectly level, as it ought
to be, water may be let in upon it just sufficient to crawl over the
ground till it wets the whole surface. This is best done in the
morning. If done in the afternoon, the frost, acting upon the
damp soil, will be far more likely to cause injury to the plants.

ENDOGENS.
GRAMINACE^E.

GRASSES.

Though the list of Annual Grasses put forth by seedsmen is
rather considerable, there are few perhaps which, for their
ornamental character, are really worth cultivating in this
country. Possibly the ones here given may be as many as are
desirable, and even these, though succeeding well in the Upper
Provinces, I have found thrive very unsatisfactorily in the
vicinity of Calcutta.

Briza.

B. maxima and B. gracilis — QUAKING GRASS. — Very beautiful
when bearing their heads of blossom, resembling little heart-
shaped lockets suspended from delicate thread-like stems, and
moving constantly with the slighest breeze. A pot of either
species placed amongst other Annuals affords pleasing variety.

Stipa.

S. pennata — FEATHER GRASS. — A very beautiful Grass, its
group of stems bearing resemblance, after blossoming, to a deli-
cate tuft of whitish feathers, like the tail of the Bird of Paradise.
The dried stems, when cut, form a pretty permanent indoor
ornament.

DICLINOUS EXOGENS.
EUPHORBIACE^E.

Acalypha.

A genus of plants of low growth, ornamental only for their
foliage, the leaves being of a neat form, with the under-surface

286 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

of a bright red colour. Two or three are natives of this country,
and look pretty in the way of variety amongst other potted
plants.

HYPOGYNOUS EXOGENS.

Viola.

V. tricolor — HEARTSEASE — PANSY. — Though a perennial, the
Heartsease must, in this country, be cultivated as an annual,
and raised fresh from seed each Cold season, for it is only in
very rare cases that it can be preserved through the Hot and
Kain seasons. The seed should be sown in October, and the
young plants, when having formed about six leaves, be pricked
out into small pots, one in each. They should be removed
carefully, so as to disturb the soil as little as possible, for some
of the seeds do not germinate till a long time after others. The
Heartsease likes the shade and plenty of water, and a soil well
enriched with old cow-manure. It is important, however, that
the soil should be rendered of an open nature, or the plants are
apt to turn yellow and sickly.

The following mode of treating the plant is given by Sir J.
Paxton : —

" When grown in pots, train the plant upon a single stem, until
it has attained the height of one foot, or eighteen inches (which it
will readily do), then pinch off the extreme points ; it will throw
gut side branches in profusion, and will have a strikingly pleasing
appearance." *

The Heartsease, however, is a florist's flower, and plants
raised from seed may probably, with all the trouble bestowed
upon them, turn out worthless, particularly if care has not been
taken to sow seed saved from the finest sorts.

BKASSICACE^E.

Matthiola.

M. annua — TEN-WEEK-STOCK. — Stocks thrive vigorously enough
in the vicinity of Calcutta, till they are just about to blossom,
when they all but invariably are infested with a minute kind ot.
* ' Magazine of Botany/ vol. iii. p. 6.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 287

insect, assume a cankered appearance, and become utterly worth-
less. I have raised numbers year after year, but never yet
succeeded in obtaining a single satisfactory spike of blossom,
nor during several years that I have attended the horticultural
shows in Calcutta have I seen one there.

The seed should be sown in October, in the open ground, in
a spot protected from the effect of both sun and rain; when
sown in pots the young seedlings are exceedingly apt to damp
off. The soil should be sandy and light, and the young plants
should be starved of water till about two inches high, when they
should be transplanted into very rich soil. Sir J. Paxton remarks,
" those which remain where sown will be the better plants, as
Stocks are very much checked by transplanting." This, indeed,
accords with most persons' experience. One thing moreover is
certain, that the attempt to move a Stock when in blossom, or
on the eve of blossoming, is at once to destroy it.

Koniga.

K. maritima — SWEET ALISON OR ALYSSUM. — A dwarf, pretty,
unpretending annual, bearing small conical heads of little white
flowers, that emit a pleasing honey-like fragrance. Sow in large
patches in October. The plant will be in full blossom by the
middle of December.

Iberis.

1. I. odorata— WHITE CANDY TUFT.— Of easy culture, thriving
well everywhere ; plants raised in clumps in the border present
a large pleasing mass of white blossom. Sow in October.

2. I. jimbellata— PURPLE CANDY TUFT. — Of somewhat larger
growth than the preceding ; produces handsome showy masses
of pale purple blossom, but sometimes rather shy of doing so.

Malcomia.

M. maritima — VIRGINIA STOCK. — A dwarf, unpretending an-
nual, well adapted for an edging or to be planted in clumps,
producing then in effective masses its small lavender-coloured
flowers. Sow in October in enriched soil.

Erysimum.

1. E. Perofskianum— YELLOW STOCK. — Kesembles an orange-
coloured Wallflower, but with much larger heads of blossom.
Sow in the border in October : no care required in its culture.

288 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

2. E. Arkansanum.— Like 'the above, but with pale yellow
heads of flowers, bearing rather too great a resemblance to those
of the Turnip or Mustard.

Heliophila.

H. arabioides. — A small plant, bearing small, brilliant blue,
not very remarkable flowers, rather pretty ; grown in pots. Sow
in October.

Schizopetalon.

S. Walkeri. — A small plant bearing exceedingly pretty, pure
white, deliciously-fragrant flowers, with the petals cut in a most
curious way. It likes a light sandy soil, and should be sown in
the spot where it is to remain, as it bears transplanting very ill ;
it is of delicate habit, and in this country very apt to perish
just as the flowers are about to expand. Sow in October ; blossoms
by the end of January.

RESEDACE.E.

Reseda.

R. odorata — MIGNONETTE. — No particular directions need be
given for the culture of this familiar, sweet-scented plant, except
that it bears transplanting ill, and that the seed should be sown
in October thinly in patches where the plants are to remain.
It may be kept alive and in blossom a very long time, if the
flower-heads be cut off when they begin to form seed-vessels. It
will succeed in nearly any soil, and in gardens where it has been
grown one season it will come up self-sown the following.
Several fine varieties have been raised of late producing exceed-
ingly large trusses of flowers, some white and some of a deep
dull red.

To form what is called the Tree-Mignonette, Mr. Cuthill
directs as follows : —

" Sow in a four-inch pot. When up, clear off all the plants but
the one in the centre. As it grows, train it upwards to a stick,
until it is a foot high, or two, if you please. Do not allow any
side shoots to grow on the stem, and remove all leaves to within a
few inches of its top. When the plant gets as high as you wish
top it, and then it will throw out side branches. As they advance
pinch off their tops, till you have formed a nice bushy head to your

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 289

plant ; and, above all, do not allow any bloom to appear until it
has become strong.

" Mignonette delights in a sandy loam, not too light ; but being
a gross feeder, a little diluted manure-water may be given it once
a week with advantage. If this is contemplated, the mould need
not be made so rich in the first instance." *

It must be mentioned, however, that the large bushes, between
two and three feet high and the same in breadth, exhibited in
England, are the result of two years' growth.

CAPPAKIDACE.E.
Cleome.

C. viscosa. — Grows with an erect stem, two feet high, bearing
rose-coloured flowers, curious for the immense distance the pistil
with the seed-vessel at the end projects out from among the
stamens. The flowers, poor in themselves, form a pretty object
clumped several together in a tuft-like head on the summit of
the plant. Sow the seed in October.

BYTTNEKIACE.E.

Pentapetes.

P. Phoenicea — Doopahdrya. — A native of India and a common
weed of the rice-fields, but well deserving a place in the garden.
It has an erect stem about two feet high, bearing a spike of
middle-sized beautiful flowers, unrivalled for their deep carmine
colour. There is also a white variety. Sow the seeds in July.
The plant blossoms in September and October.

TROP^EOLACE^E.
Tropseolum.

1. T. majus— NASTURTIUM— INDIAN CRESS. — A more beautiful
and showy annual than the Nasturtium is not to be met with.
In Lower Bengal scarcely any more care is required in its cul-
tivation than, having first enriched the soil with a little old
manure, to drop a few seeds in the places where the plants are
* ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' No 21, for 1860.

U

290 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT

intended to remain, and to keep the earth moist by daily water-
ing. The seed may be sown in the middle of October, and the
plants will be in full bloom by the middle of December, and
continue so till the hot weather sets in. But in the North-West
Provinces the plants must be covered over at night, or they will
be sure to be destroyed by the frost. Nor will it answer to delay
the sowing till the frosty nights are over, as in that case the
plants will perish by the heat before coming into bloom.

The number of varieties is very great, producing flowers of a
pale straw colour, orange, scarlet, dark rich crimson brown, and
of every intermediate hue, spotted and striped. The dwarf
varieties, called Tom Thumb, grow compact little plants, without
the tendency to send out runners, as is so much the habit of
the larger kinds. They yield seed in abundance, which, when
gathered, should be thoroughly dried and kept till sowing- time
in well-closed bottles.

2. T. peregrinum— CANARY CREEPER. — A pretty slender
creeper, bearing small canary-coloured flowers, growing in
course of time 1o a considerable height, and requiring a trellis
for its support. It cannot endure heat ; and the seeds must not
be sown till the cold weather is well set in, or the young plants
will be sure to die off.

Limnanthes.

L. Douglas!.— A low trailing plant, producing poor miserable
flowers, not equal to those of a common Buttercup, which they
somewhat resemble. Sow the seeds where the plants are to
remain, in a moist, shady situation.

MALVACEAE.

Malope.

M. trifida, var. grandiflora.-— A high-growing, tolerably showy
annual ; bears large, dull-red, mallow-like flowers : sow the seeds
in October in the spot where the plants are to remain, as they
suffer severely from transplanting. In the neighbourhood of
Calcutta I have often found this plant thrive well till just when
about to blossom on the approach of the hot weather, and then
die off without opening a single flower. There is a variety with
white flowers.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 291

Althaea.

A. rosea — HOLLYHOCK. — By nature a perennial, the Hollyhock
can only be cultivated satisfactorily in this country as an annual.
The seed should be sown in October in the open ground, for
young plants raised in gumlahs are not only very apt to damp
off, but suffer much also from transplanting. The best plan is to
have some bed of good light rich soil, set apart exclusively for
this plant. In poor soil it makes no growth and produces no
flowers. The best flowers, however, that I have ever seen the
Hollyhock produce in this country have invariably been very
poor, single, and of one colour only, pale pink.

Callirhoe.

C. digitata. — A most delightful annual ; thrives well in gardens
about Calcutta, and bears, in great profusion, moderate-sized,
bright pink blossoms : sow the seed (which may be saved from
year to year) in October, and put out the plants, where wanted,
three in a patch.

Hibiscus.

1. Africanus — Syn. Trionum — An annual of trailing growth ;
bears beautiful cream-coloured flowers with deep puce-coloured
eye ; likes a light sandy soil ; sow in October : the plants come
early into blossom, and produce seed abundantly, which should
be saved from year to year. 2. H. calisureus. — A plant of more
erect growth, and with flowers somewhat larger than those of
the preceding, otherwise very similar.

3. H. Lindleyi.— A large shrub-like plant, bears during the
Rain season, in constant succession, a profusion of large, rich
crimson, very showy blossoms ; sow the seed in July.

4. H. giganteus. — A very large plant, producing during the
Rains great, showy, primrose-coloured flowers of the size of a
cheese-plate, with puce-coloured centre.

SAPINDACE^E.

Cardiospermum.

C. Halicacabum— HEART-SEED — BALLOON-VINE. — A creeping
plant, a common weed of this country ; produces insignificant

u 2

292 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

flowers, but is sometimes cultivated for its graceful foliage and
the numerous singular inflated seed-vessels it bears ; seed may
be sown at any season.

RANUNCULACE.E.
Adonis.

A. autumnalis— FLOS ADONIS — PHEASANT'S EYE. — A cheerful
little plant, with dense foliage of deep-green, finely-divided
leaves, out of which peer forth its small, vivid crimson flowers ;
thrives best in a moist and shady situation ; sow in October.

Nigella.

N. Hispanica.— DEVIL-IN-A-BUSH — FENNEL-FLOWER. — A not
very pleasing annual ; interesting principally for the curious way
in which the largish blue flowers are surrounded by the fennel-
like foliage. Sow in October ; it requires shade and moisture.

Delphinium.

1. D. Ajacis— EOCKET LAEKSPUE.

2. D. consolida— BRANCHING LAEKSPUK. — The Larkspur
generally met with in Indian gardens is a naturalised degenerate
variety of D. consolida, a poor, weedy, worthless thing. Im-
ported seed of European sorts seems to lose its vitality very
soon, as 1 have sown it for many years in succession, but never
yet, except on one occasion, found it germinate. In Mr. Stalkart's
garden at Gooseree a remarkably fine kind of Rocket Larkspur
has been cultivated for more than twenty years past ; the seed
has been saved year after year, and the plants, while in blossom,
have been quite the glory of the garden, with flowers very
double, and of colours varying from deep purple, through azure
blue and pale pink striped and mottled, to pure white, produced
upon the stems in dense hyacinth-like spikes.

It is not worth while in the vicinity of Calcutta to sow the
seed before the beginning of December, as that sown earlier only
lies in the ground, and will not germinate before the Cold season
is thoroughly set in. If the ground where Larkspurs have grown
one season be left undisturbed, an abundant crop of self-sown
plants will spring up the following November and December.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 293

PAPAVERACE.E.

Argemone.

A. Mexicana— GAMBOGE THISTLE — DEVIL'S FIG — HORNED
POPPY. — BliurlMnd. — A plant with variegated thistle-like
leaves ; bears large, expanded, bright-yellow flowers ; so
thoroughly established as a troublesome weed in all parts of
India, that in most gardens some little difficulty is found in
eradicating it. The curious seed-pod it bears seems to have
suggested one of the English names given it ; and the yellow
juice which exudes from it when wounded the other. There is
a variety with white flowers.

Papaver.

1. P. somniferum — POPPY. — The varieties of Poppy, both as
regards size and colour, are very numerous, bearing the names
severally of Paeony, Eanunculus, and Carnation- flowered. The
seed should be sown in October in the open ground in light rich
soil, where the plants are to remain, as they do not bear trans-
plantation. Seed procured from Europe cannot often be de-
pended upon to germinate ; hence when a good kind has once
been raised, care should be taken to save the seed of it from
year to year.

2. P. Rhaeas— FRENCH POPPY. — A smaller plant than the
preceding, and distinguished from it by its much divided leaves
and hairy flower-stalks.

Eschscholtzia.

E. Californica— CALIFORNIAN POPPY. — A very showy plant,
with hoary green, much divided foliage; bears a profusion of
large, expanded, bright-yellow flowers. In the gardens of Upper
India it is always to be counted on as a splendid ornament
during the cold months ; but in the vicinity of Calcutta, though
it grows vigorously, and in some seasons affords a tolerable dis-
play of flowers, it more commonly fails of yielding a single blos-
som, nor becomes at all the more disposed to do so from being
preserved,, as it may be, till the following Cold season. The
seed should be sown in October, where the plants are to remain, as
" when transplanted," Sir J. Paxton observes, " they are a very
long time before they commence growing again." Hunnemannia
fumarisefolia is in many respects very similar, and blossoms
freely in the middle of April.

294 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Platystemon.

P. Californicum. — A small delicate plant of trailing habit, with
grass-like foliage of ash-green tint ; bears beautiful little snow-
drop-like flowers of a pale lemon colour. The plants are at-
tached to the soil by such a slender, thread-like stem, that they
cannot be transplanted without being greatly injured, if not
destroyed. I have not found it succeed well in Bengal.

LINAGES.
Linum.

L. grandiflorum, var. kermesinum — SCARLET FLAX. — A delight-
ful annual ; bears in great profusion largish, expanded, bright-
crimson flowers ; thrives and blossoms in great beauty in India,
and yields seed abundantly, which may be saved from year to
year; sow in October. The young plants require to be trans-
planted cautiously, or are likely to suffer. I have never found
them answer in pots so well as in manured soil in the border.

OXALIDACE^E.

Oxalis.

0. rosea. — A very pretty little unpretending annual; bears
numerous small rose-coloured flowers, but very effective when
grown in masses. Grown beside this the new species, 0.
Valdiviana, forms a very pleasing contrast, with its numerous
cheerful yellow flowers. 0. corniculata is a pretty plant with
compact purple-brown foliage and yellow flowers. These two
last, though perennial, may be grown as annuals.

BALSAMINACEJE.
Impatiens.

I. Balsamina — BALSAMS — Gool Mehndee. — Native of India.
In a garden where plants have once been grown, seedlings will
be sure to come up self-sown each succeeding season ; but these
will be weedy, worthless plants, and should be pulled up and
thrown away. The finer kinds, raised from imported seed, pro-

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 295

duce immense double flowers, resembling full-blown Camellias,
of various colours — white, rose, scarlet, purple, and variegated —
and are about the most lovely of all annuals.

A very great mistake, I believe, is usually made in regard to
the time of sowing the seed. Sometimes it is sown in July, and
the consequence is that many of the young plants perish from
the wet, while those that manage to survive come into blossom
only to have their flowers destroyed or damaged by the heavy
rains. Again, the seed is often sown in October, with that of
the other annuals ; but the Balsam requires more warmth than
it meets with at that season to make much growth. I have
found that by sowing the seed about the beginning of Septem-
ber in pots, large, well-grown plants may be obtained by the
close of the Rains. If at that time the plants thus raised be
put out in the border in well-enriched soil, they will blossom in
perfection and preserve their beauty unimpaired for a very long
time. Balsams, moreover, put out in the border during the
Eains, I have often noticed perishing from no apparent reason ;
but on pulling them up, and splitting the stalk with my thumb-
nail, I have invariably found in them a great maggot that had
devoured the substance of the interior. I know no preventive
against this.

In planting out the Balsam the stem should be sunk up to
the leaves. Or if it be grown in a pot the pot should be several
times changed, a very small one taken first, and a larger one each
time, and each time the stem should be buried up to the leaves
in the soil. Balsams love a light rich soil and plenty of water.

In the Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society, vol. ii., 2nd
series, will be found a paper by Mr. J. Scott, giving a description
of several species of Balsam of this country, of some of which he
speaks highly. But the one or two that I am myself acquainted
with seem to me of too straggling and weedy a growth for what-
ever merit there maybe in their flowers to compensate for. The
description of the following plant, and directions for cultivating
it are from the same paper in Mr. Scott's own words :

" Hydrocera.

" H. triflora : — Domootee : — An aquatic, with lanceolate leaves
four to five inches long arid one broad. Flowers large white,
variegated with red and yellow. It well deserves a place in the

296 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

garden. Cultivate in gumlah half-filled with ordinary garden-
soil ; watered till become mud. Sow seed in February, or begin-
ning of March ; add water as the plants grow — two or three inches
above the surface of the soil quite sufficient to keep the plant in
vigorous health* It flowers continuously to the commencement
of the Cold season, when it begins to die down. If the gumlah
be undisturbed, self-sown seedlings appear abundantly next
year. "

CAKYOPHYLLACE^E.

Dianthus.

D. Chinensis — CHINA PINK. — A perennial plant, best treated
as an annual in this country ; most easy of cultivation ; best
grown in large clumps, so as to produce a large expanse of blos-
som, with flowers of endless variety, scarcely two alike. To
keep up a succession of bloom the flowers should be cut off as
soon as they fade, and not be allowed to run to seed. Sow in
October.

Saponaria.

S. Calabrica — CALABKIAN SOAPWOKT. — A dwarf annual ; bears
deep rose-coloured flowers of the size of the Forget-me-not ;
when blossoming profusely has at a distance an effect like that
of bright Heather. Sow in October.

Silene.

CATCH FLY.

A genus of annuals bearing small pink flowers; ornamental
only when grown in clumps and blossoming in great profusion.
1. S. Armeria. — LOBEL'S CATCHFLY.. — Bears its flowers in com-
pact heads, and for that reason one of the most desirable of the
genus. 2. S. pseudo-Atocion. — Pleasing for the freshness of its
leaves, but in this country bears its flowers too scantily to be
very attractive. Somewhat similar in character are 3. S. pendula
and its varieties. Sow in October.

Viscaria.

1. V, rosa cceli— KOSE OF HEAVEN. 2. V. oculata.— Bear
pretty pink flowers, but require to be grown in large clumps, as
the flowers are only effective when produced in large numbers.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 297

PORTULACACE^E.
Portulaca.

P. grandiflora. — Of which there are many varieties, both with
single and double flowers. A bed of this plant when in full
blossom I have heard aptly likened, for the brilliancy and variety
of colour in the flowers, to a stained-glass window. Nothing in
the garden can equal it in dazzling beauty of effect. The beauty
of the bed, however, is of short duration, as the flowers do
not open till ten o'clock, and close again by about two in the
afternoon.

The seed should be sown where the plants are to remain, as
they bear transplanting very ill. They do better in the open
ground than in flower-pots. If sown in the ground in October
the seed will germinate, and the plants become of strong, large,
healthy growth before requiring to be watered ; whereas in pots
the soil soon dries, and the young plants on first germinating
are either destroyed by drought from being left unwatered, or
if watered, by the force of the water as it issues from the water-
ing-pot. The best way of growing this delightful annual is to
make one or more small circular beds of a fine mellow soil, in a
conspicuous and sunny situation ; and having well watered them
with a watering-pot, shortly afterwards sow the seed ; cover the
beds with a jhamp or matting till the seeds germinate, and then
remove it. To distribute the seed evenly I have found it an
excellent plan to mix a pinch of it well in a teacupful of dry
silver sand, and sprinkle the mixture by throwing pinch after
pinch over the ground ; by this means it is made certain that
the seed will not be sown too thickly, nor more of it fall upon
one part of the bed than on another. After this a slight
sprinkling of pure sand may be made, and the sowing then
covered over with the jhamp.

To save seed, gather the seed-vessels a little before ripe, for
if left to ripen on the plant the cap of the seed-vessel drops off
and the seed falls out and is lost. If the ground in which
Portulaca has grown be left undisturbed plants commonly come
up self-sown the following season.

Calandrinia.
C. umbellata. — A beautiful annual ; produces crowded umbels

298 ' GAKDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

of crimson flowers of the size of a four-anna piece, which open
only in the sunshine ; does not bear transplanting well, but
succeeds best with the treatment recommended for Portulaca.
To have fine flowers Sir J. Paxton directs that it should be
watered once or twice with liquid manure.

NYCTAGINACE^].
Abronia.

1. A. umbellata. — A very beautiful trailing annual ; bears globu-
lar heads of lilac, fragrant flowers, in character much resembling
those of a Verbena. The seed should be sown in October, and
the plants will be in full blossom in February, and will die off
on the first approach of the hot weather. The young seedlings
require great attention, as being of a succulent nature they are
very apt to damp off, as well as to be devoured by birds. They
are best planted out in wide pans about eight inches deep.

2. A. arenaria. — A new species, producing yellow honey-
scented flowers.

AMAEANTACE^].

Gomphrena.

G. globosa — GLOBE AMARANTH — Gool-Mulvmul. — One of the
most valuable annuals of our Indian gardens, which it enlivens
with a perpetual profusion of its ball-formed purple, orange, and
white blossoms, throughout the whole Rain season. Sow the
seed in June. A Hen and Chicken variety is sometimes met
with.

Amaranthus.

1. A. tricolor.— An annual remarkable for some of its leaves
being blotched with red, and others of them entirely of that
colour. Sow the seed in July. A single patch of two or three
plants is pretty enough, but many of them present rather a
weedy appearance.

2. A. caudatus— LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING. — A well-known old
plant of the English gardens, with drooping tail-like flower-stems
of crimson flowers. 3. A. hypochondriacus— PRINCE'S FEATHER.
— The leaves and stems of this beautiful annual are of a rich

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 299

crimson entirely, as well as are the flowers and upright plume-
like branches. Sow the seed in July.

4. A. salicifolius.— A new and very beautiful species, three
feet high, in the form of a plume, with long narrow weeping
leaves, shaded bright orange-red.

Celosia.

C. cristata — COCKSCOMB — MoorgJia — Gool-Kesh. — Five or six
varieties of this very handsome annual are met with in the
gardens of India. The seed of each should be sown in July,
and the plants will be in full beauty of bloom in December.
They love a rich soil, and if grown in pots frequent shifting is
recommended.

Variety a is about two feet and a half high, and bears nume-
rous heads of bloom, resembling so many golden sponges.

Variety /3 differs from the last in having its heads of flowers
bright crimson.

Variety 7 differs from ft in having leaves as well as flower-
heads of bright crimson.

Variety 8. A dwarf variety, about a foot high, having very
large sponge-like heads of tawny, orange-coloured flowers. A
very curious and interesting plant.

Variety e. A variety in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens
from Burmah, differing little from variety a.

PEKIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

MESEMBKYACE^E.
Mesembryanthemum.

FIG-MAKYGOLD.

Dwarf succulent plants, M. tricolor, bear somewhat small
daisy-formed crimson and white flowers of dazzling beauty, which
open only in full sunshine; cordifolium pink, and pomeridianum
large brilliant yellow flowers. Sow the seed in October in wide
shallow pans filled with good soil below, but very sandy just on
the surface. A pane of glass laid on the pan will tend to keep
the soil moist till the seeds germinate.

300 GARDEN PLANTS. PAHT II.

PAPILIONACE^E.
Lupinus.

LUPINS.

Of these annuals there are a great many species and varieties,
all more or less beautiful. Their fault is that they run to seed so
rapidly. The seeds should be sown in October in the spots where
the plants are to blossom, as they bear transplanting very indif-
ferently.

1. L. hirsutus. — The old familiar blue Lupin, with large rough
seeds, and the variety with white or rose-coloured flowers some-
times termed pilosus. Sow in October, having first thrown the
seeds into a basin of water and rejected those that floated. Sow
the sound ones by threes in a spot eight inches apart. The plants
require scarcely any water, grow fast, and blossom considerably
earlier than any of the dwarfer kinds. To save seeds, when
the pods on the lower part of the flower-stalk have grown to
nearly their full size, the tops of the stalks should be pinched
off, and the plants carefully taken up and potted, and placed in
some shady place, where the seeds will ripen gradually and
remain plump. If the plants are left exposed to the sun in the
open ground the seeds are apt to dry and shrivel up instead of
ripening.

2. L. luteus. — The well-known old yellow Lupin with speckled
seeds. The seeds are very hard, and should be soaked in hot
water to soften them before being sown. Those, however, im-
ported from England more commonly than not fail of ger-
minating: care should therefore be taken when plants have
been once raised to save seeds from them for sowing the following
season; or seeds might with advantage be obtained from the
Nilgherries, where in neglected gardens I have seen this as well
as other species of Lupin growing like a weed in great profusion,
and ripening seed in abundance in September.

3. L. Menziezi, — Also a yellow Lupin, and spoken of as one
of the handsomest. I have not seen the plant in this country,
the seed I have procured having failed of germinating.

The remaining are comprised in L. Hartwegii, with white, blue,
and red varieties : L. mutabilis and L. hybridus with several
varieties of party-coloured flowers, and L. nanus, a very
delightful little species.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 301

Crotalaria.

RATTLEWORT.

There are many species natives of this country, for the most
part weedy-looking plants, bearing yellow Lupin-like flowers.

C. juncea. — From which the common fibre called Sunis manu-
factured : is one of the prettiest, and when in bloom in the cold
weather much resembles the Broom of the English gardens.

Clianthus.

C. Dampieri. — Native of Australia, a small shrub, with hoary
pale green pinnate foliage : bears large handsome scarlet and
black parrot-beak-formed flowers. It is very liable to die off if
much disturbed. Treated as an annual it has been found to succeed
admirably in India, and specimens of it in flower are now usually
exhibited at the Calcutta shows. Dr. Beaumont of Indore says : —

" In October or November it should be sown in an open border
freely exposed to the sun, and if not transplanted or interfered with,
flowers freely and to a certainty. The roots are so fine and easily
broken, that to transplant is to kill the seedlings."

Lathyrus.

1. L. odoratus— SWEET PEA. — In the Upper Provinces the
Sweet Pea, raised from imported seed, blossoms freely ; but in
the vicinity of Calcutta, though the plants continue to flourish
vigorously till the approach of the Hot season, they die off then,
without having produced a single blossom. This I have expe-
rienced again and again. In the latter locality, therefore, none
but acclimated seed, when procurable, should be sown, as this
never fails of flowering abundantly. The seed should be sown
in October in the places in the border where the plants are to
blossom. Draw a circular drill with the forefinger about ten
inches in diameter, into which drop the seeds an inch apart.
When the plants are half a foot high, sticks must be stuck in
the ground for their support. A writer in the ' Gardeners'
Chronicle ' states :

" There are several varieties of Sweet Peas : many years of ob-
servation has shown that the white-flowered Sweet-Peas seldom,
if ever, vary ; but that in proportion as the flower becomes darker
in colour so is the liability to vary greater." *

* 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' No. 21, for 1860.

302 GARDEN PLANTS. PAKT II.

Arid Mr. Darwin says :

" To keep up a mixed stock of even such extremely close varieties
as the variously-coloured Sweet Pea, they must be each year har-
vested separately, and the seed mixed in due proportions, other,
wise the weaker kinds will steadily decrease in numbers and
disappear." *

In this country plants from acclimated seed produce scarcely
any but pink and white blossoms. And if it be true, as stated
in seedsmen'*s lists, that the black and purple varieties are
natives of Sicily, and the light-coloured ones of Ceylon, it may
be easily conceived how those congenial to the climate are pre-
served, and others die out.

In my garden at Chinsurah the Sweet Pea came up each
season abundantly, self-sown.

2. L. Magellanicus— LORD ANSON'S PEA.— Between this and
a common weed in Bengal, which bears small bright blue flowers,
there seems to be scarcely a perceptible difference.

3. L. Tingitanus— TANGIER PEA. — I have often raised plants
of this in my garden, but they never produced flowers.

Hedysarum.

H. coronarium — FRENCH HONEYSUCKLE. — A pretty little bushy
plant, with neat dark foliage ; bears curled spikes of dull-red
vetch-like flowers. Sow in October; but in the vicinity of
Calcutta it rarely flowers.

LYTHBACE^E.
Cuphea.

C. purpurea. — When grown in good rich soil, a beautiful little
annual ; bears its pretty fringed pink, purple, and crimson flowers,
somewhat like those of Lagerstromia, three or four weeks from
the time of sowing. As the plants decay, fresh ones from self-
sown seeds almost immediately supply their place in continued
succession for a great length of time.

* * Origin of Species,' p. 76.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 303

GENTIANACE^].
Exacum.

E. tetragonum. — A native of swampy fields in Bengal ; bears,
during the Kains, large beautiful azure-coloured flowers with
golden anthers ; well deserving a place in the garden, though I
have never yet met with it there.

SOLANACE^].

Petunia.

1. P. nyctaginiflora. — With white, sweet-scented flowers, and

2. P. Phoenicea. — With bright crimson flowers, together with
their numerous hybrids, producing flowers of every shade of
colour intermediate between the two, and in particular one with
a green border, are, while in full beauty of bloom, about the
most brilliant ornaments of the garden. By nature a perennial,
the Petunia can in this country be cultivated only as an annual ;
but in gardens where it has been once grown, it thoroughly
establishes itself, coming up self-sown on the approach of each
Cold season. These self-sown plants blossom in January, are
rampant in their growth, and generally lose their hybrid pecu-
liarities and resume their original type. It is best therefore to
procure fresh seed from Europe annually. Sow in October in
pans, and put out the plants when two or three inches high ;
these will not come into blossom much before April, from which
time to the Kains they will afford a delightful display of flowers.
The Petunia likes a rich soil.

Nicotiana.
TOBACCO.

N. Tabacum. — Bears pretty delicately-pink flowers. This and
other species of Tobacco, though not usually met with in Indian
gardens, are by no means wanting in ornamental character, and
a plant or two well deserve a place there. Dr. Anderson gives
the names of as many as sixteen species cultivated in the
Botanical Gardens. Sow the seed in October.

301 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IW

Datura.

THORN APPLE.

Dhootura.

1. D. alba. — A common wayside weed, conspicuous for its large
handsome white flowers, but inadmissible into the garden.

2. D. fastuosa, fl. pi. — HOSE-IN-HOSE. — Produces immense
white blossoms, tinged with purple, remarkably handsome, and
resembling in form three or four great extinguishers projecting
one a little out of the other. Sow the seed in July.

3. D. chlorantha fl. pi. — Produces great handsome sweet-
scented double yellow flowers. The plants will live on after
flowering till the following season ; but it is best to destroy
them, as they take up much room and look unsightly, and to
save the seed for sowing in July.

Hyoscyamus.

H. niger — HENBANE. — Bears large bell-formed, buff-coloured
flowers, prettily pencilled with purple ; an ornamental plant
when in blossom, though rather unpleasant for its exceedingly
rank smell. Sow in October.

Nicandra.

N. physaloides — ALKEKESGI — KITE-FLOWER. — An annual of
large weedy growth; bears large pale sky-blue flowers of a
cupped form, the bottom of the cup being white, and dotted with
five dark spots. Sow the seed in common garden soil in October.

CONVOLYULACE^].

Convolvulus.

C. tricolor— CONVOLVULUS MINOR.— This beautiful and well-
known trailing annual I have not found succeed at all satis-
factorily in the vicinity of Calcutta : some seasons it will put
forth a flower or two ; but more commonly completes its growth
and perishes on the approach of the Hot season without having
produced a single blossom. Sow in October in a light rich soil.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 305

Calonyction.
TRAVELLERS' MIDNIGHT LILIES.

1. C. muricatum. — A plant with thick succulent stems, of very
luxuriant growth, and wide-spreading habit ; bears large, hand-
some, pale-purple, Convolvulus-like flowers, which only open
after dark, and fade away shortly after dawn the next morning.
Sow in October. The plants require a strong trellis for their
support.

2. C. grandiflorum — MOON-FLOWER.— Similar in nearly all
respects to the preceding, except that the flowers are of more
expanded form, pure white, and fragrant.

Ipomoea.

1. I rubro-ccemlea.— Native of Mexico; though of perennial
duration, becomes worn out after one season, and therefore can
be only cultivated successfully as an annual. A creeper of ex-
tensive growth, requiring a large trellis for its support ; with fine
dense foliage of large, smooth, heart-shaped, dark-green leaves ;
blossoms in the Cold season, opening its large clear azure-blue
flowers each morning early in countless numbers, and presenting
then as splendid an object as the eye could possibly rest upon.
The flowers fade in the after part of the day, turning first to a
reddish tint. It is essential that the seed be sown quite as early
as July for the plants to grow to perfection by the Cold season ;
they do not require a rich soil, but a change of locality each
year I have found to be all but indispensable to them. There
is a variety with white flowers, but not nearly so beautiful.

2. I. hederacea. — A remarkably beautiful Ipomoaa, bearing
very large pale-blue flowers. By sowings in succession it may
be had in blossom nearly all the year through.

3. I. purpurea— CONVOLVULUS MAJOR — MORNING GLORY. —
Nothing imaginable can rival in beauty a patch of this familiar
old creeper, producing each morning a profusion of flowers of
every shade of colour, ranging from white through blue and
crimson to dark purple.

Quamoclit.

1. Q. vulgaris. — BARBADOES SWEET-WILLIAM — CRIMSON
CYPRESS-VINE. A very pretty creeper of slender growth ; native

306 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

of India ; produces small vivid scarlet flowers, relieved beauti-
fully by the finely-divided deep -green foliage. When trained
up a pole the plant, as seen from the distance, has somewhat
of the effect of a Cypress. Sow the seed in August. There is a
variety with white flowers.

2. Q. Phoenicea.— A pretty creeper, with small heart-shaped
leaves ; produces pale red flowers of the size of a four-anna piece.

Pharbitis.

GAYBINE.

1. P. limbata. — A native of Java ; described in the seedman's
catalogue as producing flowers with a "fine pointed star of
intense violet-blue, with a broad margin of white." In the plants
raised in my garden I have not found the white of the flower so
pure and defined as one might from the description expect it
to be, but the flowers are of wonderful beauty still. May be
had nearly always in blossom by successive sowings.

2. P. Nil. — Kola Dana of the natives; a creeper bearing a
beautiful flower of the purest azure blue ; a native of India. Its
commonness as a weed alone excludes it from the garden.

POLEMONIACE^].
Phlox.

P. Drummondi. — A delightful annual, with numerous varieties,
bearing lovely trusses of flowers, varying through each shade of
colour from white to scarlet and rose colour ; one of the indis-
pensable ornaments of an Indian garden. Sow the seed in
October in gumlahs, and when the plants are two inches high
put them out into the ground. They love a very rich soil, and
look best in small beds by themselves. They come early into
bloom, and continue in their beauty till the middle of May.
Where the soil is left undisturbed, they come up again self-sown
the following Cold season ; but Sir J. Paxton states, " they do
not luxuriate long in the same soil." The self-sown plants should
be carefully preserved, as, though not equal to those raised from
seed fresh from Europe, they may supply their place should the
European seed, as is often the case, fail to germinate.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 307

If seed be sown in January, and the plants be kept in pots in
the verandah, they will blossom very prettily there during the
months of June and July.

Collomia.

,

C. coccinea. — A rather dwarf annual : bears erect dense heads
of small, vivid, metallic, pale-red flowers ; but as produced in this
country not very effective. Sow in October ; blossoms in March.

Gilia.

1. G. tricolor. — A dwarf annual : bears phlox-like trusses of
numerous sparkling flowers of the size of a four-anna piece,
pinkish, with dark spots ; a charming plant. Sow in October.

2. G. capitata. — A straggling plant, bearing little resemblance
in any respect to the last; produces dense tuft-like heads of
azure-blue flowers.

3. G. Achilleaefolia. — Bears dense heads of pink-coloured flowers.

Leptosiphon.

L. densiflorus. — A dwarf annual ; bears pretty heads of rather
large bluish-white flowers. Sow in October.

Ipomopsis.

I. elegans. — A biennial ; but usually cultivated here with the
annuals. A small plant with finely-divided foliage : very beauti-
ful when in blossom, with its bright scarlet flowers, which it
does not produce till after the Cold season. I have had it
in blossom at Ferozepore; but at Chinsurah, though I have
managed to keep it through the Hot and Eain season, it perished
just at the commencement of the Cold season, as often happens
with plants starting into growth at that period.

HYDROPHYLLACE.E.
Nemophila.

1. N. insignis.— A delightful little annual ; the first introduced,
and perhaps the prettiest of the species ; bears numerous bright
azure-blue flowers of the size of an eight-anna piece. It throve
well and blossomed beautifully exposed to the full sun in my

x 2

308 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

garden at Ferozepore ; but to be cultivated to perfection it
should be grown in a shady spot in a light rich soil of leaf -mould,
if obtainable ; the roots should always be kept moist, and the
collar of the plant always dry. In the vicinity of Calcutta I
have found it best to reserve the larger portion of the seed of
this annual till late in November before sowing, as it will not
germinate readily till the Cold weather is quite set in : much, if
not the whole of the seed that is sown earlier, either in gumlahs
or in the open ground, is almost sure to perish.

2. N. discoidalis. — Bears small, dark-puce, not very showy
flowers. 3. N. atomaria. — Small white flowers, dotted all over ;
not very interesting. And 4. N. maculata. — Little inferior to
N. insignis in beauty ; rather large white flowers, with a purple
blotch on each petal.

Eutoca.

1 . Eu. viscida. — A handsone annual ; bears numerous bunches
of crowded bright-blue moderate-sized flowers ; said to thrive best
in a poor gravelly soil, and that branches of it continue growing
and flowering two or three weeks after gathered.

2. Eu. Wrangeliana. — An annual of straggling untidy growth ;
produces crowded bunches of lavender-coloured, not very showy
flowers. Sow in October.

Phacelia.

P. tanacetifolia.— An annual of remarkably beautiful foliage,
somewhat resembling in manner of growth a very handsome
Fern. The flowers, small blue, and of not much merit, are borne
curiously upon a long curled spike like that of the Heliotrope.
If much wet is allowed to lie upon the collar of the stem, the
plants are very apt to rot off, particularly when just about to
blossom. Sow seed in October.

Whitlavia.

W. grandiflora. — An annual of recent introduction and of great
beauty ; thrives and blossoms well in our Indian gardens ; bears
numerous bright, pure-blue, small, bell-shaped flowers. Sow in
October. There is a variety with white flowers.

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 309

NOLANACE.E.

Nolana.

1. N. atriplicifolia. — A trailing plant, with fleshy succulent
stems and leaves, which, unless protected, are very apt to be
devoured by sparrows wherever they abound ; bears exceedingly
beautiful large flowers, much like those of a Convolvulus minor,
bright blue, yellow, and white ; having a very pleasing effect
on the stems as they hang down over the sides of the pot.
Sow in October where the plants are to remain, as they bear
transplanting very ill.

2. N. paradoxa. — Bears flowers of a dull heavy pale-blue, not
attractive in the border, but very beautiful when seen close,
being delicately pencilled with dark lines. • • -. *

3. N. prostrata. — Has pale-blue flowers with white centre,
prettily marked with dark lines.

BOKAGINACE.E.
Cerinthe.

HONEYWORT.

1. C. retorta. — An annual with unpleasant pale yellow-green,
livid-looking foliage. Bears drooping from under the axils of
the leaves bunches of tubular flowers, an inch long, of the
thickness of a cedar pencil, one half deep purple, and the
end half primrose colour.

2. C. major. — With flowers very similar to above, but not so
-bright.

Echium.

VIPER'S BUGLOSS.

Plants with disagreeable-looking foliage, attractive only for
the bright blue of their flowers.

Myosotis.

M. palustris— FORGET-ME-NOT. — Universally known and loved
for its beautiful little gem-like blue flowers, with golden eye. A
perennial plant; but will not survive the Hot weather, and
must therefore be cultivated as an annual. Being an aquatic,

310 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

it should always have the pot in which it grows standing in a
pan of water. Sow the seed in October.

Borago.

B. officinalis — BORAGE. — A plant with very coarse, unpleasant-
looking leaves; only attractive for the intense blue of its
flowers. Sow where the plants are to remain, as they suffer
greatly from transplanting.

LAMIACE^E.

Perilla.

P. NanMnensis. — Bears insignificant flowers, but is much
used in England as a bedding plant for its bronze-red-coloured
leaves ; in my opinion a very unattractive plant, and of no merit
whatever in this country.

Salvia.

None of the annuals of this genus are worth cultivating,
having for the most part coarse-looking leaves, and producing
small, uninteresting flowers.

Dracocephalum.

D. Moldavicum. — An unpretending annual, bears small blue
and white flowers. To be at all effective the plants must be
grown crowded in patches. Sow in October.

VERBENACEA
Verbena.

All the fine kinds of Verbena are perennials ; the seeds are
sown at the same time with the annuals in October.

PEDALIACE^E.
Martynia.

1. M. diandra.— A native of Mexico, but naturalised in this
country ; bears in great profusion very large, handsome, gape-

CHAP. IV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 311

mouthed, rose-coloured flowers, of a heavy, rather disagreeable
odour; grows to between three or four feet high, and forms
quite a little bush, with large coarse leaves, of so rampant
growth as hardly to be admissible in a garden but of large
extent. The seeds are sown in July, and the plants continue in
blossom during the Eains. The seed-pods are very curious,
being about the size of an Almond, black, with two long horns
proceeding from one end, of so hard, horny a nature that the
seeds can only be removed with great difficulty ; it is best,
therefore, to sow the seed-pod entire, and separate the young
seedlings afterwards.

2. M. fragrans. — Bears flowers very similar to those of the pre-
ceding, and of the same rank, unpleasant odour, but is a plant of
much smaller habit, with much smaller foliage. Sir J. Paxton
gives some very particular directions for the cultivation of this
annual in England,* but here nothing more is required than
to sow the seed in well-enriched soil in October, and about
seven weeks after the young plants will come into flower, and
continue blossoming and growing till about two feet high.

3. M. lutea. — A plant in every respect similar to the last,
except in bearing pale yellow flowers.

Sesamum.

S. Indicum — Til. — A native of this country, and grown in great
quantities for the sake of the seed, from which an oil is ex-
tracted ; but still a pretty annual, bearing large, tubular, white,
and rose-coloured flowers, and well deserving a place in the
garden. Sow the seeds in July.

GESNEKACE7E.
Klugia.

K. Notoniana.— A native of Ceylon and abundant in the Nil-
gherries; a small plant remarkable for the curious snail-like
twist of its leaves, and the bright smalt-blue of its small flowers.
Blossoms in the Cold season, and loves a moist soil.

* ' Magazine of .Botany,' vol. i. p. 118.

312 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

ACANTHACE^].
Thunbergia.

T. alata. — A very beautiful small climbing annual, all but
naturalised in this country ; bears round, flat flowers of moderate
size, and of a great variety of shades of colour, white, yellow,
buff, and orange, with and without a dark purple eye. Sow
the seed in October. Some attention should be given to the
gathering of the seed-pods, otherwise when quite ripe they fly
open suddenly, and the seed becomes lost.

SCROPHULARIACE.E.

Browallia.

i

B. elata. — A small annual of upright growth, comes into
blossom seven or eight weeks from the time of sowing, and
produces a profusion of small bright-blue flowers, which last a
very long time. To be effective several plants must be grown
together in a group. Sow the seed in October.

Salpiglossis.

S. sinuata. — A tall, erect-growing annual, of exquisite beauty
when in full blossom, with its numerous delicately-pencilled
velvety flowers, of the size and form of a thimble, and of
various shades of colour. Sir J. Paxton says it is a native of
Chili, " where it grows on dry clay banks, which are baked by
the sun till they are little less hard than flints."* Sow the seed
in October, and prick out the plants when about an inch or so
high to the places where they are to remain. They come into
blossom very late, not before the end of April, but thrive well
in the border, and continue to flower till the Rains set in and
destroy them.

Schizanthus.

Annuals of rather straggling, untidy habit, but very pretty
when in full blossom, with their numberless, curiously-formed,
somewhat small flowers of various colours. I have never seen
them blossom freely enough in this country to make amends

* ' Flower Garden/ vol. ii. p. 1C7.

CHAP. IV. OKNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 313

for their loose, weedy appearance. Sow in October in a light,
rich, sandy soil, where the plants are to remain.

Calceolaria.

C. pinnata. — A pretty dwarf annual, with ash-green foliage ;
bears numerous small, pure, sulphur-coloured flowers ; grown in
pots in good soil it forms, when in blossom, a delightful contrast
with the pretty blue Lobelias. For this purpose, however, it
must be sown late, as seed sown in October produces plants
which come into blossom long before the Lobelias — as early
as in the beginning of January. Once grown in the border the
plants will generally come up self-sown the following season.

Verbascum.

MULLEIN.

Erect, high-growing, coarse, weedy-looking plants, producing
numerous yellow flowers of moderate size, of little ornament to
the garden. Sow the seed in October.

Alonsoa.

A. incisifolia. — MASK-FLOWER. — A small, not very attractive
plant, with ragged leaves ; produces small, vivid-scarlet flowers.
Sow in October.

Nemesia.

N. floribunda. — A dwarf annual, bearing small flowers differing
in no marked degree from those of Linaria. Sow in October.

Linaria.

TOAD-FLAX.

Several species ; bearing pretty, unpretending, small frog-
mouthed flowers in vast profusion. Sow in October. To be
effective several plants should be grown together in a group.

Antirrhinum.

A. majus— SNAPDRAGON. — A perennial by nature, but usually
cultivated as an annual in this country; the seed is sown in
October. It comprises a vast number of most beautiful varieties,

314 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

which blossom often the same season that the seed is sown, but
more beautifully, as it appeared to me, when kept over till the
following Cold season, at the commencement of which they
should be taken up and planted in fresh soil, well enriched.

Collinsia.

C. bicolor. — An annual of loose, untidy habit, about a foot and
a half high, rather pretty and effective in the border when in
full blossom, with its profusion of blue and white flowers borne
in a succession of whorls up the stem. Sow the seed in
October; it will be in flower by the end of January.

Chaenostoma.

C. polyanthum. — Bears small, insignificant pink flowers ; in my
opinion little better than a mere weed.

Mimulus.

M. speciosus — MONKEY-FLOWER. — A plant of prostrate growth ;
bears large, handsome, gape-mouthed, orange-crimson flowers,
with several varieties ; maculosus, tiger-spotted or golden-yellow
blotched with chestnut-colour ; one white spotted with crimson ;
and duplex, one with double or hose-in-hose flowers. These never
should be omitted from a collection of annuals -in an Indian
garden. The seed is very minute, and the best way to sow it is
to mix it first largely with pure silver-sand, and then cast pinches
of the mixture upon broad pans filled with a light soil, in which
sand is an abundant ingredient. The seed-pans should not be
watered from above, but be put, when the soil in them is becom-
ing dry, into larger pans filled with water, until the whole earth
has become moistened by the water, passing through the holes
below. Prick out the seedlings, when large enough, into single
pots ; they are benefited by frequent repotting. They require a
rich soil, in which a large proportion of silver-sand is incorporated.
The plants are all but aquatics, and do best with the pots in
which they grow, kept continually standing in pan-feeders.

CHAP. IV. OKNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 315

EPIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

CAMPANULACE^E.

Specularia.

1. S. Speculum — VENUS'S LOOKING-GLASS. — An old, familiar
dwarf annual; bears small purplish-blue flowers in great
profusion, which remain long in bloom ; for effect requires to be
grown in masses. 2. S. pentagonia bears similar but larger ;
flowers ; and Campanula Loreyi is also very similar. Sow in
October.

LOBELIACE^E.
Clintonia.

C. pulchella. — A dwarf annual, suited only for growing in pots ;
bears little dazzling, gem-like blue flowers, with yellow and
white eye; a truly lovely object when in full perfection of
bloom. The seeds are exceedingly small, and to distribute them
more evenly it is best to mix them in silver-sand, and throw
the mixture pinch by pinch over the soil. Sow in October.
The following is the substance of directions given by Sir J.
Paxton : —

" Sow thinly in light sandy soil, as thick sowing is very in-
jurious. Shift continually. Plant three in a pot, the soil of which
is comprised of leaf-mould, sand, and well-decomposed manure. In
proportion to the richness of the soil the larger the flowers and the
finer the bloom. Well stop by pinching off the tops; and they
will flower in a manner altogether surpassing belief." *

They require abundance of water, and are best kept with the
pots standing in water. In the vicinity of Calcutta I have met
but with little success in the cultivation of this annual.

Lobelia.

Lovely little pot-annuals ; continue in blossom a great length
of time; thrive well in India, cultivated in the same way
precisely as directed for Clintonia.

1. L. speciosa. — Bears small flowers of intense smalt-blue with
a bright white spot.

* ' Magazine of Botany,' vol. iv. p. H6.

316 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

2. L. ramosa. — Bears larger flowers, but of not so brilliant a
blue ; the variety of this with so-called red, but in reality pale
dull, reddish-white flowers, has little beauty to recommend it.

VALERIANACE.E.

Centranthus.

C. macrosiphon — RED VALERIAN. — A plant about two feet
high, with ovate, much-toothed leaves ; bears large, dense heads
of small pale-red flowers : a showy annual. Sow in October,
and put out the plants in the border when two or three inches
high.

DIPSACE^E.

Scabiosa.

S. atropurpurea — SCABIOUS — DEVIL'S BIT. — Bears large,
handsome, globose heads of dark-purple blossoms. Sow in
October ; the plants will not always flower the same season, but
if kept over till the following Cold season will blossom early
then. A variety has been produced with scarlet flowers.

ASTEKACE^E.

Ageratum.

A. Mexicanum. — An exceedingly handsome plant when in the
full height of bloom in the Cold weather, and bearing its num-
berless small tassel-like flowers of a very pure, pale-lavender
colour. Sow the seed in August, and prick out the young plants
into pots, one in each ; in October transfer them to the open
ground, only one in one spot, as they are very extensively
growing plants.

Callistephus.

C. hortensis — CHINESE OK GERMAN ASTER. — Comprises
several distinct varieties, such as— Globe ; Hedgehog or
Needle ; Bouquet ; and Perfection, with its several varieties,
perhaps the most beautiful. These are of nearly every colour, and
nothing can surpass in beauty a group of them in full bloom.

CHAP. IV. OKNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 317

But to have really fine flowers, it is essential to procure the
German-imported seed, and not English-grown. The seed
should be sown early in October, and the young plants pricked
out to two inches apart, and afterwards potted off singly into
small pots, shifted from time to time to larger ones, with a very
rich soil, and watered occasionally with liquid manure. Some
will come into blossom, in January, and others later in
succession.

Brachycome.

B. iberidifolia— SWAN KIVER DAISY. — A dwarf plant, with
finely divided foliage ; presents a most cheerful appearance when
in full bloom with its single daisy-like blue and white flowers,
which it produces in great profusion. Sow in October, and put
out in the border the young plants, three in a spot, a foot apart.

Zinnia.

1. Z. elegans.— A most beautiful and valuable annual, with
varieties bearing severally large gay crimson, scarlet, and straw-
coloured flowers, and forming quite a garden of themselves for a
very long season. The double variety appears to have originated
in this country, and is only met with having the flower of one
colour — crimson. There is also sometimes met with what is
called a Hen and Chicken variety. The seed should be sown in
pots in July, and the young plants put out in the borders by
threes ; they soon come into blossom. Those of the double
variety give poor flowers at first, but as the season advances the
plants keep on growing and flowering, till they are two or three
feet high, and produce flowers then nearly as large as those of
the Dahlia, retaining their full beauty a great length of time.
In a spot where once grown Zinnia plants are sure to come up
self-sown the following season.

2. Z. pauciflora. — A tall growing plant ; produces flowers very
inferior to those of the last ; not very ornamental.

Calliopsis.

1. C. tinctoria. — An old familiar annual, with many beautiful
varieties, of which those with deep chestnut-coloured and golden-
yellow flowers look exceedingly splendid intermixed ; requires
no particular care in its cultivation. Sow the seed in October,

318 GARDEN PLANTS. PAET IT.

and put out the plants in the border when two or three inches
high. It comes into bloom in March, and by carefully removing
the seed-vessels as they form, may be had in flower continually
all the Hot season.

2. C. filifolia, var. Burridgi. — A species with finely-divided
foliage, bears very handsome flowers with brilliant golden-yellow
rays, and large centre of rich crimson-maroon.

Helianthus.

H. animus — SUNFLOWER — Sooruj Mukhee. — This well-known
annual thrives well in India; the varieties grandiflorus-plenis-
simus and Californicus are remarkable, the first for its enormous
flowers, the second for its exceedingly double ones. Some
species are distinguished for their silvery foliage : as argenteus,
argyrophyllus, and Texanus hybridus : one macrophyllus is described
as having large handsome deep green leaves ; and uniflorus as
being most gigantic of all, growing to ten feet high. The
seeds should be sown in July.

Cosmos.

C. bipinnatus. — Bears pretty pink, daisy-like flowers on stems
two feet high. Sow in October, and plant out in the border in
a rich soil.

Spilanthes.

S. oleracea. — An interesting dwarf plant with rich green leaves ;
bears numerous curious yellow button-like flowers, with dark-
brown tops ; very pretty either in pots or in the border. Sow
the seed in July.

Ximenesia.

X. encelioides. — A weedy-looking plant with bright yellow
dandelion-like flowers of not much beauty.

Sanvitalia.

S. procumbens. — A prostrate-growing plant, covering the
ground with its small oval leaves, from among which sparkle its
daisy-like flowers, with golden rays and deep puce-coloured eye ;
sow in October.

CHAP. IV. OKNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 319

Tagetes.

1. T. erecta — AFRICAN MARYGOLD — Genda. — Well known for
its handsome, showy yellow flowers, held in universal esteem
by the natives of India ; there are several varieties, some with
flowers as large and as double as ordinary-sized Dahlias. Sow
the seed in August, and the plants will be in blossom all the
Cold season.

2. T. patula— FRENCH MARYGOLD.— A much dwarfer plant,
with comparatively small flowers ; the seed may be sown at
nearly any season ; the plants, where once grown, continually
reproduce themselves by self-sown seed.

Callichroa.

C. platyglossa. — Bears large yellow flowers, with dark purple
eyes, much like those of Calliopsis.

Sphenogyne.

S. speciosa. — A very beautiful annual, with finely-cut, graceful
foliage ; bears flowers like those of a single Marygold, with pale
straw-coloured rays, contrasting vividly with the large, shining
black centre. Sow the seed in October in good soil, and put
out the plants by threes in the border a foot apart. I have
cultivated this annual with success in the Upper Provinces, but
not so in Bengal.

Madia.

M. elegans. — A coarse-growing plant, with large, woolly leaves ;
bears numerous largish, daisy-formed, white flowers, with a
brown ring round the base of the rays.

Cladanthus.

C. Arabicus. — ARABIAN CHAMOMILE. — Produces small flowers
bearing some resemblance to those of Chamomile.

Chrysanthemum.

C. carinatum. — With its two or three varieties, one of the most
showy annuals of the garden ; bears daisy-like flowers as large
as a watch, with white or yellow rays and dark-brown eye. The
seed is sown in October, and the young plants are put out by
threes, a foot apart, in good enriched soil in the border.

320 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Rhodanthe.

1 R. Manglesii. — A very lovely little pot-plant, deserving all
possible care that can be bestowed in the cultivation of it ; bears
numerous small, delicate-looking, rose-coloured, everlasting
flowers. It has been observed that "few plants brought to
Covent Garden Market charm the visitor so much as the silvery
rose-tinted flowers of the Khodanthe." Sow the seed in October
in a light leaf-mould soil, and prick out the plants into small
pots. Shift several times as the plants increase in size, using
at the last decayed manure abundantly. All cultivators insist
on the great advantage of frequent shiftings of this plant. To
me, however, the plants appear far more effective when several
are grown in one pot or pan. 2. R. maculata is a more robust
species with dark ring round the disk. Podolepis gracilis. — In
all respects very like, and bears pale Lilac flowers.

Acroclinium.

A. roseum. — Bears dry or everlasting flowers, very similar] to
those of the preceding, but very much larger ; grows to about
three feet high, and is a very ornamental object when in full
bloom, as it usually is by the beginning of February. Sow the
seeds in October, and put out the plants in the border in a
good soil.

Helichrysum.

EVERLASTINGS.

Curious for the rather large, dry, husky flowers they bear, but
of no very ornamental character in the garden. The flowers
remain unchanged for many months, and are often used as an
indoor ornament. The plants grow to two or three feet high,
and require no particular care in their cultivation. There are
varieties with white, yellow, and rose-coloured flowers. Sow in
October.

Cineraria.

The plants of this genus, of which there are many varieties,
are perennial, but as they will not bear the heat of this country
can only be treated as annuals. They bear daisy-like, fragrant
flowers of lovely hues of colour, and if the seed be sown early in
October, plants may be raised which will often be advanced

CHAP. TV. ORNAMENTAL ANNUALS. 321

enough to blossom before the Hot season sets in, though not
with the beauty they do in England. They are benefited by
repeated shiftings, and require a rich soil and shade.

Cacalia.

C. coccinea — TASSEL FLOWER. — Bears pretty, small, scarlet,
tassel-like flowers ; a very common plant in Indian gardens,
where it reproduces itself like a weed by the seed it casts about.
Always in blossom.

Senecio.

S. elegans — JACOB^A. — A rather straggling and untidy annual,
but very handsome when in full blossom with its numerous
large heads of groundsel-like flowers of great brilliancy and
variety of colour. In the Upper Provinces I have had it blossom
freely enough, but in the neighbourhood of Calcutta the plants
I have raised have for the most part only completed their
growth but to perish on the approach of the Hot season without
having produced a single flower. Sow in October ; the plants
require a good soil, and do best in the open border, planted by
threes, a foot apart.

Calendula.

C. officinalis — MARYGOLD. — This old familiar plant of English
gardens should not be omitted from among our winter annuals.
It may be had of many varieties of colour from pale straw to
deep orange, single and double. If the seed to be sown is from
Europe, it had better not be put in the ground till the Cold
season is quite set in, otherwise the young plants raised under
cover are almost sure to damp off and perish ; it is also a most
difficult plant to transplant without injury. It is best therefore
to sow the seed in the border where the plants are to remain.
It does not require very rich soil, and when full grown rejoices
in the full blaze of the sun. As English seed cannot be de-
pended upon always to germinate, where plants have once
been raised, it is well to save seed for a future season. To
do this, as soon as the flowers have dropped and the seed-heads
formed, cover them over with a small piece of muslin and tie
round the stalk, otherwise the seeds on ripening will drop and
be lost.

322 GAKDEN PLANTS. PAKT IT.

Venidium.

V. calendulaceum. — A plant of low growth, with large, coarse,
weedy-looking foliage ; produces flowers which might be easily
mistaken for those of the Marygold. Sow in October, and put
out the plants singly in the border.

Centaurea.

1. C. moschata — SWEET SULTAN. — A well known old annual ;
bears heads of thistle-like purple flowers, showy but of no great
beauty. 2. C. suaveolens — YELLOW SULTAN. — Bears yellow
sow-thistle-like flowers. 3. C. Cyanus-— CORN-BLUEBOTTLE. — A
common weed in England, as it has almost become in gardens
in India ; pretty when grown in patches for the pure azure-blue
of its flowers. 4. C. Americana. — A tall growing plant; bears
very large heads of Lilac flowers. The seeds of all the species
should be sown in October, and the plants put out in the
border in rich soil.

Carthamus.

C . tinctorius — SAFFLOWER — Koosoom. — Though an agricultural
plant, this may be admitted to a place in the garden for the
numerous showy yellow flowers it produces. Sow in July.

Tolpis.

T. barbata — BEARDED HA WE WEED. — Kather a bright and
showy little annual; bears large yellow and white daisy-like
flowers. Sow in October.

Kaulfussia.

K. amelloides. — A small annual ; bears very pretty daisy-like
flowers of two colours, blue and white. Sow in October, and
put out the plants by threes, when about two inches high, in
good soil in the border.

ONAGRACE^E.
(Enothera.

EVENING-PRIMROSE.

1. CE. tetraptera. — A plant of prostrate growth, pleasing for the

CHAP. IV. OENAMENTAL ANNUALS. 323

profusion of large white blossoms it opens in the evening. Sow
the seed in October ; it reproduces itself by dropping its seed.
2. (E. bistorta. — A weedy plant; bears small, yellow flowers.

Godetia.

Very beautiful annuals, producing flowers of the size of a
rupee of every shade of blush and rose-colour, with a dark stain
on each petal. To be effective, they are best grown in clumps.
They comprise G. Lindleyana, of which there is a double variety ;
G. rubicunda, of which the variety " Bride " is eminently chaste
and pretty ; and G. roseo-alba.

Clarkia.

1. C. elegans. — An annual in very general cultivation, of sprawl-
ing, untidy habit, but ornamental when in full blossom with its
pretty fringe-like pink flowers. In the vicinity of Calcutta I
have never seen it blossom satisfactorily. There is a variety
with white and one with double flowers. Sow in October in
good soil.

2. C. pulchella. — A much smaller and neater plant than the
last, and produces a prettier flower. There are varieties with
pink and white flowers ; a double one also, and one with the
petals unnotched.

Eucharidium.

Eu. concinnum. — A pretty, unpretending plant ; bears pink
flowers very similar to those of Clarkia. Sow in October.

Gaura.

G. Lindheimeri. — When first in blossom a very pretty annual,
bearing spikes of rather large milk-white flowers ; on becoming
older the plant loses much of its beauty by the spikes becoming
longer and the flowers more scattered upon it. Sow in October,
and plant out in the border in good soil.

LOASACE^].

Bartonia.

B. aurea — GOLDEN BARTONIA. — A very beautiful annual, open-
ing its large, yellow, buttercup-like flowers in a situation where

Y 2

324 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

fully exposed to the sunshine. It requires a very rich soil and
abundance of water, in the administering of which caution must
be taken that too much moisture do not lie round the collar of
the stem, or the plants are very apt to rot off just when about
coming into bloom. Sow the seed in October, and put out the
plants in the border when two inches high.

Loasa.

Creepers ; having leaves which when touched sting like nettles;
the flowers they bear are rather curious than very beautiful.

1. L. aurantiaca. — Bears orange-coloured flowers.

2. L. nitida.— Bears yellow and red flowers.

APIACE^E.
Didiscus.

D. cseruleus. — Singular as being the only annual of the vast
number of plants this order contains that is of an ornamental
character ; bears umbels of beautiful azure flowers, flat at first,
and becoming semi-spherical afterwards. Sow the seed in
October, and put out the plants when two inches high in a good
soil in the border. If grown in pots it is benefited by frequent
shiftings ; blossoms in April.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 325

CHAPTEE V.

OKNAMENTAL TKEES, SHRUBS, AND HERBACEOUS
PERENNIALS.

THE plants I have here described comprise, I believe, as near as
may be, all with any pretensions to an ornamental character of
which up to the present time we have any knowledge in our
gardens in India. Several, it will be seen, are as yet only to be
found in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, and some few of these
possibly it is not likely will ever be met with elsewhere ; notwith-
standing I considered it would render my description less com-
plete not to include them.

The mode of cultivation best adapted for the choicer kinds of
plants, as well as for the more common favourites of the garden, I
have given at length ; but to have done the same with every plant
would have been both wasting space and wearisome, as the treat-
ment directed for one of a genus, or sometimes of a whole order,
applies equally well in most cases to all the species it contains.
The same may be observed likewise with regard to their pro-
pagation.

Many perennial plants, herbaceous ones more especially,
which can with difficulty be kept alive through the Hot and
Rain seasons, may, I believe, be much more easily preserved if
cultivated only in the condition of very young plants. Geraniums
and Verbenas for instance, raised fresh from seed or by cuttings,
I have found survive till the following Cold season with little
difficulty comparatively, whilst plants with wood a year or two
old have all perished.

The lists here first submitted are for the convenience of those
who wish to make a selection of plants for either of the pro-
perties specified at the heading of each. The plants will be
found described in full at their proper places afterwards. When
a generic name is given only, as for example in the instance of
Begonia, Bletia, &c., it is to be understood that more than one
of the species are suited for the purpose*

326

GARDEN PLANTS.

PART II.

1. Plants suited to be grown in pots to decorate the
Verandah : —

Abutilon Bedfordianum.
Aloysia citriodora.
irum pictum.
Asystasia formosa.
Begonia.
Bletia.

Chrysanthemum.
Cissus discolor.
Caladium.

Euphorbia jacquini-
flora.

Ferns.

Franciscea.

Geranium.

Gesnera Douglasi.

Habrothamnus fascicu-

latus.
Hoya.
Hydrangea.

Jatropha pandursefolia.
Jasminum.
Lemonia spectabilis.

Olea fragrans.

Orchids.

Pentas carnea.

Rondeletia punicea.

Eoses.

Salvia splendens.

Solanum argenteum.

Talauma pumila.

Tetranema Mexicana.

Torenia.

Verbena.

2. Bulbous and Tuberous-rooted Plants suitable for pots : —

Achimenes.

Arum pictum.

Caladium.

Cipura.

Crinum.

Dahlia.

Eucharis Amazonica.

Funkia subcordata.

Gladiolus.

Gloxinia.

Hippeastrum.

Iris.

3. Climbing Plants suitable for pots :—

Hoya.
Lophospermum scand-

dens.

Manettia cordifolia.
Maurandya.

JEschynanthus.
Cissus discolor.
Clerodendron splendens.
Clitoria.
Cobsea scandens.

4. Scandent and Twining Shrubs : —

Abrus precatorius.
Akebia quinata.
Allamanda.
Aniseia media.
Argyreia splendens.
Aristolochia.
Asparagus racemosus.
Banisteria laurifolia.
Batatas paniculata.
Bauhinia.

Beaumontia grandiflora.
Bignonia.

Bugainvillea spectabilis.
Centrosema Plumieri.
Cereus nyctocallus.
Clitoria.

Cobaea scandens.
Combretum.

Congea azurea.
Convolvulus pentanthes.
Cryptostegia grandi-
flora.

Dalbergia.
Dipladenia.
Echites.

Gloriosa superba.
Henfreya scandens.
Hexacentris coccinea.
Hiptage madablota. •
Ipomoea.
Jasminum.
Lonicera.

Melodinus monogynus.
Murucuja ocellata.
Paederia fcetida.
Parsonsia corvmbosa.

Ixia.

L ilium longifolium.

Maranta.

Oxalis.

Pancratium.

Eichardia Ethiopica.

Meyenia Hawtayneana.
Passiflora.

Stephanotis floribunda.
Thunbergia.

Passiflora.

Pentalinon suberectum.
Pergularia odoratissima.
Petrsea Stapelia.
Poivrea coccinea.
Porana paniculata.
Quisqualis Indica.
Ehyncospermum jasmi-

noides.

Eoupellia grata.
Eivea bona nox.
Securidaca. t.

Spathodea uncinata.
Stephanotis floribunda.
Tecoma.
Thunbergia.
Wistaria Sinensis.

5. Plants remarkable for the fragrance of their leaves : —

Aloysia citriodora.
Andropogon Martini.

Artemisia Abrotanum.
Cinnamomum.

Citrus.

Clausena heptaphylla.

CHAP. V.

ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC.

327

Crossostephium arte-

misioides.
Dracocephalum canari-

ense.
Lantana.

Lavandula spicata.
Lemonia spectabilis.
Myrtus communis.
Ocimum.
Pimenta vulgaris.

Plectranthus aroma-

ticus.

Pogostemon.
Ruta.
Vitex.

6. Trees and Shrubs remarkable for the strong fragrance of
their blossoms : —

Acacia.

Aglaia odorata.
Artabotrys odoratis-

simus.

Artemisia lactifolia.
Csesalpinia coriaria.
Chimonanthus fragrans.
Citrus.

Clerodendron fragrans.
Dalbergia Sissoo.
Dombeya.

Eupatorium odoratum.
Franciscea.
Gardenia florida.
Hamiltonia.
Hedychium.

Heliotropium.

Hoya.

Ixora.

Jasminum.

Lawsonia alba.

Lonicera.

Magnolia fuscata.

Mesua ferrea.

Michelia Champaca.

Micromelum integerri-

mum.

Mimusops Elengi.
Murraya exotica.
Nerium Oleander.
Nyctanthes Arbor-tris-

tis.

Olea fragrans.
Pandanus odoratis-

simus.
Pergularia odoratis-

sima.

Photinia dubia.
Plumieria acuminata.
Polianthes tuberosa.
Portlandia grandiflora.
Psychrotia undata.
Rhyncospermum jasmi-

noides.
Rosa.

Stylocoryne Weberi.
Talauma pumila.

7. Trees and Shrubs of ornamental foliage : —

Acacia.

Araucaria.

Asparagus.

Callistemon.

Celastrus s candens.

Chrysophyllum.

Cissus discolor.

Coleus.

Croton.

Cupressus.

Dacrydium.

Dracaena.

Echites picta.

Elseagnus.

Excsecaria.

Filicium decipiens.

Grevillea robusta.

Graptophyllum.

Juniperus.

Lourea vespertilionis.

Mimosa brevipenna.

Nandina domestica.

Nepenthes.

Panax.

Pavetta diversifolia.

Pisonia morindifolia.

Pittosporum.

Podocarpus.

Pterospermum.

Ruellia maculata.

Thuja.

Urtica.

Xylophylla.

ACROGENS.
LYCOPODIACE^E.

CLUB-MOSSES.

An order of small plants of great delicacy and beauty, some
having much of the aspect of Ferns, while others, as the name
denotes, are of a club-like form with imbricating leaves, some
erect, and some drooping prettily in the manner of a watch-
guard. Two or three of the latter kind may occasionally be
met with in Calcutta, but do not, I believe, last long in that
locality in a thriving state. They are much in request in

328 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

England for growing in glass cases, the close confined atmo-
sphere of which is most congenial to them, as they are mainly
natives of hot moist climates.

Selaginella.

S. laevigata. — Generally named in Calcutta Lycopodium bicolor.
— A fern-like plant, trailing with its stems over a considerable
space ; when in a healthy condition, during the Rains in parti-
cular, of astonishing beauty; the finely-divided fronds, like
expanded plumes, assuming then colours of strange metallic
lustre, in which dark-blue, bronze, orange, and pale green are
exquisitely blended. A very common plant in the gardens
about Calcutta, growing most vigorously in situations of the
deepest shade. It does best planted among large pieces of
broken brick, the intervals filled up with leaf-mould. Propagated
easily by cuttings in silver-sand during the Rains.

POLYPODIACE.E.

FERNS.

Except in the Botanical Gardens the number of Ferns met
with in the gardens of Calcutta is but scanty, though a good
many more might be cultivated with perfect success, were it
thought worth the trouble and expense to introduce them. In
my opinion nothing can surpass in beauty a choice assortment
of these plants tastefully arranged and in a healthy condition,
and it seems strange that the ornamental glass Fern-cases, now
so common in England, have not been introduced generally
into the halls and drawing-rooms of Calcutta, to which they
would be admirably adapted. " Ferns of many kinds," Mr. John
Scott observes, " may be grown in Betel -houses, but for a general
collection of tropical species glass structures are absolutely
necessary, in order that their young and tender fronds may be
shielded from the scorching influence of the atmosphere through-
out the Hot season." There are notwithstanding several species
which will thrive satisfactorily enough under the shade of a
verandah among other potted plants, and it is by the contrast
afforded by their foliage there that their beauty and grace can
be more especially recognised perhaps than in any other situa-
tion. To confine them to Betel-houses, if intended for decoration,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 329

is unquestionably to sacrifice in a great measure the object for
which they are grown.

The soil in which, according to my experience, Ferns thrive
best is a mixture of Cocoa-nut fibre and leaf-mould with sand.
Mr. John Scott recommends a compost, one-half pieces of
charcoal of about the size of a bean, and equal parts of vege-
table mould, sand, and potsherds, and that repotting should be
done in the Cold season.

They are usually grown in pots. Place three or four large
pieces of brick at the bottom of the pot, so as to fill it more
than a third way up. Upon these lay the Cocoa-nut fibre,
scattering it over with leaf-mould as the pot is gradually filled
to the top. The Fern may then be planted, and a few large
pieces of brick should be laid on the surface of the soil to keep
it fixed and steady. With few exceptions they may be multi-
plied easily by division.

Ferns may also be raised from seed. The plan perhaps best
to be pursued is to fill a shallow pot with the materials and in
the manner just described, finishing with a smooth layer of
sandy leaf-mould within an inch of the top. Lower the pot
into water to the rim, till the water, rising through the hole at
the bottom of the pot, soaks the whole of the contents. Then
take it out, scatter the spores lightly over the surface, and cover
with a piece of glass. When the soil appears to be getting dry
dip the pot again into water as before.

Since the former edition of this work was issued several
hundred species of Ferns have been introduced into the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, a full account of which, as well as of their
mode of cultivation, has been given in a contribution to the
* Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society/ by the curator,
Mr. John Scott. To this those who desire to grow Ferns as
.a speciality would do well to refer. All I can attempt in a
limited work of this kind is simply to give little more than an
enumeration of such as have come under my notice as being,
from their dwarfness and elegance, best suited for ornamental
purposes. Several of these are already in cultivation in this
country, and there are few, no doubt, but what might be.

Hemionitis : Drymoglossum.
H. cordata and D. piloselloides, natives of Bengal, are curious

330 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

for their fronds being like ordinary leaves, but otherwise are of
little interest.

Gymnogramme.

Many species of this genus are of great beauty, being dwarf
and remarkable for the fronds being covered with a farinose
powder, and known in cultivation as Gold and Silver Ferns.
G. chrysophylla is considered one of the most beautiful Ferns in
cultivation ; others noteworthy are —

G. tomentosa ; ochracea ; Martensii ; calomelanos ; flavens ; micro-
phylla ; pulchella, white powdery ; and triangularis, sulpher-powder.

Nothochlcena.

Elegant dwarf Ferns, with fronds having a scaly or woolly
surface, remarkable amongst which are —

N. lanuginosa ; sinuata ; rufa ; trichomanoides ; and most beau
tiful of all, N. Eckloniana.

Polypodium.

A very extensive genus, the several species of which vary
much in aspect one from the other. Upon the whole not
amongst the most ornamental. Indigenous about Calcutta are
P. proliferum ; P. glabrum ; P. adnascens ; and P. quercifolium.
Natives of India and noted for their size and beauty are P.
Wallichii; P. Horsfieldii; P. Lobbianum; and P. coronans, with
tall, slender, rod-like stipes, and fan-shaped palm-like fronds.
Others noteworthy are P. albo-squamatum ; sub-auriculatum ;
plumula; pectinatum; setigerum ; semiadiantum ; eriophorum ;
tenuisectum ; dareseforme.

Cheilanthes.

Ferns of small growth, delicate texture, and exquisite beauty,
notable amongst which are C. argentea, the varieties of which
are familiar in Assam under the name of Gold and Silver ferns,
from the pulverulescence on the under side of their fronds;
C. elegans; radiata; multifida; farinosa, var. Mexicana; myrio-
phylla, very lovely ; and lendigera.

Adiantum.

An extensive genus of most beautiful Ferns. There is a
considerable sameness m their general aspect, so that for

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 331

ornamental purposes a few would suffice. Their tender stipes
resemble black horse-hair, to which the delicate green pinnae
are prettily attached.

A. lunulatum, a lovely species found about Calcutta growing
out of old walls. Sterile fronds a foot or more long, with the
pinnae sessile, form loops over the spot where they grow by
inserting their ends and taking root in crevices. The plant
with fertile fronds has much larger pinnae, and might easily be
taken for a distinct species.

Worthy of note for grace and beauty are A. pedatum ;
cuneatum ; formosum ; hispidum ; Capillus Veneris, a British
species; concinnum, perhaps the most beautiful; villosum ;
cristatum. Lately introduced are A. Farleyense and A. fulvum.

Pteris.

P. amplectens. — A common weed about Calcutta ; fronds pin-
nate with the pinnae five or six inches long, of the form of a
blade of grass. A spare dark corner in the garden should
always be assigned to this handsome Fern, as a frond or two
inserted in a bouquet has a delightful effect.

Among many of this genus of little interest may be mentioned
for their beauty, P. semipinnata ; leptophylla; Cretica, var. albo-
lineata; quadriaurita, a. var. argyrea, /6. var. leucophylla; y. var.
multifida; podophylla ; aspericaulis, var. bicolor; serrulata, a. var.
cristata, 8. var. polydactylon.

Asplenium.

A very extensive genus of Ferns, varying much as to aspect,
some having their fronds entirely simple, and some finely
divided.

A. nidus, var. Australiacum— BIRD'S-NEST SPLEENWORT, — A
truly noble and most ornamental Fern, with fronds a yard or
more long, somewhat like those of a Plantain, but tapering to a
point ; of purest pale apple-green, against which their dark
chocolate ribs and bases form a handsome contrast ; long culti-
vated about Calcutta, where it thrives well in a pot or in the
border under shade.

Amongst those most remarkable for dwarfness and the ex-
quisite beauty of their finely-divided fronds are A. cicutarium ;
umbrosum; Fabianum; laserpilifolium ; viviparum; Belangeri ;

332 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

brachypteron ; rachirhizon; mucronatum ; deliculatulum ; adian-
tioides ; Halleri ; rutaceum ; ferulaceum ; formosum ; bulbiferum ;
praBmorsum.

Actiniopteris.

Curious and most interesting Ferns resembling minute Fan-
palms. A. flabellata is a native of India, said to grow on old
walls at Agra.

Onychium.

0. lucidum. — A Fern of exceeding beauty, with pinnatified,
spray-like fronds ; native of Nepal, and thrives well in Calcutta
gardens.

Nephrodium.

Contains some very beautiful species, among which are
N. invisum ; latifrons ; recedens ; sanctum ; molle, var. corym-
biferum.

Aspidium.

Upon the whole not very ornamental Ferns.

1. A. proliferum. — A beautiful species, with large, finely-
divided, plume-like fronds ; thrives well about Calcutta.

2. A. squalens. — A common Fern, tolerably pretty, the frond
consisting of the midrib, with a row of green comb-like teeth on
each side.

A. Klotzchii and A. denticulatum are very graceful and feathery ;
and A. triangulare ; A. falcatum, says Sir W. Hooker, coveted by
Fern-growers for its beauty.

t
Davallia.

Among the handsomest Ferns of the order. Some two or
three species from Port Blair have been long in the Agri-Horti-
cultural Society's Garden. These, like many of the genus,
have white woolly stems about the thickness of a man's little
finger, which lie flat upon the ground or the object that supports
them, in delightful contrast with the elegant verdant plume-
like fronds.

Especially to be noted for their beauty are D. affinis ; cana-
riensis, the Hare's-foot Fern ; ciliata ; leucostegia ; stenoloma ;
bullata ; and elegans, var. dissecta, a truly lovely object as seen
clinging to a log some six feet high.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 333

Alsophila; Cyathea.

Genera consisting principally of tree Ferns, some few of which
have been introduced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but
are too large and coarse for a private garden.

Trichomanes.

The most delicately beautiful of all the Fern tribe. They
require constant humidity and shading, and great care and
attention to cultivate them successfully. Amongst the most
ornamental are T. pinnatum ; crispum ; Leprierii ; Mailing!! ;
spicatum; Javonicum; Bancroft!!; Spruceanum; pluma.

Gleichenia.

Sir W. Hooker states of G. dicarpa that " no Fern at Kew
is more admired for its graceful form, with tender feathery,
drooping branchlets;" and of G. flabellata, with its large, date-
palm-like fronds, that "Kew does not boast a more lovely
Fern."

Lygodium.

L. scandens— CLIMBING FERN. — A native of Mysore ; thrives
well in the locality of Calcutta ; a slender, graceful, climbing
plant, with exquisite filigree-like fronds.

ENDOGENS.
GRAMINACE^E.

GRASSES.

Very few plants of this order are suited for the garden ; and
most that are worth cultivation are best kept in pots, as when
grown in the border they present a wild, weedy appearance. All
propagated easily by division.

Arundo.

1. A. versicolor— KIBBON-GRASS — GARDENER'S-GARTERS. —
This pretty striped Grass, so useful for giving beautiful effect in
a bouquet, is a common plant in gardens in most parts of India.

2. A. Donax.— The name seemingly of a very handsome Grass

GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

lately introduced, much like the preceding, but with stouter
stems, and more than six or seven feet high.

Gynerium.

G. argenteum — PAMPAS GRASS. — This noble and truly orna-
mental Grass, bearing panicles like large silver-white feathers,
on stems as much as ten or twelve feet high, has been raised
from seed in the Botanical Gardens, where it is found to thrive
satisfactorily.

B amb us a.

BAMBOO.
Bans.

In those parts of India where Bamboos are less common than
in Bengal, a small clump is a very ornamental object in gardens
that have room for it. B. aureo-variegata has been introduced
from Europe, and there exist there many varieties which might
prove desirable.

B. nana. — A dwarf species which, as Dr. Roxburgh observes,
makes a beautiful hedge. Propagated by cuttings.

Apluda.

A. aristata.— A pretty plant when grown in a pot, resembling
a diminutive Bamboo, about a foot and a half high.

Andropogon.

1. A. Shcenanthus — LEMON-GRASS. — Common in gardens in all
parts of India, cultivated for the fine fragrance of the leaves,
which are often used for flavouring custard.

2. A. Martini— RONSA-GRASS. — Native of the hilly parts of
the Deccan ; famous for the fragrance of its leaves, from which
a fine-scented essential oil is extracted, considered a specific for
rheumatism.

Arum.

1. A. pictum. — Grown in a pot is a beautiful plant for the
decoration of a verandah. The central portion of the large
arrow-headed smooth leaves is of a pure pale rose-colour, losing

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 335

itself gradually into the dark verdant green of the edges. The
leaves die down in the Cold weather. It puts forth its flowering
spathe in April, which is of a pallid-green colour, and of no
interest. To develop the leaves to their full perfection of beauty,
it requires a good light soil, rather rich, and an abundance of
water and shade. Easily propagated by offsets of its roots.

2. A. Dracunculus. — A Cape rhizomatous plant, the principal
beauty of which consists in its smooth, upright, bright-green
stem, strangely spotted and mottled with white like a snake ;
bears in March a large chocolate-red spathed flower, emitting
an intolerably offensive smell. It blossomed with me the first
year of its being brought from the Cape ; and the rhizomes
produced fine plants a second season, but after that perished.

The leaves die down in April ; and the same mode of culti-
vation, in every respect, is suited to this plant as that recom-
mended below for the Eichardia.

Alocacia.

1. A. metallica. — Native of Borneo; accounted in Europe a
magnificent plant for its leaves, which are of the form and size
of the noble, though very common, Mdn-Kuchoo, with a rich
bronze-coloured surface. It has of late been introduced into
Calcutta, as well as the four following species: 2. A. argyro-
neura; 3. A. marmorata; 4. zebrina; 5. A. Veitchii syn. of A.
Loweii, has narrow javelin-headed leaves, dark green, with
white veins.

Golocasia.

C. odorata. — A native of Pegu ; described as growing with a
caudex of three to six feet high, and from four to six inches in
diameter, crowned with a head of large narrowly-cordate leaves
on stout footstalks ; a plant of truly noble aspect. The fragrance
of this species renders it very desirable. The diffused odour
resembles that of Mignonette, but on nearer contact that of
some Orchids. Under the name of Arum odorum it is met with
here, but only in a dwarf, unthriving state.

Caladium.
A genus of tuberous-rooted plants, natives principally of the

336 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Brazils and Amazons, of recent introduction into Europe ;
eminently beautiful for the remarkable manner in which their
spacious arrow-headed rich green leaves are spotted and blotched
with white or white and red. They seem all to thrive exceed-
ingly well in this country, and some few of them may be
looked upon now as all but indispensable ornaments of the
verandah. They are best kept entirely in the shade, and under
shelter. When in vigorous growth they require abundance of
water, and are benefited, it is said, by a liberal supply of liquid
manure. Upon the leaves beginning to fade at the end of the
Rains water should be withholden, and they should be put
away in their pots, just as they are, in some dry place. About
the middle of March, when they begin to start again, they
should be turned out of their pots, and repotted in fresh soil
with the crown of the bulb above the soil.

The young offshoots they may have made should be cut off,
and potted in pure sand till they have made roots, and then be
repotted. They require a light, not over-rich soil. If a thin
layer of charcoal powdered is laid on the soil in the pot, the
glowing colours of the leaves are said to be considerably
heightened.

In Vol. I., new series, of the ' Agri-Horticultural Journal ' a
description is given by Mr. S. Jennings of as many as thirty-five
of these plants, nearly all distinct species ; and in the English
plant-lists are set down full as many more, hybrids or varieties.
The whole of these are or may be in India. I have not space
to describe them, nor even to give their names, nor would
it be worth while if I had. I just describe some five well-
known and handsome kinds, to give a notion of the general
character of all. Several now pass under the name of Dieffen-
bachia.

1. C. amabile. — Leaves bright green with irregular blotches of
white ; nervures greenish white.

2. C. argyrites. — Leaves of a cheerful flat green, covered with
large irregular blotches of dead silver white, with numerous
spots of the same on their borders. A small plant, and, in my
opinion, about the most beautiful of all. It is rather delicate,
and apt to perish during its period of rest.

3. C. Belleymei.— Leaves wavy at the border; bright green,
bespattered with irregular white spots and daubs of red.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 337

4. C. Chantini. — Leaves bright clear green, densely speckled
with white ; nervure crimson ; very gay and beautiful.

5. C. Wightii. — Leaves clear pea-green, sprinkled here and
there with crimson and white blotches ; a very beautiful plant.

Richardia.

R. Ethiopica — PIG LILY. — A most noble object when in
blossom, with its large, pure white, wash-leather-like spathe
surmounting its great luxuriant, dark-green arrow-headed leaves.
A native of the salt-marshes at the Cape. Quite naturalised
seemingly at Ootacamund, but very rarely seen in blossom in
Calcutta. I have raised plants in abundance from seed from the
Cape, and been so fortunate as to have the plant in blossom two
years from the time of sowing. Sir J. Paxton's directions for
the cultivation of it in Europe apply equally well to this country.

" In potted plants the leaves generally begin to decay about May,
when move the pot into open air, and give plenty of solar light,
and only sufficient water to prevent the leaves from dying off
suddenly. When the leaves are completely withered, remove to
where it can be preserved from wet. Sprinkle the soil occasionally
to prevent it from becoming dust dry. In November pot it, and
water more liberally. Soil, sandy loam, with slight admixture of
leaf-mould and rotten manure."

While in vigorous growth put the pots in pan-feeders, con-
tinually supplied with water, in a situation where the plant may
have as much light as possible, short of absolute sunshine, which
would turn the leaves brown. It blossoms at the end of March.
During the Kains the dormant rhizomes are very apt to rot ;
therefore, if they are kept wet at all, they are better preserved
perhaps by being exposed continually to the rain than by being
subject to the stale moisture of any covered place. It is said
to " grow as an aquatic, placed in its pot at the bottom of a
pond not deeper than three feet." Propagated easily by divi-
sion in October when the plants are repotted.

PANDANACE^E.

Pandanus.

P. odoratissimus — SCREW PINE. — Keora — Ketukee. — A large
shrub, ten or twelve feet high, native of Bengal, and very com-

z

338 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

mon ; named in reference to the curious screw-like arrangement
of its long, spine-edged, sedge-like leaves on the summit of the
stems. It extends over a large space by sending down aerial
roots from its branches. Blossoms during the Kaiii season with
panicles of large white, sheath -like leaves, enclosing spongy-
looking bundles of closely-packed minute flowers. Dr. Koxburgh
says : —

" It is the tender white leaves of the flowers, chiefly those of the
male, that yield that most delightful fragrance for which they are
so universally and deservedly esteemed. For of all perfumes in the
world it must be the richest and most powerful."

It appears to thrive best in low swampy ground. Where a
garden is of extent large enough to admit it, the exquisite
sandal-wood-like perfume of its flowers renders it very desirable.
Propagated readily by cuttings.

PALMACE^].

PALMS.

The Palms, with few exceptions, are not well suited for the
garden. When arrived at maturity they take up far too much
room, and in my opinion are not then very ornamental objects
there. It is in their young condition that they are so graceful,
when the leaves are situated only a short distance from the
ground; for in the full-grown trees the long pole-like naked
stems, it must be owned, are exceedingly ugly, so much so indeed
as to detract altogether from the beauty of the handsome head
of fronds by which they are surmounted.

They are propagated by seed, which may be sown in pots.
The young plants are put out in the situations intended for
them when about a foot and a half high.

The following appear about the only ones ..admissible in a
garden.

Areca.

1. A. oleracea — CABBAGE PALM. — Is, as I think, when about
eight or ten feet high, the handsomest far of all the Palms.
Nothing indeed can surpass it in stateliness and elegance, the
only part of the stem visible above the earth being the long,
smooth, bright-green, gracefully-formed portion just below the

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 339

fronds. When the trunk grows up and displays itself at its
full height, the beauty of the Palm is mainly gone.

2. A. Catechu— BETEL-NUT PALM — Soopdra. — This by many
is considered the most graceful and elegant of all our Palms.
It has the merit of being one of the smallest, and may therefore
be admitted into gardens of but moderate extent. Mr. Markham
observes : —

" I have seen Palm-trees in the South-Sea Islands, many kinds
in the forests of South America, and in India ; but of the whole
tribe the Betel-nut Palin is certainly the most elegant and beauti-
ful. Dr. Hooker likens it to an arrow shot from heaven, raising
its graceful head and feathery crown ill luxuriance and beauty
above the verdant slopes." *

Arenga.

A. saccharifera. — A beautiful and magnificent Palm, throwing
up erect from the sides of the trunk its enormous shining black-
green leaves, which take a graceful plume-like curve towards
the summit. This has a fine ornamental effect when grown by
the entrance-gate to a garden.

Caryota.

C. sobolifera.— Grows with a group of stems in the manner of
a Bamboo, and bears curious leaves of the size of a man's hand,
which have been aptly likened to a fish's tail. A small clump
kept within bounds would, no doubt, have an ornamental effect.

Calamus.

RATAN.

Bet.

Some of the different kinds of Cane are pretty when young,
but are of far too rambling a habit to be adapted to a garden.

Livistona.

L. Mauritiana. — A beautiful Palm, and a truly delightful orna-
ment when, as it is occasionally seen, grown as a young plant
in a large flower-pot. The way in which the broad, graceful,
plume-like leaves overlap one another and dispose themselves,

* * Travels in Peru and India,' p. 349.

z 2

340 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

renders it eminently handsome. When large it resembles very
much the common T£r-tree.

Chamserops.

C. Martiana. — Very beautiful for its leaves, which are borne on
long footstalks, and are fan-formed, with the ribs projecting like
spikes to a great distance all round from the body of the leaf.

BKOMELIACE^E.

Ananassa.

A. sativa : var. striatifolia— THE STKIPE-LEAVED PINE APPLE.
— Native of Malacca : rarely, if ever, known to blossom here ;
but a most beautiful plant for its leaves, which are marked
longitudinally with stripes of primrose, red, and deep green.
It looks most handsome when cultivated in a pot. The soil
for it I consider best is a mixture of leaf-mould and sand
in which an abundance of Cocoa-nut fibre is incorporated.
Propagated by division.

JEchmea.

A genus of plants with strap-formed, undulating, clasping
leaves, bearing, in August and September, compound spikes of
crimson bead-like buds, surmounted by small unpretending
flowers. Cultivation the same as for the last. The two follow-
ing are to be seen in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

1. JE. fulgens. — With broad thick leaves and flower-stems, and
buds of a coral-crimson throughout.

2. JE. discolor. — A more slender description of plant, with the
flower-buds tipped with dark purple.

Billbergia.

Plants with thick succulent aloe-like leaves ; should be grown
in pots, with the same mode of culture as the foregoing. The
following are met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

1. B. bicolor. — Bears in April middling-sized white flowers;
of little merit. 2. B. tricolor ; 3. B. vittata ; 4. B. melanantha.

5. B. pyramidalis. — Bears in February bright pink flowers.

6. B\ zonata. — Bears in the Hot months small white insigni-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 341

ficant flowers ; but is ornamental for the curious ash-coloured
zigzag bands upon its leaves.

Pitcairnia.

A genus of plants with sedge-like leaves, bearing during the
Hot and Eain seasons handsome racemes of large tubular bril-
liant crimson flowers. Not particular as to soil, though probably
that recommended for the preceding plants of this order would
suit them best. Multiplied to any extent by division.

1. P. bromeliaefolia. — The largest growing plant of all, and best
adapted to the open border ; conspicuous for the white, mealy
appearance of the under-surface of the leaves.

2. P. Olfersii. — Has broad leaves, and is in most respects
similar to the preceding.

3. P. punicea. — A much smaller plant, and preferable to all
perhaps for the size of the flowers and the compactness of the
racemes.

4. P. integrifolia. — Has narrow leaves without spines on their
edge as those of other species have. The racemes of flowers are
long, lax, and diffuse, and consequently not so handsome as in
some other species. 5. P. fruticosa.

6. P. latifolia. — Described as producing a bunch of from fifty
to sixty flowers of a dazzling red.

7. P. Altensteinii. — Said to bear a thick short flower-stalk,
supporting long tubular yellowish-white flowers, contrasting
finely with their dazzling crimson velvet bracts.

AMARYLLIDACE^].

A very numerous order of bulbous plants, most of which at
different periods appear to have been introduced into this
country, though but a very limited number have long survived.
Some have proved unsuited to the climate, and soon perished.
Some have continued to thrive for many years, but without
ever producing a flower, and so at last have become neglected
and lost. Some few are indigenous to this country, and these
blossom beautifully each season without any especial care being
required in their cultivation. Those that are natives of the
Cape of Good Hope almost all fail of blossoming here ; and the
trouble and expense of importing them to grow near Calcutta is

342 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

uniformly attended with ill-success and disappointment.
Possibly, however, many might succeed in the North- West
Provinces.

Galanthus.

G. nivalis — SNOWDROP. — Is only mentioned to state that
though the conns may easily be procured in a perfectly sound
condition from Europe, there is not the remotest chance of their
ever producing flowers here.

Leucojum.

L. sestivum — SNOW-FLAKE. — Bears flowers very similar to those
of the Snowdrop. Dr. Yoigt mentions that it blossoms here in
the Hot season. I have not seen it.

Amaryllis.

1. A. belladonna— THE BELLADONNA LILY. — Bears flowers
much like those of an Hippeastrum, and 2. A. Josephinae. — Cape
bulbous plants cultivated with no success here.

Zephryanthes.

SWAMP-LILY.

Small plants bearing, when in full leaf, during the Eains
beautiful lily-like flowers, one on a scape. A mark should be
set in the border where they are grown, or they are liable to be
destroyed on the ground being dug up when they are out of leaf.

1. Z. carinata. — Has narrow grass-like leaves, and bears large
rose-coloured flowers.

2. Z. rosea.— Has flowers very similar to but smaller than
the last,

3. Z. tubispatha. — Bears pure white flowers, not unlike those
of a Crocus.

Habranthus.

A genus of plants producing flowers very similar to those of
the preceding, and seemingly succeeding well here, as Dr. Voigt
enumerates as many as seven species which blossom during the
Eains.

Sprekelia.

1. S. formosissima— JACOBJEA LILY. — Produces large, beauti-
ful, curiously-formed brilliant crimson flowers, without tube,

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 343

borne vertically upon the scape in the manner of a cockade ; a
very common plant in the gardens at Ootacamund, and not un-
common grown in pots in Calcutta, where it blossoms in the Hot
and Kain seasons. On the hills it loses its leaves in the Cold
weather, as it does in Europe ; but here it retains them all the
year through. The plants, however, would possibly blossom
better if, by withholding water and by exposure to the sun, they
were brought for some time into a dormant state. Mrs. London
says that the bulbs will flower beautifully merely covered with
damp moss and suspended.

2. S. Dalhousiese. — Has much broader leaves than the last,
and bears in April pure white flowers with long narrow petals,
of not much beauty.

Hippeastrum.
KNIGHT'S STAR-LILY.

Large bulbous plants (often set down in catalogues under the
name of Amaryllis) with long strap-formed leaves, which die
down in the Cold weather, and do not appear again till after the
plants have flowered in March. The flowers, borne generally
five in an umbel, on a scape about fourteen inches long, are
large, of Lily form, with the jointed divisions of the corolla
deeply coloured in such a way as when looked into to present
the appearance of a star. The difference between many of
them is very trifling. Nearly all thrive to perfection in this
country. Dr. Voigt states that in Dr. Carey's garden at
Serampore there were formerly as many as seventy-four crosses
and hybrids, appearing in all their beauty during the Hot and
first part of the Rain season. They may be grown in very large
pots, but are the better for being planted out in beds devoted
entirely to them. They require little care in their cultivation ;
but no doubt removal into a fresh situation every two or three
years would be beneficial.

1. H. fulgidum. 2. H. reticulatum. 3. H. equestre majus. 4.
H. stylosum. — Are common in the Calcutta gardens, and bear
flowers very similar to each other, with the limb of the corolla
scarlet upon a greenish-white tube.

5. H. ambiguum. — With flowers nearly white.

b*. H. Johnsonii. — A very handsome and distinct hybrid, with
the segments of the corolla deep crimson, and the tube white.

344: GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

Vallota.

V. purpurea.— A Cape bulb ; bears, when the plant is in full
leaf, flowers of a brilliant scarlet, similar in form to those of the
Hippeastrum; but will not blossom' here.

Lycoris.

1. L. aurea. — Native of China; bears an umbel of several
large golden-yellow flowers, somewhat of a Lily form, in August
and September.

2. L. radiata. — Native of Japan; produces in August and
September large dull crimson flowers.

Nerine.

A large genus of Cape bulbs, including N. Sarniensis, the
Guernsey Lily, bearing umbels of beautiful flowers, with their
corollas divided into narrow wavy segments. None, I believe,
have been found to blossom in the vicinity of Calcutta.

Crinum.

Dr. Voigt in his catalogue enumerates as many as thirty-
three species of this genus, exclusive of varieties, besides thirty
hybrids and crosses, as cultivated in the gardens at Serampore,
and nearly all blossoming in the Eain season. A large portion
probably of these are not to be met with now either there or
in any other garden about Calcutta. Indeed, between most of
them there is so great a similarity that all but a limited few may
be dispensed with in any but a botanical garden.

1. C. amcenum. — Native of Sy Ihet, in muddy creeks ; has narrow
leaves a foot or two long ; bears in April and May, a scape about
a foot long, with an umbel of four to six large white flowers.

2. C. defixum — Sook-durshun. — Has very narrow leaves from
one to three feet long. Scape with umbel of six to sixteen large
white flowers, very fragrant, especially at night.

3. C. brevifolium. — Native of Mauritius ; leaves lanceolar, broad ;
bears in the Hot and Kain seasons scapes with ten to twelve large
white, faintly-fragrant flowers.

4. C. longifolium. — Native of Bengal swamps ; leaves two to
three feet long ; scapes witli eight to twelve large white fragrant
flowers. A common species, found in nearly every garden;

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 345

blossoms during the Rains. If, when the first flower of the umbel
opens, the scape be cut and brought into the house and put into
a glass of water, the remaining flowers will continue opening in
succession for several days, scenting the rooms, particularly at
night, with their most delicious odour.

5. C. lorifolium. — Native of Pegu ; bears at the close of the Eains
umbels of twenty large white fragrant flowers.

6. C. Sumatranum. — Bears at various seasons scapes with
umbels of from ten to twenty large white fragrant flowers.

7. C. canaliculatum. — Leaves from three to five feet long, and
three to four inches broad ; scapes about two feet long, bearing
umbels of about forty middling-sized, pure white, long-pedicled,
sweetly fragrant flowers.

8. C. latifolium. — Native of Bengal ; leaves one to three feet
long, and three to five inches broad ; bears a scape one to two
feet long, with large pale-rose faintly fragrant flowers, in the
Eains. A plant of immense size, with nothing corresponding to
recommend it.

9. C. Zeylanicum. — Bears flowers almost exactly the same as
the last.

10. C. superbum. — Native of Sumatra; root of many fleshy
ramous fibres, with scarcely any appearance of a bulb. Stem
short, from twelve to eighteen inches high, and as thick as a
man's leg or more ; scape about three or four feet long, bearing
umbels of from twenty to thirty very long pedicled, rose-
coloured, delightfully fragrant flowers. Dr. Roxburgh says : —

" It thrives luxuriantly in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, and
is the largest and by far the most beautiful species of Crimim I
have yet met with; and if the fragrance of its numerous large
flowers is taken into account, it is probably the most desirable of
all the tribe."

11. C. Asiaticum toxicarium. — Leaves from three to four feet
long, and from five to seven inches broad ; scape bears umbels
of as many as fifty large white, nearly scentless flowers. Dr.
Roxburgh says : " Its immense large, beautiful, smooth, deep-
green leaves make it conspicuous and desirable in the flower-
garden."

12. C. augustum. — Dr. Roxburgh states : —

"This magnificent plant from the Mauritius has been intro-
duced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, where it blossoms at

346 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

various times throughout the year, but with the greatest luxuriance
during the Rains ; the scapes are as thick as a child s wrist, above
three feet long, and of a dark reddish-purple colour. The umbels
bear about thirty, sweetly fragrant, rosy flowers, on pedicles from
one to two inches long, and coloured like the scape."

13. C. scabrum. — A small plant; bears in March umbels of
about five erect dingy- white flowers.

Haemanthus.

The several species of this genus are natives of the Cape ;
and Mrs. Loudon states that the only really beautiful one is
H. multiflorus. Dr. Voigt enumerates four species introduced
into this country, which he says had not flowered.

H. virescens : var. albinos. — Mrs. Loudon says : " This certainly
has no pretensions to be considered ornamental at all." But,
in my opinion, its small size and neat ciliated leaves render it
a far more desirable plant than many of the Crinums, the flowers
of which its own much resemble. A most hardy plant, outliving
almost any treatment. Two bulbs I brought from the Cape,
and had in my possession six years, only blossomed once
during the time, and that was in August, after exposure to very
heavy rain. Mr. Villet states that it requires a moist light soil.
No doubt it should be encouraged to become dormant in the
Cold months.

Cyrtanthus.

A genus of very handsome Cape bulbs; rarely, if ever,
blossoms here.

Eurycles.

E. Amboinensis. — A large bulbous plant ; native of Amboyna,
not uncommon in the gardens of Calcutta. Grown in a large
pot ; its principal point of ornament is its large, handsome,
roundish, cordate folding leaves. Bears in May and June
scapes with a head of several white middling-sized flowers.
Mrs. Loudon says : u It possesses the curious property of the
seeds germinating in the capsule, and even producing small
bulbs there, which protrude themselves- as soon as the capsule
becomes sufficiently ripe to burst/' In small or weakly plants
the leaves die down in the Cold season, and do not appear again
till late the following Hot season. In repotting the bulb care

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 347

should be taken not to injure the large thick fibrous roots, or it
will be much retarded in its after growth.

Eucharis.

E. Amazonica. — An exceedingly handsome plant, native of
Brazil, with large ovate-lanceolate leaves a foot and a half long,
of a fine deep green. Sends up in the C3ld months a scape
bearing five to seven large pure-white sweet-scented flowers;
propagated easily by separation of the bulbs in October. It
requires abundance of water.

Pancratium.

SEA-DAFFODIL.

A genus of bulbous plants, bearing large white bell-form
fugitive flowers.

1. P. Zeylanicum. — A common plant; grows in the border of
most gardens ; bears solitary flowers of feeble but agreeable
fragrance, which generally open in the evening after heavy
rain.

2. P. fragrans. — Differs little from the preceding.

3. P. maritimum. — Well known as a native of the sands on
the shores of the Mediterranean ; is mentioned by Dr. Voigt as
blossoming here in the Eains.

Hymenocallis.

H. speciosa. — An elegant plant, with handsome foliage of thick
wide leaves; flowers borne upon short scapes in large dense
heads, pleasingly fragrant like those of the Petunia; blossoms
in December.

Ismene.

I. calathina— PERUVIAN DAFFODIL. — A plant of no great
merit; bears in May flowers similar to those of Pancratium,
white, solitary, very fragrant. Like Eurycles, said to have the
property of producing bulbs in the capsules.

Narcissus.

The numerous species and varieties of this well-known genus
I have found thrive and blossom to perfection in the North -
\Vest Provinces. But in the vicinity of Calcutta their cultiva-

348 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

tion is rarely, if ever, attended with satisfaction. Dr. Yoigt
states, that out of thirty-five species which had been introduced
into the Serampore Garden during a period of seventeen years,
only one had flowered, and continued to do so. When residing
at Howrah I procured from England a large quantity of bulbs of
the different sorts, and though they reached me in the season-
able month of October in sound and excellent condition, few
blossomed at all, and those that did produced but the very
poorest flowers. No better success, I have understood, has
attended the cultivation of those which have been brought down
from the Hills.

They require a light soil of vegetable mould and decayed
cow-manure loosened with sand. The bulbs should be planted
three inches deep ; the larger ones singly, and the smaller, such
as Jonquils and Hoop-petticoats, three in a pot. They need
little or no water till they have well started, and if they do not
start as soon as might be expected they must not be impatiently
watered to induce them to do so, or they will be very likely to
rot. Once in vigorous growth they require to be well watered
continually till the leaves, turning colour, show that the bulbs are
about returning to rest again. Water must then be gradually
withholden, and when the leaves are dead discontinued alto-
gether.

1. N. Jonquilla — JONQUIL. — This is the only species I have
had any success with near Calcutta. I procured bulbs from
England some years ago, and they have thriven and blossomed
well every Cold season since, with their small pretty bright-
yellow flowers.

2. N. Tazetta. — Has white flowers with pale-yellow cup. Dr.
Voigt states that this flowered, and continued to do so in the
Serampore Garden.

Alstromeria.

A genus of curious and interesting plants, distinct from any
of the preceding of this order in having, for the most part,
fibrous roots without bulbs. Their leaves have the peculiarity
of taking a twist just at their footstalks, and always presenting
their under surface upwards. They are said to do best planted
as deep as eight or ten inches in the soil.

2. A. psittacina. — Has clusters of bulb-like roots, and sends up

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 349

steins about fourteen inches high, which produce in March
flowers with their lower part of a vivid crimson and the ends of
the petals of leaf-green colour. I brought down plants of this
species from Ootacamund, which have thriven well and blossomed
yearly ever since.

Olivia.

1. C. nobilis, and 2. C. Gardeni :— Cape bulbous plants, bear-
ing heads of beautiful tubular drooping flowers, have of late
been introduced ; as well as Imantaphyllum cyrtanthifolium and
I. miniatum, but I know not with what success.

Agave.

Plants with large, fleshy, thorny-edged leaves, producing
greenish unattractive flowers. A. bulbosa is of late introduc-
tion.

A. Americana variegata— AMERICAN ALOE. — Leaves creamy
white, striped with green ; has a noble aspect grown on a lawn
where there is plenty of room ; delights in brick rubbish in
which abundance of leaf-mould is incorporated.

Littsea.

L. geminiflora. — A curious plant, with large porcupine-quill-
like leaves covered with whitish hairs ; throws up an immensely
long spike of rather large greenish flowers : not blossomed here
that I am aware of.

Fourcroya.

F. Cantala. — Often employed as a hedge, its thorny leaves ren-
dering it an impenetrable barrier ; being of comparatively low
growth it has the advantage of not impeding the view or screen-
ing off the air.

Nearly all of this order are bulbous or rhizomatous plants ;
many natives of the Cape of Good Hope, the cultivation of which
in Bengal is for the most part rarely attended with success. It
is not worth while to mention many more than what are known
to thrive and blossom satisfactorily here.

350 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Cipura, syn. Marica.

Plants much resembling the Iris in regard to both flowers and
leaves. The fugitiveness of their flowers is their great detraction.

1. C. Northiana. — Bears in the Hot months large delicate yellow
flowers. After flowering the flower-stem bends downwards till its
summit touches the ground, where it rests, and eventually throws
out roots, thus forming an independent plant. When grown in a
pot it is easily propagated by placing a pot by the side filled with
light sandy soil, into which the flower-stalk may be bent down.

2. C. humilis. A small pot-plant; bears in March pretty
middling-sized flowers with blue petals, yellow in the centre.

3. C. plicata. — A small plant with grass- like leaves; does well
planted out in the border. Upon the sun going down during the
Hot months, it bursts into a profusion of blossom with surprising
suddenness, and looks remarkably pretty, bearing white flowers
of the size of a shilling.

Iris.

Dr. Voigt enumerates as many as thirty-six species introduced
into Bengal, a very small number of which probably are in
existence here now. Not more than two or three are worth
cultivating, as the rest seldom if ever blossom.

1. I. Chinensis. — Bears in February and March large, pale,
violet-blue flowers, pencilled with yellow ; a common plant in
gardens in all parts of India, but seems to blossom far more
freely in the North- West Provinces than in the locality of Bengal.

2. I. Nepalensis. — Bears in February bright azure-blue flowers.

3. I. Susiana— CHALCEDONIAN or WIDOW IRIS. — " Whose
large flowers," Mr. Delamer remarks, " marbled or veined with
a dull-greyish purple-brown suggest the idea of the hues of
mourning." When at Ferozepore I procured from England
rhizomes of this plant, which throve and blossomed beautifully.
I obtained plants also at Howrah, but had no success with them
there. Kequires a light and rich soil, but much moisture is
said to be injurious to it.

4. I. Persica — PERSIAN IRIS. — A small bulbous plant, said to
bear pale blue flowers of delightful fragrance ; requires a light
sandy soil, and is impatient of wet. I have imported bulbs of
this plant, but had no success with them.

5. I. xiphium — SPANISH IRIS : and

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 351

6. I. xiphioides — ENGLISH IBIS. — Bulbous plants with grass-
like leaves. Of these there is a vast number of varieties cultivated
in the gardens in England. They do not bear being kept long
out of the ground. Of a large assortment I procured when at
Ferozepore, though apparently perfectly sound, not a single one
started, but remained for months in their pots, till they eventually
perished. Of a collection I imported at Howrah all came up
pretty well, and many flowered, but not at all satisfactorily.

7. I. moroeoides. — Thrives and blossoms well in Calcutta,
bearing very beautiful white flowers in the Hot season.

Tigridia.

T. Pavonia.— TIGEE-FLOWER. — A large bulbous plant; bears
great gorgeous but most fugitive flowers, with bright scarlet
petals, and the centre spotted like a leopard's skin. Dr. Voigt
states that it blossoms here in July and August, but I found no
success whatever with the bulbs I brought down from Ootaca-
mund, where it thrives well and is met with in abundance.

Pardanthus,

P. Chinensis. — LEOPARD-FLOWER. — An herbaceous plant with
iris-like leaves ; bears during the Rains an upright stalk two
feet high, and upon its summit several middling-sized dull
orange-coloured flowers with scarlet spots ; a common plant in
all gardens in India.

Babiana.

A numerous genus of Cape small bulbous plants, bearing
middling-sized beautiful flowers, but not cultivated here, I
believe, with any success.

Gladiolus.

SWORD-FLAG.

Of this genus of bulbous plants the number of hybrids and
varieties that have been raised by cultivators in Europe is
almost endless. It is one of the few Cape bulbs of the order
which thrive to satisfaction in this country; and a selection
of good varieties once procured may be preserved with little
difficulty from year to year. They may be planted either in
pots or in the open ground towards the end of October. They
require a soil principally of sandy leaf-mould. They should be

352 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

planted as much as six inches deep, otherwise the new corm
which forms above the old one is apt to push above ground. It
is recommended to put a layer of sand over the corm when
planted an inch thick. They blossom in March. After flowering
the leaves gradually die down, and then the pots with the
dormant corms should be put in some place where they may
remain dry till the time comes round to pot them afresh.

Sparaxis.

A genus of Cape bulbous plants of small size, bearing abundant
flowers of great beauty. Some four or five are mentioned by
Dr. Voigt as succeeding in this country and blossoming in
February and March. The cultivation of them is much the same
as that of the Gladiolus. The following are given as the finest.

1. S. lineata. — Flowers white with pale-green eye, clouded with
black. 2. S. — grandiflora.— Flowers purple with white rim; of
extraordinary beauty. 3. S. tricolor. — Flowers very large ; orange
and yellow.

Ixia.

Cape bulbous plants, between which and the last there is but
a slight botanical difference. The cultivation is the same. Some
succeed and flower well in this country. Those considered finest
are : — 1. I. HeUeni. 2. I. flexuosa. — Flowers, white, rosy-striped.

3. I. viridiflora. — Flowers green, star-formed, with purple eye.

4. I. Trichonema rosea.

Crocus.

The cultivation of the English Crocus has never, that I am
aware of, been attended with success in this country.

C. sativus — SAFFKON. — Of this very beautiful species I obtained
bulbs from a friend brought from Cashmir, which blossomed to
perfection in my garden at Ferozepore.

MUSACE^B.
Heliconia.

H. buccinata. — Native of Amboyna; has something of the
appearance of a Plantain ; leaves three or four feet long and a
foot broad, very rigid and erect in their grovUh, with large pale

€HAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 353

protuberant ribs, and footstalks four or five feet long, clasping
each other in the lower part of the plant, whence they spring :
a plant of most noble aspect, but requires much room, and to
be grown in an open situation where no part of it is concealed.

Strelitzia.

A genus of plants natives of the Cape, in the highest estima-
tion in Europe for what are considered their gorgeous flowers.

1. S. angustifolia. — An uninteresting plant with narrow, rush-
like leaves ; met with in the Botanical Gardens.

2. S. reginse. — Accounted a magnificent plant in Europe for its
shapeless flowers, in my opinion more singular than beautiful,
having their sepals resembling so many orange-coloured splints
of different forms, bundled together with two arrow-headed
deep-purple petals, and projecting from a narrow spathe six
inches long. The plant has been exhibited in flower at the
Calcutta shows, but is a rarity. Said to be raised most readily
by seed, obtained through impregnating the stigma when the
plant is in flower.

Urania.

U. speciosa, syn. Ravenala Madagascarensis— TRAVELLER'S TREE.
— The following is a condensed description of this plant as
given by Mr. Ellis : —

" The tree rises from the ground with a thick succulent stem,
from the centre of which it sends out long, broad leaves like those
of the Plantain, only less fragile, and rising not round the stalk, but
in two lines on opposite sides. The tree presents the appearance
of a large open fan. Many of the trees are at least thirty feet from
the ground to the lowest leaves. I frequently counted from twenty
to twenty-four leaves on a single tree, the stalk of each leaf being
six or eight feet long, and the broad leaf itself four or six feet more.

" This tree has been most celebrated for containing, even during
the most arid season, a large quantity of pure fresh water in the
thick firm ends of the stalks of the leaves, supplying to the
traveller the place of wells in the desert." *

Small plants, four or five feet high, are not uncommon in
gardens about Calcutta. Easily propagated by division; but
bears too great resemblance to a Plantain to be regarded as
ornamental in this country.

* * Madagascar,' p. 302.

2 A

354 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

ZINGIBERACE^E.
Globba.

Few of the species of this genus are of much importance in a
decorative point of view.

1. G. subulata.— Native of Chittagong, —

" Blossoms," Dr. Boxburgh says, " during the Hot season, with a
constant succession of flowers from the extremities of the lengthen-
ing branches of the panicles for nearly two months ; which renders
this lovely plant one of the most charming of the whole order I
have yet met with. Flowers small, beautifully purple, with the
lip deep orange yellow."

2. G. spathulata.— Native of Sylhet; described by Dr. Kox-
burgh as a beautiful species, with large azure-coloured radical
inflorescence ; blossoms in April, when the foliage appears. At
the beginning of the Cold season it perishes down to the root.

Curcuma,

TURMERIC.

A numerous genus of plants with ginger-like roots, sending
up naked from the ground, about nine or ten inches high, thick
spikes of flowers, the principal beauty of which consists in the
large, gorgeous-coloured bracts. There is a great sameness
between many of the species. The following are perhaps those
most deserving of cultivation.

1. C. Zerumbet.— LONG ZEDOARY.— Bears in April, before the
leaves make their appearance, flower-spikes with the terminal
tufts of barren bracts, contrasting prettily with the pale-yellow
and green of the lower fertile ones. Leaves large, lanceolate,
and handsome ; fragrant when bruised.

2. C. Roscceana.— Native of Pegu. Sir J. Paxton's description
of this plant is : —

" Floral envelopes gorgeous scarlet : blossoms yellow : continues
in flower more than two months without beginning to fade. Plants
kept in dull situations flower feebly, and are pale and dingy. It
requires strong solar light to elicit the scarlet colour of its
blossoms. A plant of dwarf habitude and noble foliage."

3. C. comosa. — Native of Burmah. Dr. Koxburgh says of
this species :

" By far the most beautiful and the largest of the genus I have

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 355

seen : bears in May, before the appearance of the leaves, short-
scaped, large, clavate spikes, with the fertile bracts of a beautiful
pale pink, and the barren ones of a lovely rosy red."

4. C. Zedoaria. — WILD TURMERIC — KED ZEDOARY. — Native of
Bengal : common in gardens about Calcutta. Scape rises before
the leaves in the Hot season as thick as a man's forefinger, bear-
ing beautiful large, rosy, tufted spikes. Dr. Koxburgh says : —

" This plant, when in flower, is highly ornamental, few sur-
passing it in beauty ; at the same time it possesses a considerable
degree of delicate aromatic fragrance."

Ksempferia.

A genus containing several species of tuberous-rooted plants,
the pretty delicate flowers of which are produced so close to the
ground that unless the plants are grown in pots they are lost to
sight. Their leaves die down in the Cold weather, when the
roots may be separated and repotted in a light good soil. Not
more than about the two following, which are very common, are
met with generally in the gardens in India.

1. K. rotunda. — Bhooin-chumpa. — A plant with large oval-
lanceolate leaves, which die down towards the end of November,
and do not appear again till after the plant has finished flower-
ing in April. Flowers, with two petals white and two deep
lilac, of moderate size, borne not more than two or three inches
from the ground, in a crowded manner, opening day by day in
succession in the morning and fading by the evening, and
diffusing a most exquisite fragrance.

2. K. Galanga. — Has roundish leaves of a beautiful refreshing
green, overlapping each other, and lying flat upon the ground,
and forming a delightful relief to the delicate flowers, which
seem just to rest upon them. The flowers, of a pearly white
with two purple spots, are borne throughout the Kains, and are
quite scentless ; but the root, as well as the leaves, when bruised
has a fine fragrance.

3. K. sp.— A very pretty species— is to be seen in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens — in all respects similar to the last,
except that the flowers are entirely purple.

Hedychium.

Dr. Voigt enumerates as many as twenty-four species of this

2 A 2

356 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

genus, all natives of Nepal and the Khassya Hills, not more
than some three or four of which appear to be known in the
Calcutta gardens now. They all have ginger-like roots. Their
stems, with their sheathing lanceolate leaves, die down partially
in the Cold weather, which is the proper time for separating
the roots and planting them out in a well-manured soil. They
are too large to be grown satisfactorily in pots.

1. H. coronarium. — G-AKLAND-FLOWEK. — This is a very com-
mon plant, accounted the finest of all the species, and certainly
one of the loveliest ornaments of the garden. The numerous
stems, about three feet high, rise in succession during the Kains,
bearing on their summit dense bracteal heads of large pure
white flowers, which emit a delightful fragrance, particularly of
an evening, for a long distance around. Bears seed abundantly
in the Cold season.

There is a variety with yellow flowers.

2. H. chrysoleucum. — Bears flowers nearly of the same size as
those of the last, described by Curtis as " very handsome, deli-
ciously scented, of a pure white, bright orange in the disk, and
the anthers and filaments a very deep orange."

3. H. flavum. — Dr. Koxburgh calls this a charming species,
and says : —

" It differs from H. coronarium in regard to its flowers, which
are about one-third smaller, and partake not only of the yellow
colour of those of Michelia Champaca, but possess even their
peculiar fragrance, only in a less powerful, and therefore more
grateful, degree. In stature and leaves both species are alike. A
native of Sylhet, and blossoms in the Rains."

4. H. angustifolium. — Has very narrow leaves, and stems about
three feet high ; bears during the Rains spikes of small, narrow-
petalled, pale dirty-red, scentless flowers of little beauty.

Alpinia.

A genus of plants with large lanceolate leaves, some bearing
very beautiful flowers. They soon overspread a large extent of
ground, and, on that account, are apt to be rather troublesome
in a garden. They can be multiplied to any extent by division
of their rhizomatous or ginger-like roots.

1. A. nutans. — Bears drooping compound racemes, about a
foot long, of very beautiful flowers, somewhat of the size and

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 357

form of the Foxglove, with bracts and calyces of a pure pearly
white, the edges of the flower tinged with pink, and the interior
orange. In blossom most of the year. Thrives best in swampy
ground. Grows to six feet high or more, and so soon extends
over a large portion of ground, that it is unadapted for a small
garden.

2. A. punicea. — Native of Sumatra: a stately species; bears
large flowers, of colour of the finest carmine, in the hot months.

3. A. Malaccensis. — Native of Chittagong. Dr. Roxburgh's
description of this species is, —

" That the leaves are lanceolate, about two or three feet long :
flowers very large, pure smooth shining white, except the inner
border or labium, which is a beautiful mixture of orange and
crimson. The most beautiful of the whole genus, even surpassing
A. nutans."

4. A. Allughas. — A common plant, Dr. Koxburgh says, near
Calcutta, in low moist places among brushwood. Leaves lanceo-
late, polished. Flowers, beginning of the Eain season, large,
numerous in succession, of a beautiful rose colour, inodorous.

5. A. mutica. — Dr. Eoxburgh describes this as bearing

"Large numerous drooping flowers at the beginning of the
Bains. Calyx longer than the corolla, pure white. Corolla-lip or
inner border large, elegantly variegated with crimson and yellow,
surrounded with an orange-coloured edging."

6. A. calcarata. — An interesting plant about three feet high,
bears in the Hot season rather large flowers, buff colour, striped
with purple. The whole plant, though aromatic, has a strong
smell of tallow.

Costus.

1. C. speciosus. — Native of Bengal; a common plant, often
met with growing wild in swampy places. When in blossom
during the Bains a most beautiful object. The dark rich green
of the large lanceolate leaves, the deep crimson of the bracteal
heads, which are as large as a man's closed hand, and the pale
lavender-coloured flowers, full five inches across, form together
a most delightful combination of colour.

2. C. argyrophyllus. — Bears during the Bains large white
flowers, but is of little merit as a garden plant.

358 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

MABANTACE^E.

Maranta.

There seems every reason to believe that the introduction of
all the beautiful-leaved plants of this genus would be attended
with perfect success. They would require a light soil, moisture,
and shade. M. rosea, Lindeni, virginalis, zebrina, and Van Den
Heckei have been exhibited at Calcutta. As remarkable for
their beauty may be mentioned M. regalis ; M. Warscewiczii ;
M. fasciata; M. Porteana; M. pardina, producing showy yellow
flowers ; M. abo-lineata ; and M. villata, very lovely, perhaps the
handsomest.

Phrynium.

P. dichotomum.— Native of Bengal : a shrub four or five feet
high ; bears in the Hot season very pretty and delicate white
flowers of moderate size by twos on a stem, but not in sufficient
number to relieve the dense mass of foliage. P. villosatum is
also met with at Calcutta.

Calathea.

A genus so closely allied to Maranta that the several species
of each are often confounded. It contains many beautiful-
leaved plants, which no doubt would succeed admirably in this
country if introduced. In the Jardin des Plantes at Paris I
noticed the following as especially beautiful : C. picturata ; C.
micans ; C. ornata picta ; C. argyraea ; C. eximia ; and C. pulchella.

1. C. zebrina. — ZEBRA-PLANT. — Native of Brazil : has been
described as " one of the handsomest stove-plants in existence
in respect to its foliage, which is large, velvety, and beautifully
variegated with dark green and a paler tint." * Plants are to
be met with in some of the gardens about Calcutta, but they
certainly do not realise so favourable a description, the green
upper surface of the leaf being of a dead hue, and the stripes,
though distinct, not sharp and vivid. The lower surface of the
leaf, which curls over partially from the base a short way
upwards, is of a dull purple. It bears clumps of pale purple
flowers, situated close upon the ground, about the beginning of
the Hot season.

2. C. bicolar and C. Warscewiczii are met with in Calcutta.

* Glenny's ' Handbook to the Flower Garden/ p. 61.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 359

Canna.

INDIAN SHOT.

Ukul-lMr.

A very numerous genus, between the several species of which
there is so great a similarity of character as to make it needless
to retain in the garden more than some two or three of the best.
They all have large lanceolate leaves, grow about three feet
high, and are apt to become exceedingly troublesome by
throwing up suckers for a great distance around. Most easily
propagated either by division of roots or by seed.

C. Annsei. — Described as bearing a robust stem more than six
feet high, with numerous heads of large flowers, orange-yellow
externally, and orange-red within; C. gigantea, with scarlet
flowers, and C. zebrina are mentioned in the 'Gardeners'
Chronicle,'* as most worthy of cultivation; but I have not yet
met with either of these here. The following are those I have
observed in cultivation in this country : —

1. C. Indica. — The well-known species, native of India, and
found almost everywhere, constantly in blossom, with its small
but vivid crimson-scarlet flowers.

2. Var. lutea. — A variety with yellow flowers.

3. C. Roscceana. — Has orange-coloured flowers, spotted and
striped with crimson.

4. C. edulis. — Has small crimson flowers, with the lower lip
striped.

5. C. Achiras. — Has also crimson-scarlet flowers.

6. C. Schubertii. — Has crimson-scarlet flowers, somewhat
larger than any of the preceding.

7. C. glauca. — Has narrow glaucous-green leaves, and bears
rather large, pale, lemon-yellow flowers.

8. C. Warscewiczii. — This is beyond comparison the most
beautiful of any of the species met with in India ; bears brilliant
crimson flowers, admirably set off by the stems, which are of a
rich chocolate-brown, as well as by the leaves, which are striped
and edged with the same colour.

9. C. discolor.— Has large crimson flowers, with the leaves and
stems somewhat similar to the last, but not so handsome.

* No. for May 1st, 1862.

360 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

10. C. flaccida. — This is a most beautiful plant, totally distinct
from all the other species in the size and form of its flowers,
which are of a bright yellow, and as large as those of an Iris.

Besides the foregoing I find in Dr. Anderson's catalogue, C.
crenulata ; C. Cubensis ; C. diversicolor ; C. esculenta ; C. Lagu-
nensis ; C. Lambert! ; and C. limbata, a species said to be " above
all remarkable for its very large petal-like stamens of a lively
scarlet-red, with the borders of the limb surrounded with a
golden-yellow band."* To these may now be added some
thirty named kinds raised from seed.

ORCHIDACE.E.

ORCHIDS.

For the successful cultivation of the larger part of this
peculiar and delightful race of plants an atmosphere either
naturally humid, or rendered so artificially, is absolutely
essential. The Khassya Hills, Nepal, Assam, Java, and the
locality of the Straits, are the native districts of large numbers,
where the air is almost constantly saturated with moisture, and
where they flourish in all their vigour and loveliness. Until
recently in the locality of Calcutta there were a certain few
only that could be cultivated with much satisfaction. Numbers,
it is true, were from time to time introduced, and seen to
blossom beautifully ; but they were here but the one season to
perish and be gone before the next. More especially was this
the case with many of the superb species imported from
tropical America and the Brazils.

It was at one time conceived that Orchids might be cultivated
most successfully in glass conservatories, but it has been ascer-
tained that, from the want of sufficient ventilation probably, such
depositories are not well suited to them. In the Betel-houses
described at p. 36 the cultivation of nearly all has proved a
'complete success. It appears to me that one main point in the
treatment of Orchids, formerly not given due attention to, was a
sufficiency of light. It is a mistake to think these plants live in the
dark in their native localities, and that a situation where no sun

* ' Le Bon Jardinier ' pour 1866, p. 257.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 361

can ever reach them is the one best adapted to them. They
live, it is true, in the shade cast by the foliage of the trees on
which they are suspended, or beneath which they grow ; but that
foliage is not altogether and at all times impervious to the rays
of the sun ; and, moreover, when the trees lose their leaves during
the Cold months the plants must needs be subject to a very con-
siderable exposure to full sunshine. This would have the effect
of ripening their wood, and thus causing them to bloom. It
becomes a question, then, whether there be not those which it
would be desirable to remove from the Betel-house and subject
to the full influence of the sun during at least some portion of
the Cold season. The success that has already resulted from
growing them in Betel-houses is no doubt to be attributed to the
glinting and subdued light of the sun that falls upon them there,
so similar to that shed through foliage upon them in their state
of nature during the larger part of the year.

It may, however, be urged that some of the trees in the
junguls where Orchids are found have dense foliage, which is not
deciduous, and that beneath them the plants can receive little
or no sunshine. This may be true of some species, and it must
be left in great part to cultivation to discover which, for unfor-
tunately upon this point neither collectors nor writers supply
any information ; and little more is known than just where they
are brought from.

The following directions for propagating them, equally appli-
cable here as elsewhere, are given by Mr. B. S. Williams in his
work, ' The Orchid Grower's Manual ' : —

" i. Some are easily increased by dividing them into pieces, or
by cutting the old pseudo-bulbs from the plants after the latter
have done flowering. Such plants as Dendrobium are increased in
this way. The best time for this is just as they begin to grow, or
when they are at rest. They should be cut through with a sharp
knife between the pseudo-bulbs, being careful not to harm the
roots. Each piece should have some roots attached to it. They
should he parted and potted, and receive no water till they have
begun to grow.
" ii. Dendrobium nobile, D. Pierardii, &c., are propagated : —

"1. By bending the old pseudo-bulb round the basket or pot in
which they are growing.

" 2. By cutting old flowering-bulbs away from the plant ; laying
them on damp moss, and, when they make roots, potting.

362 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

" iii. Dendrobium aggregatum, D. densiflorum, and similar, are in-
creased by dividing the roots.

"iv. Aerides: Vanda: Angrascum: Saccolabium : Renanthera.
"1. Cut off the top of the plant, just below the first root.
"2. Take young growth from the bottom of the plant.

" v. Epidendrum : Cymbidium : Coelogyne : Cattleya : Bletia : and

many others.

" Divide into pieces with portions of the roots attached, and a
young bulb on the pseudo-bulb."

Different modes of growing them are adopted, suited to the
peculiar habit of each. Some thrive best fastened with moss
upon the bough of a tree or upon a log, some in open-work
baskets of wire or wood, and some few in pots. Illustrations of
these ways of growing them are given in figures, 16, 17, 18,
and 19.

Instead of logs, Mr. Jennings strongly recommends the use of
square Teak slabs, as being light and capable of being hung
upon the wall like pictures. To these, he says, when fastened
they readily attach themselves.

Fi-. 16.

The period of the year when the plants are at rest is the same
here as in England : that is to say, from the beginning of

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 363

November to the end of February. The close of this period is
considered the fittest time for repotting such as are grown in
pots, — just as they begin to start into growth. Some, however,
consider the month of June or July preferable for the purpose-
Previous to potting it is laid down as indispensable that they
receive no water for a few days. They should be elevated some-
what above the level of the pot. The principal point to be
attended to is that they be provided with thorough drainage ;
for although the plants are fond of moisture they never thrive
except the water has a free passage through the pot. In fact I
might say that drainage is the one thing only to be kept in view.
As a potting material Peat has been much employed in England,
and I am told by Mr, S. Jennings that he went to the expense of
having a cask or two of it sent out to him for the purpose ; but
it proved quite unfit for this country. Charcoal and broken
brick alone are the materials it has been found best to employ
in India. The form of the pot used seems a mere matter of
fancy ; though it is desirable to use one whose dimensions bear
a suitable relation to the Orchid to be grown in it. The mode
of potting is very simple. Within the pot to be used place a
smaller one turned upside down. Between the two pots put
large lumps of broken brick, or kunkur, and charcoal, and fill
up to the rim with pieces smaller and smaller. Upon these
spread out the roots of the plants, and cover them with small
pieces of the same material. To keep it steady, insert a couple
of stout sticks to tie it to.

When grown in suspended baskets, the baskets may be so
designed as to be very pleasing ornaments in themselves,
according to the taste manifested in their construction. The
materials with which the baskets are filled will be much the same
as those employed in the mode of potting above given.

To grow them on lo<rs, they must be bound on with copper
wire, protected first with Moss or Cocoa-nut fibre.

When Orchids are in the condition of most vigorous growth,
it is the driest period of the whole year. At this season, there-
fore, when they are most craving of moisture, frequent waterings
must be given them, to counteract the perfect state of dryness
to which such thorough drainage would soon reduce them. And
herein indeed seems to consist the main difficulty in their culti-
vation— the making the drainage effectual, and the compensating,

364 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

by a seasonable fresh supply of water, for that which by evapo-
ration and drainage is so soon withdrawn. The difficulty is
removed of itself when the Hot season is over and the Eains
have set in : but then a difficulty of just the opposite tendency
occurs. The plants now do not dry soon enough : damp stag-
nates, and mouldiness and rot ensue. The remedy is obvious —
abundance of fresh air, and all the ventilation possible.

For watering Orchids, when the collection is large, a brass
syringe made for the purpose is all but indispensable. They
for the most part rest from growth during the two or three
months of the Cold season, previous to which watering should be
gradually more and more abstained from.

But here I must not omit to mention what is perhaps the
most important point of all in the cultivation of these choice
plants, and that is — absolute cleanliness. In their native homes,
upon the lofty trees of humid forests, very little dust can ever
find its way to them ; whereas in the verandahs of houses about
Calcutta they cannot remain many days before they become
actually loaded with dust and dirt. This as it accumulates must
be most scrupulously removed. It is a work of patience, but it
must be done. And no plan answers better for the purpose than
to use a sponge and soap and tepid water, washing carefully each
leaf of each several plant, both upper and lower surfaces, changing
the water frequently as it becomes dirty. The leaves of an
Orchid, particularly at the principal season of its growth, should
look clean and bright. Few seem to be aware how beautiful
these plants may be thus brought to look, even when out of
blossom. I need hardly observe that the cleansing work must
be done with a light hand, and the plants subjected to no rough
usage.

The plants that I here bring to notice form perhaps but a very
limited portion of those now met with in Calcutta ; but they
include, I believe, the whole of those that are in any way
common, and may be cultivated with moderate care. There are
very few but do beyond measure better in a Betel-house than
elsewhere ; and the rarer and more costly ones will not even
exist any long time out of it. But for those who do not care to
incur the expense and trouble of such a structure, there are still
some very beautiful kinds which may be cultivated satisfactorily
without one.

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHE UBS, ETC. 365

Dendrobium.

A genus said to contain nearly four hundred species, very
many of which, and among the most beautiful of the whole order,
are natives of the Assam Hills. They are found for the most
part to thrive well in the locality of Calcutta. Several blossom
with drooping festoons of flowers ; these it is best to grow in
suspended pots or baskets. With some it answers merely to
attach them to the limb of a tree, binding them on with a little
Moss or Cocoa-nut fibre.

1. aggregatum.— Flowers large, deep-orange, in large com-
pact clusters ; a lovely plant, not at all uncommon in Calcutta,
where it thrives well.

2. D. Andersonii. — Leaves smooth and bright green; blos-
soms in June, with beautiful pure white strongly aromatic
flowers.

3. D. angnlatum. — Native of the Andanians ; bears pretty pure
white flowers of a delicious honey-scent, which last only eight
hours.

4. D. calceolaria. — A large straggling plant with rod-like
striated stems, three to six feet long. Flowers bright yellow
with two purplish brown spots on the lip.

5. D. Cambridgeanum. — Stems thick and nodose; flowers
bright yellow with brown spots.

6. D. Chrysanthum. — Native of Assam ; a remark ably handsome
plant for its rich thick glossy leaves, which set off admirably its
fine large trusses of orange-coloured flowers.

7. Dalhousianum. — Stems stout, smooth, and plump, marked with
purple lines. Flowers in racemes, four inches across ; creamy-
yellow, tinged with rose ; lip yellow at the base, marked with a
pair of large crimson spots .

8. D. densiflorum.— Native of Sikim. Pseudo-bulbs club-shaped ;
terminal leaves fleshy. Flowers in dense drooping panicles,
yellow with orange lip.

9. D. Devonianum. — Native of Khassya ; a slender plant.
Flowers of great delicacy and beauty, having a large frilled
white lip, tipped with crimson, and with two kidney-formed
orange spots in the centre.

10. D. Falconer!. — Native of Sikim. Stems branched, very
narrow ; strongly knotted, four feet long. Flowers white tipped

306 GAEDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

with purple ; lip white with rich purple blotch at the base, and
golden margin. One of the finest.

11. D. Farmeri. — In habit somewhat like densiflorum. Flowers
looser, variable, pink and yellow.

12. D. fimbriatum.— Native of Assam ; a splendid plant, pro-
ducing large handsome trasses of bloom well relieved by the rich
foliage. Flowers apricot-yellow, two inches across. Yar. oculatum
with a kidney-formed blood-coloured spot on the base of the lip.

13. D. formosum. — Flowers white with deep yellow stain on lip.
Var. gigantium from Burmah.

14. D. Jenkinsii. — Native of Goalpara; a pretty, compact
little Orchid, with strap-like leaves, two or three inches long ;
bears a pretty cluster of apricot-coloured flowers.

15. D. macranthum, syn. macrophyllum. Native of the Philip-
pines. Flowers six inches in diameter, rosy-pink ; lip with deep
claret stain ; scent unpleasant. The finest and largest of all.

16. D. nobile.-— Native of N. India. A lovely plant when in
full blossom. Flowers two inches a,cross, Avhite, deeply tinged
with violet, with two club-formed deep purple spots on the base
of the lip. There are Wallichii, Lindleyanum, and other varieties
differing in colour.

17. D. Parishii. — Semi-pendulous with thickish bulbs. Flowers
numerous, beautiful rosy-purple.

18. D. Pierardii. — Flowers large, French- white, borne in
drooping festoons of blossom several feet long. A most beautiful
Orchid, very common about Calcutta, where it thrives well on
the bough of a tree. There is a variety, Latifolium, of double
the size.

19. D. secundum. — Native of Borneo. Stems short and thick,
with spikes of deep rose-coloured flowers.

Others met with about Calcutta are : D. albo-sanguineum ;
D. amoenum ; D. chrysotoxum ; D. ccerulescens ; D. crepidatum ;
D. cretaceum ; D. crystalinum ; D. Gibsoni ; D. Griffith!! ; D. heter-
ocarpum ; D.infundibulum ; D. Macarthise ; D. multicaule ; D. nodosum ;
D. onosmum ; D. Paxtoni ; D. primulinum ; D. speciosum ; D. tortile ;
D. transparens.

Ccelogyne.

A genus of Orchids entirely Eastern, and most natives of the
hills of India. The following are met with in Calcutta, 1. C.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TEEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 367

media; 2. C. rigida ; 3. C. nitida ; 4. C. undulata; 5. C. flaccida ;

6. C. ochracea ; likewise the two accounted the most beautiful,

7. C. cristata, bearing racemes of fragrant white flowers, four
inches across, with beautiful yellow and orange stains on the Up ;
and 8. C. odoratissima, unsurpassed for its fragrance.

Epidendrum.

This genus, which is said to comprise above three hundred
species, is confined almost exclusively to South America. Few,
Mr. Warner states, are worth growing except for their fragrance.
Those most distinguished for the beauty and size of their flowers
are E. nemorale ; E. Skinneri ; and E. prismaticarpum, unknown as
yet, I believe, in this country. The following have been
introduced, of which the two last are not uncommon in Calcutta :
E. vitellinum ; E. falcatum; E. polyanthum ; E. macrophyllum ; E.
cochleatum ; E. crassifolium, a free bloomer, bearing upright dense
spikes of purplish, rose-coloured flowers ; and E. ciliare, which
bears white spider-like blossoms, two of the petals with pretty
eyelash-like fringe.

Broughtonia.

B. sanguinea. — Native of Jamaica. Pseudo-bulbs flat and
round ; flowers blood-red ; thrives and blossoms well in Calcutta.

Lcelia.

A South American genus, containing some of the most superb
of the Orchids. L. anceps ; L. majalis ; L. purpurata ; L. super-
biens, accounted amongst the finest,' have been introduced of
late into Calcutta, as well as L. acuminata and L. autumnalis.

Cattleya.

A genus closely allied to the above, and confined principally
to Central America and the Brazils. The flowers they bear are
accounted to be amongst the largest in the order, some being as
much as seven inches across from tip to tip of the petals. The
finest of all is C. Warscewiczii. Next to it stand C. Mossise ;
C. labiata ; C. crispa ; C. Skinneri ; C. Aclandiae ; which have
been introduced into Calcutta, and flower well in the Botanical
Gardens.

368 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART TI.

Brassavola.

A genus of Orchids of tropical America remarkable for the
fragrance of their flowers, with long-tailed petals. B. cucullata
and B. glauca are met with in Calcutta.

Phaius.

A genus of terrestrial Orchids, natives of the East, of which
1 P. maculatus, with yellow flowers, and 2 P. Wallichii, with
dull-orange or tawny flowers, are well known in Calcutta.

Thunia, olim Phaius.

T. Bensonii, and T. alba, which, Mr. Jennings tells me, grows
well in the open ground, in broken brick beneath a Mango-tree,
and displays its beautiful white flowers in July.

Arundina.

A. bambuscefolia. — A terrestrial Orchid, native of Nepal,
nearly allied to Bletia, a slender, reed-like plant, not uncom-
mon in Calcutta, where, in the month of September, it bears
thin purple flowers.

Bletia.

1. B. hyacinthina. — A terrestrial Orchid ; native of China ;
begins to start its corms about the middle of November, when it
should be repotted ; a good light leaf-mould soil, with plenty of
crocks for immediate drainage, and broad, rather shallow pots,
are most suitable to it ; displays its abundance of bright pink
flowers in February and March.

2. B. verecunda. — A terrestrial Orchid ; native of the West
Indies ; flowers very similar to those of the preceding, borne
nearly always, but principally at the end of September, when it
throws up long flowering stems three feet high, displaying
their flowers in full beauty for more than two months;
ripens abundance of seed during the Cold season ; cultivated
as the last.

Spathoglottis.

S. Fortuni. — A terrestrial Orchid ; native of Hong Kong ;
flowers yellow, described as, in character, much resembling the
preceding.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 3G9

Cyrtopera.

C. flava. — Native of India ; a terrestrial Orchid ; flowers large,
golden yellow, very beautiful upon their large spike ; grows in
the ground of the common border, where its spike of blossom
springs up in May, before any of the leaves appear.

Vanda.

1 V. gigantea. — A noble Orchid ; flowers large, thick-petalledj
expanded, and somewhat resembling buffish-yellow butterflies
upon their fine large, deep-green, handsome foliage.

2 V. Roxburgh!!. — Native of Bengal ; often met with growing
upon the boughs of Mango-trees ; flowers above checkered with
yellow and dusky ferruginous-purple, beneath white; not
attractive. There are several varieties ; one entirely of cream
colour.

3. V. teres. — Native of Assam and Khassya; a curious plant, with
pale-green stem-like cylindrical leaves, which vary from the
thickness of a cedar-pencil to that of a quill; flowers large,
erect, very handsome, of a pale-rose colour ; the lip having the
form of a monk's cowl, large enough to hold a walnut, deep pink
with dark bars, tied on by two broad ribbons below the chin.
Not an uncommon plant in Calcutta.

4. V. cserulea. — Flowers borne in splendid racemes about a
foot long, ten or twelve in each raceme ; having the general
form of a star four inches across, with five wavy, pear-outlined
rays, beautifully mottled by the reticulations being of a deep
violet blue upon a paler ground of the same colour ; the base of
the lip small, deep-purple, projecting from the centre of the
flower. The flowers fade in time to an almost pure white. In
full blossom in November. Leaves strap-like, coriaceous, polished,
and equitant. One of the loveliest and most valued of
Orchids.

5. V. Cathcarti.— Native of Jynteah; flowers represented as
very large, rose-coloured externally, petals yellow internally,
densely striped with transverse lines of deep orange red. Dr.
Lindley says : — " No more remarkable Orchid has been found
in Northern India ; and though not so showy as the gorgeous

2 B

370 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

Dendrobia (chrysanthum, Devonianum, Farmer!, &c.) amongst
which it grows, it exceeds any of these in its singularity, and
in its chaste, elegant appearance.

6. V. cristata. — Native of Assam; a small plant, bears curious
greenish-white flowers, remaining a very long time in blossom,
and resembling somewhat a little bird striped with crimson
sitting in its nest.

7. V. Batemanni.— Native of the Philippines; stout, erect-
growing plant, with thick straight leathery leaves. Flowers in
large erect spikes more than three feet long, creamy yellow
mottled ; the reverse rose colour, two and a half inches across ;
of leathery texture, lasting as long as two months, opening in
June.

8. V. Lowii. — Native of Borneo ; habit like that of Kenanthera,
but with larger leaves bending gracefully over. Flowers borne
on long pendulous racemes, sometimes eight to ten feet long,
being of two distinct kinds on the same spike ; the lower ones
of tawny yellow, the upper ones pale yellow mottled like
tortoise-shell.

9. V. caerulescens. — Somewhat like V. caerulea, but smaller;
spike longer.

10. V. Denisoniana. — Close in habit to V. Roxburgh!! : 11. V.
Jenkinsii and 12. V. Bensoni.

Renanthera.

1. R. coccinea— CHINESE AIR-PLANT. — Native of China;
flowers with narrow, bright coral-red petals, of spider-like form,
borne during the Hot season in immense profusion, and in long
succession upon their antler-like flower-stems. This plant is
said to be one of the principal favourites in the gardens of the
Mandarins. It thrives vigorously in the region of Calcutta,
and blossoms to perfection bound to a large upright log by moss
fastened with copper wire, and exposed throughout the year to
the full power of the sun, as shown in Fig. 17.

2. R. arachnites. — Called also Arachnis moschifera ; bears sprays
of about twelve flowers, much like huge spiders, five inches
across, of a lemon-colour with great purple spots, emitting a
delicate scent of musk ; considered one of the most remarkable
of all the Orchids. This, like the last (as Mr. John Scott tells

CHAP. V.

ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC.

371

me is the case with most of the China Orchids), requires full
exposure to the sun.

Fig. 18.

Fig. 17.

Fig. 19.

Phalsenopsis.

1. P. amabilis— QUEEN OF THE ORCHIDS — INDIAN BUTTER-
FLY PLANT. — Native of Amboyna; flowers very large, milk
white, leathery ; lip marked with purple lines ; resembling a
butterfly with expanded wings, lasting unimpaired for several
weeks. This most choice and magnificent plant is always
grown fastened with moss and copper wire upon a log. It may
be easily propagated, I am told, by binding a piece of moss
round one of the joints of the flowering-stalk, which will emit
roots, and may then be removed and attached in the usual way
to another log.

2. P. grandiflora. — "Very similar to the last, but lip stained
yellow. Mr. Warner states that as a rule the specimens from Java
have larger flowers and longer spikes than the Borneo form.

2 B 2

372 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

3. P. Schilleriana. — A very beautiful plant for its flattened
frosted roots, and leaves similar in form to those of the last
marked with transverse bands and blotches of white. Flowers
fragrant, pinkish-mauve, with dark purple spots on the lip.

4. P. Cornu-cervi. — Spikes of flowers flattened in shape like a
stag-horn, small, yellow barred with brown ; not uncommon in
Calcutta.

5. P. Lowii. — Flowers white with deep purple lip, leaves small
and deciduous in the Cold season.

6. Parishii. — A very small plant, with small but abundant
white and purple flowers.

7. P. rosea. — Blossoms nearly all the year round from the
same spike.

8. P. Manneii. — Flowers creamy yellow, small and incon-
spicuous : abundant and thriving in the Botanical Gardens.

9 P. Schumann!!. — Leaves rich purple on the reverse, most
profuse bloomer, with enormous branched spikes.

There are besides these some six or seven species not intro-
duced mentioned as natives principally of the Straits and Philip-
pines. The great point to obtain success in the cultivation of
these plants, Mr. Warner states, is to render the leaves healthy,
by keeping them as well exposed to the light as possible.

Saccolabium.

Flowers generally small, but borne very numerously in large
dense clusters of a plume-like form, most exquisite in colour
and delicate in character.

1. S. giganteum. — A magnificent plant from Burmah with
broad, lightest green leaves ; bears in December and January
large, very fragrant flowers, white spotted with violet.

2. S. guttatum (syn. S. retusum). — An old-established plant in
Calcutta ; bears spikes of bloom a foot or more long of small
white flowers spotted with rose, described as assuming a tail-
like, almost cylindrical form. Others known in Calcutta are :
—3. S. micranthum ; 4 S. minjatum; 5. S. ampullaceum ; 6.
S. Blumei ; 7. S. denticulatum.

Aerides.
Flowers resemble in general appearance those of Saccolabium.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 373

" There is probably no genus among Orchids," says Mr.
Warner, " the species of which are more generally ornamental
— no species not worth growing. Even when not in bloom, the
different specie?, all similar in habit, are all good-looking
objects, from the pleasing disposition of their substantial-looking
foliage."

1. A. affine. — Native of Assam ; bears rose-coloured flowers.

2. A. odoratum. — Native of Assam; bears pretty trusses of
bloom with small white flowers tinted and spotted with pink,
having the form of a curved horn, and diffusing an exquisite
lemon-like fragrance.

These two have been long well known in Calcutta. Of later
introduction and all of great beauty are: — 3. A. Lobbii; 4.
A. Fieldingii ; 5. A. quinquevulnerum ; 6. A. virens ; and 7. A. Lind-
leyanum ; the last in Mr. Grote's collection, and spoken of by
him as perfection. 8. A. roseum and 9. A. suavissimum.

Angrsecum.

A. superbum. — Flowers large, white, remarkable for the length
of the spur ; in one species as much as a foot and a half long.

Cymbidium.

1. C. aloifolium. — Native of India; flowers dull-purple and
russet, not attractive ; a very common and hardy Orchid ; grows
well, left to itself, on the limb of a tree. To be met with also
in Calcutta are the Indian species : 2. C. giganteum, with racemes
of very large brown tesselated flowers; 3. C. Mastersii, with
white fragrant flowers and rush-like leaves ; 4. C. eburneum,
like the last, amongst the largest and sweetest of the genus,
flowers large, radical, ivory-white, smelling like Lilac ; 5. C.
elegans with massive pendulous spikes of yellowish flowers.
6. C. lancifolium.

Grammatophyllum.

G. Finlaysonianum now called Bromheadia palustris. — Native of
Penang ; an immensely stout-stemmed hardy Orchid ; has been
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens a great many years, but
never flowered.

Oncidium.

A genus comprising more than two hundred species, confined

374 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

entirely to tropical America. Many are natives of the mountains
and require no very high temperature. The few comparatively
known in Calcutta, are : — 1. 0. ampliatum; 2. luridum; these two
are well established, and flower regularly; 3. 0. crispum; 4. 0.
bicallosum ; 5. 0. lanceanum, accounted the most beautiful of all ;
and 6. 0. papilio, the famous Butterfly-plant.

Stanhopea.

Plants remarkable for the way in which they thrust their
spikes of flowers through the bottom of the baskets in which
they are suspended. S. martiana and S. tigrina thrive well, and
have flowered in the Botanical Gardens.

Calanthe.

1. C. vestita. — A terrestrial Orchid, native of Maulmein ;
throws up in the Cold season a spike of large milk-white
flowers, with deep rosy eye. There is a variety with a yellow
eye. 2. C. masuca. — Native of Northern India, bears purplish
flowers in a hyacinth-like spike.

Limatodes.

L. rosea. — A terrestrial Orchid, nearly allied to the last ; very
chaste and beautiful, when in the Cold season it sends up its
deep rose-coloured flowers with crimson spot in the centre.

Vanilla.

The different species of Vanilla are said to do best potted in
moss, the pots well drained with potsherds, with a trellis for the
plants to be trained upon. They are also very ornamental
when nicely trained upon a long upright log of wood with the
end securely fixed in a flower-pot for a stand, as seen in Fig. 17.
They should be fastened on with a little moss or Cocoa-nut
fibre. Cultivated in this way I have seen beautiful flowering
specimens at the Calcutta shows. They are easily propagated
by cuttings of the stem taken off at a joint. The following are
pretty common in Calcutta, and bear greenish-white flowers : —
1. V. albida; 2. V. aromatica; 3. V. grandiflora; 4. V. ovalifolia;
5. V. planifolia, which emits a delicious fragrance at night.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 375

Anaectochilus.

1. A. setaceus. — A terrestrial Orchid, native of Ceylon, where it
is called the King of the Woods, and grows commonly in the
hedgerows.

" The flowers are not at all beautiful, but the leaves are the
most beautiful of all the leaves in the world. The ground colour
is of a dark velvety green, tinged with a metallic lustre, curiously
inlaid, as it were, with streaks of golden network."*

One of our rarest and choicest plants, always grown in a pot
under a bell-glass ; but the management of it with success has
hardly yet been ascertained.

2. A. Dawsonianus. — Native of Indian Archipelago ; leaf four
inches long, rich olive-brown with reddish golden veins.

3. A. Ordianus. — Native of Singapore. Ehizomes thick as a
man's little finger ; leaves bright metallic green, with delicate
golden lines ; similar in shape and habit to the last. Both are of
more robust habit than any other species, and are deciduous in
the Cold season, when they require rest.

Cypripedium.
LADY'S-SLIPPER.

A genus of most interesting terrestrial Orchids, formerly found
very difficult to preserve, and consequently great rarities in
Calcutta; but now, since cultivated in grass conservatories,
thriving well and blossoming beautifully in the Cold season.
The following are those commonly met with : —

1. C. venustum. — Native of Nepal and the Khassya Hills ; a
small very handsome plant, with the underside of its leaves
prettily tesselated with purplish black ; produces curious large
white and russet-green flowers, spotted and striped with purple.

2. C. insigne. — Native of Nepal ; leaves pale green, somewhat
similar to the above; flowers large, pale tawny-green, with
spotted lid. C. Maulei is a variety with larger flowers of richer
colour.

3. C. concolor. — Native of Maulmein ; a very beautiful plant,
with strap-shaped, smooth, polished-green leaves, mottled with

* ' Cottage Gardener's Dictionary.'

376 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

whitish markings ; bears large, handsome, primrose-coloured
flowers.

4. C. Hookeri. — Somewhat like the last, only with markings
more decided.

5. C. niveum.— Native of Maulmein ; snow-white. 6. C.
hirsutissimum ; 7. C. purpuratum.

COMMELYNACE^E.
Tradescantia.

T. discolor. — SPIDERWOKT. — A plant about two feet high,
very ornamental for its sharp-pointed leaves, resembling those
of the Yucca, of a deep verdant green, bordered with rich
crimson ; nearly always in blossom, with small white insignifi-
cant flowers, produced in a crowded manner, between two large
bracts resembling a half-open bivalve shell attached to the
stem.

Cyanotis.

C. vittata. —(syn. Tradescantia zebrina). — A small branching
prostrate, exceedingly beautiful plant, with deep rich purple
stems ; leaves purple, striped with greenish-grey, three inches
long ; flowers violet-coloured, small, and insignificant.

Dichorisandra.

D. ovata.— A herbaceous plant in the Botanical Gardens;
native of Brazil, ornamental for its ovate lanceolate leaves of a
purple shot-green, and pea-green stems marked with olive bars.
Blossoms with a large head of deep-blue flowers.

OKONTIACEJi].
Pothos.

1. P. scandens. — A parasitic, rooting upon trees in the most
shady forests of Amboyna ; well worth cultivating as a pot
plant for the very ornamental character of its foliage; leaves
lanceolate, two or three inches long, supported on pretty broad-
winged foot-stalks. A light fibrous soil, such as is used for
Orchids, would no doubt suit it best.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 377

2. P. argyraea. — A small plant with beautiful silvery leaves;
exhibited occasionally at the Calcutta flower-shows.

3. P. (syn. Scindapsus) gigantea. — An immense climbing epi-
phytal plant, with foliage much like that of Beaumontia, but
with the leaves much larger and of a dark polished green. It
is sometimes seen attached to large Banian trees, hanging upon
them like a splendid curtain, and has then a truly magnificent
appearance.

Anthurium.

Epiphytal plants cultivated only for their ornamental foliage.

1. A. cordifolium, and 2. A. leuconeurum, are met with in the
Botanical Gardens, but are of little beauty ; as well as 3. A.
lancifolium. Of A. scherzerianum Messrs. Carter speak as

" One of the most striking and beautiful dwarf-flowering plants,
producing beautiful brilliant scarlet flowers, each of which remains
from two to three months in bloom. Of easy culture, and a most
abundant bloomer."

Of late cultivated in the Betel-house are : A. magnificum ; pedato-
radiatum; tetragonum; Wildenovi; longifolium.

LILIACE.E.
T u 1 i p a.

TULIP.

I have never heard of a single instance of the Tulip having
been cultivated with success in this country. Both when
residing at Ferozepore and at Howrah I procured bulbs from
England, but on each occasion with the most unsatisfactory
result. Some never started at all, and those which did merely
put forth a miserable leaf or two.

Fritillaria.

Comprises the different kinds of Fritillaries, as well as the
old familiar Crown Imperial ; all quite unadapted, I believe, to
the climate of this country. When at Ferozepore I procured a
selection from England. The Crown Imperials had pushed
forth long roots by the time of their arrival ; but the Fritillaries
were stilll dormant. On being potted they remained in the

378 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

same condition, never making any growth whatever, and in
course of time perished.

Lilium.

Both when at Ferozepore and at How rah I made attempts to
introduce several kinds of Lily commonly cultivated in England
at that time, but on each occasion with most unsatisfactory
results. The bulbs do not bear being kept long out of the
ground, and are sure to arrive here in a more or less damaged
condition. Some were entirely decayed on reaching me; others
in a tolerably sound condition never started, and some one or
two only did so to die off speedily on the approach of the Hot
season. Many new species from Japan have, however, appeared
since then, the introduction of which might perhaps prove more
satisfactory. I think it likely, indeed, that the want of success
hitherto may be owing to the exhausted condition of the bulbs,
from which they never recover, rather than from any unfitness
of the climate. For it is stated that at the Calcutta flower-
show of March 1868, Mr. G. Livesay exhibited two new kinds
of Lilies, unnamed, flowering then for the first time, from bulbs
received from the Mauritius three years previously. This is
just what happens with the L. auratum brought now to
England in such quantities from Japan : many never recover
from the effects of the journey, and those that do take two or
three years before they flower. This magnificent species, too,
has flowered in Calcutta, but not, as I learn, very satisfactorily.
The only kinds that I know of which thrive in this country are
the following : —

1. L. longifolium. — A common plant in the gardens about
Calcutta. The bulbs are small, but throw up stems about
fifteen inches high, bearing in March heads of noble fragrant
white flowers, full six inches long. Several pots of this plant in
full bloom afford for the time a most superb decoration for the
verandah. The leaves die down about the middle of June,
when the pots should be put away in some dry place till
October, when the bulbs begin to start again. At that time
they should be separated and repotted, the larger ones singly
for flowering, and the small ones three or four in a pot, to grow
and mature themselves for flowering the succeeding year.
When they have started into vigorous growth they require a
liberal supply of water, and are the better for the pots being

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 379

placed every alternate two days in pans of water, as well as for
receiving occasional waterings of liquid manure. A rather
rich soil, in which sand is mixed, suits them.

2. L. Wallichianum. — Native of Almorah and Nepal. De-
scribed by Dr. Wallich as

" A very distinct and noble species, with a tall and slender stem,
two-thirds of which are thickly furnished with long and linear
leaves. The flowers are white, fragrant, extremely large, with a
very long and narrow tube which gradually widens into an ample
spreading limb ; generally two or three on the apex of the stem."

Found in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but a rare plant, I
believe, in Calcutta.

Gloriosa.

G. superba. — A slender climbing plant, with small narrow
leaves and tuberous root, said to be a most virulent poison;
native of India, and often to be met with growing wild ; bears
during the Eains curiously formed flowers of long, narrow,
inverted, twisted petals, one half deep crimson and one half
primrose colour on first opening, but afterwards becoming alto-
gether crimson. The flowers, borne in profusion and mingled
together in both these conditions, have a most beautiful effect.
It dies down in the Cold season, and lies dormant till the Kains.
The plant in full vigour is often infested by a caterpillar, by
which, if not looked to, in a very short time it is entirely
consumed.

Hemerocallis.

H. fulva — DAY-LILY. — A common plant in most gardens in
India ; bears heads of large tawny-yellow flowers of no great
beauty. A variety with double flowers is met with in some
gardens, but not common.

Funkia.

F. subcordata. — Native of China ; a very handsome small pot-
plant, not uncommon in Calcutta. Leaves cordate, of a dark
pleasant green ; bears in August umbels of large, white, sweetly-
fragrant, drooping, bell-formed flowers, four inches long, opening
of an evening. Propagated by division of the roots, which are
of a fibrous nature, and will not bear being much disturbed, or
the plants will fail of blossoming. There are other species, but
not met with, I believe, in this country.

380 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

Agapanthus.

A. umbellatus — BLUE AFKICAN LILY. — A most noble plant,
occasionally but not often met with, and not thriving well, in
Calcutta gardens ; bears' upon a long scape, during the Rains, a
large umbel of large, handsome, azure-blue flowers. Requires
the shelter of a verandah, and to be grown in a pot.

Polianthes.

P. tuberosa — TUBE-ROSE — Gool-shul-bo. — The commonest, per-
haps, of any plant in the gardens of India, and certainly one of
the most delightful. Sends up stems usually three feet high ;
in a soil that suited it I have seen them as high as six
feet, bearing hyacinth-like clusters of pure white flowers, which
diffuse an exquisite fragrance for a wide distance around, and
under some states of the atmosphere, it is said, have been seen
to emit electric sparks. After flowering the stems should be
cut down, and others will spring up in constant succession
throughout the year. Propagated by separation of the bulbs, as
it may be also from seed, which it produces in abundance during
the Cold weather. The double flowering variety bears lovely
clusters of flowers, but not nearly so fragrant as the single. The
stems of this variety require to be supported by stakes, or they
are all but sure to fall with their own weight, and then look
very unsightly.

Sanseviera.

An extensive genus of plants, many having a general resem-
blance to Aloes ; hardly ornamental enough to be worthy a
place in the garden.

1. S. Capensis. — Lately introduced into the garden of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, is perhaps the prettiest of any for its
thick, wavy, irregular-formed, dark-green leaves, with zigzag
lines across them.

2. S. (Guineensis ?). — A curious plant, with the leaves resem-
bling a bundle of long, dark-green, ribbed horns, rising out of
the ground ; bears in the Cold season, just upon the surface of
the earth, a bunch of dirty-white fragrant flowers. A single
leaf stuck in a pot of sand and watered will soon take root and
form a new plant. Requires plentiful watering.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 381

Aloe.

Dr. Voigt states that there were as many as a hundred species
of Aloe formerly in Dr. Carey's garden at Serampore, but that
most had died, and that he could enumerate no more than forty-
two. About a dozen or fourteen species is the largest number I
believe now to be met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

Some two or three have very ornamental leaves, and look
handsome in pots ; these, if left out in the Bains, are very apt
to perish from water lodging between the leaves, and causing
them to rot at the point of junction. Many are easily propa-
gated by inserting a leaf in a pot of damp sand. A light porous
soil, through which the water given them is soon passed off, is
manifestly that best suited to them.

1. A. Abyssinica. — A very large species, growing in the open
ground in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, and very showy
when in full blossom in January and February, with its large
flower-stem bearing innumerable small bright vermilion flowers.

2. A. Indica. — A common plant throughout the country ; leaves
thorn edged, thick, soft, pale-green, crossed with lines of spots ;
bears dull red flowers. From the peculiarity of its foliage a
pleasing variety among other potted plants.

3. A. intermedia. — A small handsome plant, with neat, clean-
cut, strap-like leaves, speckled with green and white.

4. A. nigricans. — Exceedingly ornamental for its polished,
black-green, well-cut leaves, of strap-like form ; bears in March
flowers varying from pale-green to lurid red.

5. A. attenuata. — A small plant with very succulent and
curiously-crimped leaves ; bears in April small, greenish, insig-
nificant flowers.

6. A. saponaria.— A small plant with curious, thick, short
succulent leaves, crossed with dotted white lines.

Yucca.
ADAM'S-NEEDLE.

The species of Yucca known in Europe amount to as many as
thirty. The following only, I believe, are those to be met with
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

• 1. Y. aloifolia. — A large plant, common everywhere in India,
and familiar for its formidable array of long, hard, flattened

382 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

leaves, each tipped with a needle-like thorn ; bears in the Eains
countless white flowers, hanging most beautifully, like little
bells, from its erect-growing flower-stem. The plant becomes
disposed to blossom sooner by having the lower leaves cut away.
The leaves, buried in damp earth till their soft parts decay, yield
a strong tenacious fibre, very useful for tying up plants with.
Propagated by offsets. There is a variegated variety of this
plant, having the edges of the leaves of a dull white colour, not
particularly ornamental.

2. Y. gloriosa — SPANISH BAYONET. — Distinguished from the
last by its leaves being much narrower and spike-like ; grows to
very large dimensions before flowering, and is quite unsuited for
any but gardens of great extent.

3. Y. stricta. — A small plant in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens,
never flowering there, and making little or no growth.

Allium.

Comprises several species, bearing umbels of different-coloured
flowers with a strong smell of garlic ; most have been intro-
duced, but do not seem disposed to flower here.

A. fragrans. — A small bulbous plant; bears in April small
umbels of greenish-white flowers, like those of the common
Onion ; interesting for their heliotrope-like fragrance.

Scilla.

A genus of small bulbous plants, producing flowers somewhat
similar to the Hyacinth ; not found, I believe, to succeed in
Bengal.

Ornithogalum.

STAK OF BETHLEHEM.

Of which there are several species ; not cultivated with success
here.

0. caudatum. — An uninteresting plant in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens ; bears greenish-white flowers.

Muscari.

M. botryoides— GRAPE HYACINTH. — A pretty diminutive
bulbous plant, distributed abundantly in the North-West Pro-

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 383

vinces from the Sahartmpore Gardens ; thrives well in the
border, and produces pretty racemes of dark-blue flowers, of
about the size of black currants. I have never met with it in
Bengal.

Hyacinthus.

H. orientalis— HYACINTH.— By repeated trials it has been well
ascertained that the Hyacinth cannot be brought to thrive and
blossom, with any degree of satisfaction, in Calcutta or its
vicinity. Of the bulbs that are imported some only produce a
few leaves, while others, which appear forming for blossom,
seem scarcely able to push themselves above ground, and instead
of opening all the flowers in the cluster at once, open two or
three first, which decay before the remainder expand.

In the North-West Provinces, however, their cultivation is
attended with complete success. A selection of bulbs I procured
from England, when at Ferozepore, with very little attention
given to them, blossomed as beautifully as they are ever seen
to do in Europe.

The best bulbs are always of a conical form. All flat-crowned
ones are apt to give off numerous offsets, and rarely, if ever,
give good flowers. Also

" Small bulbs are of the finest varieties. The size of the bulb has
nothing to do with the fineness of the bloom, which is most com-
monly inversely as the size of the bulb." *

The pot in which a Hyacinth is grown should be eleven or
twelve inches deep, the soil a mixture of well-decayed cow-
manure and leaf-mould, and a very large proportion of sand, and
a few wood-ashes or small bits of charcoal. Some recommend the
bulb to be planted three inches deep, but this would be to bury
one of the principal features of beauty in the plant. The best
plan perhaps is to plant the bulb with about a third above the
surface of the earth, that the beautiful metallic colour upon it
may not be concealed, and then attend to the following directions
given by Sir J. Paxton : —

" The plant is unable to develop itself with a rapidity propor-
tionate to the moisture it imbibes, when its upper surface is acted
upon too immediately by the atmosphere. Hence the propriety of
covering the bulbs with some light material. They ought invari-

* Vilmorin's Catalogue, quoted in « Gard. Chron.,' Sept. 1861.

384 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

ably to be started by covering the pots containing them with three
or four inches of old bark or half pulverized leaf-soil. A due share
of moisture is thus preserved around both leaves, bulbs, and roots ;
and moisture is their vital element in the growing stage. When
they reach the surface of the covering they may be gradually
introduced to the full existing measure of solar light, which will
speedily restore the colour of the blanched foliage. Another
important necessary to their complete perfection is a large portion
of river or white sand in the soil. Nothing is more prejudicial to
them than stagnant water."

Lachenalia.

Small bulbous plants, natives of the Cape of Good Hope ; for
the most part, I believe, not succeeding here. An unnamed
species, with spotted leaves and orange-yellow tubular flowers
of little beauty, is occasionally presented at the January exhibi-
tions of the Agri-Horticultural Society.

Drimea.

D. revoluta. — A small pot-plant, with curious lurid-green leaves
covered with round white spots ; bears in May spikes of small
dull-pink flowers.

Anthericum.

A. vespertinum. — A small plant ; bears in March, upon long
bare stems, small white flowers of little interest.

Dianella.

D. nemorosa — A little bushy 'plant, native of this country,
bears small white insignificant flowers ; uninteresting except for
its brilliant ultramarine-coloured berries of the size of a pea.

Eustrephus.

Eu. angustifolius. — Native of New Holland; said to bear pale
purple flowers, but ornamental principally as a small climbing
plant of graceful slender character, and pretty drooping, grass-
like leaves.

Asparagus.

1. A. acerosus. — Native of Bengal ; an erect herbaceous thorny
plant, with needle-like leaves ; bears, in the beginning of the cold

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TKEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 385

weather, pure white, delightfully fragrant flowers. Dr. Koxburgh
remarks, " a charming shrub." Propagated by division.

2. A. racemosus.— A very thorny, shrubby climbing plant,
very beautiful for its foliage alone, which from a distance has
somewhat the appearance of a Juniper ; produces in November
an unbounded profusion of minute white flowers, which perfume
the air to a considerable distance around.

3. A, ascendens. — An erect-growing plant ; blossoms in No-
vember, when it is most exquisitely beautiful, with its ' graceful
sprays of minute flowers, resembling delicate plumes of silver.

Cordyline (syn. Dracaena).

1. C. ferrea. — A moderate-sized shrub with long, lanceolate,
dark-green leaves, with crimson edges, cultivated in most gardens
for the highly ornamental character of its foliage ; bears large
compact bunches of very numerous, small, rose-coloured, very
pretty flowers. Propagated by division.

2. C, terminalis— SANDWICH ISLAND TEE-PLANT. — A shrub of
the same size as the last ; ornamental for its foliage, which is
principally terminal upon the stems, of a rich, light, most
refreshingly verdant green ; bears in March feather-like sprays
of numerous small pure white flowers. Propagated by division.

3. C. reflexa. — A shrub of somewhat smaller size than the
last, and with smaller leaves, of the same form and of a most
agreeable green ; bears in the Hot season yellowish-green, sweet-
scented flowers.

4. C, ensifolia, — A very handsome and common shrub in gar-
dens about Calcutta ; five or six feet high ; bearing on the
summits of its stems crowded whorls of noble strap-formed
leaves, of a rich refreshing green, two feet long and four or five
inches broad ; from the centre of which spring out, in February,
sprays of dense spikes of small white flowers.

Dracaena.

D, australis, — In aspect altogether unlike any of the preceding,
and resembling somewhat a small Palm; has an erect stem,
naked to the summit, upon which its long lanceolate sharp-
pointed leaves are borne. A very handsome plant. Propagated
by removal of the suckers it throws up. Some two dozen

2 c

386 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

species of Dracaena are now much in request in England for
the ornamental character of their foliage ; some of a crimson
hue, and others partaking of a bronze-like metallic lustre.
Most of these would probably succeed in this country ; in fact
the following are now found here : albicans ; Chelsonii ; Cooperii ;
gracilis ; Guilfoylei ; Haageana ; pulcherrima ; nigricans.

Tupistra.

T. maculata. — Dr. Eoxburgh describes this as a "shrubby
caulescent species, native of Sumatra, three or four feet high."
I have seen only small plants of it in pots in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens thriving very indifferently. Leaves broadly
lanceolate, prettily marked all over with round white spots.

Ophiopogon.

0. Japonicum. —A small herbaceous plant with grass-like leaves,
seemingly well suited for an edging to the border in the way
Thrift is sometimes used in England ; bears very numerous
small flowers of a delicate lavender colour, upon footstalks of
the same colour.

GYMNOGENS.
CYCADEACE^E.

Cycas.

A genus of trees of exceeding beauty when young, with large
fern-like leaves radiating from the stem, and forming a complete
circle. A single plant, situated on a lawn, has a remarkably
ornamental appearance. When they attain to a large size, so
that the stem becomes a conspicuous object, much of their beauty
is lost. But they have, for them, the merit of being very slow
growers. They are apt to throw up suckers, by the removal of
which they are easily propagated. Common in gardens about
Calcutta are: — 1. C. revoluta; and 2. C. circinalis. Of late
introduction are C. Rumphi, and C. sphaerica.

Zamia.

In a decorative point of view there is no very discernible
difference between the Zamia and the Cycas. One or two species

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TKEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 387

are met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens. Specimens are
only to be obtained by importing them, as they are not capable
of being propagated in this country.

PINACE^E.

CONIFEES.

Pinus.

P, longifolia. — A lofty tree, native of the hills, but succeeds
very well on the plains, where specimens of large size may
occasionally be seen. It is, however, not well suited to the
garden, taking up far too much room, and not being particularly
ornamental withal. Propagated from seed.

Araucaria.

A genus of exceedingly handsome trees ; superbly ornamental
when grown upon a lawn, where there is ample space for them.
Specimens of the undermentioned have at different times been
brought in Wardian cases to Calcutta, where they thrive well.
These possibly, in the course of time, may yield seed, and thus
afford the means of raising young plants, otherwise it seems
questionable whether plants will ever be obtained in this country
except by importation. For the seeds travel very badly, soon
losing 'their vitality; and propagation by cuttings, though
attended with complete success elsewhere, has, as far as I can
learn, been universally found to fail here. I subjoin, nevertheless,
the method of striking cuttings as described by M. Courtins : —

" Some species strike much more readily than others. A. Cun-
ninghamii most easily of any. Take cuttings of shoots half ripe,
about three inches long. Terminal shoots of side branches may be
used. Let them lie till somewhat dry, to allow the turpentine to
exude.

" When they have grown a few inches, bend the plants gently
down towards the surface of the soil, and secure them in this posi-
tion by small pegs. This will induce »them to break out at the
base. When the shoots which have thus pushed out have grown
to a few inches, and become somewhat strong, it will be necessary
to cut off the branch which was bent down, which may be used
again as a cutting.

" This mode of treatment is applicable to all Conifers."

2 c 2

388 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

1. A. excelsa— NOKFOLK ISLAND PINE. — In its native locality
a lofty tree, possibly unrivalled in beauty by any in the whole
vegetable kingdom ; one or two thriving trees, from twelve to
fifteen feet in height, may be seen in the Calcutta Botanical
and Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens.

2. A. Cookii. — Native of New Caledonia. Of this the gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society possess several handsome
trees, some as much as twenty feet high. They are very similar
in growth and general appearance to the last, to which some
consider them even superior in beauty, resembling gigantic
candelabra. The full-grown tree, as seen in its native home,
has been likened to a "well-proportioned factory chimney of
great height."

3. A. Bidwelli. — Native of Moreton Bay ; in general character
very distinct indeed from the two preceding; with prickly,
sparkling, dark-green foliage. Some very handsome specimens,
about fifteen feet high, are to seen in the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society.

4. A. imbricata— THE MONKEY'S PUZZLE. — Native of Chili ;
very similar to the last in growth and character of foliage ;
seems incapable of existing in the climate of this country, as all
specimens hitherto introduced have soon died off.

5: A. Cmminghamii. — Native of Moreton Bay ; with foliage of
a softer and more cypress-like character than any of the pre-
ceding; grows most vigorously here. There are trees in the
Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens as much as thirty feet
high. One of these has several times borne seed, sound in
every respect, except in not having been impregnated by a male
plant, consequently, when sown, failing to germinate.

" This species," M. Courtins says, " may be propagated from the
roots, and affords then nice young healthy plants. Cut the roots,
those that are about the thickness of a quill, into pieces four or
five inches long. Put them in sandy-peat, keeping the cut level
with the surface of the soil."

Juniperus.

JUN1PEK.

Small low shrubs, for the most part not more than three or
four feet high, of squat, irregular, and not very agreeable form,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 389

though the small-leaved foliage with its silvery hue is very
handsome, and affords a pleasing variety in the garden. They
are very slow growers. Propagated by cuttings, but more
commonly by layers. Those cultivated in the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society for distribution are: — 1. J. cernua;
2. J. Chinensis; 3. J. communis; 4. dimorpha.

Thuja.

ARBOR-VIT^E.

Moderate-sized shrubs about four feet high. Their well-
known, exquisitely beautiful foliage renders them delightful
ornaments in the garden. Several unnamed species are found
in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, introduced
from China by Mr. Fortune. They may be easily raised from
seed or propagated by cuttings ; but it is observed : —

" Conifer cuttings cannot be taken indiscriminately from any
part of the tree to be propagated. Cuttings from the side-shoots of
T. Donniana, for instance, make plants that spread themselves out
flat, as if they were crucified. Their shape resembles that of the
lower branch of a Spruce or Silver Fir broken off, and stuck upright
in the ground."*

T. Orientalis. — A common and very beautiful species, met
with in gardens of most parts of India. T. 0. aurea (syn. Bista),
a dwarf variety having a superb golden appearance when it
puts forth its fresh foliage, has been lately introduced.

Cryptomeria.

C. Japonica — JAPAN CEDAK. — When of full growth a tree of
immense stature, native of the north of China. Plants of this
handsome tree were introduced some years ago into the Gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society.

Cupressus.

CYPRESS.

A genus of trees familiar to all for the beauty and graceful-
ness of their foliage. The following are found in gardens about
Calcutta. They bear no seed in that locality : —

* ' Household Words,' vol. xiii. p. 579.

390 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

1. C. torulosa.— Native of Bootan ; trees of this are not un-
common. 2. C. sempervirens. — Native of the hills.

3. C. funebris. — WEEPING-CYPRESS. — Many plants of this
species were sent by Mr. Fortune some years ago to the Gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society, where they have thriven
well. He thus describes the tree as he found it growing in
China : —

"About sixty feet high, with a stem as straight as that of a
Norfolk Island Pine, and weeping branches like the Willow of
St. Helena. It reminded me of some of those large and gorgeous
chandeliers sometimes seen in theatres and public halls in
Europe."*

Sir J. Paxton further observes : — " This is probably the most
interesting coniferous plant yet in cultivation, and must in time
displace the Weeping Willow."

Propagation not successful by cuttings.

TAXACE^E.
Salisburia.

S. adiantifolia.— Gingko of the Chinese ; in its native region a
tree of prodigious stature ; has been in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens a great many years, but in a very unthriving state,
never attaining to more than two or three feet in height ; leaves
the size of a man's hand, and, as the name denotes, resembling
those of the Maiden-hair Fern ; flowers said to resemble those
of the common Berberry.

Taxus.

YEW-TKEE.

T. Chinensis. — The only species, I believe, met with here.

Podocarpus.

Beautiful evergreen shrubs or small trees, with stiff linear
leaves, of remarkably slow growth. Propagated easily by
cuttings or layers. We have — P. Chinensis; and 2. P. elon-
gatus, of the two far the more graceful.

* Fortune, ' Tea Districts,' p. 62.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 391

Dacrydium.

1. D. taxifolium. — A remarkably handsome shrub, with most
beautiful filigree character of foliage. Multiplied easily by
cuttings.

2. D. elatum. — (Small plants in pots of this species were,
some years ago, in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural
Society, but have since perished.) A most beautiful shrub, in
foliage like the frond of the Onychium Fern.

DICLINOUS EXOGENS.
CASUAKINACE^.

Casuarina.

C. muricata. — A lofty tree of rapid growth, common in most
parts of India. The soft sighing of the air, on the stillest day,
through its numberless slender branches is very agreeable,
resembling the sound of the distant sea washing upon the shore.
Unsuited to the garden except as a hedge, by being cut down
to about five or six feet, and kept constantly clipt ; it thus forms
a dense beautiful bush, so changed in character as hardly to be
recognised.

Propagated by seed.

SALICACE^S.

Salix.

S. Babylonica— WEEPING WILLOW. — Thrives tolerably well
in all parts of India, in situations where it receives a sufficient
supply of water ; but is often very short-lived, and, from some
unknown cause, apt to die off very suddenly. Propagated
readily by cuttings.

EL.EAGNACEA

Elaeagnus.

1. E. dulcis, — A shrub of small size and erect growth; orna-
mental for its small oval-formed leaves, having a beautiful silvery
hue on their under-surface. 2. E, pungens* 3. E. variegata.

392 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

URTICACE.E.
Urtica.

1. U. pulchella. — A small herbaceous shrub of beautiful
foliage ; leaves borne in a whorl on the summit of the stems,
lanceolate, three or four inches long ; of a pure deep green on
the upper surface, and prettily netted over by the strong markings
of the veins. The under-surface of a pure silvery-white hue.

2. U. salicifolia. — A low shrub; ornamental for the contrast
of the dark-green of the upper surface of the willow-like leaves
with the pure dead white of the lower.

MOBACE.E.
Ficus.

1. F. repens. — Native of Assam; a lovely creeping plant with
small verdant heart-shaped leaves, that covers a low wall in the
shade or the trunk of a tree with a dense mantle of most
refreshing green, attaching itself by means of its numerous
rootlets in the manner of Ivy. Described as bearing fruit of
about the size and form of an ordinary little Fig.

2 P eburnea : lately introduced.

EUPHOEBIACE^].

Pedilanthus.

P. tithymaloides— ADJUTANT'S HEDGE.— A roadside weed, with
cylindrical succulent stems, and dark-green thick fleshy leaves ;
bears small, crimson, misshapen, unattractive flowers. Some-
times used for the skirting of borders ; should be kept closely
clipt in.

Euphorbia.

1. Eu. Bojeri. — A small succulent, thorny-stemmed, cactus-
like plant, always in blossom, but particularly in the Hot season,
with flat quadrangular, very symmetrical trusses of most bril-
liant vermilion flowers; requires a situation fully exposed to
the sun ; will grow nearly anywhere, but most thrivingly in a
mixture of brick-rubbish, leaf-mould, and charcoal. Propagated
by cuttings.

CHAP. V. OKNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 393

2. Eu. splendens.— Not to be distinguished in any very marked
degree from the last, except that the stems are somewhat more
slender and more spinous.

3. Eu. jacquiniflora.— A small shrub ; in blossom one of the
most brilliantly beautiful pot-plants of the gardens ; blossoms in
the middle of the Cold season with a profusion of small, dazzling
vermilion flowers, from the extremity of and all down its long,
smooth, slender, twig-like stems. If some time before blossom-
ing each stem be bent and fastened down over the rim of the
pot, young shoots will break forth and enhance the beauty of
the plant by the additional flowers they produce. After flower-
ing the stems may be cut in, and the cuttings, when dry of the
milky juice which exudes from the cut part, be put in a pot of
sand in a shady place. In a short time they will take root.
Some, however, consider that cuttings strike more readily if
made in the Cold weather, before the plants have flowered.
The plants are very apt to die off in the Eains if left much
exposed to wet.

Mr. E. Scott, of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, has pro-
duced a dwarf and very distinct permanent variety of this
beautiful plant. The announcement of it I give in his own
words from the 'Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society ' : —

" Two years ago, at one of the shows of the Agri-Horticultural
Society, I saw a plant of Euphorbia jacquiniflora, with branches
about seven feet long, and said to have been the growth of one
season. The accompanying plants show what may he accomplished
in the opposite direction; are ten months old, from cutting, and
as the appearance bespeaks, have been starved as long as could he
done with safety to the plants, which have been allowed to ' form '
themselves. No stopping, pruning, or bending of the branches or
twigs has been practised upon them."

Poinsettia.

P. pulcherrima.— A very large spreading shrub, eight to ten
feet high ; native of Mexico ; bears during all the Cold season
little knobs of yellow insignificant flowers of the size of a Pea,
surrounded by rays of large, elliptical, crimson-scarlet, bracteal
leaves. When in full blossom one of the most gorgeous objects
conceivable. Blossoms upon the wood of the current year,
which should be cut in to a bud or two from the base after

394 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

flowering. It grows and blossoms in the gardens of the Taj at
Agra, but I am not aware that it is found farther north. At
Ferozepore I procured both cuttings and a rooted plant, but the
cold there was too severe for them. No plant strikes more
readily from cuttings. P. pulcherrima, var. albida. — A variety
with the bracteal leaves of a greenish- white; of little beauty
comparatively.

Dalechampia.

D. Roezleana rosea, of late introduction, and D. Madagascaren-
sis ; slender, pretty climbing plants.

Excoecaria.

E. bicolor. — A shrub of moderate size, and in respect of its
foliage one of the most beautiful of the garden. Leaves lanceo-
late, four or five inches long, of a bright olive-green on their
upper surface, and of a rich deep crimson beneath; bears in
the Cold weather minute insignificant flowers. A sprig or two
produces a fine effect in a bouquet. Propagated readily by

cuttings.

Acalypha.

1. A. densiflora. — A shrub about two feet high, of recent intro-
duction; has oval pointed leaves, and bears during the year
throughout drooping festoons, ten inches or a foot long, of pale,
bright-red, minute flowers, altogether similar in form to those
of Love-lies-bleeding. Propagated readily by cuttings or by
division. In Paxton's Dictionary the species are spoken of
generally as worthless ; but A. tricolor ; A. glabrata ; A. marginata;
for the beauty of their leaves, have of late been introduced.

Mr. B. S. Williams speaks of A. tricolor as the only one to be
recommended, and as growing from six to ten feet high,
with leaves blotched, mottled, and splashed with red and crimson
On coppery-green ground.

Jatropha.

1. J. multifida— PHYSIC NUT — COKAL PLANT. — A very com-
mon large herbaceous shrub, rather ornamental when kept down
to a moderate size ; foliage rather pretty, with large, much-slit,
vivid bluish-green leaves, above which rise the bunches of small
flowers somewhat resembling pieces of red coral. Propagated
by the large nuts, which it bears abundantly.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TEEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 395

2. J. panduraefolia. — A beautiful flowering shrub, of moderate
size, with dark shining fiddle-formed leaves, met with in nearly
every garden about Calcutta ; bears during the Hot and Kain
seasons panicles of middling-sized bright-crimson flowers; re-
quires to be severely pruned in the Cold season to prevent
it from becoming scraggy; propagated readily by cuttings or
by seed, which it ripens in the Cold season. A variety is not
uncommon with rose-coloured flowers, found rather shy some-
times of opening its blossoms.

3. J. integerrima. — A species, in the Calcutta Botanical Gar-
dens, in all respects very similar to the last, except in the form
of the leaf.

Ricinus.

R. communis.— PALMA CHRISTI— CASTOK-OIL PLANT — Eendee.
— A large herbaceous shrub, common in waste places in all
parts of India. The variety with scarlet blossoms, contrasting
finely with the rich green, large, palmate leaves, would set off
any out-of-the-way or unoccupied spot of the garden to great
advantage. Propagated by seed.

Codiaeum, syn. Croton, Roxb.

A genus of large shrubs remarkable for their exceedingly
ornamental foliage ; met with, as they well deserve to be, in
most gardens about Calcutta. The flowers they bear are minute
and insignificant. They grow in nearly any situation, but thrive
far best and assume a much more beautiful character when
planted completely in the shade. Easily propagated by cuttings
in the Rains.

1. C. pictum. — A bushy shrub of about four feet high, leaves
six to seven inches long, and from two to two and a half inches
broad, lanceolate, pointed, smooth-edged, leathery, and glossy;
the upper surface of a pure rich green, marbled with blotches of
cream-colour, and here and there, as it were, spotted and
stained with blood ; the under surface entirely of a deep blood-
colour blotched with cream-colour. Each leaf, in fact, is a
perfect picture in itself, resembling somewhat the gem called
Bloodstone.

2. C. latifolium. — A somewhat larger and more diffusely-
growing shrub than the last, but hardly less beautiful; leaves a

396 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

foot long and two inches wide, lanceolate, pointed, rather
leathery, of a fine polished green, with the midrib of a pure
cream colour, and stained here and there with spots of the
same colour; under surface of a paler green with no tinge of
red.

3. C. variegatum. — A large shrub of three or four feet high,
leaves in the form of straps six inches long and two-thirds of an
inch broad, deep polished green, with cream-coloured blood-
stained midrib; under surface smeared seemingly with blood;
an ornamental shrub, but not nearly so much so as either of the
former two.

4. C. longifolium. — A shrub of the same size as the last ;
curious for its long, leathery, shining-green, grass-shaped leaves,
nearly a foot and a half long, and only a third of an inch wide,
with white midrib, hanging prettily on the plant like so many
striped green ribands.

To these must now be added the lately introduced species:
aucuboefolium ; elegans; maximum; irregulars; undulatum, and
Veitchii, of which C. maximum is described as a superb plant,
the finest of all, with leaves one foot long and three or four
inches broad ; bright golden yellow, with band of dark olive-
green on each side of the midrib.

Xylophylla.

1. X. elongata.— A curious and very ornamental small shrub,
with small lanceolate leaves, along the edges of which are borne
the minute pale-green flowers, upon short footstalks as fine as
hair; nearly always in flower, but more particularly so in
October and November, when it is densely covered with its
mealy-looking blossoms, which diffuse for some distance around
a smell like that of seed-cake. Propagated by cuttings in the
Eains.

2. X. angustifolia. — In nearly every respect similar to the last,
but of dwarfer growth ; ripens seed abundantly in November.

Eriococcus.

1. E. glaucescens.— A small shrub, rather pretty, and curious
for bearing its minute flowers upon hair-like stems along the
edges of the leaves, like those of the preceding genus.

2. E. sp.— An unnamed species in the Calcutta Botanical

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 397

Gardens, somewhat similar to the last, but not so pleasing a
plant.

Buxus.

1. B. sempervirens. — Common Edging-Box of the English
gardens. Two or three stunted specimens in small pots just
manage to exist, and that is all, in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens.

2. B. Chinensis.— Somewhat similar to the preceding ; thrives
tolerably well here, and possibly might answer for forming an
edging if kept constantly dipt in.

NEPENTHACE^E.

Nepenthes.

PITCHER-PLANT.

The several species of Pitcher-plants are natives principally
of Sumatra and the Straits ; and, though occasionally introduced
into the Calcutta Gardens, seldom seem to survive long in the
climate of that locality. The flowers they bear are small and
uninteresting. Their ornamental character consists wholly in
their curiously-formed leaves, some of which end in a tendril,
bearing at its extremity a pitcher, in some species coloured most
gorgeously. Sir. J. Paxton says : — " They require slight shade,
heat, and moisture, and thrive best potted in chopped moss,
which must be kept constantly moist." They may be propa-
gated, it is said, by cuttings, layers, and seeds.

N. distillatoria. — Native of Singapore ; bears cylindrical pitchers
of the same colour exactly as the leaves. A large plant of
this species, trained upon a trellis, planted in the ground
beneath the shade of trees, was thriving well in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens some two or three years ago, but it went off
suddenly and perished.

LAKDIZABALACE^.

Akebia.

A. quinata. — A twining shrub, with pleasing foliage of rich
green, small, elliptical leaves, arranged five in a group; intro-

398 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

duced from China by Mr. Fortune, who describes it as bearing
dark brown flowers, not unlike those of Magnolia fuscata, and
very sweet-scented." As figured in the 'Botanical Eegister,'
the flowers are without petals, have three sepals, and are borne
in loose racemes. Thriving plants have for some years past
been growing in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens. It is said that
it dreads humidity.

BEGONIACE.E.

Begonia.
ELEPHANT'S-EAR.

A very numerous genus ; principally natives of a colder
climate, and not more than the few mentioned below able to
exist in the plains, unless confined to the Betel-house, where
about a dozen named fancy kinds are now cultivated with
success. Many beautiful species are to be met with in the hills,
but have been found not to bear introducing into the low country.
They have all, more or less, the peculiar form of leaf denoted by
the English name given them.

Dr. Hooker says : " Most of the Himalayan Begonias, of which
there are about a dozen species, are confined to the eastern part
of the mountain range, and are not abundant anywhere to the
westward of Sikkim, where eight or ten species are found. In
the Khassya Mountains they are exceedingly abundant. The
stems of many are eaten cooked, being pleasantly acid, and
such are made into sauce for pork and other greasy meats by
the native inhabitants of Sikkim." *

A year or two ago hybrids were raised by Mr. M'Meekin, of
the Agri-Horticultural Society's Garden, between B. argy-
rostigma and B. Malabathrica, as well as between B. argyro-
stigma and B. nitida. The leaves of these, when young plants,
were very beautiful, and quite distinct from those of either
parent.; but on growing to maturity they lost nearly all their
characteristic beauty.

Mr. K. Scott, of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, likewise sub-
sequently produced hybrids between B. argyrostigma and B.
platanifolia. Some of these as seedlings were astonishingly

* ' Illustrations of Himalayan Plants,' pi. xiii.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 399

beautiful, the fine smooth dark leaves seeming to have a coating
over them like the amalgam on the back of a looking-glass
This peculiarity passed off when the plants grew large. These
however, are exceedingly interesting, as being, I believe, the
only instances of hybridizing ever practised in this country.

The soil best adapted for Begonias is one in which the water
will drain through as soon as poured upon it. For if, from the
water not passing off, the leaves or collar of the stem be long
kept wet, they will be sure to perish. Leaf mould and river-
sand, with an abundance of Cocoa-nut fibre, I have found answer
admirably. They will not bear long exposure to either direct
sunshine or heavy rain ; and therefore must be kept constantly
under shelter. They are propagated by cuttings in sand, or by
seed, which they bear abundantly,

1. B. argyrostigma. — A small, remarkably handsome plant;
leaves on the upper surface of a dark bright green, distinctly
dotted over with numerous spots of silver ; and underneath of
a flesh or dull-red colour: bears in April greenish- white
flowers of moderate size. It is principally the lowermost leaves
that are most marked with silver spots; when the plant is
growing with much vigour, the uppermost ones often lose them
altogether.

2. B. hydroeotylifolia. — A very pretty species, with thick
succulent scaly stems, which lie prostrate upon the earth, con-
cealed beneath the abundance of handsome foliage of kidney-
formed polished- green leaves of moderate size, prettily clouded
with the markings of the nerves showing black. The under
surface of the leaf of a pale Indian-red colour; sends up in
February slender flower-stems of the thickness of a tobacco-pipe,
bearing a profusion of middling-sized, pretty, delicate, rose-
coloured flowers.

3. B. hydroeotylifolia, var. manicata. — A remarkably handsome
plant, and a delightful decoration to the verandah; habit the
same as that of the above ; but with much thicker stems, and
leaves full four times as large, with the markings of the veins
white both on the upper and under surface, supported upon
long brittle footstalks. An object of especial beauty when in
full blossom, with its numerous pretty flesh-coloured flowers.

The leaves have a great tendency to rot with the wet ; and
the plant seems to thrive the better for being left unwatered

400 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

for long intervals of time. Most easily propagated. A single
leaf with its footstalk broken short off, with its heel, at the
stem, and inserted in sand with a handglass over it, will in a
very short time become a rooted plant. I have thus in about
eight months from a single leaf produced a plant of the
largest growth.

4. B. Malabathrica.— A plant about fifteen inches high, with
elliptical, pointed leaves, five inches long, of a rich polished
green, rendered uneven by their numerous hair-bearing pimples ;
blossoms in March.

5. B. nitida.— A small plant; beautiful for the brilliant fresh-
ness of its pure green leaves ; apt to die down in the Bains,
but on the approach of the Cold season springs up again and
recovers itself ; bears livid white flowers of middling size.

6. B. humilis. — A small insignificant plant, with much of the
character of B. Malabathrica ; bears small insignificant flowers ;
little better than a mere weed.

7. B. platanifolia. — A plant about two feet in height, with very
handsome leaves, like those of the Plane-tree ; bears in November
rather large pretty white flowers; exists apparently in this
climate with some difficulty, as it is rarely seen but in a sickly,
un thriving condition.

8. B. reniformis. — A very handsome plant : very hardy ; will
thrive well in a shady place in the border, and grow vigorously
to as much as three or four feet in height. Flowers very
small, but in immense number in large, dense, silvery heads
which contrast most beautifully with the rich pure green of the
angular-edged leaves ; as do likewise the pendulous bunches of
white seed-vessels which succeed them.

9. B. fuchsioides. — A small plant of .singular beauty ; not un-
common at Ootacamund, whence I brought down plants to
Howrah, but they lived only a very short time ; bears drooping
bunches of bright red flowers, similar to those of the Fuchsia,
for which it might be easily mistaken at a short distance.
Flowering specimens have been exhibited at the shows of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, but whether they existed through
the Hot and Eain seasons I am not aware.

10. B. longipila.— Native of Mexico; found in some of the
Calcutta collections ; a handsome species with prostrate stems
and large leaves, covered with long hairs, and deeply cut like

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 401

those of the Castor-oil plant, of a dead blackish-green, prettily
marked with clear green along the nerves ; described as bearing
clusters of numerous large rosy-white flowers.

11. B. rex. — Small, but by no means thriving, plants of the
varieties of this superb species may be occasionally seen at
Calcutta, where, however, during the Rains their leaves are apt
to perish.

12. B. rubrovenia.— A small plant of recent introduction into
the Botanical Gardens, where it thrives well in the grass con-
servatory. Leaves oval, pointed ; the upper surface mealy-
white, except the veins, which are dark green ; under surface
and stems deep red.

HYPOGYNOUS EXOGENS.
FLACOURTIACE^E.

Bixa.

B. Orellana. — ARNOTTO-TREE. — A small, rather common tree,
the seed of which yields the well-known Arnotto dye ; has dense
handsome foliage, with large heart-shaped leaves ; bears in great
profusion, towards the end of the Eains, panicles of remarkably
beautiful flowers, resembling large peach-blossoms: if pruned
and kept of moderate size, an ornamental plant at all times :
easily propagated from seed. Koxburgh says the variety that
bears white flowers is a native of this country, but that in plants
reared from West India seed the flowers are rose-coloured.

PASSIFLOKACE^:.

Passiflora.

PASSION-FLOWER.

The different species of Passion-flower met with in our Indian
gardens are rather numerous. Many, however, seem little dis-
posed to bloom ; and some five or six, perhaps, the flowers of
which are of exquisite beauty, are as many as are of any value
in an ornamental point of view. They are tendril-bearing
climbers ; natives principally of South America and the West
Indies, and require a trellis for their support. " They grow,"
it is said, " with great rapidity ; but soon exhaust the soil, and

2 D

402 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

thus become injurious to plants in their neighbourhood ; whether
therefore grown in pots or in the open ground, they require
often a new soil. The branches should be cut in closely each
year after flowering."* They produce their flowers upon the
wood of the current year ; and Sir J. Paxton recommends that
they should be pruned in the manner of a vine ; that is, that the
stems should be shortened to two or three eyes off the old wood.
He states moreover, as does Mackintosh f too, the curious fact,
that left to themselves they are shy of setting fruit ; but that
they do so readily when impregnated with the pollen of other
species in preference to their own. P. racemosa does so with
pollen of P. alata. Nearly all are easily propagated by cuttings
and layers.

1. P. adiantifolia. — A small slender plant in Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, the flowers of which I am unacquainted with.

2. P. alata. — Flowers described as very fragrant, with calyx and
petals crimson ; rays variegated, white, purple, and crimson. In
Garden of Agri-Horticultural Society, but rarely if ever flowered.

3. P. Buonaparteana, — Sir J. Paxton says is a synonym of
P. quadrangularis.

4. P. Chinensis. — Flowers described as white and blue.

5. P. caerulea. — The most common, and certainly one of the
handsomest of all ; a very stout, extensively-growing plant, with
bright three-lobed leaves, covering a great space of wall or
trellis : bears abundantly during the Kain season large flowers
with the segments of the calyx and petals pale greenish-white ;
styles purplish ; rays of the crown purple at the bottom, white in
the middle, blue at the end. Most readily propagated by the
numerous young suckers it sends up for a great distance round
the spot where it grows.

6. P. cseruleo -racemosa. — A hybrid between the two species
whose name it bears : flowers very large and handsome, though
not very brilliant, being of a pale lilac colour, prettily relieved
with a pure white crown of rays. Cultivated in a large pot, it
continues constantly in bloom. It should be repotted with fresh
soil annually in the Cold weather.

7. P. edulis.— Flowers described as white fringed with purple,
fragrant, but of no great beauty.

8. P. foetida— LOVE-IK- A-MIST. — A plant of slender habit :
* ' Le Bon Jardinier ' pour 1866, p. 636. f ' Greenhouse,' p. 134.

CHAP. V. OKNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 403

flowers small, white, and unpretending. Ornamental for its
delicate and densely growing foliage, which when bruised
emits a very sickly, disagreeable smell. Bears fruit abundantly,
resembling small green Gooseberries.

9. P. Gontierii. — A hybrid variety of late introduction, bears
flowers hardly to be distinguished from those of P. Middletoniana.

10. P. holosericea. — An extensive climber: leaves, formed of
three blunt lobes, pretty for the marking of their dull-red veins.
Flowers of a tawny colour, not very large, but borne in great
profusion, having a strong smell of honey.

11. P. incarnata.— Described as " a pretty thing of semi-her-
baceous habit : flowers pink." Formerly in Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, but since lost.

12. P. kermesina. — A slender-stemmed extensive climber, with
three-lobed leaves, having large ear-like stipules. Flowers of
moderate size, of a fine carmine crimson, display themselves only
where sheltered from the sun. A common plant in the gardens
about Calcutta, where it blossoms almost perpetually through
the Hot and Eain seasons. Sir J. Paxton says of it, " beyond
all comparison the most beautiful species in cultivation except
P. racemosa."

13. P, laurifolia. — A powerful, extensive, and rampant climber,
with dense handsome foliage, of rich-green, glossy, laurel-like
leaves, and fine large blue fragrant flowers.

14. P. Loudoni. — Bears brilliant crimson flowers. One of the
choicest of the species, but altogether unknown in this country,
I believe.

15. P. lunata.— A most extensive climber, remarkable for its
curious crescent-formed leaves ; bears constantly in great pro-
fusion early in the morning greenish-yellow flowers of moderate
size. Of no great merit.

16. P. Middletoniana. — A handsome species with fine red-and-
green three-lobed leaves ; bears in May very large, exquisitely
beautiful flowers, bright azure-blue with rings of pure white,
and of a fine fragrance.

17. P. minima. — Flowers small and insignificant, succeeded by
dark-blue berries much like Sloes : a mere weed.

18. P. princeps. — A handsome species, bearing scarlet flowers ;
has been introduced into this country, but found unable to
endure the climate.

2 D 2

404: GABDEN PLANTS. PART II.

19. P. punctata. — Bears greenish-white flowers of moderate
size, and is only interesting for its foliage of curious two-pronged
leaves.

20. P. quadrangularis or Buonaparteana. — Mentioned as " a
superb species with flowers of a most superb colour." A strong
woody climber, with stout quadrangular stems and large heart-
shaped leaves, seven or eight inches across ; not uncommon in
the gardens about Calcutta, where it blossoms during the Rains.
Sir J. Paxton says, that in France it is grafted upon P. cserulea,
and flowers and fruits the same season as grafted, when not
above two feet high.

21. P. racemosa. — This very choice and handsome plant bears
deep-red or scarlet flowers in March. It thrives very in-
differently in this climate, and can only be propagated by
grafting upon a stronger species.

22. P. rotundifolia. — Bears pale-green insignificant flowers ; an
uninteresting plant.

23 P. serratifolia, — Bears in May large, very handsome,
lavender-coloured flowers.

To these have of late been added, P. trifasciata, mutabilis,
macrocarpa, Harrisiana, Madonna, and Imperatrice Eugenie.

Murucuja,

M. ocellata. — A most ornamental climbing shrub, native of the
West Indies, beautiful if only for its very handsome curtain of
foliage, which entirely conceals whatever support it is trained
to with its densely-crowded, curious, transversely-oval leaves ;
bears during the whole of the Cold months a profusion of
beautiful crimson flowers of moderate size, much like those of
the Passion-flower ; succeeded by a crop of small purple berries.

Tacsonia.

A genus of climbing plants in most respects very similar to
the Passion-flower ; but not, perhaps, so handsome. None have
as yet been found able to exist in the plains of India.

1. T. pinnatistipula. — Plants of this species have been intro-
duced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but, as I understand ,
soon died off.

2. P. mollissima.— This thrives Well, and produces fruit abun-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 405

dantly at Ootacamund, whence I brought down to Calcutta
several plants ; but all soon perished.

Viola.

1. V. odorata — SWEET-SCENTED VIOLET. — Of this old familiar
flower many varieties are cultivated in Europe, both single and
double ; but in this country I have seen none but the commonest
single kind. Plants are easily raised from seed in October, and
if during the intervening months sheltered from sun and rain,
neither of which they can bear in excess, and repotted in the
following October, will blossom in the Cold weather.

2. V. cucullata. — This, and the two following, which much
resemble the preceding, and blossom likewise in the Cold
weather, require little care to be taken of them, but are not
much valued from the flowers being entirely scentless. Pro-
pagated by division of the roots.

3. V. primulaefolia.

4. V. serpens. — Bears small white flowers of little interest ;
but the plant is pretty for its peculiar heart-shaped, pointed
leaves.

5. V. tricolor — HEARTSEASE — PANSY.— As this plant cannot
exist during the Hot and Kain seasons of this country, it must
be treated simply as an annual in the Cold season.

TAMABICACE^E.
Tamarix.

1. T. Gallica, var. Indica— TAMARISK — Jdu — Phards. — A na-
tive of Europe, as well as of this country, in the northern parts
of which it covers large districts as a common jungul shrub ;
and is much in use with the natives for making baskets : very
graceful and feather-like in its growth; particularly pleasing
when in blossom, and covered with its numberless little spikes
of small pink flowers.

2. T. dioica. — A native also of this country: a very graceful
and ornamental shrub, of light feather-branches, somewhat

406 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

resembling the Casuarina; exceedingly pleasing when in full
blossom, as it nearly always is, with its little stems terminating
in a spike of small lilac flowers.

CRASSULACE^].

Crassula.

C. nitida, and C. miniata. — Small herbaceous pot-plants of a
succulent nature, very showy and beautiful when in flower,
with their trusses of crimson blossom, much like that of a
Phlox. I brought down plants from Ootacamund, where they
thrive well, but found them unable to exist in the climate of
the plains, as is indeed the case with the majority of plants of
this description, natives of the Cape.

Kalanchoe.

1. K. heterophylla. — An herbaceous plant with thick succulent
leaves, weedy-looking, and hardly suited for the garden, though
somewhat cheerful when in blossom in February with its bright
yellow oxalis-like flowers.

2. K. laciniata, and

3. K. varians. — Much the same kind of plant as the preceding,
but somewhat different in the form and divided character of the
leaves.

Bryophyllum.

B. calycinum. — An herbaceous plant, in some places found
growing common by the wayside ; well known for the curious
property its thick succulent leaves have of throwing out roots
and soon becoming young plants by merely lying upon the sur-
face of the damp ground ; very ornamental when in blossom in
February, with its numerous large globular-formed flowers of
pale-green tinged with red, drooping prettily like little bells
from their erect flower-stem.

TURNEKACE^E.
Turnera.

1. T. trioniflora. — A small herbaceous shrub, native of Brazil,
with oval dull-green leaves two inches long ; bears, mostly

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 407

in the Cold season, large, cistus-like, sparkling, cream-white
flowers, with dark purple-eye. Propagated by division.

2. T. ulmifolia. — Of the same size as the last ; bears its lanceo-
late shining leaves crowded on the summit of the stems, above
which are borne at all seasons its large dull-yellow flowers ;
met with growing out of old walls about Calcutta.

CISTACE^E.

Cistus.

C. ladaniferus. — GuM-Cisxus. — Neither this handsome shrub of
the English gardens, nor any other species of Cistus, exists in
India.

Cochlospermum.

C. Gossypium. — Dr. Koxburgh calls this " a large beautiful
tree." The numerous large yellow expanded flowers it produces
in March and April, when it is perfectly leafless, are handsome
in themselves, but not sufficiently so to compensate at the time
for the ugliness of the great bare unsightly stems.

BRASSICACE^].

Cheiranthus.

C. Cheiri. — WALLFLOWER. — No Wallflower worthy of notice is
ever seen in gardens about Calcutta ; plants raised from country
seed produce poor weedy flowers ; those raised from imported
seed, and kept over from one Cold season to another, never
blossom at all, though in the North- West Provinces they
blossom freely enough, some bearing fine double flowers.

CAPPARIDACEJS.

Capparis.

1. C. horrida. — An extensively straggling thorny shrub. The
young shoots and leaves have a rich, glossy, chestnut-coloured
tinge, contrasting beautifully with the numerous large white
tassel-formed flowers, borne in February and March. Unsuited
for the garden, but might be ornamental used as a hedge, for
which it is well adapted, being quite impenetrable.

408 GAEDEN PLANTS. TART II.

2. C. tryphylla. — A remarkably pretty, compact, bushy, small
shrub, with round-oval, rigid, deep-green leaves, an inch long ;
ornamental only for its foliage, as here, I believe, it produces
no flowers.

STERCULIACE^E.
Helicteres.

H. Isora — SCKEW-TREE. — A small tree of no beauty, either
for its foliage or the small pale red flowers it bears, but in-
teresting for the curious screw-like form in which the seed-pods
twist round each other.

Sterculia.

S. coccinea. — A small tree, with rich showy foliage of lanceolate
leaves, very ornamental when, about the end of May, the large
velvety, deep crimson-scarlet seed-vessels split open, and dis-
close the small, purple, prune-like seeds attached to them.

BYTTNERIACE.E.

Abroma.

A. augusta. — A shrub of considerable size, with large, roundish,
cordate leaves, of a dark sombre green ; bears in the Eains
large, pendulous, eardrop-like, dull, blood-coloured flowers, suc-
ceeded by large, curious five-winged capsules. A character of
gloom pervades the whole plant, contrasting pleasingly with
the many other of the gay things of the garden, though
perhaps hardly ornamental enough to entitle it to the large
space it takes up. Propagated by seed.

Dombeya.

A genus of very large plump-formed shrubs, mostly natives
of Bourbon; they take up a great deal of room, are coarse-
looking, and only ornamental when in blossom, being then one
entire mass of colour, from their numberless corymbs of middle-
sized flowers, each by itself not very pretty. Propagated only
by layering.

1. D. palmata. — Has seven-lobed, palmate, smooth, glossy-green
leaves ; bears in November greenish- white scentless flowers.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 400

2. D. cuspidata. — Has rough three-lobed leaves, longer than
broad ; bears in September pinkish scentless flowers.

3. D. acutangula.— Leaves three-lobed, larger than those of
the last, as broad as long ; bears in December and January
liydrangea-like corymbs of largish, round-petalled, pink-blush
flowers, with a faint hawthorn-blossom-like scent.

4. D. viburnifolia. — Leaves similar in form to those of the
last, but larger, covered with soft hairs ;. bears in January
densely-crowded corymbs of white narrow-petalled flowers, with
an agreeable hawthorn-blossom fragrance.

5. D. tiliaefolia. — Leaves heart-shaped and pointed ; bears in
the Cold season sweet-scented rose-coloured flowers ; a smaller
shrub and less easy of propagation than any of the preceding.

•

Astrapaea.

A. Wallichii. — Native of Madagascar ; a tree of from twenty to
thirty feet in height, but plants will blossom when only two or
three feet high ; has very large, roundish, heart-shaped, rough
coarse leaves ; bears in February, on long pendulous footstalks,
large compact bundles of small deeply rose-coloured flowers with
yellow anthers. The flowers hang with their faces downwards,
and, on small plants, can only be seen by being lifted up for
inspection. Both Don and Sir J. Paxton say of it, that it is " one
of the finest plants ever introduced into Britain, and that when
in flower nothing can exceed it in beauty." It is not every one,
perhaps, who will concur in this opinion. To me the beauty of
the flowers seems of a very tawdry description. It requires a
good soil and a shady situation. Mr. Ellis says, " in its native
home it always luxuriates on the banks of a stream, or grows
near water."* Propagated by layers, which take a very long
time to root.

Pterospermum.

P. lanceaefolium.— A large tree, native of Assam, with lance-
head-like leaves of a tawny russet colour, with the under surface
dead-white ; bears in the Hot season large white fragrant
flowers ; a small tree in the garden is a very ornamental object,
for the striking peculiarity of its dense handsome foliage.

* ' Madagascar,' p. 295.

4 10 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

TKOPCEOLACE.E.

Tropceolum.

None of the perennial species of this genus of beautifully
flowering plants will endure the heat of the plains.

MALVACEAE.

Althaea.

A. rosea — HOLLYHOCK — Gool-Jchaira. — It is questionable
whether this familiar biennial, except for old association, is
worthy of cultivation in this country, as it produces here
generally only single flowers, and those mostly of one colour —
pink — and not the splendid double ones which render it so fine
an ornament to gardens in England. Dr. Bonavia of Lucknow
has, however, lately brought to notice, that by sowing the seed
of some semi-double pink ones, in two years he has obtained all
the varieties one could desire, from white to prune-colour, and
many of them as double as they are in Europe.* The seed
should be sown in October, and, as the seedlings suffer severely
from being transplanted, in the bed where the plants are
intended to remain. The plants will sometimes blossom the
same season, or continue on till the following one, and blossom
then. In the latter case, however, many will most probably
perish in the Eains.

Urena.

U. lobata. — A small shrub, with roundish leaves, of so harsh
and coarse a character, as all but to outweigh the beauty of the
little rose-coloured flowers it bears.

Hibiscus.

The gardens of India are very rich in the number of hand-
some species of this genus that they contain. But although
nearly all are very beautiful, there is not sufficient diversity of
character in many to make it worth while to cultivate more
than a select few. Most of them are very easily propagated by
cuttings or by seed.

* ' Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society,' vol. xiv. p. 14.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 411

1. H. mutabilis. — CHANGEABLE KOSE — Gool-i-ujaib. — A very
common large bushy shrub, eight feet high, with large heart-
shaped downy leaves ; bears in October and November, in con-
stant succession, a profusion of large very handsome double
flowers, somewhat like immense double Koses ; white on first
opening, then becoming cream-coloured, and finally of a
deep rose tint. A most showy plant during the time it is in
blossom; propagated by cuttings. The single-flowered kind,
raised usually from seed, is not deserving a place in the
garden.

2. H. tortuosus — Bala. — A middling-sized tree: bears in
February large bright, primrose-coloured flowers, with a rich
puce-coloured centre, changing after they have been some time
open entirely to crimson ; very beautiful when in full blossom
and covered with flowers, some so different in colour from others
as to seem hardly to belong to the same plant.

3. H. collinus. — A small tree, with spreading branches and
three-lobed, heart-shaped, smooth leaves; bears towards the end
of the year large, full-expanding, pale rose-coloured flowers,
with dark puce-coloured eye; most ornamental when in
blossom, the flowers, relieved against the rich green foliage,
presenting quite a dazzling appearance.

4. H. Lampas. — A largish tree with heart-shaped leaves ; bears
deep primrose flowers with a dark purple eye ; a very common
tree at Madras, planted along the road-side.

5. H. heterophyllus. — A small tree with long narrow leaves ;
very ornamental when grown of a small size ; bears during the
Hot season largish flowers of the palest primrose colour, almost
pure white, with the edges prettily pencilled with pink, and
with a dark-coloured eye.

6. H. Syriacus — Gurhul. — A bushy shrub four or five feet
high, very common in gardens in all parts of India ; leaves
towards the base wedge-shaped, towards the apex three-lobed ;
bears during the Hot and Kain seasons large lilac-blue flowers
with dark purple eye. In the Cold season the wood of the past
year should be well cut in.

a. A variety with double flowers of the same colour.

/3. A variety also with double white flowers ; but this, from
some unassignable cause, is rarely seen to blossom in a thriving
condition.

412 GARDEN PLANTS. TART I

7. A variety likewise, the handsomest far of any, with leav<
somewhat larger, and double pure-white flowers with fine darl
crimson eye.

7. H. Rosa Sinensis — CHINESE SHOE-PLANT — Juwd. — A wide
spreading and more diffuse-growing shrub than the last, wil
much more agreeable character of foliage ; leaves ovate, endin
in a prolonged point, saw-edged, but not lobed ; in almost co]
stant blossom with its brilliant crimson-scarlet flowers, with tl
long pretty column of pistil and stamens projecting from the
centre. Never known to produce seed here.

a. A magnificent variety, with flowers full four times tl
usual size, I saw in blossom at Bangalore ; lately introduced,
was told, from Kew.

/3. A variety is common with double flowers, but in my esl
mation not so pleasing as the one bearing single flowers.

7. A variety also is met with having pale, straw-coloure
double flowers.

S. A variety also with double salmon-coloured flowers wi
crimson centre.

Recent additional varieties are : e. albo-variegata ; £. cruent
y. miniata semiplena ; 0. rubra plena ; t. spinulosa.

8. H. liliiflorus. — A shrub of the same size as the two prece
ing, but of more tree-like growth ; leaves somewhat leathei
oval, with their edges quite entire ; bears flowers similar
form to the single ones of the last, but of a beautiful salmo
colour. There are one or two varieties of this charming plai
differing in the colour of the flowers. It bears no seed, and
rather difficult of propagation, as cuttings do not strike ; it a
only be increased by layering.

9. H. Jerroldianus. — A small, very choice, herbaceous plar
bears in the Hot season very large splendid flowers of a fi
carmine-crimson. The stem dies down in October, and the re
lies dormant till the approach of the warm weather.

Malvaviscus.

M. arboreus. — A large, ill-looking, woody shrub, of tree-li
growth, with rather small, heart-shaped, three-lobed, coai
leaves, only to be commended for the numerous brilliant, sma
crimson-scarlet, half-closed flowers it constantly bears. Shou
be unsparingly pruned in the Cold season. Yields seed abi

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 4i3

dantly, in small berries, ripening first pure white, and afterwards
deep scarlet.

Paritium.

P. tiliaceum. — A small tree with heart-shaped leaves ; bears
nearly always large, hibiscus-like, sulphur-coloured flowers,
with dark-puce eye.

Abutilon.

1. A. Bedfordianum. — A tall-growing herbaceous shrub, with
rich foliage of luxuriantly-green palmate leaves ; bears in the
Cold season very large, pendulous, eardrop-like flowers, with
folded petals of a pale orange colour, prettily pencilled with
brown lines. A very choice plant, and one of great beauty
when in full blossom ; very tender ; shelter from the violence of
both sun and rain is indispensable for it. It should be renewed
annually, which may be done either from seed or by cuttings.

2. A. striatum. — A smaller but more woody kind of plant than
the last, and one that will better bear exposure ; bears similar
flowers, but of about one-third of the size. To secure good
plants it is necessary to renew it annually from cuttings.

3. A. marmoratum. — Native of Mexico ; a small shrub, of
recent introduction into India, about four feet high ; produces
beautiful erect flowers, of the size and form of the Canterbury-
Bell ; rose colour, marbled with pure white veins. It produces
abundance of seed, plants raised from which come into blossom
in a very short time.

4. A. Thompson!. — Lately introduced ; remarkable for its
handsome foliage ; described as vivid green blotched with creamy
white and yellow, and said to be a twiggy variety of the last.

POLYGALACE.E.

Securidaca.

1. S. virgata. — A large, handsome, scandent shrub, with
elliptical leaves two inches long; if unsupported, of a very
sprawling habit, covering a large space of ground. Blossoms in
March with an unlimited profusion of sprays of lively rose-
coloured flowers, having much of the appearance of an Indigo.
Propagated by layers. 2. S. Brownei; 3. S. scandens. Plants
of these last two are met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.
I have not seen them in blossom.

A 14 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

SAPINDACE^G.
Kolreuteria.

K. paniculata. — Mrs. Loudon describes this as "a middle-
sized tree, native of China ; very ornamental from its large,
variously-divided foliage, and its conspicuous terminal compound
spikes of rich yellowjflowers." Dr. Voigt mentions it as existing
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but I have been unable to
meet with it there.

Dodonaea.

1. D. dioica. — An exceedingly pleasing, evergreen, large bushy
shrub, with foliage strongly resembling that of the Arbutus.
Flowers pale green and insignificant. It thrives well in the
North- West Provinces, where its large expanse of cheerful
green foliage is very refreshing to the eye. Propagated by seed,
which it bears abundantly.

2. D. Burmaniana. — Presents very little difference to the last,
except that its leaves are somewhat larger.

Filicium.

P. decipiens. — Native of Ceylon ; a tree of considerable size
and of extreme beauty, remarkable for the resemblance its
foliage bears to the fronds of a Fern, hence its name ; met with
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but, I believe, not elsewhere
about Calcutta.

MALPIGHIACE^E.

Malpighia.

BARBADEOS CHERRY.

A genus of very ornamental small shrubs ; propagated easily
by cuttings. The undermentioned are common in Calcutta
gardens: —

1. M. glabra. — A small shrub with very agreeable foliage of
oval, pointed, smooth, shining deep-green leaves, three inches
long ; bears in May and November, from the axils of its leaves,
numerous little umbels of small, pretty pale-purple flowers, with
a knob of yellow anthers in the centre.

2. M. urens. — A small shrub with dark-green myrtle-like

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 415

leaves, contrasting beautifully with its small pure white
flowers.

3. M. coccifera. — A very charming small shrub, with densely-
crowded diminutive holly-like leaves; presents a delightful
appearance when covered with its bright sparkling- white buds,
just about to open. Flowers, when expanded, pale pink,
succeeded by cherry-like berries of the size of a Pea.

Stigmaphyllon.

S. periplocifolium. — A handsome scandent plant producing fine
yellow flowers.

Banisteria.

1. B. laurifolia. — An extensively climbing shrub, with lanceo-
late dark olive-green rigid leaves, eminently ornamental when
in blossom from January to April, and densely covered with
large compact trusses of bright golden-yellow flowers. Propa-
gated by layers.

2. B. argentea. — Has leaves larger than those of the pre-
ceding, very ornamental for the silvery hue of their under
surface.

Hiptage.

H. Madablota. — A very large rampant shrub of scandent habit,
with lanceolate pointed leaves, seven inches long ; handsome
when in full blossom with its profuse trusses of white and
yellow fragrant flowers, somewhat resembling those of the
Horse-chestnut, in the month of February.

%
Camarea.

C. lucida. — A small tree, of coarse woody character ; con-
stantly in blossom with numberless beautiful compact clusters of
small flowers ; those in the upper part of a bright pale-red, and
those in the lower part pure white.

TEBNSTKOMIACE^E.
Camellia.

C. Japonica. — Of all the choice plants to be met with in
Calcutta none perhaps is so much coveted and prized as the
Camellia ; indeed it is rarely seen except in the collections of

416 GAEDEJST PLANTS. £ART 11.

those who have the facility of procuring it direct from C a.
If thought worth the expense and trouble, it might no dou oe
obtained with ease from Europe; but in this country there
appears no prospect of its being brought to exist long in a
thriving condition. Three years, it is said, is the longest p( "iod
that it continues to blossom satisfactorily here; after that it
begins to die off, or produce only worthless flowers. It must,
however, be remembered that even in England this plant will
not bear exposure to the sun ; but to be cultivated successfully
requires to be screened from its rays, by being placed on the
north side of a wall, or in some other way. Perhaps to the
neglect of this precaution its want of success in India may be i
some measure owing. It blossoms towards the end of the C
season.

Thea.

TEA-PLANT.

T. Chinensis. — The three kinds of plant known in Tea-
plantations by the names of the China, the Assam, and the
Hybrid, though very distinct in habit and peculiarities, are
decided to be but the same species. The several sorts of Tea
of commerce owe their distinction to the age of the leaf when
gathered, and the process of manufacturing it, and may be
obtained indifferently from any variety of the plant.

The leaves are elliptical, saw-edged, and of a deep shining
green, contrasting well with the flowers, which resemble much
those of a Bramble, more interesting from association than from
any beauty they possess.

CLUSIACE^:.

Mesua.

IRON-WOOD TREE.

M. ferrea — Nagsura. — A small tree common in Assam, of
great beauty, pyramidal in form, with dense foliage of small
leathery lancet-shaped leaves, polished on the upper, and hoary
white on the under surface, which on first putting forth in
March are of a brilliant crimson tinge, and make the tree
resemble a flame of fire, particularly when the morning or
evening sun is upon it; bears in April, in great profusion,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 417

J "> white four-petalled flowers, with large yellow eye formed
o .s numerous crowded stamens, which scent the air with
delightful fragrance for a wide distance around. Propagated
by seed, which must be sown where the tree is to remain, as
the- young plants, it is said, do not bear transplanting.

Calophyllum.

C, inophyllum — Sultana Chumpa. — A tree of considerable size,
with most noble foliage of large, elliptical, rich, polished, dark-
green leaves ; bears in June drooping racemes of large, white,
delightfully fragrant flowers; succeeded by numerous large
^eds, from which it may be easily propagated.

HYPERICACE.E.

Hypericum.
ST. JOHN'S WORT.

1. H. Chinense. — A small bushy shrub, two feet high, with
neat pleasing foliage of narrow elliptical leaves, two inches long,
nearly constantly in blossom, with cheerful, bright-yellow, many-
stamened flowers ; propagated by division.

2. H. pallens. — A poor little weedy plant, about a foot high ;
valueless for the garden. Also is met with 3. H. patulum.

NYMPHJEACE^.

This and the following Order consist entirely of aquatic
plants, some of which are very ornamental in a garden that has
water suited to contain them. Most may be raised from seed.
Sow the seed in a shallow earthen pan, such as a flower-pot
feeder, filled with earth; and then place this pan into a
somewhat larger and deeper vessel, which must be carefully
filled, and afterwards kept constantly supplied with water.
When the seeds have germinated, remove the small pan of
earth containing them from the larger vessel, and cautiously
lower it, just as it is, in the piece of water where the plant is
desired to grow.

Some of the small species may be grown in large earthen

2 E

418 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

vessels sunk to the rim in the earth, and kept filled with water.
These when properly attended to have a very pleasing and
refreshing appearance, especially if in some situation near the
entrance to the house, surrounded by potted plants of different
kinds.

Euryale.

Eu. ferox. — A small plant ; native of India ; remarkable
principally for its curious bristling foliage ; flowers small, blue,
and of no interest whatever ; well adapted for growing in an
earthen vessel, as above described.

Victoria.

V. regia. — This noble aquatic, native of South America, thrives
well in the tanks about Calcutta, and produces its magnificent
blossoms principally in the Cold season. The flower is of
immense size, as much sometimes as a foot in diameter, white
tinted with rose-colour, and passes through three distinct stages
in the process of expanding, with the interval of a day between
each stage, and is almost equally beautiful during each of these
stages. When perfectly expanded it almost immediately dies
off. By some the leaf will be considered an object of even as
much interest as the flower. In its upper surface it resembles a
large round tea-tray, three or four feet in diameter, laid upon
the water ; and in its lower surface it presents a most curious
and complicated network of fibres, from which project a very
formidable array of thorns. The plant is found not to exist
more than two years, when its place must be supplied by a fresh
one raised from seed, which in the- vicinity of Calcutta it bears
abundantly. If the seeds have to be conveyed to a long distance,
it has been found that they will only retain their vitality by
being kept in phials of pure water. All attempts at introducing
the plants into this country failed till Dr. Wallich resorted to
this plan. The seeds are sometimes very long in germinating.
Mr. M'Murray states : —

** Two of the Victoria regia seed, presented to the Society by the
late Dr. Wallich on the 8th November, 1851, have germinated
during this month, after lying in the gumlah of mud and water
for two years and nine months."*

* 'Journal of the Agri-Horticultural Society,' vol. ix. p. 49.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 419

A very full description of this plant, with fine illustrations, is
to be found in the first volume of the ' Gardener's Magazine of
Botany.5

Nymphaea.

1. N. caerulea.— Native of Egypt: a small and most desirable
plant; admirably adapted for growing in some conspicuous
place in a large earthen vessel sunk to the rim in the ground.
Its beautiful many-petalled flowers are of the size of a Tulip,
blue, with a yellow centre, and emit a most delightful fragrance,
like that of orris-root. Bears seed abundantly.

2. N. stellata. — Native of the jheels of Bengal, where, when in
blossom and seen at a little distance, it might be taken for the
last ; but the flowers are not so double, and have no scent.

3. N. pubescens and N. edulis. — Are white Water-lilies, com-
mon in waste pieces of water about Bengal, but have no preten-
sions to the beauty of N. alba so common in England.

4. N. rubra. — Native of Bengal ; very handsome when in
blossom with its large and brilliant red flowers.

5. N. versicolor. — Native of Bengal ; bears large rose-coloured
flowers.

NELUMBIACE^E.
Nelumbium.

1. N. speciosum — WATER-BEAN. — Pudum — Kunwul. — A large
and, when in blossom, very beautiful plant, common in tanks
and jheels in every part of India. Bears in the Hot season very
large, double, rose-coloured handsome flowers. It produces
seed abundantly in curious, drooping, cone-shaped seed-vessels.
The seeds are sown by enclosing them in a ball of clay, and
throwing them into the water.

2. N. luteum. — THE YELLOW WATER-BEAN. — Native of Caro-
lina : a small plant exists in the gardens of the Agri-Horticul-
tural Society. I am not informed whether it has ever flowered
or not.

MAGNOLIACE^:.
Talauma.

T. pumila. — A very delightful shrub, about five feet high, native

2 E 2

420 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

of China, and not uncommon in the Calcutta gardens ; would be
very handsome if the foliage only remained in a healthy con-
dition, but, owing to some unexplained cause, has nearly always
a shabby appearance from a great part of each leaf becoming
decayed. This I thought might possibly arise from its being
usually planted in a situation too exposed to the sun, but I
noticed plants in the conservatory at Kew in the same condition.
Bears at nearly all seasons, but principally in the Cold weather,
pure-white globular flowers of the size of a Tulip, opening in
the evening and falling off the next morning. A single flower
will perfume the garden for a great distance around with its
quince-like fragrance : propagated by layers, and by cuttings
in sand.

Magnolia.

1. M. grandiflora. — A small tree, fifteen feet or more in height,
native of Carolina ; noted for the beauty of its noble laurel-like
foliage ; considered one of the choicest plants in Calcutta, where
it thrives with difficulty, and only as a shrub of moderate size.
Bears in April its grand white fragrant flowers, and in August
occasionally ripens seeds, which are of the size of a Tamarind-
stone, and of a brilliant red. Propagated by gootee, but with
extreme difficulty.

2. M. fuscata. — A small ramous shrub, two or three feet high ;
native of China ; with exceedingly neat foliage, somewhat resem-
bling that of a Camellia : bears in March small pale-yellow or
cream-coloured flowers of a deep dull crimson within, of the
size and something of the form of a pigeon's egg, exquisitely
fragrant, especially after rain.

3. M. pterocarpa. — A large handsome tree, native of India,
with large noble leaves ; bears in April in unbounded profusion
its large, pure-white, globular-formed, finely-fragrant flowers.

Michelia.

M. Champaca. — Chumpa. — A small tree, about twenty feet high,
very common in Bengal, with very fine foliage ; bears, principally
at the beginning and end of the Cold weather, numerous large
narrow-petalled flowers of a dull, lifeless, lemon-colour, emitting
for a wide distance around a most delicious fragrance.

After flowering, the tree often becomes so exhausted by the
prodigious quantity of large yellow berries it ripens, as hardly

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 421

to recover itself and produce a flower for a year or more after-
wards. This, no doubt, might be obviated by timely removal of
the berries as thev set.

ANONAOBJE.

Artabotrys.

A. odoratissimus. — A large shrub, native of this country, of
scandent tendency, with dense foliage of handsome, lanceolate,
glossy, pure-green leaves ; bears, principally in the Kains, mode-
rate-sized irregular-formed flowers, very similar to those of the
Custard- apple, of a heavy, pale yellow colour, generally hidden
out of sight under the leaves, whence they emit agreeable
gusts of perfume, somewhat like that of over-ripe Apples : very
ornamental when covered with its small, golden, pear-like
fruit.

DILLENIACE^.

Dillenia.

D. speciosa. — Chulta. — A large and very common tree of this
country, remarkably handsome for its foliage of noble, pointed,
elliptical leaves ; bears, in July, very large, pure-white, fragrant
flowers, with yellow anthers : very ornamental likewise in the
Cold weather, when bearing in abundance its large, round, green
fruits, of the size nearly of a child's head.

Delima.

D. sarmentosa. — A scandent coarse-looking shrub, with leaves
like those of the last ; bears loose panicles of small, yellow, very
fragrant flowers.

RANUNCULACEJE.

Clematis.

Several species of this extensive genus of beautiful-flowered
climbing plants have been introduced, but have for the most

422 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IF.

part evinced a great reluctance to blossom. Besides 1. C. bra-
chiata ; the native 2. C. Gouriana ; and the Spanish 3. C. Viticella,
there are met with in the Botanical Gardens : —

4. C. Cadmia. — A new and very beautiful plant, producing in
the Cold season large star-formed flowers of five pure-violet
petals ; with dense and very pretty foliage of small ternate
leaves. It requires shade, and dies down in the Kains.

5. C. Flammula.— The common European species, so well known
for the exquisite fragrance of its blossoms, which during the
Bains it puts forth in clusters of small white flowers from its
dense small-leaved ternate foliage.

Anemone.

1. A. coronaria. — The Florist's Anemone, a small tuberous
plant, producing flowers of extraordinary beauty, single and
double, in almost endless variety. The tubers must be im-
ported each season from England in time for planting in
October. They blossom about March. Their cultivation in
Calcutta is attended with little success, and even as high up
as Allahabad Mr. S. Jennings informed me his attempt to grow
them proved a failure. They succeed well in the North- West
Provinces. When at Ferozepore I imported tubers, which
blossomed well without much care bestowed upon them. While
there I also raised plants from seed ; the seed, being of a woolly
nature, is easily transmitted in a letter. I took up the young
tubers on the approach of the Hot weather, and kept them in
the house till the following Cold season, and then planted them
in pots, where they blossomed very freely and beautifully. But
I found that both imported and seedling tubers became worn-
out and worthless after once blossoming.

They require a light soil of common mould and decayed
vegetable', matter, or very old; rotted cow-manure and river-
sand. The tubers should be planted about two inches deep in
a hole into which a pinch of sand has been dropped.

2. A. Japonica. — A native of China, from whence it was sent
here some years ago by Mr. Fortune, but, though thriving well,
has never blossomed. The flowers two inches across, pale pink,
are very beautiful, and in England during the autumn are
quite an ornament to the garden. There is a white variety,
and one of great beauty named Honorine Jobert. Though a

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 423

native of damp woods, on the edges of rivulets, it thrives well
in common garden soil.

Hepatica.

This pretty little flowering plant, so common in English
gardens, is unknown in India.

Ranunculus.

R. Asiaticus. — The florist's Kanunculus, with its numberless
lovely varieties, including those of the sorts called Persian,
Scotch, and Turban, is cultivated in this country much in the
same way as that adopted for the Anemone. Plants in
blossom are exhibited sometimes in Calcutta at the Horticultural
Shows.

Aquilegia.

A. vulgaris. — COLUMBINE. — This pretty and familiar plant may
be raised from seed in October, and preserved through the Hot
and Kain seasons till the following Cold weather, when, though
thriving vigorously, it is seldom, if ever, disposed to blossom,
at least in the locality of Calcutta.

Paeonia.
P^EONY.

A genus of plants celebrated for their great splendid flowers.
Paeonies have several times been introduced into this country,
but their cultivation has been attended with no success whatever,
as they are unable to bear the heat of the climate. Even in the
more congenial locality, as it might be thought, of Ootacamund,
the attempt to cultivate them has uniformly proved a failure.

FUMAKIACE.E.

Dielytra.

D. spectabilis. — This beautiful herbaceous shrub, remarkable
for its curious pendulous locket-shaped flowers, was sent in 1856
by Mr. Fortune from China to this country, but was found
unable to exist in the climate.

424 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

BERBERIDACE2E.
Nandina.

N. domestica. — SACRED BAMBOO OF CHINA. — A very handsome
shrub, from five to six feet high, with light and airy bipinnate
foliage of small, narrow, inyrtle-like leaflets. Mr. Fortune says
that

" In China in the month of January large quantities of its
branches are hawked about the streets ; each of the branches is
covered with a large bunch of red berries, not very unlike those of
the common Holly, and when contrasted with the dark shining
leaves are singularly ornamental."*

Large plants have been for many years in the Calcutta Bota-
nical Gardens, and thrive well there, but never, as far as I can
learn, blossom. In March of the year 1862, however, I observed
a solitary small plant in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural
Society bearing a few flowers. The flowers, borne in panicles,
are of a dull white colour, with yellow anthers, and of little
interest.

Berberis.

BERBERRY.

A rather numerous genus, several species of which are regarded
as highly ornamental in English gardens. The four or five
that can grow in the plains of India are not objects of much
beauty.

I.E. Asiatica. — A middle-sized shrub, with thorny stems and
leaves, in general aspect of a pale ashy green. London describes
it thus : — " The flowers are yellow and beautiful, berries purplish
with a fine bloom, and decaying leaves yellow and red,"

2. B. aristata, var. floribunda. — Very similar in general appear-
ance to the last.

3. Fortuniana. — A deep-green smooth bash, native of China,
introduced by Mr. Fortune. Leaves pinnate, with three to four
pairs of leaflets and an odd terminal one. Bears pretty racemes
of small, bright-yellow flowers in the Kains, agreeably relieved by
the dark-green foliage of narrow, lanceolate, saw-edged leaflets.
No doubt an exceedingly beautiful plant grown in a climate that
suits it.

* ' Tea District?,' p. 122.

CJIAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 423

4. B. Leschenaultii, syn. Mahonia pinnata — HOLLY-LEAVED
BURBERRY.— Native of the Nilgherries, mentioned by Dr. Voigt
as blossoming hero in January. I have never met with it.

VITACE^E.
Cissus.

1. C. discolor. — A very choice, slender, creeping plant, with
foliage, when in a thriving condition, of exquisite beauty.
Leaves lanceolate, about five inches long, mottled with red,
white, and dark green, with the richest velvet-like lustre, borne
upon delicate, pale-red stems. Produces in the Cold season
pale, minute, insignificant flowers. Kequires a light, porous
soil, through which water will drain away freely, and absolute
exclusion from the sun. A humid atmosphere and a dark
situation are most congenial to it. Propagated by cuttings in
sand under a bell-glass.

2. C. Amazonicus.

Leea.

L. sanguinea. — A very large, herbaceous plant, with pinnate
foliage of large, long, lanceolate leaflets ; of rather weedy cha-
racter, but handsome during the Kains for the mingled bright,
crimson red flowers and berries it bears in large flat cymes, of the
size of a man's expanded hand, much like those of Clerodendron
squamatum.

PITTOSPOBACE.E.
Pittosporum.

1. P. Tobira. — A large, bushy, very handsome shrub, four feet
high ; native of China ; leaves two or three inches long, of obo-
vate form, smooth-edged, coriaceous, of a cheerful, shining green.
Its merit as an ornamental plant consists entirely in its neat
dense foliage ; for though Mrs. London says that in England
" it bears large terminal clusters of white, very fragrant flowers
nearly all the summer," it seldom, if ever, blossoms here.

P. Tobira, variegatum. — A pleasing variety of the above, having
its leaves, variegated with white.

2. P. verticillatum, — A shrub bearing in most respects a strong

426 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

resemblance to the last; bears in the Cold season terminal
clusters of white flowers, perfectly inodorous, very small, and not
very interesting.

Sollya.

S. heterophylla. — A slender climbing plant ; bears small cymes
of five-lobed flowers, not large, but of a beautiful azure blue.
Dr. Voigt mentions it as growing here and blossoming in
December. I have never met with it, nor heard of its being
here now.

EPACBIDACE^E.
Epacris.

A genus of plants much cultivated in England for their very
beautiful flowers, in general character somewhat resembling
Heaths. Altogether unknown, I believe, in India.

ERICACEAE.
Erica.
HEATH.

A most extensive genus of plants, nearly all natives of the
Cape of Good Hope, and, except in the solitary instances recorded
below, altogether unknown in this country.

E. speciosa. — Of this Mr. M'Murray, gardener of the Agri-
Horticultural Society, exhibited in February 1854, a specimen,
with the following remarks : —

" The accompanying plant of Cape Heath in flower is the produce
of one kind of the seed sown in October 1852, from which it will
be seen that the plant has made a good growth since that time, and
is probably the first plant of the sort which has flowered in Bengal.
In addition to this variety of Heath, there are in the garden ten
other kinds raised from the same batch of seed, equally as healthy,
but not so large."*

How long these plants survived I am not aware. They were
not in existence two years afterwards.

* ' Journal of Agri-Hort. Soc.,' vol. ix. p. 10.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 427

Arbutus.

STRAWBERRY-TREE.

Altogether unknown in India.

Azalea.

Plants of Azalea, received but a short time previous, sent by
Mr. Fortune from China, were exhibited in bloom at one of the
Calcutta Horticultural Shows ; but no plant of this genus can
survive the heat of an Indian climate.

Kalmia.
Quite unknown in this country.

Rhododendron. .,

No species of this genus of superbly-flowering trees can exist
in the plains.

AUEANTIACE^!.

Murraya.

1. M. exotica. — CHINA Box — Kdminee. — A large, common,
and very handsome bushy shrub, about nine feet high, in general
aspect much resembling a Box-tree, with neat, shining, dark-
green foliage of pinnate leaves ; leaflets six or eight, an inch
or two long, alternate, obovate, rigid, and quite smooth ; bears
several times during the Hot and Rain seasons, at uncertain
periods, in vast profusion, corymbs of not large white flowers,
which, for the day or so that they last, scent the air all round
with a delicious honey-like fragrance ; bears in the Cold season
numerous small red berries, not unlike those of the Holly.
Propagated by cuttings.

2. M. Sumatrana. — Similar to the last, but the leaflets some-
what larger. Flowers largish, white, sweet-scented ; borne one
on a footstalk.

Clausena.

C. heptaphylla. — Pdn-Kupoor — Kurun-Phool. — A small shrub
three feet high, with smooth oval leaves two or three inches
long, which when rubbed or bruised emit a most agreeable
fragrance, like that of anise-seed ; bears in March insignificant

428 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

greenish-yellow flowers, succeeded by little green berries. Pro-
pagated by cuttings.

Micromelum.

M. integerrimum. — A small shrub with large leaves ; bears in
March very small, greenish-white, exceedingly fragrant flowers,
and afterwards bunches of little bright orange-coloured berries,
which when bruised emit an overpowering fragrance.

Luvunga.

L. scandens. — A climbing shrub, native of Sylhet, with lanceo-
late pointed leaves six inches long ; described as bearing
corymbs of middle-sized, delightfully-fragrant white flowers.
Formerly, I believe, in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but not
there now.

Citrus.

A genus of fruit-trees described elsewhere ; all, without excep-
tion, most delightful ornaments to the garden, alike for their
foliage, their flowers, and their fruits.

GEDEELACEJE.

Swietenia.

S. Mahagoni. — MAHOGANY-TEEE. — An immense timber-tree
with beautiful foliage of moderate-sized, ovate, rich-green leaves.
Dwarf shrubby plants may be obtained by propagating from
cuttings, which have a very ornamental appearance in any spot
where a mass of refreshing green foliage is required. The large
full-grown trees sometimes met with about Calcutta produce
seed, from which young plants may be raised.

MELIACELffl.

Munronia.

M. Javanica. — A small shrub introduced by Mr. Grote. Pro-
duces in the Kains deliciously-scented white flowers.

Melia.
M. sempervirens — Bukayun. — A small, and though exceedingly

CHAP. V. OMAMEKT AL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 429

common, when in a thriving condition remarkably handsome
tree, especially when in blossom, with its numerous small,
fragrant, lilac-coloured flowers. Foliage very similar to that
of the Ash.

Aglaia.

A. odorata. — An exceedingly handsome bushy shrub, native of
China, three or four feet high, with neat ternate leaves of
lanceolate, smooth, deep-green, shining leaflets, two or three
inches long. Blossoms at uncertain times in the Hot and Bain
seasons, with a prodigious number of bright-yellow flowers, of
the size and form of a pin's head, delightfully fragrant. Mr.
Fortune says the flowers are much used by the Chinese for
scenting their teas. Don states that the berries it bears are
eatable when ripe ; but it is never known to bear any here.
Propagated by cuttings.

E U T A C E M.
Erythrochiton.

E. Braziliensis. — A small tree, described as having " foliage
fragrant with the scent of Oranges, and bearing large white
flowers with fine red calyxes." Apparently unsuited to this
climate, as the two or three specimens in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens in pots look stunted and un thriving.

Lemonia.

L. spectabilis. — A most charming shrub, native of Cuba, with
ternate leaves of equal-sized, obovate, smooth, rich polished-
green leaflets, about two inches long, contrasting handsomely
with the cork-like bark of the stems, and which, when bruised,
have an agreeable fragrance like that of Fraxinella; nearly
always in blossom with bright, crimson-pink, five-lobed flowers,
of the size of a four-anna piece ; requires shade and moisture to
give the foliage the rich deep verdant green which renders this
plant so beautiful. Produces seed abundantly in the Cold season,
which before ripening, should be tied up in muslin, or is sure to
fall and be lost. Propagated also by cuttings.

There is a variety with pale-pink flowers, but not so hand-
some.

430 GARDEN PLANTS. PART

II.

Boronia— Crowea— Correa— Calodendron— Diosma— Barosma—
Agathosma.

The numerous species of these several genera, the three first
natives of New Holland and the remainder of the Cape, are
for the most part very ornamental shrubs, producing beautiful
flowers, and much cultivated in green-houses in Europe, but not
a single one is to be met with in this country, nor is it at all
probable would be able to exist in the climate.

Dictamus.

D. Fraxinella. — This old familiar, fragrant-leaved plant of the
English gardens is altogether unknown here.

Ruta.

1. R. angustifolia — EUE. — The prettily-formed hoary-green
foliage of this small well-known herb forms a pleasing variety
amongst other pot-plants ; bears in the Cold season greenish-
yellow uninteresting flowers. Propagated by division.

2. R. graveolens. — The Common Eue of the English gardens,
between which and the last the difference is not very perceptible,
is, I believe, not met with here.

SIMABURACE^J.
Quassia.

Q. amara. — A tree in Surinam, its native locality, of consider-
able size ; grows here to not more than about seven feet high,
and is regarded as one of the choicest, as it certainly is one of
the most beautiful, plants of our Indian gardens ; leaves un-
equally pinnate ; leaflets obovate, four inches long more or less ;
leafstalks with wide, crimson-tinged wings ; bears in April and
May terminal racemes of erythrina-like bright crimson-scarlet
flowers. Propagated by gootee, as well as by cuttings, under a
hand-glass in sand.

ZYGOPHYLLACE^l.

Tribulus.

1. T. lanuginosus. —A low trailing plant with pinnate leaves;
bears nearly always large bright-yellow sweet-scented flowers.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 431

2. T. cistoides. — A trailing herbaceous plant with pleasing
dark-green foliage of pinnate leaves ; bears throughout the year
large pale-yellow flowers, much like widely-expanded Buttercups.

LINAGES.
Linum (now called Reinwardtia.)

1. L. trigynum — Busuntee — Gool-i-ushrufee. — A small herba-
ceous shrub two feet high, common in most gardens, where,
when in blossom in the Cold season, it is a most showy ornament,
with its unbounded profusion of large, orange-yellow, rock-rose-
like flowers. Propagated by division of roots.

2. L. tetragynum. — A plant of the same size as the last, with
much larger leaves ; equally showy with its large pale, sulphur-
coloured flowers.

OXALIDACE^E.

Oxalis.

A genus of very beautiful small bulbous plants, affording
during the Cold months, while they are in blossom, a most
delightful decoration to any verandah somewhat exposed to the
sun. They begin to die down at the beginning of May, and
should then be no longer watered. When dry the bulbs may
be either removed from the earth, and stored away in a bottle of
sand, or be put aside just as they are, undisturbed, in their pots
in some place out of the wet till October, when they begin to
start again. But a little before that time they must be carefully
watched, in order to pot them immediately and expose them to
the light when they show signs of starting, or they will in a
very short time exhaust themselves by throwing out long white
shoots, and then perish.

Mackintosh says : —

" They should be taken out of the mould every season for the
purpose of being separated ; for if the smaller roots be not removed
from the full-grown ones, the latter will not flower freely. . They
delight in a light rich soil." *

The soil, however, may easily be rendered too rich, and then,
as I have found, the leaves become yellow and sickly. A com-
* 'Greenhouse,' p. 150.

432 GAftDEK tLAKTS. TART U.

post of leaf-mould, common mould, and a little silver-sand, I
believe, suits them best.

The undermentioned are those usually met with in the Cal-
cutta gardens. Mr. J. Scott, in a paper communicated to the Agri-
Horticultural Society, describes fourteen species, besides these,
cultivated in the Botanical Gardens ; but full ten times that
number are set down in Paxton's Dictionary as 'introduced into
Britain, most of which might no doubt, if worth it, be cultivated
here equally well as those we already have.

1. 0. Bowei. — A rather common species, and a remarkably
beautiful one, most so perhaps of any, with large handsome
leaves, the agreeable fresh greenness of which affords a fine set-
off to the large deep-rose-coloured flowers, of the size of a rupee,
that are borne numerously in heads upon footstalks six inches
high throughout the Cold season.

2. 0. rosacea. — Somewhat similar to the last, the flowers being
deeper in colour with large yellow centre, borne upon short
footstalks close to the ground among the leaves. A perfect little
gem when thriving and in full blossom.

3. 0. versicolor. — Bears crimson flowers; very inferior to
either of the two preceding.

4. 0. variabilis. — Bears small dull-crimson flowers.

5. 0. Deppei. — Bears small pale pink flowers ; a common, un-
interesting plant ; grows like a weed nearly everywhere.

6. 0. tetraphylla. — A common and very pretty plant ; unlike
the rest of the species, it has leaves with four lobes instead of
three, and bears its purplish-pink flowers during the Hot and
Eain seasons, and not in the Cold months.

7. 0. lanata. — A pretty plant, with leaves of a peculiar pale
bluish-green colour : flowers white, not showy, nor opening very
freely.

8. 0. bipunctata. — A pretty unpretending plant, with small
leaves, and umbels of small white flowers upon long footstalks.

9. 0. cuprea. — A charming plant with glaucous green leaves ;
bears in profusion, upon long footstalks, umbels of flowers like
golden-yellow primroses.

10. 0. cernua. — Has its leaves curiously speckled with black
spots ; presents a very brilliant appearance when bearing its
profusion of bright-yellow flowers, somewhat smaller than those
of the last.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHftUBS, ETC. 433

GERANIACE^].

Geranium.

G. Nepalense. — A small pot-plant ; bears small pretty pink
flowers, much resembling those of an Oxalis.

Pelargonium.

The several species of this genus amount to some hundreds,
all, with scarcely an exception, natives of the Cape of Good
Hope. The few met with in the locality of Calcutta are the
common scarlet, the Ivy-leaved, and some five or six perhaps of
the scented-leaf kinds, most of which it is no easy matter to
preserve through the Hot and Kain seasons, surviving the
former only to perish probably in the latter. During the
whole of these periods their growth seems to be almost en-
tirely arrested, and the difficulty then is to prevent the soil in
which they are grown from becoming too dry, or from being kept
too wet. The best situation for them during the Hot season is
undoubtedly where they are sheltered as much as possible from
sun and wind, and during the Kains, where, with as much light
as can possibly be given them, they are effectually protected
from the drenching wet. With all the precautions, however,
which can be adopted, many will probably perish.

When at Ferozepore I raised from seed several of the large
handsome flowering kinds, which blossomed in fine condition and
most freely in March, eighteen months from the time the seed
was sown. These all perished in the succeeding Hot season.
From this the conclusion seems obvious, that young- wooded
plants may survive the Hot season, but that old- wooded ones
will not. Had I then in the Cold season secured a fresh stock
of plants from cuttings, there is the probability that these too
might have lived through to rejoice me with their flowers the
following Cold season.

The seeds are very retentive of their vitality, and those received
from England generally germinate freely.

From the month of October or November till March, plants
may be renewed easily by cuttings ; at other times it is hopeless
to attempt to strike them. When struck they require some care
in removing, for if the fresh-formed roots are at all injured the
young plants receive a check which they take a long time to

2 F

434 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

recover. The small shoots, which most commonly grow out at
the bottom of the main stem, should be removed to form the
plant, and these will answer well for striking. Roots also cut into
short pieces, and just covered with earth will, it is said, soon
produce plants with far greater certainty than when propagated
by any other method.

1. P. zonale. — THE COMMON SCAKLET PELAEGONIUM. — Planted
out in the open ground in gardens about Calcutta will continue
to live a great many years. It is, however, a poor long-stalked,
scanty-leaved, weedy plant, never displaying a fine truss of
blossom, but only one or two straggling flowers at a time.
One or two varieties of this and 2. P. inquinans resembling it,
but a lovely species, producing great umbels of scarlet flowers,
Mr. J. Scott says, bloom freely now in Calcutta.

3. P. lateripes. — THE IVY-LEAVED PELARGONIUM. — A very
beautiful trailing species, with rich dark-green leaves, and pretty
sparkling lilac flowers. Plants raised from seed at Calcutta I
have been able to preserve till the following Cold season, when
they blossomed freely, but perished in the Hot season that
succeeded.

In a paper communicated to the Agri-Horticultural Society,
the scented-leaf kinds are thus distinguished by Mr. J. Scott :
4. P. balsameum, leaves palmate, somewhat rough and hairy. 5.
P. capitatum, leaves heart-shaped, wavy, and toothed. 6.
P. crispum, leaves softly hairy. 7. P. ribifolium, leaves heart-
shaped, rough and hairy. Others given by him are 8. P. cucul-
latum, leaves kidney-shaped and hairy. 9. P. vitifolium, leaves
heart-shaped, scabious, saw-edged.

CARYOPHYLLACE^E.
Dianthus.

1. D. Chinensis.— CHINA PINK. — This plant, though perennial,
is always in this country treated as an annual.

2. D. laciniatus. — A variety of the last, lately introduced from
Japan ; bears very large, beautiful flowers of various colours,
single and double, quite scentless. The seeds should be sown in
October, and the young plants potted off singly into pots with
well-drained soil, and kept under shelter during the Rains,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 435

afforded at the same time as much light as possible. Eepotted
in the following October, or planted out in a soil well enriched
with leaf-mould in the open border, they will blossom in great
splendour during the Cold weather; during which time also
they may be easily propagated by layers. They blossom, too,
in pots more or less all the rest of the year, but they require to
be continually renewed.

3. D. Heddewigi. — Also lately introduced from Japan ; bears
large, superb, crimson flowers, with petals prettily fringed. Cul-
tivated in exactly the same manner as the last. This likewise
is considered variety of a D. Chinensis.

4. D. barbatus. — SWEET WILLIAM. — The fine varieties of this
plant, though they thrive well, rarely if ever open their beau-
tiful trusses of bloom in the locality of Calcutta. The seed may
be sown in October, and the young plants kept through the
succeeding Hot and Kain seasons, by sheltering them from the
wet. without at the same time screening them too much from
the light. In November, pot them singly in large pots with
fresh and rather rich soil. During the dry weather they will be
benefited by having their pots sunk in water to the rim for an
hour or two every four or five days.

5. D. Caryophyllus. — Comprises those lovely and varied fragrant
flowers so well known under the name of Carnation, Clove, and
Picotee. In the locality of Calcutta the only specimen ever met
wit! i is a dull, dark-crimson flower of poor description. Plants
of choice kinds may be raised from seed, and preserved easily
from year to year, but they obstinately refuse to blossom.

In the North- Western Provinces, on the other hand, no plants
succeed more satisfactorily. Seed of the finest kinds is expensive,
but it rarely fails of germinating abundantly, and well repays
for the cost of it. It should be sown in October. The young
plants should be put out about March, in a prepared piece of
ground, elevated enough that no water may lodge upon it, and
it will be found that they can then bear, without taking much
harm, full exposure to both sun and rain. Should, however, a
little protection be considered expedient, it is of the utmost im-
portance that they be not overscreened from light, or they will
be all but sure to perish. In October or November each plant
may be put in a large-sized pot, with a soil composed of equal
parts of common earth, vegetable-mould, decayed cow-manure,

2 P 2

436 GARDEN" PLANTS. PART If.

and a little sand. From the cow manure the large white grubs
must have been carefully picked out. By the above mode of
cultivation at Ferozepore I had a large collection of plants,
giving in the month of March a splendid display of beautiful
flowers of nearly every variety.

They are easily propagated by pegging down the longer stems
in their pots ; if this be done in November they very soon make
roots, and form fresh plants. Or sink a flower-pot in the ground
in a shady place, half-fill it with river-sand ; insert cuttings, well
water them, and cover the pot with a pane of glass. Adopting
this latter method, I have met with much success in increasing
my plants.

Saponaria.

S. officinalis. — A pretty herbaceous plant, about fifteen inches
high ; most commonly in blossom ; bears pale-pink flowers, some-
what resembling, but much inferior to those of the Phlox. Pro-
pagated easily by division of the roots.

PORTULACACE^E.
Portulaca.

P. meridiana.— A small pot-plant, ornamental for its pretty
moss-like leafage.

Portulaoaria.

P. Afra.— SPECKBOOM— ELEPHANT'S FOOD.— A pretty little
pot plant, with small, succulent leaves ; native of a lofty moun-
tain near Cradock at the Cape, called after it the Speckboom
Mountain ; though thriving well, never known to blossom here,
I believe.

POLYGONACE.E.
Polygonum.

P. adenophyllum, — A large herbaceous plant, native of the
Mysore hills ; bears, during all the Cold season, numerous dense
spikes of small pure-white flowers ; exceedingly bright and cheer-
ful, especially as the Hot weather approaches, when the foliage
assumes an autumn-red tinge ; grown in the border it is rather
troublesome, as it spreads over the ground very rapidly. Pro-
pagated by division.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 437

Coccoloba.
C. macrophylla. — Is described by Curtis as—

" A noble, simple-stemmed, erect tree, with large leathery leaves,
a foot or more long ; tapers gracefully upward, is leafy all the way
up, and terminates at the top by a dense compact thick club-shaped
raceme of flowers, of which the rachis, pedicles, and flowers are of
the richest scarlet." *

A small plant is to be met with in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens.

Antigonon.

A. leptopus — Sanwieh-Island Climber. — A lovely plant, of late
introduction; much of the character and habit of Poivrea
coccinea in blossom throughout the Bains and Cold season.
Propagated by seed or cuttings.

NYCTAGINACE^E.

Bugainvillea.

1. B. spectabilis. — A large, exceedingly rampant, thorny, ex-
tensively-climbing shrub ; requires, if not trained up a tree, some
powerful bamboo framework for its support ; k except when in
blossom not at all ornamental ; bears in February and March
small, tubular, pale-yellow flowers, enveloped by two largish,
bright, pale crimson, bracteal leaves, in such unlimited profusion
as to present one perfect blaze of colour, and at that time an
object of wonderful splendour; usually propagated by layers,
but may be also by cuttings of the ripened wood.

2. B. glabra. — Thornless; produces flowers hardly to be dis-
tinguished from those of the last : now tolerably common, cul-
tivated in pots, and flowering nearly throughout the year.

3. B. speciosa. — Thriving plants are met with in the Gardens
of the Agri-Horticultural Society.

Pisonia.

P. morindifolia. — LETTUCE-TKEE. — A very large ramous shrub,
six or seven feet high, with dense foliage of large, lanceolate, pale

* « Botanical Magazine,' 1. 453(3.

438 GARDEN PLANTS. Fuu'll,

\

lettuce-green leaves, which alone constitute its ornamental cha-
racter. The climate of Calcutta seems too cold for it to acquire
the verdant condition essential to its beauty. About Bombay it
is often grown in large tubs, kept during the Cold months under
the shelter of the verandah, where it has a very refreshing and
agreeable appearance.

Mirabilis.

1. M. Jalapa — MAKVEL OF PERU — Gool-i-ubl>ds. — A large ard
very common herbaceous plant, found in gardens in all parts .
India ; constantly in blossom with numerous ipomo3a-like flowers
of moderate size, some dark crimson, some pure yellow, some
crimson striped with yellow ; flowers of each variety frequently
upon the same plant ; produces seed abundantly, from which it
commonly springs up self-sown.

2. M. longiflora. — SWEET-SCENTED MARVEL OF PERU. — DC
scribed as bearing white flowers with a tube four or five inches
long, and emitting a powerful odour like that of Orange-flowers
and Heliotrope combined. Dr. Voigt states that it was in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens seven years without blossoming.

AMAEANTACE^E.

Achyranthes.

A. alopecuroides. — A small herbaceous plant, ornamental for
the foxtail-like heads of small milk-white flowers it bears, which
give a very pretty efiect when mingled with others in a bouquet ;
raised from seed.

Mrm.

JE. sanguinolenta. — A small herbaceous plant, with leaves and
stems of a dull-red colour ; a weedy, by no means attractive
object.

Ire sine.

1. I. Herbstii. — With small dark crimson leaves ; and 2.
I. aureo-reticulata, plants of little interest except for edgings to
flower-beds. Alternanthera amabilis, and A. paronychyoides are
of recent introduction.

CHAP. l ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 439

PEKIGYNOUS EXOGENS.

MESEMBRYACE^B.
Mesembryanthemum.

FIG-MARYGOLD.

The species of Fig-Mary gold are rather numerous ; principally
natives of the Cape, and, like most Cape plants, unsuited to the
c1 ate of India.

A. cordifolium. — The only perennial species I know of esta-
blished here ; a small succulent pot-plant, bearing at nearly all
i ~£S of the year bright-purple flowers of the form and size of
a JDaisy, which open only in the sunshine.

THYMELACE.E.
Daphne.

1. D. Fortuniana. — A small ornamental shrub, native of China,
with N^ery neat pretty foliage ; bears, at the beginning and end
of the Cold season, handsome umbels of dark-lilac silver-shaped
fio^\ .rs more than an inch long. A single plant was for some years
in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, introduced
originally by Mr. Fortune. But this subsequently died, and I
know not if the plant is to be met with in this country now. In
China it is said to blossom in a leafless state. Here it does not
lose its leaves, and seems to bear the climate very well, though
making little growth.

2. D. viridiflora.— A neat small shrub, with small leaves ; of no
particular merit ; bears, at the beginning and end of the Cold
season, umbels of small, greenish-yellow, insignificant flowers,
and yellow pea-like berries in January.

Gnidia.

G. eroicphala. — A small neat-looking shrub in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens from Peridenia ; with narrow lanceolate leaves,
about two inches long ; bears in February crowded heads of rather
small pale-yellow flowers ; very pretty when in full blossom.

440 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

PROTEACE,E.

A numerous order of very curious and interesting trees and
shrubs, comprising the beautiful species of Banksia, Protea,
Hakea, and Dryandra, natives almost exclusively of the Cape
and New Holland, of which scarcely a single plant has been
found capable of living in the plains of India.

Grevillea.

1. G. robusta. — A lofty tree, native of humid forests in the
neighbourhood of Port Jackson in New Holland, where it rises
to the height of from 100 to 120 feet; a most noble object,
handsome at all periods of its growth, with beautiful dense
foliage of fern-like, rich dark-green leaves: bears in March
greenish-yellow flowers mixed with orange of moderate size.
This, which is about the only Proteaceous plant we have, has
become quite established in gardens around Calcutta, where the
climate suits it well, though it does not attain to any great
height here. Its wood is said to be spongy and fragile. Pro-
pagated only by seed.

2. G. buxifolia. — A small pretty box-leaved shrub from Sidney.
A potted plant of this, about 2J feet high, is found in the Cal-
cutta Botanical Gardens.

LAUBACE^B.

Cinnamomum.

C. Zeylanicum — CINNAMON-TKEE. — A tree of moderate size,
with large lanceolate leaves with three parallel nerves ; bears in
January and February numerous pretty panicles of small white
flowers, emitting rather an unpleasant odour, and possessing none
of the fragrance for which the leaves and bark are so well known.
Propagated by seed.

Laurus.

L. nobilis— SWEET BAY. — Does not seem to thrive at all in
this country. Only poor small specimens in pots are to be met
with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 441

CALYCANTHACE^E.

Calycanthus.

C. floridus — CAROLINA ALLSPICE. — A woody unornamental
shrub, with rough, large, coarse, lanceolate leaves which in a cold
climate are said to become very ornamental, as in decaying they
turn to a bright yellow. The wood and roots smell strongly of
camphor. Flowers described as " dusky purple or dull brown,
very fragrant, with a sweet apple-scent, or odour of ripe melon:"
thrives well, but does not blossom in the locality of Calcutta.

Chimonanthus.

1. C. fragrans — JAPAN ALLSPICE. — Like the last a coarse-look-
ing, straggling, woody shrub ; flowers yellowish, purple within, of
the size of an unexpanded Peach blossom, of a most exquisite and
powerful odour. In England it is usually trained against a wall,
where it blossoms in the depth of winter. It was introduced some
years ago from China by Mr. Fortune into the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, where it thrives well, but does not
blossom, forming blossom-buds, which drop off without opening.
The roots possess a delightful fragrance ; easily propagated by
layers. 2. C, fragrans grandiflorus, a variety with larger flowers.

FABACE.E.
PAPILIONACE.E.

The plants of this sub-order are exceedingly numerous. Many
of the most beautiful are natives of the Cape of Good Hope and
New Holland ; but scarcely any of these, if any, can be brought
to thrive and establish themselves in the plains of India.

Lupinus.
LUPIN.

There are several very beautiful shrubby and perennial species
of Lupin, but none that can be kept alive through the Hot season
in the plains.

Sparteum.

S. junceum — SPANISH BROOM. — This small shrub, so well

442 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

known for its cheerful bright-yellow flowers, though rarely met
with, may, with a little care, be preserved through the Hot and
Kain seasons. At Ferozepore I raised plants from seed brought
from Simla, which survived the Hot season and blossomed
prettily.

Cytisus.

None of this genus can exist in the plains. Plants of the com-
mon Laburnum I have known to be raised from seed, and kept
through a Hot season or two, but it has been only to dwindle
away, and then die without flowering.

Lotus.
BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL.

L. Jacobseus. — A small, slender shrub, two or three feet high,
with graceful airy foliage of ternate leaves, leaflets narrow, linear,
an inch long ; bears at all times nearly, but in unbounded pro-
fusion in the Cold season, four or five-flowered umbels of small,
brilliant, dark chocolate-coloured flowers, contrasting delightfully
with the Venetian-green of the foliage. Not an uncommon plant
in English gardens, but as found there it affords no idea of the
beauty it attains to in this country. There is a variety with
bright-yellow flowers. Easily propagated by cuttings laid down
in the Kains, or from seeds, which is the better plan. The plants
do not display themselves to perfection till the second season of
their growth.

Indigofera.

INDIGO.

The plants of this genus are shrubs with pinnate leaves of
very small leaflets. The species are very numerous, several
natives of India. The following, however, are the only ones
perhaps sufficiently ornamental to merit admittance into the
garden ; all raised from seed.

1. I. atropurpurea. — A shrub five or six feet high ; bears in
the Cold season numerous erect spikes of largish, fine, purple
flowers. After having once flowered it becomes unsightly. It
is best then to destroy it, and raise fresh plants from seed.

2. I. violacea. — A small shrub, three or four feet high, of ex-
quisite beauty in the Cold season, when blossoming with its
racemes of small rose-coloured flowers in unbounded profusion.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 443

3. I. decora. — Described as " a dark-green handsome bush,
with flowers in large pendulous racemes of delicate pink or rose
colour." Plants were introduced by Mr. Fortune from China
some years ago into the Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens,
but did not thrive there, and have since perished.

Psoralea.

A genus of Cape plants, bearing racemes of beautiful deep-blue
flowers. Dr. Voigt says : — " Several species have been cultivated
here repeatedly, but without success." At Ferozepore, however,
I raised plants of two or three species, which blossomed prettily
within a few months from the time of sowing.

Amorpha.

A. fruticosa. — A small indigo-like shrub, bearing in March
racemes of small, dark, bluish-purple flowers ; met with in the
Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society.

Tephrosia.

T. Candida. — A shrub of moderate size, with soft agreeable
foliage of pinnate leaves, with fourteen or more pairs of smooth
leaflets, of an ashy-grey colour on their under surface ; exceed-
ingly beautiful when in full blossom in September and October,
with numberless large, drooping, white, butterfly-like flowers.
Propagated from seed.

Wistaria.

W. Sinensis. — A large, strong-growing, climbing shrub, and
well-known ornament on houses in England, with handsome,
pinnate foliage ; leaflets in four or five^ pairs, oval, acuminate,
smooth, those at the base three, and those at the apex four inches
long; bears in the Hot season large racemes of large pale-purple
flowers. In the climate of Calcutta it thrives indifferently, the
stems being very apt to die back. Sir J. Paxton says that rigid
pruning is indispensable to make it bear, on spurs instead of on
big branches, and that plants, cut down to within a short distance
of the ground acquire a shrubby habit, and then produce flowers
abundantly, having a most interesting and beautiful appearance.

Agati.
A. grandiflora — Buko. — A small, very common tree, unsightly

444 GARDEN PLANTS. PABT II.

with its long bare stems, but producing very large, handsome,
pendulous flowers of two varieties, white and red. Plants raised
from seed come into flower within a year, when about three
or four feet high, and when of that size are rather ornamental.
After these have flowered it is best to destroy them, and then
raise fresh plants from seed. Dr. Voigt mentions a double-
flowered variety.

Clianthus.

C. puniceus — GLORY-PEA — PARROT'S-BEAK. — A shrub of mode-
rate size, bearing flowers somewhat resembling lobsters' claws,
two or three inches long, pendulous, bright scarlet. This showy
plant, though easily raised from seed, is immediately killed
on the approach of the Hot season. C. Dampieri is grown here
successfully as an annual.

Sutherlandia.

S. frutescens. — A native of the Cape, a shrub very similar in
character to the last, but smaller in every respect, with flowers
not a quarter the size, but more numerous, and of a brighter
scarlet. Plants are easily raised from seed, and kept alive with
no great difficulty through the Hot and Eains seasons, but never
seem disposed to bear flowers in the plains.

Swainsonia.

A genus of pretty herbaceous plants about two feet high, with
twining stems, and foliage resembling that of an Indigo ; natives
of New Holland. Plants may be easily raised from seed pro-
curable from seedsmen in England. They require shelter during
the Kains. They blossom here, but are not long-lived.

S. galegifolia. — Bears charming pea-like flowers of moderate
size, of a delicate rose colour, with a small white spot on each
wing, in April.

Lathyrus.

L. latifolius— EVERLASTING PEA.— Plants raised from seed and
placed in a sheltered situation during the Hot and Kain seasons,
I have known to be kept alive several years in the vicinity of
Calcutta, but they have shown no tendency whatever to blossom.

Lourea.

L. Vespertilionis. — A small, erect, herbaceous plant, two or
three feet high, hardly to be considered ornamental, but interest-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 44$

ing for its foliage of curious crescent-formed leaves. Flowers
insignificant. Raised from seed.

Uraria.

1. U. macrostachya. — A small shrubby plant, with pinnate
leaves of oblong leaflets, three inches long, remarkably beautiful
when in blossom in September, bearing erect a spike four or five
inches high of crowded flowers of a delicate rose colour. Eaised
from seed.

2. U. picta — Sunko juta. — A weed of this country, but pretty
for its foliage of long, narrow strap-like, pendulous, dark-green
leaves; bears in the Kains long rigid racemes of small red
flowers. Kaised from seed.

Desmodium.

D. gyrans. — THE MOVING PLANT. — A small herbaceous shrub
about two feet high, with trifoliate leaves of smooth oval leaflets,
two and a half inches long ; interesting for the perpetual jerk-like
motion with which the slender leaf-stalks sway to and fro, but
in no wise ornamental. Kaised from seed.

Dicerma.

D. pulchellum. — A small shrub, about three feet high, with
trifoliate leaves, interesting both when in flower and in seed
for the curious and pretty way in which the flowers, borne in
long erect spikes, are unfolded and concealed between two small
orbicular leaves. Raised from seed.

Clitoria.

1. C. Ternatea — MUSSEL-SHELL CHEEPER. — One of the most
common and at the same time one of the most beautiful creepers
of our gardens, though rather a rambling and untidy plant, and
difficult to keep in order ; leaves pinnate, with two or three pairs
of oval leaflets. In blossom at nearly all seasons, with its hand-
some flowers sparkling among the fine verdant green foliage.
There are three or four varieties, one with the flowers of a deep
indigo blue, one with the flowers azure blue, one with pure white
flowers, and one with double flowers. Plants are raised from seed.

2. C. heterophylla. — A very beautiful little climbing pot-plant,

446 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

with slender, thread-like stems, and delicate foliage of pinnate
leaves, the leaflets varying curiously, some being of the size and
form of a gum-wafer, and others of a narrow oblong form ; bears
in the Hot season pretty, small, pale-blue flowers.

3. C. erecta. — A plant of upright growth with thick leathery
leaves ; bears in the Hot season large, handsome, pale lavender
flowers.

4. C. sp. — Unnamed in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, some-
what similar to the last, bears very large, handsome, double
flowers.

Centrosema.

1. C. Plumieri. — A large twining plant of dense foliage with
trifoliate leaves of large ovate leaflets ; bears in the Hot and Eain
seasons large, beautiful, pure white flowers with a puce spot
in the centre, the merit of which, however, is much lost from
their lurking concealed in the foliage. Propagated easily by
its rooted runners, or by seed, which it yields abundantly in
the Cold season.

2. C. Virginianum. — Bears large purplish flowers.

Kennedya.

A genus of New Holland slender climbing plants, some bearing
a strong general resemblance to runner-beans. They are easily
raised from seed, but in the vicinity of Calcutta they never bear
flowers, nor can they for any length of time be kept alive there.

Erythrina.

I.E. herbacea. — A small shrub about two feet high ; bears, in
March, racemes of crimson-scarlet flowers of moderate size ; the
loss of its leaves during the time of flowering detracts greatly
from the beauty of this plant.

2. E. Blakei. — A rare plant in the Calcutta gardens, described
by those who are fortunate enough to possess it as the most
beautiful of the genus, bearing in April flowers of the most bril-
liant scarlet colour.

3 E. Indica — Pahta-Mundur. — A tree of moderate size, very
common in hedgerows about Calcutta, as well as in other parts
of India; exceedingly showy, when in March it becomes a
perfect blaze with its handsome clusters of large, brilliant

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 447

scarlet flowers borne at the ends of its stems, being perfectly
leafless at the time. At other times it is a thorny, coarse,
disagreeable-looking object, not by any means ornamental to
the garden.

4. E. Henderson!. — A small shrub in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens ; has been several years there, but has not blossomed.

5. E. Crista Galli — COCK'S-COMB CORAL-TREE. — A small shrub ;
bears during the Hot months large erect clusters of rather dull-
crimson flowers, not nearly so fine in colour as some of the fore-
going, but more ornamental from the plant being in full leaf at
the time. The stems die back in the Cold season, and should
then be well cut in. " The great roots/5 it is said, " may be taken
up at the end of Autumn, and kept in the manner of Dahlias, and
replanted in the open ground in the May following." * Sir J.
Paxton says, it is " one of the finest of exotics, and an inestimable
ornament," and that it is a good plan to " plant it in suspended
baskets ;" that " it requires a light soil and good drainage, as it
will not endure much moisture." Plants, however, thrive well in
the open border in our Indian gardens, and, moreover, when in
flower do not seem to merit the high praise here bestowed upon
them. Propagated from cuttings, or raised from seed.

6. E. corallodendron — KED BEAN-TREE. — A small bushy tree
and most superb ornament to the garden, when in February and
March it bears in profusion its sprays of large dazzling flowers of
brilliant red, contrasting beautifully with its abundant foliage
of verdant deep-green leaves. Of rapid growth, and propagated
readily from seed.

7. E. Bellangerii. — Lately introduced.

Phaseolus.

P. Caracalla— GREEK CREEPER— SNAIL-FLOWER.— An inte-
resting twining pot-plant : bears in August large handsome white
flowers, tinted with rose colour ; the unexpanded buds having a
curious resemblance to snail-shells. Kaised from seed.

Flemingia.

1. F. strobilifera. — A small shrub with ovate leaves ; flowers
small and insignificant, but arranged in a curved raceme, each

* ' Le Bon Jardinier.'

44g GARDEN f LANTS. PAR* it.

overlapped in a most curious way by a large pair of kidney-
formed inflated leaves. Kaised from seed.

2. F. Chappar. — A small shrub; bears its flowers in the same
curious way as the last, and is distinguished from it by its heart-
shaped leaves. Both are very ornamental when in blossom.
Raised from seed.

Abrus.

A. precatorius — WILD LIQUOEICE — Gungeliee. — A creeping
herbaceous plant, the principal interest of which consists in the
pretty little seeds it displays in its open seed-pods. These
are egg-shaped, of the size of a pea, of a bright scarlet colour
tipped with black. They are used as weights by goldsmiths,
and are often strung in the manner of beads for necklaces.
There is a variety with white seeds resembling ivory. The
flowers are small, pale purple, and not interesting.

Dalbergia.

D. Sissoo. — This, though a common jungul tree, and unsuited
for the garden, deserves a place in some' out-of-the-way corner
for the fine fragrance with which its profusion of small greenish-
white flowers perfumes the air in the evening. There are two or
three other species of Dalbergia, the names of which 1 have been
unable to ascertain to a certainty, which are exceedingly orna-
mental when in blossom, with an unbounded profusion of sprays
of sparking bluish- white flowers.

Sophora.

S. tomentosa. — A large shrub with handsome pinnate foliage
of about fifteen or more roundish-oval leaflets ; bears in June
and July large erect clusters of bright-yellow flowers, somewhat
similar to those of the Laburnum ; very showy. Eaised from
seed.

2. S. violacea. — A pretty, indigo-like, small shrub, bearing
in October racemes of violet-coloured flowers with dark eye:
recently introduced.

Virgilia.

1. V. aurea. — A pretty little shrub with pinnate leaves of about
ten pairs of oval smooth leaflets ; bears yellow Laburnum-like
clusters of flowers in the Cold season.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 449

2. V. Capensis. — A tree of some size ; bears in boundless pro-
fusion pale-purple and white flowers, emitting a most delightful
fragrance ; thrives well in the Nilgherries, where it is perpetually
in blossom. Dr. Voigt says that it has been cultivated near
Calcutta, but without success.

Castanospermum.

C, Australe — MORETON BAY CHESTNUT. — An Australian tree of
considerable size ; thrives well in the Bangalore Public Gardens,
where in March it produces its large crimson, beautiful flowers.
Small plants of it only are to be met with about Calcutta,
although it is many years since it was first introduced.

OESALPINE^E.

Haematoxylon.

H. Campechianum — LOGWOOD. — A slender tree about ten feet
in height, with small shining leaves, and of very light and
elegant growth. Flowers small, yellow, borne in vast profusion
in February in small catkin-like racemes, very fragrant and
beautiful. Mr. Gosse observes : — " The likeness of this tree to
the Hawthorn of Europe is very striking, and has been noticed
by many. A stranger might infallibly mistake it for that
familiar tree." *

Parkinsonia.

P. aculeata— JERUSALEM THORN.— A tree-like shrub from
fifteen to twenty feet high, remarkable for the clear, vivid,
polished green of its trunk and stems, with pinnate foliage of
minute leaflets ; nearly always in blossom with racemes of small
yellow flowers. Don considers it " a most elegant shrub when
in flower ;" but in this country, where it is so common, few
possibly will entertain the same high opinion of it. In the
North- West of India, on account of its rapid growth, as well as
for its formidable thorns, which render it perfectly impenetrable,
it is often employed for hedges. It is, however, regarded as
very baneful to other plants growing near it. Propagated from
seed.

* ' Sojourn in Jamaica,' p. 370,

2 G

450 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Poinciana.

1. P. pulcherrima, — BARBADOES PRIDE — FLOWER -FENCE —
Krishn-churun. — A large thorny shrub with bipinnate foliage of
oblong leaflets ; bears during all the Hot and Eain seasons, at
the end of its stems, considerable-sized panicles of large showy
flowers. There are two varieties, one bearing yellow and the
other scarlet flowers. It should be cut in closely in the Cold
season, as it is apt to grow very straggling, and the old stems
look decrepit and unsightly. But the better plan perhaps is to
destroy the old plants altogether, and raise fresh ones from seed.
It will hardly bear the cold of Ferozepore, but thrives there
during the Hot months better, perhaps, than in Bengal. I have
seen plants there, eight months from the time they were raised
from seed, produce immense, erect, tuft-like racemes of blossom,
so compact as to quite conceal the flower-stalks, being then
objects of great beauty.

2. P. elata. — A large tree, native of Coromandel ; bears in the
Hot season racemes of large, gaudy, yellow flowers.

3. P. Gilliesii. — A small shrub three or four feet high, native
of Mendoza, with remarkably pretty, feathery, bipinnate foliage
of minute leaflets ; bears during the Hot and Kain seasons
panicles of large flowers with pale-yellow petals, which rarely
expand, but from out of which proceed very long crimson
stamens. Sir W. Hooker speaks of it as " a charming plant."
After two seasons it is apt to decay and look unsightly ; it is
therefore best to raise fresh plants every year from seed, and
throw the old worn-out plants away. When in seed the seed-
pods should be covered, before half-grown, with muslin, to
protect them from the ravages of an insect which rarely fails
otherwise to penetrate them and destroy the seed.

4. P. regia. — A large tree, native of Madagascar, called by the
French Flamboyant ; bears in April and May immense panicles
of large scarlet and yellow flowers. Though when in blossom a
most superb object in itself, it is ill-adapted for a garden, as the
vast quantity of red it displays is highly injurious to the effect
of other flowering-plants. It is of exceedingly rapid growth,
very apt to be damaged by strong winds, and apparently of not
long duration. Propagated from seed.

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 451

Csesalpinia.

1. C. coriaria. — A small spreading tree, hardly suited for the
garden, bat well deserving a spare place in the outskirts of it,
for the most delightful aromatic odour diffused by its racemes
of small white flowers when in full blossom in October.

2. C. Grahami. — A handsome exceedingly thorny shrub, seven
or eight feet high, with deep, verdant green, dense foliage of
pinnate leaves, of six or seven pairs of oblong leaflets, two and
a half inches long ; throws out, principally from its summit, in
the Cold season dense, solid-looking, tapering, brilliant-coloured
spikes ten inches long ; the opened flowers at the bottom of the
spike yellow, and the unexpanded buds towards the end of it of
a rich scarlet crimson. A truly superb object during the long
time it continues in blossom. Propagated by layering.

3. C. paniculata. — Dr. Hooker describes this as " a magnificent
climber, festooning the trees with its dark glossy foliage, and
gorgeous racemes of orange blossoms." Dr. Voigt says the
flowers are fragrant, and are borne in the Cold and Hot seasons.

Colvillea.

C. racemosa. — A large tree, thirty feet high or more, native of
Madagascar, with handsome pinnate foliage of very small linear
leaflets ; bears in September, principally upon its summit, large
erect, cone-like racemes of bright orange-coloured flowers, pre-
senting then a very noble and showy appearance. Propagated
from seed.

Cassia.

A rather numerous genus, consisting mostly of trees or
shrubs ; only a limited few of a sufficiently ornamental character
to merit a place in the garden. Nearly all easily propagated
from seed.

1. C. Fistula. — PUDDING-PIPE TKEE — Umultas. — A small tree,
common all over India, with noble, dense, dark-green foliage, of
broadly-ovate large leaflets ; bears, when in blossom in May and
June, considerable resemblance to the Laburnum, to which, how-
ever, in my opinion, it is far superior. Dr. Koxburgh well
describes it as "uncommonly beautiful when in flower, few
surpassing it in the elegance of its numerous long pendulous
racemes of large bright-yellow flowers, intermixed with the

2 G 2

452 GARDEN PLANTS. PAR* II:

young lively green foliage." Eemarkable also for its curious
cylindrical black seed-pods, as much as two feet long.

2. C. marginata. — A small tree with wide-spreading branches
and graceful small-leaflet foliage ; remarkably beautiful in the
Hot season, when in blossom, with its profusion of racemes of
small rose-coloured flowers, looking at some distance off like
the flowering Kibes. Major Drury considers it " something
like the Weeping Ash." A common plant on the Madras side,
but I have not noticed it in the gardens about Calcutta. Dr.
Wight says it is so nearly allied to the following as to be
frequently confounded with it.

3. C. Javanica. — C. Bacillus of Koxburgh, who describes it as
a native of the Malay Islands, blossoming in the Hot season
with racemes of flowers of a lovely pink or rose-colour, and
says, " when in flower it is by far the most beautiful Cassia I
have yet seen."

4. C. florida. — Dr. Wight describes this as " a small but beau-
tiful tree, particularly when in flower, every branch of it termi-
nating in a large panicle of deep yellow blossoms." It is in
flower at nearly all times of the year.

5. C. glauca. — A very common small tree with wide-spreading
branches ; bears during the latter half of the year racemes of
large sulphur-coloured flowers.

6. C. Australis,— A shrub of about ten feet in height; very
ornamental for its deep green, handsome, small-leaflet foliage,
and the spreading habit of its branches, but of extraordinary
beauty when in full blossom in October, and profusely covered
with its large close racemes of bright golden flowers.

7. C. alata — Ddd-murdun. — A remarkably stately shrub of
spreading habit, and occupying a considerable space of ground,
with noble foliage of great, obovate, oblong leaflets ; extremely
handsome when in full blossom, in the Cold season, it lifts aloft
its great terminal cone-shaped racemes of closely-packed, large,
deep-yellow flowers.

8. C. auriculata. — A small very common shrub, with dense,
agreeable foliage, easily distinguished by the ear-like appendage
between each pair of leaflets ; ornamental when in blossom in
the Cold season, with its abundant large yellow flowers.

9. C. Macraei- — A small shrub with pretty delicate foliage: orna-
mental when covered in profusion with its small golden flowers

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 453

Brownea.

A genus of flowering shrubs of unrivalled splendour, in
character and foliage bearing a strong general resemblance to
Aniherstia, but totally unlike that noble tree in the appearance
of their blossoms. The three species described below thrive and
blossom exceedingly well in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.
They are probably as easy of propagation as the Amherstia,
and if so there seems no good reason why they should not be
very generally introduced to the gardens of Calcutta, in which
they would form a most superb ornament. Natives of the
shady thickets of the West Indies.

1. B. Ariz a. — A shrub or small tree ; bears in March from the
end of its stems, which it drags down by its weight, a cluster of
blossoms of prodigious size, much resembling a bunch of Rhodo-
dendron flowers ; of a fine deep rose colour, and of extraordinary
beauty.

2. B. grandiceps, — Sir J. Paxton writes of this and the pre-
ceding : —

" Their flowers are produced in a short spike, tier above tier,
every day witnessing the expansion of a new tier above those of the
former days, till at last the whole mass becomes a globe of living
and glowing crimson. This brilliant head appears on the side of
the main stem among the leaves. Every evening they rise up and
lift themselves from the blossoms to expose them to the dew, so
that each morning these beautiful objects lie uncovered; but as
day advances, the leaves gradually droop and bend down over the
flowers, to guard them from the rays of the sun."*

3. B. coccinea. — Bears smaller heads of flowers than the pre-
ceding, but more numerous, and of a bright scarlet colour, ex-
ceedingly gorgeous and dazzling. 4. B, Antiguiensis is likewise
now found here.

Amherstia.

A. nobilis. — This celebrated tree has been described as about
the most beautiful object in the whole vegetable creation ; and
certainly, when in full blossom in February and March, well
asserts its claim to be considered so. The immense, pendulous,
candelabrum-like clusters of fine red and yellow flowers, drooping
from all parts of the tree among the handsome foliage, present

* 'Flower Garden,' ii. p. 108.

454 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

an appearance of astonishing elegance and loveliness. When
out of blossom, likewise, it is highly ornamental for its fine
hanging foliage of pinnate leaves, with six or seven pairs of
lanceolate pointed leaflets seven inches long.

It was first brought into notice by Dr. Wallich, who introduced
it from Martaban, though there seems considerable doubt whether
that is its native locality. It has now become pretty well estab-
lished in several of the gardens in the vicinity of Calcutta, far
north of which it would in all probability be unable to exist.

It is propagated easily by layering ; but the young plants,
when put out in the spot selected for them, require great care,
or they are sure to die off. Mr. John Scott tells me the best
time for layering is in the Hot season soon enough that the
layered plants may be ready to take up and put out in the
Eains. Layers made in the Kains and taken up in the Cold
season he found nearly sure to die. During tthe Cold months
they should have a screen over them to protect them- from Cold
at night ; and during the succeeding Hot months they need
one quite as much in the daytime to shelter them from the dry
arid heat of the sun. At the latter period also, being that in
which they are in vigorous growth, they should be kept con-
stantly watered. The Kain season is the one most congenial to
their nature, when they may be safely left to themselves. They
luxuriate in an exceedingly rich soil, and are benefited in their
growing season by copious supplies of liquid manure.

Jonesia.

J. Asoca — Asoe. — A tree of considerable size, native of
Southern India, somewhat similar to the preceding in foliage,
but very dissimilar in its mode of flowering; blossoms in
February and March with large, erect, compact clusters of
flowers, varying in colour from pale-orange to scarlet, almost to
be mistaken, on a hasty glance, for immense trusses of bloom
of an Ixora. Mr. Fortune considered this tree, when in full
bloom, superior in beauty even to the Amherstia — an opinion
in which probably many will concur.

The first time I saw the Asoc in flower was on the hill where
the famous rock-cut temple of Karlee is situated, and a large
concourse of natives had assembled for the celebration of some

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 455

Hindoo festival. Before proceeding to the temple the Mahratta
women gathered from two trees, which were flowering some-
what below, each a fine truss of blossom, and inserted it in the
hair at the back of her head, which she had seemingly combed
and dressed with uncommon care for the occasion. As they
moved about in groups it is impossible to imagine a more
delightful effect than the rich scarlet bunches of flowers pre-
sented upon their fine glossy jet-black hair.

The tree yields seed in abundance, whence young plants are
easily raised.

Bauhinia.

MOUNTAIN-EBONY.

A rather extensive genus of shrubs and trees, several natives
of this country, and all remarkable for the peculiar form of
their leaves, which are composed of two oval leaflets, laid side
by side, and having their edges near the base united. In conse-
quence of this twin-like union the genus has been fancifully
named after the two brothers Bauhin. Some few of the species
are very ornamental, and well deserve a place in the garden.
They all bear seed, from which they are easily propagated.

1. B. Richardiana. — A small tree, about ten feet in height, very
ornamental when in blossom in April, with its numerous large
flowers, having four of their petals white speckled with red, and
the other petal — the lower one — crimson, with a few stripes of
white, and altogether resembling those of a handsome Geranium.

2. B. aurantiaca. — A small tree ; bears in April tawny, orange-
coloured flowers ; of but little merit.

3. B. acuminata. — A small tree, about ten feet high, very hand-
some from being nearly always in blossom with its numerous
large pure white flowers. Dr. Koxburgh quaintly remarks, " It
is a very specious plant, well deserving a place in the gardens
of the curious."

4. B. tomentosa. — A small tree, about eight or ten feet high ;
all the tender parts, except the upper surface of the leaves,
covered with a soft down ; almost constantly in blossom with
beautiful, large, pale, sulphur-coloured, drooping flowers.

5. B. retusa. — A considerable tree ; blossoms in September
with corymbs of numerous small pale yellow flowers, beautifully
marked with numerous small purple spots.

456 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

6. B. purpurea. — A large stout tree ; bears in November, in
racemes, numerous very large deep rose-coloured flowers.

7. B. triandra. — A large tree ; bears in November racemes of
large white flowers. Dr. Roxburgh says : —

" This when in flower is one of the most beautiful species of
Bauhinia 1 have yet met with ; and as it blossoms when so low as
three feet, and when not more than one year old, is particularly
well adapted for the conservatory."

Dr. Wight expresses himself as all but convinced it is no
more than a variety of B. purpurea.

8. B. variegata — Kuchndr. — A rather large tree ; an object of
great splendour when, in February, it becomes one entire mass
of purple and white blossom, the large handsome flowers having
a strong resemblance to those of a Pelargonium.

9. B. Candida. — A variety of the last, bearing flowers with
white and pale yellow petals.

10. B. corymbosa. — Native of China ; a small scandent, and,
irrespective of its flowers, most charming shrub ; with exceed-
ingly slender stems, and very small pretty leaflets, the pairs not
at all adherent, as in other species ; bears in April middle-sized
rosy-white, fragrant flowers.

11. B. diphylla. — A very pretty scandent shrub, somewhat
similar to the last, but of stouter growth ; bears in June and
July middle-sized pure-white flowers.

Cercis.

C. Canadensis and C. Siliquastrum — JUDAS-TREE. — Mrs. Loudon

says : —

" Few trees are more ornamental in a shrubbery than these two
species; but C. Siliquastrum is decidedly the handsomest. The
leaves are curiously shaped, and the flowers, which are of a
beautiful pink, grow out of the bark of the stem and branches;
not, like those of other plants, among the leaves. The flowers
fried in batter make excellent fritters."

Dr. Voigt states that C. Canadensis had been in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens sixteen years without flowering.

Gleditschia.
G. triacantha— HONEY-LOCUST.— u Though of American origin,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 457

commonly known now in Italy by the name of Spina Christi." *
A large tree, that takes its name from the great pods it bears,
containing a thick, sweet, glutinous pulp : as met with here, a
shrub in no respect ornamental but for its rather pretty small
foliage ; but this it loses for a long time during the Cold
season ; bears inconspicuous greenish flowers ; for its formidable
thorns better adapted for a hedge than for the decoration of the
garden.

M I M 0 S E JE.
Desmanthus.

D. punctatus. — A small shrub ; native of Brazil, of prostrate
growth, and very sprawling, remarkable for the extreme sensi-
tiveness of its pinnate foliage ; pretty when in blossom, with its
tassel-like rose-coloured flowers of the size of a bullet ; yields
seed plentifully; except in not being an aquatic, resembles in
every respect D. natans; such at least is the description of
plants raised from seed sent me from the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, but I have doubts as to the accuracy of the name.

Mimosa.

1. M. pudica. — SENSITIVE-PLANT — Chooee-mooee. — Native of
the West Indies. Very similar in every respect to the pre-
ceding, except that it is much smaller, and of more slender
habit ; a very common plant, but a very pretty and desirable
one ; nearly always in blossom : seeds abundantly.

2. M. sensitiva. — The true Sensitive-plant, though in fact
not so sensitive as the foregoing, is altogether different in the
character of its foliage; mentioned in Dr. Voigt's Catalogue,
but it does not exist in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens now,
nor have I ever met with it in this country ; like the last it is a
native of tropical America.

3. M. brevipenna. — A small shrub, of erect growth, ornamental
for its exquisitely delicate and beautiful pinnate foliage of
minute leaflets ; requires to be well cut in to keep it bushy,
otherwise it is disposed to grow with long, bare, unsightly
stems ; but very slightly sensitive.

* 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' April 12, 1862,

458 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Acacia.

The number of different species of Acacia is almost unlimited.
A great many are natives of Australia, and objects of extreme
beauty both as regards their flowers and their foliage. These
Australian species are remarkable for being without true leaves,
and developing their footstalks into the form of leaves, called
then " phyllodia," which have the peculiarity of always directing
their edges to the earth and heavens. Some few of these may
be met with at Ootacamund, growing well there ; but not one
has been found capable of enduring the climate of Bengal. In
the Punjab, Dr. G. Henderson informs me, they thrive well,
that there are above a dozen kinds, and that large numbers of
seedlings have been raised by the Society there. The several
species that are natives of India have no pretensions to beauty,
being, for the most part, rough jungul plants, quite unfit for
admission into the garden.

1. A. cornigera. — A small shrub, not ornamental, but curious
and interesting for the remarkable large tumid hollow thorns,
resembling little horns, with which the stems are thickly
covered.

2. A. modesta — Phuldee. — A small shrub, common in the
North- West, where it forms, when kept well cut, a neat and
pretty hedge.

3. A. Catechu. — A large tree, with small and very delicate
foliage of bipinnate leaves ; the leaflets arranged, like the teeth
of a small comb ; if cut closely in, well adapted for affording a
very pretty hedge.

4. A. Farnesiana. — SWEET-SCENTED BABOOL. — A small, un-
sightly, thorny, jungul-tree ; but very acceptable when in
blossom in the Cold season, and covered with its profusion of
bright yellow tassel-like flowers of the size and form of a bullet,
which emit far around a strong, delightful, aromatic fragrance,
much resembling that of Wallflowers, and retain their scent
long after gathered and laid by. At Cannes, in the South of
France, the tree is submitted to a very careful system of cul-
tivation and training for the sake of its flowers, which are in
great request with perfumers.

5. A. speciosa — SIKISS-TREE.— A timber-tree of moderate size,
not much seen in the vicinity of Calcutta, but a prominent

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 459

object in most of the gardens of the upper provinces : flowers
large, tassel-like, pale-green, diffusing widely around an ex-
quisite perfume, particularly at night. It seems to prefer an
arid climate, for it has been in such locality that I have
observed it thrive most vigorously. Trees of it are very
numerous at Cairo.

6. A. decurrens. — Sir J. Pax ton says it is " a magnificent plant,
with handsome foliage, occupying half a panel of conservatory-
wall at Chatsworth;" introduced into the Gardens of the Agri-
Horticultural Society by Mr. Fortune from China ; but its
culture was attended with no success, and it does not exist
there now.

7. A. Haustoni. — A large ornamental shrub, seven or eight
feet high ; native of Mexico ; of recent introduction ; with hand-
some bipinnate foliage, the small narrbw leaflets set like the
teeth of a comb ; bears during the Hot months large crimson
flowers of bottle-brush form.

Calliandra.

1. C. longipes. — A small shrub, with delicate pinnate foliage ;
of no great attractiveness ;' flowers small, pink, mimosa-like.

2. C. brevipes. — Native of Brazil ; described by Curtis as a
" pretty branching shrub, four or five feet high ; requires
pruning to make it a compact handsome bush ; when in flower
highly ornamental, its bright-red tufts contrasting with the
delicate-green foliage." I have not met with this in India, but
in all probability it would succeed well here.

3. C. haematocephala. — Best known in Calcutta as Inga hsem-
toxylon; a shrub five or six feet high, handsome at all times
for its graceful foliage of pinnate leaves, with wedge-formed
smooth leaflets, an inch long ; but remarkably beautiful when
in full blossom, in the Cold season, with its large bright crimson
bottle-brush-like flowers ; yields seed sparingly.

4. C. Portoricensis. — A small shrub in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens ; native of the West Indies ; with pretty, dark-green,
graceful, pinnate foliage ; bears in March white, moderate-
sized, not very ornamental flowers -of bottle-brush-like form.

460 GAHDEN PLANTS. PART II,

DKUPACE.E.

Amygdalus.

A. Persica. — SEMI-DOUBLE CHINESE PEACH. — Sir J. Paxton
says, "has in all respects the habit of the common Peach.
There are two varieties, white and red. Seedlings are said to
come true from seed." Introduced by Mr. Fortune into the Agri-
Horticultural Society's Gardens, and thus described by him : —

" These are very remarkable trees, common in the gardens of
Northern China, where they attain to the size of our English
Almond. Nothing can be more beautiful than these when in full
bloom. In the spring they are literally loaded with flowers, as
large as our Scotch Roses. The Carnation-flowered has striped
blooms resembling the Carnation — hence its name — and sports in
a remarkable way, producing striped and self-coloured flowers upon
the same tree. As spring flowers they are highly prized by the
Chinese. Itinerant gardeners carry them about the streets for sale
in the northern Chinese towns. The flower-buds are then just
beginning to expand. The buyer puts his purchase in a pot, gives
it a little water, and then places it in his window or sitting-room.
In a day or two the buds burst, and the little tree is one mass of
bloom. They are propagated by budding and grafting, and will
grow well in any common garden soil. I ought to add that small
plants produce blossoms freely as well as large full-grown trees." *

Plants are distributed from the Gardens of the Agri-Horti-
cultural Spciety ; but here they have not displayed themselves
in that beauty of bloom to merit the high praise that has been

bestowed upon them.

Cerasus.

1. C. Laurocerasus. — The so-called Laurel of the English
gardens.

2. C. Lusitanica — PORTUGAL LAUREL. — Neither of these well-
known evergreens exists, nor would, I believe, be capable of
existing in the climate of India.

POMACES.

Cydonia.

C. Japonica. — This well-known handsome flowering shrub Dr.
Voigt mentions as existing in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens,
* « Gardeners' Chronicle/ Feb. 1860.

; V". ORNAMENTAL TREES, 3HKUBS, ETC. 461

and blossoming in the Hot season. It is not there now, nor can
I find that any of the malees remember to have ever seen it
there.

Photinia.

P. dubia. — A tree of moderate size, native of Bengal ; in full
blossom in January, with an unbounded profusion of small
clusters of small white flowers, which perfume the air for a
great distance around with the delightful fragrance of the
Heliotrope.

Rhaphiolepis.

R. Indica. — A small bushy shrub, native of China ; with very
handsome dense foliage of oval, leathery, saw-edged, shining
leaves three inches long ; exceedingly beautiful when in full
blossom in February, with its profusion of white flowers of the
size and form of a thimble.

R. Japonica integerrima, and R. ovata are new plants lately
introduced into the Betel-house.

Crataegus.

HAWTHOKN.

An extensive genus containing several beautiful plants, but
none suited, I believe, to the climate of this country.

ROSACES.
Rosa.

THE KOSE.

Gool.

It must be within the memory of those now living that the
gardens of Bengal at least, if not of all India, hardly possessed
a Kose that was worthy of the name. It is just about fifty
years ago that the Eose Edouard was introduced. Previous to
that there was nothing better to represent this lovely race than
the common China, the Musk, and the Bussora putting forth a
-show of blossom for one short season, and shabby and dis-
agreeable all the rest of the year. The old beautiful so-called
Summer Roses of Europe, if introduced, were found unable to
^exist here. But a great change has taken place within a very

462 GAEDEN PLANTS. PAET II.

recent period. Kaces of Koses entirely new, the Teas, the
Noisettes, the Bourbons have come into existence, and happily
found in India a home thoroughly congenial to them.

But the same uniform success has not attended the intro-
duction of the Hybrid Perpetuals. Some have proved charm-
ing acquisitions, but a large number, it has been found, are
not deserving a place in our gardens at all ; some being unable
even to exist here for any length of time, and others, though
thriving vigorously, seldom or never yielding flowers. Several,
moreover, that do blossom, though deservedly of high reputation
in Europe, produce in this country small and not very double
flowers, frequently only semi-double, very deficient in depth of
colour, and greatly wanting in due richness of perfume.

But this is not all. Many of these Koses also, extolled in the
catalogues of English dealers, are in truth unworthy of notice ;
while many again are so similar to others of a different name,
that professional Rose-growers themselves can hardly dis-
tinguish them. In India, too, this similarity, it seems to me,
has a tendency to become even more positive; peculiarities
that might perhaps be recognised in a European climate often
becoming here entirely lost.

Considering the large number of Eoses now existing in
India, and the ease with which they may be multiplied, few
perhaps would care to procure them from Europe. Those,
however, who desire to obtain new varieties will find ample
directions in regard to their mode of conveyance, and. treatment
on arrival, given at page 91. I would only here observe that
Eoses to bear being sent from England in the rude way in
which they are usually conveyed, should be stout plants, two
or three years old upon their own roots, if such are to be had.
Nurserymen, however, seldom keep such plants, or cultivate
any but budded Eoses. But Dwarfs budded on the Manetti
stock, for purposes of conveyance, are perhaps all but as good as
those on their own roots. These are always to be had, and are
best to be ordered. Standards or Half-Standards, that is Eoses
budded upon the Briar from two to four feet high, should
never be sent for, as the length of the stems not only adds to
the trouble and expense of sending, but is rather unfavourable
than otherwise towards the budded part retaining its vitality.
Plants budded on the Manetti stock have the bud inserted low

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 463

down near the root of the stock, and should be always planted
with the budded part an inch below the ground. In that case
in course of time the Rose forms roots of its own, and the
stock of the Manetti, on which it has been budded, ultimately
dies.

Some of the plants sent out on their own roots may appear
to have perished, and to be quite dead. Never take it for granted
that such is the case ; plant them, notwithstanding, and take all
possible care of them ; they often recover themselves and push
forth again when least expected.

The propagation of plants generally by layers and cuttings
has been treated of elsewhere, but a few remarks may here be
made especially applicable to the Rose.

Layering. — The layering of many Roses may be performed
at all seasons of the year, but with some few of the choicer
kinds, such as Gloire de Dijon, it will prove most successful in
February.

Mr. Errington very kindly communicated to me the following
happy method he has adopted for layering Roses. He plunges
a pot filled with soil in the ground, at the place where the layer
is to be made, and layers the Rose in the usual way. This is
done in February, shortly before the Hot season. He then
places another pot upon the soil of the pot in which the layer
has been made ; half fills this upper pot with earth, and keeps
the remaining half always filled with water. The water slowly
trickles down to the layer below, and keeps it constantly moist.
The layer is ready to be cut by the beginning of the Rains.

Cuttings. — The best season for laying down cuttings of Roses
is undoubtedly in November. By March they become nice
little rooted plants, and may then be taken up and potted off.
Cuttings of vigorous and healthy growth from the Tea-roses
Devoniensis and Elise Sauvage will, I have found, strike readily
if put down in July during the Rains.

I am indebted likewise to Mr. Errington, head-gardener of
the Agri-Horticultural Society, for the following particulars
respecting his mode of raising Roses from cuttings. To strike
them in he uses a mixture of one part of fine charcoal to three
of sand. One advantage of this mixture, he says, is that the
cuttings, when struck, will continue growing and thriving ; but
that when struck in sand alone, they must be removed and potted

4G4 GARDEN PtAKTS. FART It.

in soil, or they soon die. He always uses slips with heels of the
old wood. He takes care to lay the heel of the slip against
the side of the pot, but not the whole length of the slip. He
says the mixture cannot be pressed too closely round the slips.
He covers them with a bell-glass.

Cuttings in water. — During one Cold season I made experi-
ments on striking cuttings of Koses in bottles of water. The
ones I attempted were the delicate Tea-roses Devoniensis, Elise
Sauvage, and Peel's Kose, and with each I met with complete
success. The following I found the points essential to be
attended to : —

The water must be perfectly clean and pure, and changed fre-
quently to keep it so. Not more than one or two slips must be
put in the same bottle, or the water will become corrupt and the
slips rot.

The slips must be of the youngest growth, the foot-stems of a
flower that has just blossomed and fallen off.

The bottles should be placed on the north side of the house,
or behind some screen where they may have plenty of light
without sunshine, and be sheltered from wind. An old box,
without the lid, laid upon its side, with the outer surface of
the bottom facing the sun, serves admirably for putting the
bottles in.

Small vials do not contain water enough; ten-ounce con-
fectionery bottles should be used; tumblers will do, but are
rather inconvenient.

It is exceedingly interesting to watch the cuttings gradually
form their callus, as they will completely do in about three
weeks, and then some time after emit one or two white silvery
fibrous roots. As soon as they do this they should be potted off
at once.

Budding. — The budding of Koses is performed with the
greatest facility and success in the Upper Provinces, and by
this method choice Koses may soon be multiplied there to any
extent. The kind employed for a stock is the Kose Edouard,
which grows there with great vigour, the bark yielding most
freely to receive the bud. The operation may be performed in
March, but much better at any time during the months of July
and August.
. In Bengal, from the difficulty of finding a stock the bark of

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 465

which will separate freely from the wood, budding is seldom
or never attempted. Buds of any valuable Kose, however, one
chances to obtain may be turned to account, sacrificing some
common young Kose plant by cutting it completely down,
removing the soil, and inserting the buds upon the stump or
upon the root, the bark of which will always yield readily.

But there is one mode of proceeding, by which if adopted
budding would succeed probably as well in Bengal as elsewhere.
And this is a matter of some importance ; as, when Roses have
become multiplied in this way, it may possibly be discovered
that there are those, which in India, as in England, succeed
well when budded on another stock, but indifferently grown on
their own roots.

The plan would be very similar to that given by Mr. Eivers.
Lay down in an open piece of ground in the Eains a good
supply of cuttings of Eose Edouard, about a foot long, having
first removed all buds but the lowermost one at the base of the
cutting and the two uppermost. Lay the cuttings as sloping-
wise as possible, burying as much as two-thirds of them, so as
to leave only the topmost bud exposed, and press the earth
firmly down upon them. When they have struck and become
thoroughly established, they will be ready for budding upon ;
but they must be left just as they are till required for that pur-
pose. At which time the earth must be removed, the upper
part of the cutting laid bare, and the bud inserted in the
usual way as low down on the stock as can conveniently be got
at. The bark of the stock, it will be found, will always part
readily so long as kept moist by being let remain beneath the
soil.

Grafting. — Grafting, or more properly inarching, is the
practice that has been almost uniformly adopted in Bengal for
the propagation of the choicer kinds of Eoses — in my opinion
a very inferior mode of proceeding. The stocks employed for
this purpose in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society
are of the Eosa gigantea, and the China Eose Due de Berri.

Standards. — Standard Eoses have been rarely seen in India
except in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, where,
some years ago, several trees were formed by Mr. M'Murray, their
head-gardener. These, when in full blossom, presented a very
handsome appearance. Of course in this country, where high

2 H

466 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

winds prevail, they require stoat stakes or iron rods for their
support, even more than they do in Europe. The stocks
employed by Mr. M'Murray were of the Kosa gigantea or
multiflora.

Pillar Eoses. — Eoses when trained in this way (and it is
only such as make long and vigorous shoots that can be so),
have a very beautiful appearance. Proceed thus : cut away
clean from the ground all but three stems, and train these to a
stout stake or Bamboo, six feet or more high. To induce these
stems to produce flowering shoots along their whole length, in
October shorten their tops, unfasten them from their stake, and
lay them at full length upon the ground. Left thus in a
horizontal position, the buds upon them will break into shoots ;
which otherwise they would not have done. When they have
done so, carefully raise the stems and bind them to their stake
again. These sidelong shoots, pruned back after flowering, will
form the blossoming spurs in after years. The main stems,
however, are said soon to wear out, when they require to be
cut completely down and replaced by fresh ones.

Situation and soil. — Eoses, raised either from cuttings or
layers, will come into full perfection of bearing by the second
season after they have been planted out, particularly if they
have received liberal treatment. They do not like a wet,
undrained soil, and as little do they like a dry and arid one.
It is therefore best to plant them in a gently raised bed, from
which the superabundance of wet during the Eains may pass
off; but as a situation of this kind subjects them to a greater
degree of drought during the Hot months, they must at that
season be, from time to time, liberally supplied with water.
Generally speaking they suffer during March more than at any
other period of the year. In that month it not uufrequently
happens that the leaves are entirely devoured by some insect
that seems to prey upon them during the night.

A writer in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle' states that " charred
garden refuse is used largely by Messrs. Wood in the cultivation
of Eoses ; " * and Mr. Eivers recommends turves pared thinly
and baked in an oven, or roasted upon an iron plate, as an
excellent ingredient to mix in the soil for Eoses.f Acting upon
this I have made parings of Doob-grass, laid them several days

* No. for July 30th, 1859. f ' Rose Amateur's Guide,' p. 175, 6th edit.

CHAP. Y. ORNAMENTAL TKEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 467

to dry in the sun, pulled them to bits, and roasted them in an
earthen vessel on a chulan. Using this abundantly with com-
mon earth and old cow-manure, I have found not only Koses,
but other potted shrubs thrive in it most vigorously.

Koses love now and then an entirely new soil ; and transplan-
tation every year or two is the very best thing that can be done
for them. When not transplanted, they should in October,
after the Kains are over, have their roots laid bare by the
removal of the earth for two or three weeks, and then covered
in with new soil well enriched with old cow-manure.

Surface-dressing during the months of December and January
I have found of prodigious benefit, making the plants break
forth with wonderful vigour. Drawing the earth away from the
stem, so as to form a circular ridge at a foot's distance around
it, I throw into the shallow basin thus formed a basket of fresh
cow-dung, and from a considerable height pour water upon it.
The water thus passes into the soil as a thick liquid manure. A
fresh quantity of cow-dung is applied at the interval of about
a month.

Pots and Bing-Pois. — When well-cultivated, Koses appear to
me to thrive and blossom far more satisfactorily in the open
ground than they do in pots. A common mode of cultivating
Roses, and one of which the natives are very fond, is to grow
them in ring-pots. These are earthen cylinders sixteen inches
in diameter and two feet long, let into the earth endwise about
a foot deep, and filled with soil to within three inches of the
rim. The method of the natives is to cut the Koses, planted in
these, completely down, to within two or three inches of the
roots in October ; a week or two later to remove the soil from
the roots, and having left them exposed a few days, to fill in
with a solution of oil-cake, of the consistency of thick mud, very
offensive to the nose at the time. The plants under this treat-
ment it is true blossom very beautifully a month or so after-
wards, but it is a mode of cultivation that possibly would not
suit every one's taste.

Groups. — Koses now in cultivation either belong to or derive
their origin from two well-defined groups.

1. The Koses of Europe and Western Asia ; such as the old
Cabbage, French and Damask Koses, the general character of
which is that they bloom only in June and July.

2 H 2

468 GABDEN PLANTS. PART II,

2. The Eoses of eastern Asia ; such as the China, Bengal, and
Bourbon Hoses, which bloom nearly throughout the whole year.

Now scarcely a Kose of the first of these groups has been
found to succeed in this country ; while the Roses of the
second group, as far as my observation goes, bloom far more
beautifully in India than in England.

But from crossing and interbreeding the Roses of the two
groups, cultivators have raised of late years an immense number
of hybrids, and for the guidance of those who wish to procure
any of these hybrids from Europe it may, I believe, be laid
down as a rule, that the more the hybrid has of the blood (to
speak familiarly) of the second group, the more likely it is to
succeed in this country, and the more of the first group the less
likely. Roses, for instance, of the classes called Hybrid China
and Hybrid Bourbon, producing flowers of great beauty, owe so
much of their parentage to the first group that they inherit
from it the property of blooming only in summer, arid none of
these, be it observed, have been found to answer in this country.
By crossing again, however, these hybrids, so as to throw into
their progeny a greater affinity to some Rose of the second group,
new hybrids are produced which possess this property, viz., that
after blooming in June and July, from out the flowering shoots
fresh, or as they are sometimes termed secondary, shoots break
forth, which produce flowers in the autumn. Hybrids that
possess this property are what are called by the French Hebrides
Remontants, and by the English Hybrid Perpetuals. The more,
then, a Rose possesses of this property the more we may
conclude that it is suited to this country.

3. Of climbing Roses notice will be taken further on.
Cultivators in England arrange Roses in two great divisions,

according to the season in which they bloom. The Roses of the
first division are called Summer Roses, from blooming only in
the summer ; those of the second division Autumnal Roses, from
there blooming in the autumn as well as in the summer. For
convenience I adopt the same arrangement, observing that in
this country the autumnal Roses often put forth poor, small,
semi-double flowers during the Rains, blossom in perfection
in November or December, and again, but not so finely, in
February. The Summer Roses blossom only in February or
March.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 469

DIVISION I.
Rosa centifolia.

PROVENCE ROSES.

This group contains the several varieties of Cabbage, includ-
ing Moss Eoses, of different sizes and shades of colour, from
crimson to pure white. No Kose of this group, as far, as I can
ascertain, has ever been brought to establish itself and thrive in
Lower Bengal, nor, as I believe, in the plains of India at all.
Koxburgh in his ' Flora Indica,' has, it is true, specified R. centi-
folia, but it is R. Damascena he intends, which he accounts only
variety of R. centifolia.

Moss EOSE. — This Eose has been several times introduced,
but never brought to thrive and establish itself. Even in the
apparently more congenial climate of Ootacamund I learnt that
it had not been found to succeed. In the Punjab, I am told, it
thrives very tolerably, and may be budded with great success,
but that it is most reluctant to blossom ; but I am led to suspect
it is not the true old Moss they have there, but one of the many
hybrids that have been raised from it.

Rosa Damascena.

DAMASK ROSES.

BussoRAORPERSiANEosE. — The BussoraEose is distinguished
for the rich perfume of its flowers, is common all over India,
and in some places cultivated extensively for the manufacture
of atar. There are two varieties, the red and the white, only
partially double, very fugitive, blossoming for one brief season
in March. The stems are profusely covered with small fine
spines, and the plant has rather a shabby, unsightly appearance.
The usual practice is to head down all the stems in November,
remove the earth, so that the roots be laid bare for a week or
two, and then fill in the earth again with a liberal supply of
old cow-manure.

The Bussora appears to be the form of R. Damascena, such as
we might almost expect to find it in its wild, uncultivated state.
In this state, seemingly, it is alone capable of existing in India.
For I know of no other form of tl^e Damask Eose that has been

470 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

established in India — not one certainly of the sweet and com-
pletely double varieties that in past years were so much the
ornament of English gardens, as indeed of some few they even
now are.

HYBRID PROVENCE : HYBRID CHINA : HYBRID BOURBON : ROSA
ALBA : ROSA GALLICA : ROSA SPINOSISSIMA.

Of these several groups, hardly a Kose will be found to
which the climate of India is adapted. Of the Hybrid Provence
and Hybrid China groups, plants introduced by me existed in
a very unthriving condition in my garden more than a year.
Of Hybrid Bourbons, Charles Duval, Paul Perras, and Paul
Eicaut have been introduced, and found to thrive vigorously,
but produce no flowers. Of the remaining three groups I am
not aware that I have seen a single Eose in this country.

Eosa rubiginosa.

SWEETBRIAR — EGLANTINE.

Common in all parts of India; bears small pink, single
flowers, does not bear the knife well, and will not blossom if
pruned; can only be propagated by budding, grafting, or
sowing the seed, but not by cuttings. It produces seed in the
Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens, which is gathered when
quite ripe and sown immediately. It takes twelve or eighteen
months to germinate.

Rosa lutea.

AUSTRIAN BRIAR.

The only Eose of this group I have seen in India was one
which, when I resided at Ferozepore, I obtained from Peshawur,
from cuttings conveyed in a letter, and nearly dried up by
a five-days' journey in September. I removed several buds,
which I inserted upon stems of the Eose Edouard. They
nearly all took. It was a pretty variety, with sweet-scented
leaves, and blossomed in March with a profusion of single,
golden-yellow, rather evanescent flowers, but making for the
time a most beautiful display.

PERSIAN YELLOW. — This, the only one of its group con-
sidered worthy of cultivation in England, bears deep golden-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 471

yellow, perfectly double flowers. It has been introduced into
the Agri-Horticultural Society's Gardens, but cannot be brought
to thrive there.

Rosa Banksise.

BANKS IAN EOSES.

1. Rosa ternata. — A common plant about Calcutta; of rampant
growth, with bright, glossy, dark-green foliage, contrasting
prettily with its single pure white flowers.

2. WHITE BANKSIAN, from China, a plant with slender thorn-
less twigs, and long narrow leaves ; is met with in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, and bears in April bunches of very small,
double, white, violet-scented flowers, but thrives very indif-
ferently ; will not bear pruning.

3. YELLOW BANKSIAN is also met with in Calcutta, but is
rare.

FORTUNE'S YELLOW ROSE.

A rambling shrub with slender branches, of rapid and exten-
sive growth, not to be confounded with the White Banksian
Eosa Fortuniana ; flowers described as large double, with their
petals loosely and irregularly arranged, of copper and fawn
colour ; introduced several years ago by Mr. Fortune, from
China, into the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society, but
has never flowered, which possibly may be owing to its having
been pruned. Messrs. Standish and Noble, the cultivators of it
in England, say : — " The shoots should only be thinned ; to
shorten them is to destroy the flowers." *

Rosa multiflora.

A powerful scandent shrub ; bears small pinkish flowers in
February in crowded clusters; hardly worth a place in the
garden, as plants take several years and become very large
before they blossom, and do so then only sparingly. This,
though very similar to the Eose, bearing the same name in
England, is quite distinct from it. Both kinds are found at
Ootacamund, where they form hedges, and blossom most pro-
fusely. I brought down thence the English variety to Chin-
surah, but it succeeded there no better than the common kind.

* Paxton's ' Flower Garden,' vol. iii. p. 157.

472 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Rosa gigantea.

A climbing rose of rampant growth, very similar to the last ;
produces no flowers ; used in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticul-
tural Society for stocks for standards.

Eosa involucrata.

A bramble-like plant, with small, pale yellow-green, pretty
foliage ; bears in February a profusion of white flowers like
those of the Dog Kose, quite single.

DIVISION II.

DAMASK PEKPETUAL.

LAUKENCE DE MONTMOKENCY. — A common Kose in the
gardens about Calcutta, and certainly one of the most beautiful :
plant of dwarf habit; flowers large, double, cup-formed, of
delicate blush colour ; should be pruned freely : easily propa-
gated by cuttings.

HYBKID PEKPETUAL.

In England the Koses of this group stand in the very highest
estimation for the fulness, colour, and fragrance of their flowers,
and some, but by no means all, for the continuance of their
blooming. In this country they seem, it is true, when once
established, to thrive vigorously, but in many instances are very
shy of blooming ; some do not bloom at all, and some others
that do produce very poor unsatisfactory flowers. This, no
doubt, depends in a great measure on their lineage, as already
explained.

In Europe these Eoses are subjected to a severe pruning
after they have completed their season's growth. This is some-
times dor-e before winter ; but more commonly, I believe, in
the spring, when all shoots the plants have made during the
past season are cut back to a third, or even a quarter of their
length. This is equally essential in this country, and must by
no means be omitted. It should be done about the middle
of October. When in a healthy, vigorous condition, cuttings of
nearly all of them laid down in November are not in the least
difficult of propagation.

1. G£ANT DES BATAILLES,— Is met with in several of the

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 473

Calcutta gardens, but never in a very vigorous condition,
nor bearing flowers to support the high reputation it once
had in Europe. Far superior kinds of its class have quite
supplanted it now. Mr. New, of the Government Gardens
at Bangalore, pointed it out to me budded upon the Bussora
Kose — much to its benefit, as he considered. It is not by any
means difficult of propagation by cuttings.

2. LORD KAGLAN. — Said to surpass even the last in the
beauty and dazzling brilliancy of its flowers introduced by me ;
produced only poor valueless flowers.

3. LEONE VERGE R. — A small compact bush, bearing a pro-
fusion of small, beautiful, cherry-coloured flowers ; a delightful
plant, nearly constantly in bloom.

4. MARQUISA BOCCELLA. — A plant of small growth, remark-
able for its very distinct and rich green foliage; flowers of
moderate size, pale-pink, very double, and imbricated, produced
in the Hot and Kain seasons : not very easy of propagation by
cuttings.

5. CAROLINE DE SANSAL. — A beautiful pale rose-coloured
flower, opening with its petals compact and crowded much in
the manner of Souvenir de la Malmaison : established in this
country, where it succeeds tolerably well.

6. GENERAL JACQUEMINOT. — A large, not very double, but
most superbly brilliant Kose of a dazzling red : well established
in this country, where it thrives and blossoms well, and is easily
propagated ; among the finest we now possess. It is so profuse
in its blooming that in England plants of it are cultivated by
thousands for cut flowers for the market. Its bright colour,
however, is rather fugitive.

7. PRINCESS ADELAIDE. — (Not to be confounded with the old
Tea Kose, to which this name is alone given in the English
lists.) Flowers deep blush, large globular, rather single when
full-blown, but exceedingly beautiful when half open ; a long-
established favourite ; blossoms well only upon plants three or
four years old.

8. ENFANT DE MONT CARMEL. — Flowers of moderate size,
of rich deep crimson, with small compact and crowded petals ;
of a fine peculiar fragrance. Thrives, but not vigorously, here.

9. Due DE NEMOURS. — An old Kose in the Agri-Horticultural
Society's Garden ; flowers crimson, of large, full, globular form.

474 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

10. LA EEINE. — An old Eose in the country, but still one of
the most beautiful, producing large, deep rose-coloured, cup-
formed flowers. Young plants, Mr. Errington tells me, do not
blossom till two or three years old.

11. POPE Pius IX. — A plant of vigorous growth, but very
shy of blooming ; puts forth towards the close of the Eains one
or two of its rather small very double flowers.

12. MADAME MASSON. — A beautiful Eose, of moderate size ;
flowers deep crimson, changing to violet ; thrives and blossoms
well in the Agri-Horticultural Society's Garden.

13. BARONNE HALLEZ. — A beautiful, dark-red Eose, now
long in the country.

The above, together with Madame Laflay, Jules Margottin,
Baronne Prevost, Souvenir de la Eeine d'Angleterre, and a few
others, have been long established in India ; but those that have
been introduced since are so many, that it would be vain for me
to attempt to describe or even name them. About four years
ago there was issued a notice of as many as seventy kinds,
distributed by the Agri-Horticultural Society : out of these I
find about twenty-eight, though once in high esteem, and good
Eoses withal, displaced in the English nurseryman's lists by
others of superior merit. These lists are very extensive. It is
well, however, not to be led away by them to a craving for too
many, but to be satisfied with securing a few of the best. And
hereupon I quote, as most deserving of consideration, what has
been said by so eminent an authority as Mr. Eivers : " The
New Hybrid Perpetual Eoses annually sent out by the French
florists make up a long list of names ; out of these, as a rule, but
very few prove worthy of attention ; the greater portion are
different shades of crimson — seedlings raised from General
Jacqueminot — and fatiguing from their sameness of colour :
among them all there is not one equal to Charles Lefebvre.
Owing to this large annual introduction of quasi-new kinds, Eose
catalogues have become burdened with an array of names
tedious to read, and irksome to those who wish to select a few
really good Eoses."

I now give a list of the chief best kinds in cultivation, arranged
according to their colours. I attempt no description ; as, where
all are beautiful, it were impossible to convey in few words any
idea of the respective merits of each. Those who desire a more

CHAP. V. * ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 475

extensive list, would do well to procure one from any of the
principal Kose-growers in England.

White. — Boule de Neige ; Coquette des Blanches ; Louise
Darzens.

Blush. — Baroness Kothschild ; Madame Rivers ; Madame
Vidot ; Heine Blanche ; Thyra Hammerick.

Rose-coloured and Pink. — Abel Grand ; Charles Kouillard ;
Charles Verdier; Comtesse de Chabrillant; Josephine de
Beauharnais ; La France ; Madame G-uinnoiseau ; Madame
Therese Lovat ; Marguerite de St. Amand ; Marguerite Dom-
brain ; Monsieur Noman ; Keine du Midi ; Caroline de Sansal ;
Elie Morel ; Emille Hausburg ; Madame Caillat.

Carmine. — Beauty of Waltham ; Charles Margottin ; John
Hopper ; Jules Margottin ; Madame Alice Dureau ; Madame
Charles Crapelet ; Madame Victor Verdier ; Marie Rady ; Paul
Neron ; Prince Leon ; Victor Verdier ; Ville de Lyon ; Edward
Morren ; Nardy Freres ; Princess Louise.'

'Bright Crimson and Scarlet. — Alfred Colomb ; Antoine
Ducher ; Baronne Adolphe de Rothschild ; Charles Lefebvre ;
Dr. Andry ; Due de Rohan ; Duke of Edinburgh ; Fisher
Holmes ; Franpois Lacharme ; Francois Trey ve ; Camille
Bernardin ; Duchesse de Caylus ; Exposition de Brie ; Leopold
Hausburg ; Marie Baumann.

Dark Crimson. — Duke of Wellington ; Horace Vernet ; Lord
Clyde ; Marechal Vaillant ; Pierre Notting ; Prince Camille de
Rohan ; Xavier Olibo ; Franpois Louvat ; Baronne Hausmann.

EOSE DE EOSOMENE.

GLOIEE DE ROSOMENE. — A plant of large growth and
sprawling habit, not uncommon in Calcutta ; produces all but
single, large-petalled, brilliant crimson flowers, pleasing to
those who care more for colour than for form ; easily propagated
by cuttings. Hedges are formed of this Rose in the Botanical
Gardens at Ootacamund.

BOUJRBON EOSES.

1. ROSE EDOUAED. — Originally from the Isle of Bourbon, and
parent of the whole group. An old well-known Rose in all
parts of India, most desirable for the constancy of its bloom as
well as for the sweetness of its flowers ; during the Cold season

476 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

it produces flower-buds in unbounded profusion, which rot in
the centre, and never open. The stems after blossoming
should be pruned in closely. Exceedingly vigorous in growth,
and easily propagated, affording the best stocks we have for
budding other kinds upon.*

2. PHEOLINA BORBONICA. — A common Kose in Calcutta;
bears a strong resemblance to the last in every respect, but pro-
duces flowers somewhat smaller, and perhaps a little sweeter.

3. AKMOSA — JIBBON KISSEN PAUL'S KOSE. — Somewhat similar
to Pheolina, but producing its flowers, which are rather smaller,
more double, and of better form, in crowded clusters ; produces
a profusion of buds in the Cold season, which never open.

4. QUEEN. — A lovely, fine-formed, flesh-coloured Kose; thrives
well in Calcutta, where it is now quite established.

5. MRS. BOSANQUET (called formerly, in the Garden of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, MAIDEN'S BLUSH, and known by
native dealers as Khura-Peel). — A plant of stout stems, but not
large growth ; flowers large, white, the petals overlapping with
beautiful regularity, as in a Camellia ; perfect in form, and one
of the loveliest Koses we have ; the plant does not bear much
cutting in ; not very readily propagated ; but cuttings put down
in November, in a shady place, will some of them strike. From
its vigorous growth, and the much finer and fuller flowers it
produces in this country, I was for some time unable to identify
this Kose. Following some, I have retained it among the
Bourbons, though usually grouped among the China.

6. ACIDALIE. — A beautiful blush Kose ; bears a strong resem-
blance to Mrs. Bosanquet, but has 'petals more uneven, with a
deeper tinge on their edges. Not a very thriving plant in this
country.

7. PIERRE DE ST. CYR. — Pale pink, of moderate size, very
beautiful. Thrives well and blossoms most freely in this
country.

8. PRINCE ALBERT. — Described as a superb Kose, is found in
some of the Calcutta gardens.

9. MARQUIS DE BALBIANO. — A plant of moderate growth.
Flowers of medium size, very double, of a dazzling fiery-crimson
colour.

* For the history of this rose see a paper sent by me to the journal of the
Agri.-Hort. Soc, vol. iv. part ii., N.S,

CHAP. V. ORNAMEOTAL fftEfiS, SHltUBS, ETC. 4T7

10. QUEEN OF THE KEDS (so named in the Garden of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, and certainly not, as supposed by
some to be, the French Kose D'Aguesseau). — An old and
common Kose in Calcutta gardens ; plant not of large growth ;
flowers bear the strongest possible resemblance to those of the
last.

11. SIR JOSEPH PAXTON. — Introduced by me ; proved a stout-
growing plant with large handsome foliage, and produced fine
deep, dazzling crimson flowers.

12. SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON. — A most superb Kose,
particularly lovely in the bud, which is large, blush-coloured,
and voluptuous.

Most of the Koses of this group may, I believe, be reckoned
upon as likely to thrive and blossom well in India. The follow-
ing are the principal ones now found in the nurserymen's lists,
arranged according to colour : —

White. — Baronne de Maynard ; Emotion ; Madame Gustave
Bonnet ; Mademoiselle Emain ; Marguerite Bonnet. Pink. —
Baron Gonella ; Catherine Guillot ; Comtesse Barbantanne ;
Empress Eugenie ; L'Avenir ; Louise Margottin ; Madame
Charles Baltet ; Madame Marechal ; Michel Bonnet ; Modele
de Perfection. Rose. — Baronne Noirmont ; Heroine Vaucluse ;
Madame de Stella. Carmine. — Jules Cesar ; Kev. H. Dom-
brain ; Dr. Berthet ; G. Peabody.

CHINA ROSES.

The Koses of this group are more dwarf and compact in their
growth than those of most other groups. All that we have in
India — and I believe if Clara Sylvain, pure white, and Fabvier,
scarlet, be added we have all of any merit, — thrive vigorously, are
most easily propagated by cuttings, and, both as regards the pro-
fusion as well as beauty of the flowers they put forth, blossom in
perfection.

1. Rosa Chinensis. 2. Rosa Indica. 3. Rosa semperflorens. —
These three species, the parents of the group, bear valueless
single flowers, and are altogether undeserving a place in the
garden. The cultivated variety, however, called the China Kose
is a cheerful plant from the numberless pink blossoms it puts
forth, though the flowers are thin and poor in form.

4. EUGENE BEAUHARNAIS. — Flowers small, but very lovely

478 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

when little mote than half-expanded, perfect in form, resem-
bling bright amaranth-coloured double Anemones.

5. CRAMOISIE SUPERIEURE. — Flowers large, completely
double, the petals like satin velvet, of brilliant crimson-
scarlet, unequalled in colour by any Kose we have.

6. AKCHDUKE CHAELES (known by the name of Rosa discolor
in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society) — Do-rungee —
A plant of stout habit ; flowers noble, of the largest size, very
double, petals very beautifully overlapping, almost white on
first opening, turning to a dark dull-crimson a day or two after-
wards.

7. CHINA MELIOR. — Flowers of moderate size and irregular
form, of a mottled dull red colour ; very uncertain.

8. Due DE BEREI. — Somewhat like the last, but the flowers
smaller, darker, and often disfigured by a decayed and black
centre.

9. MADAME BREON. — Of a brilliant rich rose-colour, large
and full.

10. UNIQUE. — An old Kose in the Botanical Gardens, pro-
bably a seedling of this country ; a pretty free-blooming Eose of
moderate size, with thick imbricated petals, of a dull mottled
crimson.

11. LE CAMELEON. — Flowers described as whitish pink,
changing to blackish crimson.

12. Lawrenceana — FAIRY QUEEN. — A diminutive plant;
flowers pink, of the form and size of a double daisy : a variety
also is met with, not uncommon, having flowers somewhat larger.
This Kose makes no show in the border, and is best grown in a
pot corresponding to its size.

TEA-SCENTED.

The Koses of this group, distinguished by their smaller growth,
more delicate habit, and by the peculiar tea-scent of the flowers,
are about the choicest and most lovely of all. They never, as
the Hybrid Perpetuals often do, cause disappointment by pro-
ducing no flowers, but when well established and properly culti-
vated, are sure, in due time, of coming into bloom in great
beauty. Indeed those that we have in India seem to me to
thrive more vigorously far, and blossom even more profusely
and beautifully, than they do in England.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 479

1. BOOTH'S KOSE. — A local name in Calcutta, supposed by
some to be Goubault, but more probably Bougere ; as delightful
a Eose as we either have, or could have, in the country ; of
strong vigorous growth, producing large exceedingly double
deep blush flowers of delicious fragrance : easily propagated by
cuttings, and very common in the Calcutta gardens.

2. WOOD'S EOSE. — A local name, the true name unknown ;
very similar indeed to the last both in foliage and flower, but
the flowers are scentless. Called by some Marshal Bugeaud.

3. SOUVENIR D'UN AMI. — No Eose that I have seen in India
can at all be compared for beauty of form with the large rose-
coloured, drooping, half-expanded flower of this.

4. FRENCH WHITE. — Its local name in the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, but certainly not appropriate as
regards the colour of its flowers ; supposed by some to be " Maid
of Athens : " a bush of considerable size and very abundant
foliage, bears in great profusion prettily-formed fawn-white very
fragrant flowers of moderate size: very common in Calcutta,
and easily propagated by cuttings.

5. GLOIRE DE DIJON. — Accounted one of the very finest of
the Tea-roses flowers large, expanded, very double, with* orange-
yellow centre, the central petals crowded and crumpled. The
colour in different specimens varies much, ranging from palest
yellow through reddish-orange up to pure red : an exceedingly
strong-growing Eose ; so much so as to be often trained to cover
the side of a house : easily propagated.

6. Devoniensis. — Known commonly by the name of Victoria
in gardens about Calcutta : one of the finest Eoses in existence,
producing fine large double creamy-white deliciously fragrant
flowers, disfigured often by having a green bud in the centre ;
of stout, vigorous habit ; needs frequently to have the old wood
cut out, which otherwise would die down and become unsightly ;
considered difficult to propagate. I have met with most success
by putting down cuttings in the open ground beneath a low
bush in the month of August — a season of the year when cuttings
of other kinds seldom succeed.

7. JULIE MANSAIS. — A small plant with pale yellow-green
leaves, of delicate habit, and difficult of propagation ; produces
small pale lemon-coloured flowers, exquisitely beautiful when
only half-expanded.

4§0 GABDEN tLAN^S. PAR* It,

8. ABRICOTE. — Bears moderate-sized flowers with apricot-
coloured centre.

9. SAFRANO. — Called at Ootacamund, where it is exceedingly
common, the Copper Eose, from the young stems as well as the
dark-green leaves having much of a coppery tint ; produces
deep fawn-coloured flowers, beautiful only in the bud.

10. COMTE DE PARIS. — Bears large flesh-coloured flowers.

11. ELISE SAUVAGE. — Long known about Calcutta under the
name of " Odorata ; " produces large globular pendulous flowers,
creamy white outside and of a rich apricot-yellow within, with-
out fragrance ; one of the most lovely Koses known ; though
not able to bear severe pruning, it is apt to become crowded
with a quantity of short spur-like wood, which it will be
necessary to thin out ; requires well manuring, and in the Hot
season frequent watering, or it will not thrive and blossom
at all satisfactorily. Though many years in the country, it
is a difficult Kose to obtain at Calcutta, except at a very high
price ; I have, however, found no difficulty in propagating it
plentifully, more particularly as cuttings put down in the
Kams under any low bush will strike readily, as they will do
also in the Cold season; but in the latter case they require
frequent watering.

12. LA SYLPHIDE. — A beautiful Kose, of moderate size, much
like Abricote in colour : thrives well here.

13. LA BOULE D'OR. — Flowers small, of a beautiful golden
colour ; the plant loves a dry soil ;

14. SOUVENIR DE DAVID. — Flowers described as cherry colour,
very large and double.

15. VICOMTESSE DE GAZES. — Flowers orange-yellow, large
and very double ; one of the most beautiful.

16. GREEN TEA. — A dwarf Kose, common for many years in
Calcutta, with dark glaucous foliage ; produces beautiful small,
globular, pure-white, scentless flowers ; and buds in the Cold
season, which do not open.

Beside the above, the Agri-Horticultural Society four years
ago announced some twelve others as obtainable from their
stock. The following, arranged according to their colours, com-
prise nearly all now in cultivation in England :

White. — Devoniensis; Climbing Devoniensis; Madame
Willermoz ; Madame Bravy ; Marquise de Foucault ; Niphetos ;

CHA*. V. OftKAMENTAL TREES, SHftUBS, ETC. 481

Kubens ; Souvenir de Mademoiselle Fernet ; Triomphe de
Guillot; Zelia Pradel.

Yellow. — Adrienne Christophle ; Belle Lyonnaise; Bouton
d'or ; Coquette de Lyon ; Comtesse de Brossard ; Enfant de
Lyon ; Isabella Sprunt ; Jaune d'or ; Jean Fernet ; La Boule
d'or ; Lays ; L'enfant trouve ; Louise de Savoy ; Madame Cecile
Berthod ; Madame Falcot ; Madame Levet ; Madame Margottin ;
Madame Maurin ; Mademoiselle Adele Jougant ; Monsieur
Furtado ; Narcisse ; Pactolus ; Heine de Portugal ; Vicomtesse
de Gazes.

Fawn and Salmon.— Archimede ; August Oger ; Bougere ;
Due de Magenta ; Madame Damaisin ; Madame St. Joseph ;
Monplaisir ; Pauline Labonte ; Triomphe de Luxemburg.

Flesh and Blush. — Adam ; Catherine Mermet ; Eugene Des-
gaches ; Marechal Bugeaud ; Moire ; Sombreuil.

Eose. — Comtesse Ouvaroff ; General Tartas ; Homer ; Madame
de Vatry ; President.

NOISETTE.

The original of this group is stated to have been a cross
between the Musk-rose and the common China, raised by the
gardener whose name it bears. The varieties bespeak plainly
enough their origin in the crowded trusses of small, very double
flowers they produce ; and some, Aimee Vibert, for example, in
their distinct musk-like odour. Some are all but scentless.
They are almost always in blossom, but in the height of their
beauty perhaps in February.

1. BRIDESMAID. 2. LADY BULLER. 3. SIR WALTER SCOTT.
4. FELLENBERG. 5. KED NOISETTE. — These four last throw up
numerous shoots in the form of large rampant rods, which if
closely cut in, in October, will produce in February a great pro-
fusion of small red flowers ; all easy of propagation by cuttings,
and common in Calcutta.

6. WHITE NOISETTE. — A small bush ; throws up continually
new shoots, which produce great densely-crowded heads of
small white faintly-fragrant flowers, forming one entire mass of
white blossom ; requires close pruning : branches which have
flowered should be immediately cut in ; a very common Kose
here ; propagated easily from cuttings ; plants need often to be
renewed.

2 i

482 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

7. CAROLINE MARNIESSE. — A plant of straggling habit, pro-
duces clusters of small pure-white flowers, with the crowded
petals lapping completely over, somewhat resembling little
Kanunculuses ; propagated easily by cuttings laid down under
shade of a low bush in November.

8. AIM^E VIBERT. — A beautiful white Kose ; well adorned
with fine rich verdant foliage.

The following . comprise those given in the English lists, the
introduction of which into India might be reckoned upon as
certain of success.

White. — Jeanne d'Arc ; Marie Accary ; Maria Massot.

Cream. — La Biche.

YeUow. — Bouquet d'or ; Celine Forestier ; Claudia Augustin ;
Earl of Eldon ; Guiletta ; Jane Hardy ; Lamarque Jaune ;
Madame Caroline Kuster ; Margarita ; Keve d'or,

Bed. — Du Luxemburg.

TEA-SCENTED NOISETTE.

The Koses of this group are usually combined with those of
the last. They are however in many respects very distinct.
This is at once discerned in the extended growth of their stems,
their very much larger flowers, their Tea-like scent, and the
smaller number of them borne in the truss. They are magnifi-
cent Koses, and, as from their origin might be concluded, well
suited to the climate of India, as witnessed in the long estab-
lished favourite Solfaterre.

1. SOLFATERRE. — Very common in the gardens about Cal-
cutta ; a plant . of very extensive growth, requiring a stout
bamboo trellis for its support ; produces large handsome pale-
lemon flowers, of strong Tea-fragrance, at nearly all times of the
year. The young stems, when mature, should be cut back a
couple of feet, and the side-shoots, which then break forth, will
produce flowers. Apt to become crowded with small barren
wood in the centre, which should be cut clean out; requires
plenty of water in the dry season ; propagated usually by
layers, but cuttings also will strike freely. Mr. Errington does
not consider this the true Solfaterre, of which plants have lately
been received from England, but an inferior Kose. To me the
difference is imperceptible.

2. KAJAH — (LAMARQUE ?). — A splendid Kose, in every respect

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 483

similar to the last, except that the flowers are somewhat paler,
and perhaps rather larger.

3. JAUNE DESPREZ. — A new Eose in the Agri-Horticultural
Society's Garden ; flowers varying between buff and red, fragrant ;
thrives and blossoms abundantly here, but the shoots are given
to die back.

4. (CANINA BORBONICA.) — One of the most beautiful, though
one of the commonest and oldest Eoses in Calcutta ; produces
in greatest profusion large, handsome, pendulous, very double,
though not well-formed, creamy-white flowers, with apricot centre,
relieved most agreeably by the very peculiar and distinct yellow-
green of the foliage ; benefited by liberal pruning ; considered
difficult to propagate by cuttings. What the proper name of
this Eose is I am at a loss to say. I conceived it might be
Triomphe de Bolwyller. Canina Borbonica (misprinted evidently
for Chinensis Borboniana) was the name originally bestowed
by Eedoute on Eose Edouard. How in Calcutta the name became
transferred to this Eose it is now impossible to tell.

5. MARSHAL NEIL. — This noble yellow Eose has now become
thoroughly established throughout India, and is one of the
finest acquisitions to the garden made of late. It is most
vigorous in its growth, but in England it is considered to do
best worked on the G-loire de Dijon as a stock.

The following are those given in the English lists : —
Yellow. — Cloth of Gold; Isabella Gray; Mademoiselle

Aristide ; Triomphe de Eennes.

Coppery. — Ophirie ; of brilliant foliage ; flowers untidy, but

borne in great profusion.

MUSK-ROSES.

1. Rosa moschata — Seotee. — Botanists seem to have decided
that, if not actually identical with, this is only a variety of
Eosa Brunonii, a wild Eose of the Indian hills. Professor
Koch says they are alike but for the hairiness of the latter.
As found in the gardens of India, the Musk-rose is in general
a dwarf plant, but its ordinary height elsewhere is stated to be
six or seven feet. It is said that in Persia trees of it have been
seen as much as thirty feet high. It produces small flowers,
with narrow, ill-formed, dirty white petals, and in the present

2 i 2

484 GARDEN PLANTS* PART II.

day possesses little interest as a garden plant, except for its
peculiar, though not very strong fragrance, which, as its name
denotes, is thought to resemble that of musk.

Rosa Lyellii.

ROSE O3f THE BOON,

Koozea.

A plant of extensive growth, common in the Upper Provinces,
but not inet with, that I am aware of, near Calcutta : bears large
handsome double-blush flowers.

Rosa microphylla.

A native of the hills of India ; forms a large compact bush,
with dense, very pretty, small-leaved foliage ; flowers double,
well-formed, blush, with carmine centre, quite scentless ; much
adorned by the large greeii, prickly calyx that surrounds them.

CLIMBING EOSES.

None of the Eoses belonging to either of the Boursault,
Ayrshire, or Evergreen groups, which as climbing Koses, for
their bright foliage and rich profusion of flowers, form in
summer so conspicuous an ornament of the English garden,
have, if ever introduced, been able to maintain a footing in
India. It is upon the whole to the Tea-scented Noisettes that
the gardens of Bengal at least must be indebted for their
climbing Koses. The training, however, and pruning I prescribe,
is applicable, I believe, for climbing Koses indiscriminately. But
it must be borne in mind that this does not apply to those of
the Hybrid Perpetual Koses that are sometimes trained to a
great height as Pillar Roses. They are none the more climbing
Roses for being so trained. The property of all true climbing
Roses is to send forth stems of great length, towards the ends
of which shoots are emitted, which bear the flowers. If, then,
these stems are much shortened, the lower portions of them
which remain emit shoots, but these shoots bear no flowers. The
mode of proceeding with them will then be as follows :

1. Insert bamboo stakes in a circle round the plant. Cut out
clean away to the ground all but three or four of the aforesaid

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 485

long stems, train these three or four stems from stake to stake
in a spiral form, and allow them to grow to their fullest length.

2. Cut out all sprays and small wood at the bottom of these
stems, so as to keep them clear of wood a foot or two from the
ground. This will render the plant accessible for applying
surface-dressings, which are of the utmost benefit.

3. When the stems become old, and show signs of debility,
cut them out, and train new ones in their place.

4. The only pruning required, if any, will be just to take off
about six inches from the end of the stem ; this will give greater
strength to the flower-shoots just below.

Rubus.

R. rosaefolius. — A small pretty plant with bramble-like foliage,
native of the Mauritius ; flowers resemble small, very compact,
double pure- white scentless Roses ; very common in the Calcutta
gardens, and very troublesome for the numerous suckers it
throws up to a wide distance around.

Potentilla.

Plants of the several kinds of Potentilla may be raised from
seed in October, and kept with no great difficulty through the
following Hot season j but the poor flowers they produce, if they
blossom at all, are hardly worth taking the trouble for.

Geum.

G. atrosanguineum. — Bears large blood-red strawberry-blossom-
like flowers ; but though raised easily from seed and kept from
one Cold season to another, in the vicinity of Calcutta seldom
or never blossoms.

Kerria.

K. Japonica. — A twiggy description of shrub, usually grown
nailed to walls in England, but never rising to more than a foot
or so high here. Flowers in the form of a ball, of moderate
size, very double, and bright yellow; not a very ornamental
plant anywhere, and far from being so in this climate, where it
thrives but indifferently.

Spiraea.

This genus contains the old familiar Meadow-Sweet of our

486 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

English fields, besides several beautiful cultivated species. We
have but two in this country, and these, I believe, by no means
among the most ornamental.

1. S. corymbosa. — Native of China ; a small shrub of slender
twiggy growth, about two feet high ; very pretty, when in full
blossom in the Hot season, with its small white flowers, borne
in crowded compact heads on the ends of the twigs. The
great detraction from the beauty of the plant is the bareness
of leaves on the stems, except at their extremities.

2. S. nutans. — In general character very similar to the pre-
ceding; but with somewhat smaller and differently formed leaves ;
bears also similar flowers, but is rather shy of blooming.

SAXIFKAGACE^].

Saxifraga.

1. S. sarmentosa. — A pretty herbaceous plant, with small
round leaves, variegated above, and of a dark-red colour on
their under surface ; usually grown in England in pots sus-
pended from the window-frame, whence it lets drop its delicate,
thread-like, red runners in such profusion as almost to give the
appearance of matted hair. Plants have been introduced into
this country from China by Mr. Fortune, but they do not seem
to thrive here, nor manifest any tendency to send out the
runners, which constitute the principal feature of their beauty.

2. S. sp. — An unnamed herbaceous plant in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, bearing a strong resemblance to S. crassifolia
of the cottage-gardens in England, having large, fleshy leaves,
and bearing heads of small rose-coloured flowers ; of not much
beauty.

HYDBANGEACE.E.
Hydrangea.

1. H. mutabilis. — This plant, which in the Channel Islands
becomes a large, noble, bushy shrub, six or eight feet in height,
is not uncommon in Calcutta, but is grown in a pot, and never
attains to more than a foot and a half high, nor bears those
magnificent trusses of bloom which render it so conspicuous an

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 487

object of beauty in Europe. It is by nature a marsh plant,
and requires abundance of water, particularly at the period of
its most vigorous growth in March and April, and is best placed
in a pan of water. It requires a light soil, and to be kept in
the shade. Sir J. Paxton says that "much of the success
in the culture of the plants depends upon their being placed in
a southern aspect before flowering, to ripen their wood and
buds." The great difficulty, however, here is to induce them to
make wood. Flowers in April and May. Propagated easily by
division.

2. H. Japonica. — This plant differs from the last in the leaves
being of a longer, more pointed form, and of a more verdant,
fresher green. The central flowers also of each truss of blossom
are fertile, while those of the last are all barren. The habit
of the two species is precisely the same, as well as the mode
of cultivation.

3. H. Japonica, variegata. — An exceedingly beautiful plant,
with large cream-coloured leaves blotched with green. I
brought down plants of this from Ootacamund for the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, as well as for my own, but they all perished
in the Hot season, seemingly incapable of surviving the heat
of the plains.

LYTHEACE^E.

Heimia.

H. myrtifolia.— A small, low, slender, unpretending shrub;
bears in May numerous small, yellow, uninteresting flowers.

Cuphea.

C. platycentra. — A scanty, mean-looking shrub three feet high,
with small ovate leaves ; flowers small, irregular-shaped, pale
dull-red, with two purple-black, heart-shaped, erect lappets.

Ginoria.

G. Americana. — A rather pretty shrub, three or four feet high,
with small myrtle-like leaves ; bears during the Hot and Eain
seasons pretty moderate-sized purple flowers, succeeded in the
Cold weather by small, shining, dark-purple berries.

488 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Grislea.

G. tomentosa — Dhdree — Dhdo. — A large shrub, or rather
small tree, eight or ten feet high, with drooping branches, and
rather coarse-looking foliage, but very handsome when in full
blossom in February and March, presenting the appearance of
a perfect shower of dazzling red, with its infinitude of small,
tubular, scarlet flowers.

Lawsonia.

L. alba. — HENNA — Menhdee. — A large shrub, sometimes grow-
ing to seven or eight feet high, with small neat foliage, much
resembling that of a Myrtle ; bears at the beginning and end
of the Cold season numerous large compact panicles of small
greenish-white flowers, which scent the garden with a delight-
ful fragrance. A plant of considerable notoriety for the red
dye which the leaves afford to the women of the East for stain-
ing their finger and toe-nails. Propagated easily from seed or
cuttings.

Lafdensia.

L. Vandelliana. — A small tree with foliage of a very neat and
ornamental character ; leaves oval, smooth, rigid, and shining,
two and a half inches long ; rather showy when in December it
produces its abundance of large lagerstromia-like golden-yellow
blossoms, with numerous long stamens projecting from them.

Lagerstrbmia.

1. L. Indica. — An erect-growing shrub, three or four feet high,
with smooth oval leaves, two-thirds of an inch long ; bears in
the Rains, in unbounded profusion, large panicles of rather
small, fringe-petalled, rose-coloured flowers. There is a variety
likewise with the flowers pure white, and one with them of a
lilac colour. The three varieties grown together in a group,
when in full blossom, form a most lovely ornament to the
garden. In the Cold season it is entirely leafless, when it
should be well pruned in ; easily propagated either from seed
or cuttings.

2. L. elegans. — A large strong-growing shrub with large hand-
some leaves and flowers, about ten times as large as those of the
preceding; a magnificent object when in full flower, with its

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TEEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 489

great compact panicles of light-purple blossom, telling finely
upon its dark rich foliage.

3. L. reginae — Jarul. — A tree of considerable size, yielding
blossoms somewhat similar to those of the last, but much
inferior. Major Drury says of it : — " This is without exception,
when in blossom, one of the most showy trees of the Indian
forests. It is now commonly cultivated in gardens on the
western coast, where the moist damp climate is most suitable
for its growth and the full development of the rich rose-
coloured blossoms. In forests near the banks of rivers it
grows to an enormous size, some having purple flowers, and
forming a most beautiful and striking appearance,"

CELASTRACE.E.
Euonymus.

1. Eu. garcinifolia. — A small shrub, remarkably bright and
sparkling when in full blossom in May and December. Flowers
small, numerous, of a brilliant blood-colour. This is the only
species of any interest ; all others bear pale-green, inconspicuous,
unattractive flowers.

2. Eu. variegata. — A shrub about three feet high, introduced
by Mr. Fortune from China into the Gardens of the Agri-Horti-
cultural Society, where it seems to thrive but indifferently, and
owing to its unhealthy condition, perhaps, is not very orna-
mental. In a climate that suited it, its round, rigid, smooth,
glossy, variegated leaves would no doubt render it a very hand-
some object.

SAPOTACE^E.

The plants of this order are ornamental only for their foliage,
the leaves being for the most part thick, rigid, smooth, and

glossy, and very handsome.

%

Chrysophyllum.

C. Cainito. — A fruit-tree of considerable size, but grown occa-
sionally as an ornamental shrub. The golden hue of the under

490 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

surface of its large laurel-like leaves contrasts very beautifully
with the dark, rich, glossy green of their upper surface, espe-
cially when set in motion by the wind.

Sideroxylon.

S. inerme. — A small shrub of handsome foliage, in general
aspect very similar to a Pittosporum.

Mimusops.

M. Elengi — Bcikul — Mdlsuree. — A large timber-tree much
cultivated in the gardens of the natives for its beauty, as well as
for the delightful fragrance diffused by the numberless small
pale-green flowers it bears in March. At the gardens of the Taj
at Agra several handsome trees may be seen, and also in the
enclosed gardens at the palace of Deeg.

Jgj AQUIFOLIACE^E.
Ilex.

1. I. Aquifolium— THE COMMON HOLLY. — Neither this nor
any other species of Holly seems to succeed at all satisfactorily
in the climate of this country, as most that have been intro-
duced have survived only a few seasons. The Acanthus ilici-
folius, however, bears so strong a resemblance to the Common
Holly that many have no doubt mistaken the one for the other.

2. I. Paraguayensis.— MAT£ — PARAGUAY TEA. — A specimen
of this famous plant is to be met with in the Gardens of the
Agri-Horticultural Society, where it is kept merely as an object
of curiosity; it is of no interest whatever in an ornamental
point of view. The idea of cultivating it in this climate for
any use to which it could be applied would be quite futile.

APOCYNACE,E.
AUamanda.

A genus of flowering shrubs of extreme beauty, mostly natives
of Brazil ; ornamental likewise for their foliage, with the leaves
borne in a succession of whorls along the stem. Several species

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 491

have been introduced into the gardens about Calcutta, where
they thrive admirably, but there seems some uncertainty with
regard to the accuracy of the names given them. They are
exceedingly easy of propagation by cuttings. It is stated that
some of the species have been introduced into England by
means of seed. In the locality of Calcutta I have never become
cognisant of an Allamanda producing seed.

1. A. cathartica. — A rather large shrub of scandent and
rambling habit ; a superb plant, one of the commonest of the
Calcutta gardens, as well as one of the choicest ornaments of
the stoves in England ; flowers very large, pure bright yellow,
finely relieved by the rich deep-green foliage; unexpanded
flower-buds of a bright pure yellow-green ; in constant blossom
during the Hot and Kain seasons ; should be well cut in during
the Cold season to keep it within bounds.

2. A. Schottii. — The plant so named in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens differs in no discernible way from the foregoing. But
the plant pointed out to me in the public gardens of Bangalore
with this name assigned to it, and which I have since met with
in the garden of Baboo Jibbon Kissen Paul, of Hooghly, was a
dwarf shrub, not scandent, with flowers not more than a quarter
of the size of the foregoing, with the outer part of the tube of
the corolla deeply marked with red, and the unexpanded flower-
buds of a dark, dull chocolate red ; quite different, however,
from that described and figured in Curtis under the name.

3. A. sp. from Kew. — A plant so designated in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, not to be distinguished from A. cathartica.

4. A. nereifolia.— Described in Curtis as " extremely different
in habit from any described species, as well as in form of
corolla, which is almost of a golden colour streaked with orange ;
panicles, with many flowers." A plant is stated to have been
exhibited at the Calcutta Flower-show of 1857 from the garden
of Mr. F. Pareira.

5. A. sp. from Java. — A plant introduced within the last
few years into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens ; produces
truly magnificent flowers, when fully expanded as much as five
inches across, pure bright yellow, with the throat coloured with
faint streaks of chocolate; the large unexpanded flower-buds
of a deep chocolate colour.

6. A. violacea : — Lately introduced.

492 GARDEN PLANTS. PAST II.

Melodinus.

M. monogynus. — An extensively climbing shrub, with orna-
mental, bright, dark-green, lanceolate leaves ; flowers not large,
star-formed, like those of a Jasmine, pure-white and very fra-
grant ; bears a fruit of the size and form of a moderate-sized
apple, said to be eatable and agreeable,

Rauwolfia.

R. canescens. — A small erect shrub about two feet high ; bears
small, insignificant, whitish flowers, not at all ornamental except
for the small pea-sized berries it is always bearing of different
colours, according to their state of ripeness, green, bright-red,
and black.

Ophioxylon.

0. serpentinum. — A very common small shrub, about two feet
high, producing its foliage in crowded whorls on the summit of
the stems; leaves narrow, lanceolate, smooth, shining green,
about five inches long ; bears nearly always its compact small
corymbs of numerous small pure- white flowers on delicate coral-
red footstalks. Sir W. Jones says of it : — " Few shrubs in the
world are more elegant, especially when the vivid carmine of
the perianth is contrasted not only with the milk-white corolla,
but with the rich green berries which at the same time
embellish the fascicles." This perhaps is higher praise than
most would be willing to accord it. Easily propagated by
division or by seed.

Thevetia.

T. nereifolia— Zurd Kunel. — So called from the great resem-
blance its foliage bears to that of the Oleander ; a handsome
small spreading tree, from eight to ten feet high ; native of
South America ; constantly in blossom with numerous large,
thimble-formed, bright-yellow flowers; bears in abundance
large almond-like nuts, from which it is easily propagated.

Cerbera.
C. fruticosa.— -A large spreading shrub, bearing large, hand-

CHAP. V. OftNAMEN^TAL TUBES, SHRUBS, ETC. 4§3

some, lanceolate leaves, from among which nearly at all seasons
the rose-coloured flowers, much resembling those of Yinca rosea,
peep forth and sparkle very prettily. Propagated by cuttings.

Tabernaemontana,

1. T. coronaria. — Called Chandnee, " Moonbeam," by the
natives, common in nearly all the gardens of India, and cer-
tainly as handsome a shrub as they could contain ; from four
to six feet high, with lanceolate, sharp-pointed, smooth, shining
leaves, five or six inches long. Flowers large, double, pure
enamel-white, borne almost constantly, and having a delightful
appearance as they peer forth from the fine dark-leaved foliage.
In the night-time, it is said, they emit a delicate fragrance ; in
the day they are quite scentless. Propagated easily by layers
or cuttings.

2. T. dichotoma. A large handsome spreading shrub, occupy-
ing a great deal of room, with noble, broadly-lanceolate, rigid,
yellow-green leaves, nine or ten inches long ; bearing, scattered
here and there, pure-white fragrant flowers, very similar to
those of Vinca alba. Eve's Apple, or Forbidden Fruit of Para-
dise, is the name given to the fruit of this shrub, from the
resemblance it bears in size and form to a half-nipped or half-
eaten small Apple, as well as from its being a native of Ceylon,
where Paradise is supposed by some to have been situated.
The fruit, delicious once, became, it is told, a deadly poison
after having been tasted by Eve.

3. T. recurva.— An exceedingly handsome and ornamental
small spreading shrub, with narrow, lanceolate, pointed, very
wavy, polished, deep-green leaves, three to four inches long;
bears during the Hot season a profusion of sparkling white
flowers two-and-a-half inches across, the corolla consisting of
five large flat lobes. Propagated by cuttings.

4. T. densiflora. — A small unpretending shrub, with the leaves
borne in a crowded manner on the summit of the stem ; bears
in the Rains compact corymbs of very small white flowers ; in
no way ornamental.

5. T. citrifolia; 6. T. amygdalifolia ; 7. T. Wallichiana.— These
last three have nothing whatever to recommend them in an
ornamental point of view.

494 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

Vinca.

1. V. alba. — A beautiful, though a very common, herbaceous
plant, two feet high, with rich polished green smooth oval
leaves, affording a fine foil to the vivid white, large, round
flowers, which it continues to produce at all seasons. Raised
from seed or by cuttings.

2. V. rosea.— MADAGASCAR PEEIWINKLE — OLD MAID. — In
all respects like the preceding, except that the flowers are of a
rose colour, and the stems stained with red. When in full
blossom, as it nearly always is, a lovely plant. Eaised from
seed, which it bears abundantly. This and the preceding are
grafted sometimes the one upon the other, it is said, with pretty
effect.

3. V. major— COMMON PERIWINKLE. — The familiar plant of
the gardens and hedgerows in England; bears in March and
February its pretty blue flowers, of the same size as those of the
preceding. Occasionally met with, but by no means a common
plant.

Plumieria.

1. P. acuminata — SPANISH JASMINE — Gool-i-cheen. — A small
tree, ten to twelve feet high ; not ill-looking when in full
foliage, with its large, lanceolate, smooth leaves, nine inches
long and two and a half wide, borne crowdedly, towards the
summits of the stems, but remarkably uncouth when the
succulent, gouty-looking stems are destitute of leaves, as they
often are in the Cold months ; bears during the Hot and Eain
seasons, at the ends of the stems, large corymbs of large, pure-
white, exquisitely fragrant flowers, with the interior of their cup
yellow. Propagated easily by cuttings. In the Cold season it
occasionally yields a pair of seed-pods or two, but very seldom.
In some gardens is met with a very pretty and interesting
variety of this shrub, the unexpanded flower-buds of which are
of a deep dull crimson colour. The flower when fully ex-
panded has one-half of the under-side of its petals dull crimson,
and the other half white. The borders of the petals curl
upwards, and are beautifully edged with crimson. The interior
of the flower is perhaps of a deeper yellow than the white
variety.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 495

2. P. alba. — Very similar to the preceding, except in being of
more shrubby growth, with much denser and darker-coloured
foliage. Flowers entirely white.

Parsonsia.

P. corymbosa. — A very ornamental scandent shrub, about four
feet high, with slender stems requiring the support of a trellis,
and with rich dark-green foliage of oval, smooth, rigid leaves,
one to two inches long ; bears during all the Hot season beau-
tiful closely-crowded corymbs of very small bright-crimson
flowers. Propagated by layers.

Beaumontia.

B. grandiflora. — A truly magnificent climbing shrub, with
strong woody stems ; spreads over an immense space its dense
foliage-curtain of noble, verdant, oval leaves, nine inches in
length and four broad. Flowers trumpet-formed, resembling
white Lilies, four inches long and three inches across, corolla
expanding at the mouth with five roundish lobes, with a faint
Lily-like scent, borne in large corymbs, and covering the plant
with an entire mass of blossom from January to March. Of
very rapid growth ; a small plant in less than two years will
ascend to the height of a lofty tree, or, trained upon bamboo
poles, to the summit of the highest house, attaching itself firmly
to anything it approaches with its powerful rope-like tendrils.
Propagated by cuttings or from seed.

Wrightia.

1. W. antidysenterica. — A small tree, with smooth obovate
leaves ; bears in the Hot season corymbs of pure-white sweet-
scented flowers.

2. W. coccinea. — A small tree with smooth oval leaves, sharp-
pointed, four or five inches long ; very ornamental in the Hot
months, when bearing its corymbs of numerous flat, regular,
five-lobed flowers, two inches across, of the colour and texture of
scarlet velvet ; presents also a curious appearance in the Cold
season, with its large, long, cylindrical seed-vessels suspended
among the stems.

408 GAftDEN PLANTS. PAST 11.

Alstonia.

A. nereifolia. — A small shrub, with neat foliage, much re-
sembling that of the Oleander, but with the leaves somewhat
broader ; flowers of moderate size, star-like, pure-white, scent-
less, though unpretending in themselves, yet cheerful-looking
opposed to the dark-green leaves. May be raised from seed.

Nerium.

N. odorum — OLEANDER — KOSE-BAY — Kunel. — A large
spreading shrub, six to eight feet high ; throws up from the
ground its numerous rod-like stems, upon the summit of which
is borne its foliage of narrow lanceolate leaves, surmounted by a
profusion of large cheerful flowers. There are several varieties
of this delightful shrub, namely, those with pink, deep-red,
white, and variegated flowers, both single and double of each.
The double white, however, is a great rarity, though it is said to
exist. This shrub may be considered the glory of the gardens
of Upper India, where, during the Hot season, it thrives
vigorously, and being always covered with blossom, scents the
whole air around with its fine perfume. In the vicinity of
Calcutta it thrives not nearly so vigorously. In the Deccan it
may be often seen growing wild by the margins of rivers and
jheels, where it looks extremely beautiful. The juice of the
stem is said to be a deadly poison. Propagated easily by layers
or by division. It also yields seed abundantly.

Rhyncospermum.

R. jasminoides. — A native of China, but recently introduced
into this country. A slender climbing shrub, growing to about
six or eight feet high, with oval, 'pointed, deep-green, smooth
leaves, about an inch and a half long ; bears in the Hot season,
in unbounded profusion, pure-white, sparkling, delightfully
fragrant, salver-shaped flowers, nearly an inch across, with the
lobes of the corolla curiously twisted ; produced in corymbs. A
most choice and ornamental plant; requires a trellis for its
support. Propagated easily in the Eains by cuttings.

Echites,
1. E. earyophyllata— CLOVE-SCENTED ECHITES— Malutee.— A

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 497

very extensively climbing shrub, with bay-like leaves ; fastens
itself upon and runs up trees to a considerable height, and
during the Rains spreads out quite a curtain with the numberless
sprays of its fragrant blossoms. Flowers white, of middle size,
star-formed, with the petals twisted and irregular. Produces
seed in the Cold season.

2. E. lisianthiflora. — A shrub of erect growth about five feet
high ; in full blossom all the Hot season, presenting at that
time a very agreeable appearance with its profusion of rather
large pure white flowers. Propagated by layers.

3. E. picta. — A small, slender, climbing shrub, cultivated only
for its ornamental foliage, as here, I believe, it never flowers ;
leaves narrow, about four inches long, of a very dark green,
prettily marked with the white and conspicuous midrib.

4. E. cymosa. — A small scandent shrub, ornamental for its
leaves, which are lanceolate, three or four inches long, of a bright
glossy green, often prettily marbled with the dark markings of
the veins.

Pentalinon.

P. suberectum— SAVANNA-FLOWEK — DEADLY-POISON-PLANT.—
Native of Jamaica. A large climbing shrub with yellowish-
green, verdant, oval leaves, two inches long : requires a stout
high post or bamboo trellis for its support; in constant blossom
during the Hot season with large yellow, showy flowers, very
much like those of Allamanda. Sir J. Paxton says that in its
native locality, " whilst other vegetation is perishing from
drought this preserves the beautiful verdure of its leaves, and
even continues to flower with the greatest vigour."

Mandevilla. .

M. suaveolens— CHILI JASMINE. — A slender-stemmed exten-
sively-climbing shrub; bears large pure- white flowers, as much
as three inches across, with five twisted lobes, delightfully fra-
grant. This plant is easily raised from seed, but is difficult to
preserve any time in the plains, generally dying oft' before
having flowered. "Blooms towards the ends of the shoots,
which, therefore, should not be topped in growing time."

2 K

498 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Dipladenia.

Some of the species of this extremely choice and handsome
genus have been introduced into this country, but have died off,
seemingly unable to exist in the climate.

Roupellia.

R. grata— CREAM-FRUIT-TREE. — Probably so named from the
abundance of cream-like juice it yields when wounded ; native of
Sierra Leone ; a very extensively-rambling shrub, requiring
considerable space for its full growth, though easily kept small
by cutting in. The young stems are of a rich chocolate-brown
colour, and the leaves lanceolate, pointed, from three to five
inches long, smooth, of rich polished green, and rather thick.
Flowers large, leathery, bell-formed, with expanded limb, white
tinged with brownish-purple, with a crown of ten purple teeth
in the throat, attractive just as they are expanding, but not very
agreeable on near inspection when fully opened. From the high
representations given of this plant, before its introduction to
England, it appears to have caused some disappointment on its
arrival there. Sir J. Paxton says of it, " it is difficult to imagine
a flower with more uninviting appearance." But this is doing
it injustice : for though possibly not very ornamental in a stove,
it undoubtedly has a handsome and imposing appearance in our
gardens, where it thrives well. In the Cold season large plants
will occasionally bear a seed-pod or two, but very rarely. Pro-
pagated easily by cuttings in the Rains.

GENTIANACE^].

This order contains many beautiful and ornamental plants ;
but not one, I believe, which can endure the climate of the
plains of India.

OLEACE.E.

Olea.

1. 0. fragrans. — A small shrub four or five feet high, native of
China, of very slow growth, but when in a thriving condition

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 499

rather ornamental, with its oval, pointed, rigid leaves, of a
peculiar bluish tinge ; blossoms from February to March with
very small, "pure white, delightfully fragrant flowers, borne in
small bunches, situated closely upon the stems. Mr. Fortune
says that the Chinese make great use of the flowers to perfume
their teas, and that the scent they impart is more abiding than
that of any of the flowers employed for the purpose. The plant
is much cultivated in the Calcutta gardens, but is always con-
sidered choice and valuable from the great difficulty experienced
in propagating it; layers are so long in striking that it is
commonly full a twelvemonth before they are ready for removal.
Mr. Boss, however, late head-gardener of the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, has stated * that the better way is to strike cuttings in
sand under a hand-glass, and that with careful shading and
judicious watering young plants may be thus obtained, with
tolerable certainty, within a much shorter time. Mr. Errington,
however, head-gardener of the Agri-Horticultural Society, assured
me that a very large proportion of plants so raised and potted off
perished during the succeeding Hot season. Dr. Voight mentions
a variety with red flowers ; this I have never seen nor heard of.

2. 0. grata. — A neat-looking shrub, in character of foliage
hardly to be distinguished from the last, but far more thriving,
and therefore more ornamental. The flowers possess no fra-
grance whatever.

3. 0. myrtifolia. — An exceedingly agreeable and chaste-looking
shrub, in habit, character, flower, and scent of the flower so
much resembling the Privet of the English gardens, that it
might be very readily mistaken for it ; in blossom during most
of the Cold season.

4. 0. Capensis. — Likewise a pleasing shrub, very similar to
the last, but not blossoming, as Dr. Voigt states, in the locality
of Calcutta.

Osmanthus.

0. ilicifolius. — Lately introduced, and described as a very
elegant evergreen Japanese shrub, with holly-like leaves.

Syringa.

5. vulgaris — THE LILAC. — I have never heard of the existence

* In a communication to the 'Journal of the Agri-Hort. Society.'

2 K 2

500 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

of this old familar flowering shrub of the English gardens in
India : undoubtedly the climate must be utterly unsuited to it ;
for it can hardly fail of having been at some time introduced.

Forsythia.

F. viridissima. — A small shrub of spreading habit, native of
China, where, when in full blossom, it is said to be a most
beautiful object ; blossoms in January, when the plant is quite
leafless, with flowers very similar to those of the Yellow Jasmine,
but from the scanty way in which they are produced upon the
bare stems, the plant, in this country at least, is not particularly
attractive. It is said to be benefited by being transplanted, and
that it is easily propagated by layers or cuttings.

SOLANACE^E.
Oestrum.

1. C. foetidissimum. — A pleasing shrub about five or six feet
high, but with leaves that have a detestable smell when bruised :
bears, at different seasons of the year, drooping fascicles of small
tubular flowers, in size and form resembling percussion caps, of a
dingy lemon colour. It throws up an immense number of suckers
which require to be continually removed, as they produce no
flowers and only serve to weaken the plant, the flowers being
borne at the ends of the old stems. It yields seed, and is easy
of propagation by removal of suckers.

2. C. aurantiacum. — Mentioned as a very beautiful shrub, and
the most ornamental of the genus ; is not met with, I believe,
in this country.

Habrothamnus.

H. fasciculatus.— A very choice and beautiful pot-plant, of
shrubby habit, about three or four feet high, with soft rough
lanceolate leaves, six or seven inches long; bears in great
profusion, during the Cold season, drooping bunches of deep-
crimson flowers, much resembling those of a Heath. It is
accounted a very greedy plant, requiring to be often repotted
in large pots. It grows with great vigour in the Cold months ;
but large old plants are almost sure to die off in the Kains.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 501

The plants, I am told, however, are saved, if they be turned out
into the open ground in some shady place. Still it is best to
make sure of a stock of young plants, which are easily obtained
from cuttings, for the following season.

Datura.

1. D. suaveolens. — A very large spreading shrub, with large
thick flaccid leaves ; makes a splendid appearance when in full
blossom in the Hot season, with its immense white sweet-scented
flowers, of the size and shape of a cow-horn, the corolla
expanded at the mouth with frilled edges. It does not yield
seed, but is easily propagated by cuttings.

2. D. sanguinea.— A shrub of much smaller growth than the
last, and leaves of a darker green ; flowers also smaller and
more tubular, with the rim curled over, of a dull deep-red
colour ; thrives well at Ootacamund, whence I brought down
plants both for the Calcutta Botanical Gardens and for my own
garden ; but they all soon perished, seemingly unsuited to the
climate of Calcutta.

Solandra,

1. S. grandiflora. — A shrub of considerable size, with very
large, oval-lanceolate, smooth, pale-green, rather wavy leaves ;
bears in the Cold season great erect Cowhorn-shaped flowers
with overlapping rim of a pure milk-white, turning afterwards
to a creamy-yellow, their five ribs beautifully washed within
with purple ; faintly fragrant.

2. S; oppositifolia. — A shrub remarkable for its large yellow-
green glossy leaves ; bears in May flowers very like those of the
common roadside Datura.

Solanum.

Of the large number of species which this genus contains,
not more than three or four perhaps are worthy a place in the
garden, or in fact are much better than mere weeds.

1. S. coriaceum. — A neat and ornamental small shrub about
two feet high, with lanceolate, smooth, leathery leaves two and
a half inches long ; bears numerous large, pale-purple flowers,
succeeded in the Cold season by dark purple enamel-like berries
of the size of a nutmeg. Propagated by cuttings.

502 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

2. S. argenteum.— A beautiful small shrub about three feet
high with Oleander-like leaves of silvery hue, borne on the
summit of the stem ; bears during the Hot season numerous
thimble-formed, pendulous, pale-lilac flowers. It is best to grow
it in a large pot, for if planted in the open ground it becomes
very troublesome on account of the numerous suckers it sends
up for a great distance around.

3. S. macranthum. — A small spreading tree about eight or
ten feet high, with very large leaves ; nearly always in blossom,
and very showy with its numerous immense, purple, potato-like
flowers. Propagated by seed.

ASCLEPIADACE^].

Cryptostegia.

C. grandiflora — ChabuJc-chhuree. — A large overspreading and
extensively-growing scandent shrub, throwing out twig-like
stems of immense length, bearing in pairs oblong, pointed,
smooth, deep-green leaves, from three to four inches long ;
rather unmanageable, and requiring an outhouse or a large
strong trellis for its support. Its handsome and luxuriant foliage
forms a fine foil to the very large, bell-shaped, bright, rich
purple flowers which it bears during the Hot and Kain seasons.
Propagated by cuttings in the Kains.

Holostemma.

H. Rheedii. — A climbing shrub, with large heart-shaped,
pointed leaves, five to six inches long; described as bearing in
the Rains large clusters of large, thick, fleshy five-lobed flowers,
of a beautiful mixture of green and white colours.

Calotropis.

1. C. gigantea; and 2. C. Hamiltoniana — Mudar. — These are too
well known to need description. They are unquestionably very
handsome flowering shrubs, and nothing but their extreme
commonness in the jungul and by the wayside excludes them
from admission into the garden.

Oxystelma.
0. esculentum. — A very slender-stemmed herbaceous, creeping

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 503

plant, with narrow linear leaves about five inches long; a
common weed of this country, delighting most in swampy
ground by the side of rivers ; bears pretty little saucer-formed
flowers of the size of an eight-anna piece, white without and
rose-coloured and purple- veined within ; troublesome to eradicate
sometimes when once established in the garden.

Gomphocarpus.

G. fruticosus. — A very graceful and ornamental small bushy
shrub about three feet high, with small linear leaves ; very hand-
some when in blossom in July with its prettily-drooping large
umbels of pure-white flowers, displayed in great profusion. It
bears a very curious bladder-like seed-pod of the size of a small
hen's egg, covered with blunt thorns.

Asclepias.

SWALLOW-WORT.

1. A. Curassavica— BED HEAD — BLOOD FLOWER — BASTARD
IPECACUANHA — JAMAICA WILD LIQUORICE. — An herbaceous
plant about two feet high, with lanceolate, rather downy leaves
two or three inches long ; very showy when in blossom in the
Cold season, with its erect umbels of orange-and-yellow ;
moderate-sized flowers ; bears in great abundance its seed in large
curious, inflated pods, from which it is best to renew plants
annually, throwing the old ones away.

When young the plants are very liable to be devoured by a
particular kind of caterpillar that preys upon them. This should
be searched for and destroyed. And when old the plants often
become infested by a reddish-looking aphis or blight-fly, and
have then a very unsightly appearance.

2. A. Mexicana. — A simple little unpretending herbaceous
plant, about two feet high, with slender stems, naked till near the
summit, where it bears decussate, very narrow linear leaves an
inch and a half long. In blossom constantly through the Hot
and Rain seasons with umbels of pretty, but not very showy
small white flowers. Eaised in my garden from seed from
England.

3. A. arborescens. — A small herbaceous shrub, bearing hand-
some umbels of pure-white Hoya-like flowers. This I have had

504: GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

in blossom in my garden, raised from seed brought from the
Cape.

Tweedia.

T. caerulea. — A small herbaceous perennial, with leaves rather
downy ; very pretty when in blossom with its flowers of the
palest blue, in size and form like those of Vinca rosea. Sir J.
Paxton says that, if trained to a pole and exposed to light, it
yields flowers of a fine azure blue. Eaised from seed, which it
bears abundantly.

Pergularia.

P. odoratissima — PRIMROSE or COWSLIP CREEPER — WEST-
COAST CREEPER. — A very extensive climber, with heart-shaped
pointed leaves of a dull-green colour ; bears bunches of flowers
resembling those of the Cowslip, but of a dead, heavy, greenish-
yellow, scenting the air when in blossom during the Hot mouths
with most delightful fragrance ; not an agreeable-looking plant
at any time, and therefore best planted in some situation a little
out of notice. Bears in the Cold season thick cylindrical seed-
pods, six inches long.

Rhaphistemma.

R. pulchellum. — A large climbing plant, with largish heart-
shaped, pointed, smooth, flaccid leaves from four to eight inches
long ; described as bearing large racemes of large, rotate, five
lobed, straw-coloured, sweet-scented flowers ; a native of this
country. Dr. Wallich says it is the largest flowering Asclepiad
with which he is acquainted.

Stephanotis.

S. floribunda— CREEPING TUBEBOSE.— Native of Madagascar.
A twining shrub with handsome foliage of oblong, thick, shining
smooth leaves, three inches long ; flowers with the tube about an
inch long, swollen at the base, and having five spreading oval
segments at the apex, pure-white, fragrant, borne in clusters
during the Hot and Kain seasons ; one of the most choice and
delightful plants our gardens contain; bears sometimes, in
October, a large seed-pod somewhat resembling a moderate-
sized Mango. Propagated by cuttings, which should be put
down in July or August in a pot of fine silver-sand, and be kept

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 505

covered with a hand-glass, and watered as they require it. By
November they will become well-rooted ; they should not be
disturbed, but allowed to remain just as they are during the
Cold season, from which they are very apt to suffer, in some
sheltered place. In the beginning of March they will begin to
start into growth, when they should be potted off singly and
kept well watered. On becoming larger they require a bamboo
trellis.

Cyrtoceras.

C. reflexum.— Native of Java. A small shrubby plant with
lanceolate, wavy, flaccid leaves four inches long ; bears in August
lax drooping umbels of a creamy- white ; middle-sized flowers,
with pedicles an inch and a half long : considered by some a
very choice and beautiful plant, but in my opinion not to be
compared with some of the Hoyas. It thrives very indifferently
in the locality of Calcutta, and is consequently a very rare plant
there. Sir J. Paxton says it was introduced into England
grown upon a large log of wood, of which decayed portions and
leaf-mould seem highly favourable to its growth.

Hoya.
WAX-PLANT.

The species of this curious and interesting genus are rather
numerous, but not more than about four or five seem to thrive
and blossom well in Bengal. Several are natives of Java : some
of these are very beautiful, and have occasionally been intro-
duced into Calcutta ; but either from want of sufficient attention
being paid to them, or from their being ill-suited to the climate,
they have in a short time died off.

Hoyas seem to succeed best in a material consisting of loose
potsherds and broken brick, the interstices filled up with leaf-
mould and moss, upon which, when water is poured, it will drain
away, almost as through a sieve. Their roots love to cling
around the potsherds, and being kept damp by the moss and
leaf-mould, thrive with prodigious vigour.

It is very essential that their leaves be occasionally washed
with a sponge, to keep them clean of dust and cobwebs, which
are sure to accumulate upon them in a verandah. They produce
their flowers in the Hot and Eain seasons, and have the singular

506 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

property of blossoming again upon the same footstalks upon
which they had blossomed the year before. They are easy of
propagation ; a single leaf half-buried, stalk lowermost, in fine
sand, will soon become a rooted plant. They require shade, and
should be grown in pots to which a bamboo trellis is attached
for their support.

1. H. carnosa. — A native of China ; thrives well in this country ;
the most common and well-known of all the Hoyas, as perhaps
it is one of the most beautiful ; a vigorously-growing plant with
thick oval, pointed, rich deep-green, shining leaves, feather-
nerved, the under-surface of a pale-green, against which its
blossoms, borne during all the Hot and Kain seasons in succes-
sion, are admirably relieved. Flowers in compact even-formed
umbels of the most delicate flesh-colour, wax-like, chaste, and
glistening. They possess none of the honey-like fragrance
which several of the species have.

2. H. bella. — A native of Moulmein, with leaves somewhat
larger than those of the Myrtle, but similar in form. Described
in Curtis as •"' the most lovely of all the Hoyas ; flowers more
lively than and differently formed from those of H. carnosa,
and most deliciously scented ; the corolla of purer white and
corona of a deeper purple, resembling an amethyst set in frosted
silver." It is often cultivated in England suspended in a basket,
over the sides of which its long lax stems hang down, and have
a beautiful appearance when in full flower. A rare plant in
Calcutta, where it succeeds very indifferently.

3. H. Paxtoni. — Of this — often mistaken for the preceding, but
differing from it in its leaves narrowing off to the 'end — Mr.
Grote had several plants in his garden at Alipore in healthy
condition, grown upon a log suspended in the shade, and fas-
tened to it with Cocoa-nut fibre.

4. H. Potsii. — A rather extensive climber, with larger leaves
than those of any Hoya I have seen, being as much as seven
inches long and three-and-a-half broad, of a wedge-form, with
three parallel nerves ; flowers of a dull buff colour, not showy ;
thrives well about Calcutta, and is one of the species distributed
by the Agri-Horticultural Society.

5. H. mollis. — A very extensively climbing plant; flowers
thick, wax-like, with a slight purplish stain in the centre, borne
in most beautiful compact umbels. Cultivated for distribution

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 507

in the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society. A plant
under the same name, but very distinct from this, in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens, bears pure white flowers with a
thick, dark, linear, ray-like mark in the centre ; not of much
beauty.

6. H. Simmondsii. — A species in the Agri-Horticultural Society's
Gardens.

7. H. macrophylla. — Native of Java ; accounted a very noble
species ; has large, very thick, roundish-oval, three-nerved leaves
A plant or two is to be met with in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, but it thrives very indifferently there, and is apt to
die off.

8. H. orbiculata. — Native of Prome and Java : specimens in
the Calcutta Botanical Gardens ; seem to thrive moderately well
there.

9. H. longifolia. — A curious narrow linear-leaved species, met
with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, but not blossomed there
I believe.

10. H. coriacea. — A native of Java, described in Curtis as '" a
climbing shrub with the habit of H. carnosa, and bearing umbels
of yellowish flowers, having a white coronet with dark brown eye."
The sharp-pointed feather-nerved leaf, as figured in Curtis, shows
it to be a distinct plant from that issued under the same name
from the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society.

11. H. viridiflora. — Native of this country; a rambling mem-
branaceous-leaved plant with insignificant flowers. A mere
weed.

3 2. H. imperialis. — Native of the Moluccas ; introduced from
Madras, where it is said to thrive well in Mr. Grote's garden.
A very handsome plant, perhaps the finest of the whole genus,
with great smooth, fleshy, oval leaves ; described as bearing
flowers of a fine violet colour, protruding from their centre a
staminal crown of yellowish white, and emitting a delightful
fragrance.

13. H. variegata. — Has its leaves spotted with silver white,
and bears flesh-coloured fragrant flowers; has been exhibited
at the Calcutta Shows.

Ceropegia.
C. Gardner!!. — A very interesting, slender-stemmed, twining

508 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

pot plant ; Dears in January singular Convolvulus-formed flowers
with their mouths parted into five divisions, of a greenish-yellow
colour, sprinkled with numerous purple spots. Jt is tuberous-
rooted, and dies down after flowering.

Caralluma.

C. fimbriata. — A small pot-plant with fleshy, leafless, Cactus-
like stems of the thickness of a man's finger; flowers small,
white and pink, curiously fringed with hairs.

Boucerosia.

1. B. umbellata. — A leafless plant, with fleshy angular stems
like those of a Cactus, of the thickness of a man's thumb, about
a foot high ; a very sprawling and ungainly object when out of
blossom ; bears umbels of hexagonal flowers of the size of a
shilling, purplish-brown, slashed with golden streaks, clustered
together so as to form a ball of the size of a small Orange : very
curious and interesting.

2. B. crenulata. — Very similar to the last as regards the heads
of flowers it bears, but with stems of not a quarter of the
thickness.

Stapelia.

TOAD-PLANT — C A RRION-PL ANT.

From what Dr. Voigt states it is evident that the Stapelia
must be altogether unsuited to the climate of Bengal ; for out of
more than sixty species introduced from the Cape of Good Hope
by Dr. Carey, he says that none flowered, and that most perished
during the JRain season succeeding their arrival.

COEDIACE^E.
Cordia.

C. Sebestena. — A small tree about fifteen feet high, with dis-
agreeable foliage of rough, coarse, large, oval-formed leaves ;
young plants, however, in a healthy condition, with fresh verdant
foliage, are very handsome, when in blossom during the Hot and
Kain seasons with their trusses of large bright-scarlet, gorgeous-

CHAP. V. OKNAMENTAL TKEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 509

looking flowers. Propagated by seed, or by layers, which take
a very long time before they strike and are fit for removal.

CONVOLVULACE^.

The species of this Order are very numerous, and comprise
many plants producing flowers of exceeding beauty, annual as
well as perennial. They nearly all thrive well in this country.
There is, however, a considerable degree of sameness in them,
insomuch that a selection of a few of the most beautiful only is
desirable in a garden of limited extent.

Porana.

1. P. volubilis. — Native of the North of India; a most extensive
climber, covering the side of a high wall or outhouse to almost
any extent : blossoms in November, when its numberless light
silver sprays of crowded flowers, each resembling a diminutive
Convolvulus, have a delightful appearance, springing out of
their abundant foliage.

2. P. paniculata. — Also an extensively scandent shrub, and
exceedingly beautiful when in blossom in November; differs
from the preceding in the very hoary appearance of its heart-
shaped leaves, and in its sprays of numberless pure white flowers
having a faint, but most agreeable perfume, somewhat resem-
bling that of Lavender.

Aniseia.

A. media. — A pretty little creeper, with slender stems and
foliage, about three feet high ; bears in the Cold season numer-
ous very pretty and delicate-looking middling-sized flowers of a
primrose-yellow colour.

Convolvulus.

C. pentanthus. — More commonly called Ipomoea semperflorens ;
an extensive climber, with small slender foliage : when in full
bloom in the Cold season, trained over a trellis or garden
railings, a most beautiful object, with its profusion of middling-
sized flowers of the purest deep azure-blue ; a common plant in

510 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

gardens about Calcutta. Propagated by division, or from seed,
which it bears in the Cold weather.

Ipomoea.

1. I. macrorhiza. — A thick-stemmed, extensive, and rather un-
manageable creeper, requiring some very powerful means of
support; with large rough digitate leaves; flowers large, rose-
coloured, very handsome, produced in October. Propagated
by portions of the root, which is tuberous, and often of an
enormous size.

2. I. dasysperma. — A pretty climbing plant with fine, rich,
dense foliage, concealed in which, for the most part, are pro-
duced its moderate-sized pale rose-coloured flowers. Propa-
gated from seed.

3. I. Jalapi. — The name formerly given to I. macrorhiza, now
assigned to a rather stout, coarse-growing climber, with rough
crimped leaves; issued from the Saharunpore Gardens, and
bearing in the Cold season lovely flowers of the purest azure
blue.

4. I. Pes caprae — GOAT'S-FOOT CONVOLVULUS — SEA-SIDE
POTATO. — A wild trailing plant of this country, growing abun-
dantly by the sea-side, with curious two-lobed fleshy leaves, in
form like those of a Bauhinia ; produces in the Hot season
numerous large Rose-coloured flowers.

5. I. vitifolia. — A very extensive climber of rather slender
habit, with leaves much resembling those of a vine ; native of
this country; bears, in February, large handsome golden-yellow
bell-formed flowers.

6. I. tuberosa — SPANISH ARBOUR- VINE. — A handsome climber
of very extensive growth, with large finger-formed, rich, glossy-
green leaves ; flowers large and beautiful, golden-yellow.
Raised from seed.

7. I. polyanthes — AURICULA-FLOWERED IPOMCEA. — Bears
bunches of small yellow flowers of little interest.

8. I. ficifolia. — Native of Buenos Ayres : described as tuberous-
rooted, and bearing large dark-lilac flowers, which remain un-
altered throughout the day.

9. 1. Tyrianthina. — A tuberous-rooted climber, native of Mexico.
Sir J. Paxton says, " The flowers are very large, brilliant purple,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 511

and borne in great profusion;" and Dr. Lindley states that it is
" a splendid plant, superior to most of its allies." I have not
seen either this or the last in India.

Batatas.

1. B. paniculata. — A tuberous-rooted extensive climber, with
large ornamental finger-formed leaves ; bears in September
large trusses of very large pure purple flowers.

2. B. edulis — SWEET POTATO — Slmkar-Kundo. — A tuberous-
rooted trailing plant, with glossy verdant heart-shaped leaves ;
bears handsome rose-coloured flowers.

Pharbitis.

P. Leari. — Native of Buenos Ayres ; a very superb creeper,
one of finest of the whole order ; grows over a large extent
of trellis, and produces a succession of large fine deep-blue
flowers, very similar to those of Ipomoea rubro-ca3rulea, though
not borne so profusely, all the year through. I have never
found it produce seed, but the stems take root wherever they
touch the ground, and thus plants are easily propagated.

Rivea.

R. Bona nox — MIDNAPOKE CREEPER. — A creeper of strong
woody habit, with round leaves ; blossoms in September, open-
ing in the evening its large white flowers, which are rather
flimsy and unattractive, but which emit a delightful carnation-
like fragrance. Dr. Box burgh says of it that " in fact it is the
Prince of Convolvulacese." Produces seed in abundance.

Argyreia.

1. A. argentea. — A large-growing twining plant, with heart-
shaped leaves, the under-surface of which is covered with bright
silver-coloured silky down ; bears at the end of the Kaius
moderate- sized white flowers with a tinge of rose-colour.

2. A. splendens. — A twining plant of most extensive growth,
with heart-shaped leaves, the under-surface of which has the
same silvery appearance as those of the last ; bears in the Bains
numerous pale-pink flowers. Dr. Koxburgh says of it, " a most

512 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

beautiful plant, far exceeding every other species I have yet
met with."

3. A. cuneata. — A scandent shrub, in character and flower
wholly unlike either of the two preceding ; leaves roundish,
heart-shaped, and with no silvery down on their under-surface ;
bears at the beginning and end of the Cold season moderate-
sized funnel-formed deep bright Tyrian-purple flowers. It is a
native of the Mysore country, where it may be seen growing
wild in every shady spot. Dr. Eoxburgh observes of it : " This,
when in blossom, is one of the most beautiful of the whole
order ; the large, very bright, deep-purple flowers make it par-
ticularly conspicuous amongst its own deep-green leaves, and
this is much augmented by making it run over any other stout
plant with deep dense green foliage." At the foot of the
Nilgherries it produces seed in great abundance, but Dr. Wallich
says he has never known it to bear a single seed in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, and that moreover it is difficult to propa-
gate by layers.

4. A. nervosa — ELEPHANT CREEPER — Gau-putta. — An im-
mensely powerful, shrubby, twining plant, with great roundish
heart-shaped leaves ; bears large rose-coloured flowers ; quite
unmanageable in a garden except where it can be trained up
some tree, or over an outhouse. Raised from seed.

POLEMONIACE.E.
Phlox,

One or two varieties of perennial Phlox, bearing respectively
white and pink flowers, are now to be found tolerably common
in Calcutta, and are in blossom the greater part of the year.
The flowers borne in the tuft-like heads are very handsome.
With me plants have succeeded better in the open ground
than in pots. They are herbaceous, and are easily multiplied
by division.

Ipomopsis.

I. elegans. — A very beautiful biennial, with finely-cut leaves ;
bears handsome spikes of bright-scarlet flowers. Plants raised
from seed sown in October, when they can be kept through the

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 513

Hot and Bain seasons, blossom prettily in the Cold weather ;
but they are nearly sure to die off at the close of the Bains.
In the North- West Provinces, however, I succeeded in preserv-
ing plants till they blossomed.

Cob sea.

C. scandens. — A rather extensive and very ornamental climber,
with fine glossy, finger-formed foliage ; flowers very large, bell-
shaped; on first opening of a greenish-sulphur colour, turning
some time afterwards to a fine deep purple, and then remark-
ably handsome. The seeds are usually sown in October with
the annuals, and if they germinate, as about one or two out of
a large number may do, the plants must be carefully kept
through the Hot season till the following Cold weather, at the
end of which, in March or April, they will come into blossom.
They require large pots, to which a trellis of split bamboo is
attached for their support. The mode of cultivation recom-
mended in England is that the roots be " limited to some space
filled with lime and brick rubbish, in which the plant blossoms
liberally, and of a brighter colour." It is very difficult, I under-
stand, to keep it alive through a second season.

HYDBOPHYLLACE^E.
Wigandia.

These, which may be raised from seed from England, are de-
scribed as majestic perennial plants, with large ornamental
undulating foliage. W. Vigieri and one or two others have been
introduced.

PLUMBAGINACKaa.

Statice.

S. duriuscula. — A small herbaceous perennial, mentioned by
Dr. Anderson as bearing in the morning, during the Hot
season, an abundance of pale-pink flowers, which drop off in
the afternoon.

2 L

514 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Armeria.

A. cephalotes — THRIFT. — A dwarf, herbaceous, edging plant,
with narrow grass-like leaves ; bears large heads of rather large,
handsome, rose-coloured flowers; thrives well at Ootacamund,
but is not met with, that I am aware of, in the plains.

Plumbago.

1. P. Capensis.— A small prostrate growing shrub, with foliage
arranged in a succession of whorls of five unequal lanceolate
leaves, from half an inch to two inches long ; one of the com-
monest as well as one of the most ornamental plants of our
Indian gardens ; bears in the Hot and Kain seasons a profusion
of pale azure-blue flowers of the same size and form, and ar-
ranged in the same manner as those of the Phlox ; is bene-
fited by being pruned in the Cold season.

2. P. Larpentse. — A native of China; much resembles the
last, but produces flowers of a much finer and deeper blue.
Plants have at various times been introduced into this country,
but have not long survived, being seemingly unsuited to the
climate.

3. P. rosea. — A small shrub, with prostrate stems ; native of
this country ; bears, in the Cold season, crowded racemes of
moderate-sized pale, pinkish-scarlet flowers, not unlike those of
the scarlet Ixora, exceedingly brilliant and beautiful. The
beauty of the plant, however, is much impaired by many of the
leaves appearing generally in a decayed condition; requires
shade and moisture. Propagated by cuttings in the Kains.

4. P. Zeylanica. — A small, slender, not very pleasing shrub,
about three feet high; bears at nearly all seasons racemes of
small white sparkling flowers, very clammy and disagreeable
to the touch ; bears seed in abundance.

PBIMULACE^E.
Primula.

1. P. vulgaris — PRIMROSE. — I have never seen this plant in
India. One of our principal amateur gardeners in the vicinity
of Calcutta told me he had taken every possible means he

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 515

could think of to cultivate it in his garden, but in every instance
without success. In the * Journal of the Agri-Horticultural
Society' I find it stated by Captain Hollings that they had
" the English Primrose in magnificent blossom at Lucknow on
the 30th August, 1844."

Var. Polyanthus. — This I have seen only at Ootacamund, and
thriving but very indifferently even there.

2. P. veris— COWSLIP. 3. P. Auricula. — These two plants are,
I believe, utterly unknown in India ; and the attempt to intro-
duce them would, I make no doubt, only result in complete
failure.

Cyclamen.

SOWBREAD.

A genus of small bulbous plants, bearing pretty, delicate,
shuttlecock-like flowers : rarely, if ever, met with in the plains
of India, nor in the least likely to be cultivated here with
success.

MYESINACE^E.
Maesa.

M. racementosa.— A rather large tree, suited only for a garden
of great extent ; very beautiful in the month of February when
in full blossom, with its unbounded profusion of large sprays of
very small pure milk-white flowers.

Ardisia.

1. A. solanacea. — A large shrub, native of India, from four to
five feet high ; in every respect beautiful, in foliage as well as
in flower. Leaves oblong, pointed, smooth, glossy, somewhat
succulent, four to six inches long ; bears at nearly all seasons
compact corymbs of pretty rose-coloured flowers, arranged some-
what in the manner of those of the Hoya, in form like those of
a Potato, having a fine effect, relieved by the dense verdant
foliage. The flowers are succeeded by ornamental bunches of
small, black, shining berries.

2. A. crenulata. — A shrub much of the same character as the
last ; bears also very similar flowers, but of a whitish colour, and

2 L 2

518 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

not nearly so showy. The ornamental character of the plant
mainly consists in the beautiful rose-coloured berries by which
the flowers are succeeded.

3. A. umbellata. — A large shrub like the two preceding ; bears
corymbs of dull white flowers, succeeded by an unbounded pro-
fusion of black berries of the size of a pea, in the Cold season,
when it has rather an ornamental appearance.

4. A. paniculata. — A large shrub quite distinct in habit from
either of the preceding, having somewhat of the aspect of
a Dracaena. It sends up long bare stems about ten or twelve
feet high, from the summit of which its large lanceolate leaves,
from six to twelve inches long, spread forth, and from among
these project large, long, pink-stalked, plume-like panicles of
numberless small pale-pink flowers. Blossoms principally in
February and March.

Jacquinia.

1. J. ruscifolia. — A very large round bushy shrub, four or five
feet high, with narrow lanceolate leaves, from one-and-a-half to
two inches long, ending in a needle-like point ; bears in the Hot
season a great profusion of small, star-like, bright-orange, rather
pretty flowers. The whole shrub is of a dark sombre hue, not
very agreeable. The wood is exceedingly hard, and the plant
is rather difficult of propagation.

2. J. aurantiaca. — Is in most respects very similar to the last,
except in having somewhat larger leaves.

JASMINACE^E.

Jasminum.
JASMINE.

A very numerous genus, a few of the species of which claim
admission into every garden, some for the fine fragrance of their
blossoms, and some for their sparkling beauty when covered
with their numberless white, star-like flowers. Some two or
three have foliage for which alone they may be considered
ornamental; but several are very coarse-looking shrubs, and far
from attractive, except when in blossom. These latter it is well

CHAP. V. OENAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 517

to prune in closely after flowering, and keep as small and com-
pact as possible. Many are native of the hills of India, though
thriving well in the'plains. All are propagated easily by cuttings
or layers during the Bains.

1. J. angustifolium. — A small shrub with long twig-like stems,
along which grow pairs of small oval, pointed, glossy leaves,
about an inch in length ; bears in the Hot months, in continued
profusion, small white, star-like, exquisitely fragrant flowers.
A delightful plant for perfuming the verandah during the time
it is in bloom. Dr. Koxburgh says of it, " It is one of the most
beautiful species of Jasmine I know. It is constantly covered
with leaves, and their bright, shining, deep-green colour renders
it always beautiful, and particularly well adapted for screening
windows, covering arbours, &c."

2. J. approximation. — An unattractive shrub but for the curious
spider-like flowers it bears in March, with narrow, white, thread-
like lobes, more than an inch long, quite scentless.

3. J. arboreseens. — A tree about ten or twelve feet high, with
ovate, cordate, acuminate leaves ; very showy in the Cold and
beginning of the Hot season, when loaded with its large corymbi-
ferous panicles of large white fragrant flowers.

4. J. auriculatum— Jooee. — A small twining shrub, having
large heart-shaped leaves, with a pair of minute leaflets on their
footstalks ; bears in April numerous middle-sized, white, star-
like, very fragrant flowers.

5. J. Azoricum. — A large bushy shrub, with soft downy stems
and heart-shaped leaves ; remarkably handsome in the month
of February, when it bears in great profusion its large crowded
heads of scentless flowers, the petals white inside and delicately
tinged with red on the outside.

6. J. candidum. — A shrub with narrow lanceolate leaves two or
three inches long ; bears in the Cold season large white, five-
lobed, periwinkle-like flowers, without scent.

7. J. caudatum. — A not very attractive shrub ; bears in the
Cold season middling-sized white flowers, with tubes an inch
and a half long.

8. J chrysanthemum. — Dr. Koxburgh describes this as a stout
shrub, from eight to twelve feet high, with stems as thick as a
man's leg, and foliage of dark-green unequally pinnate leaves ;
bears corymbs of ten to twenty-flowered large, bright-yellow,

518 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

delightfully fragrant flowers ; he further observes it is a native
of Nepaul, and that " in the Botanic G-arden it grows freely
from cuttings, and becomes a stout, erect, ramous shrub, even a
small tree, without the smallest tendency to lean or twine.
Flowers more or less the whole year, but, like the other species,
the proper season is April and May, at which time it is the most
desirable Jasmine I have yet seen." I fancy this must have
wholly disappeared from the Calcutta gardens, for I have never
met with it.

9. J. coarctatum. — This Dr. Koxburgh describes as a very
ramous shrub, with no tendency to climb, and says, " it may be
readily known, without any other mark, by the great number of
flowers which form the little dense corymbs."

10. J. fruticans. — A common and very beautiful small, twig-
stemmed, twining shrub, with deep bright-green foliage of ter-
nate leaves ; leaflets oval, side ones half an inch, and terminal
one three-quarters of an inch long ; bears at nearly all seasons
five-lobed, bright-yellow, scentless flowers.

11. J. grandiflorum— CATALONIAN or SPANISH JASMINE — Jatee
— Chunibelee — Kuth-bela — Kund. — A very pretty shrub with
graceful pinnate foliage, the leaflets less than an inch long ; in
blossom during the Hot and Rain seasons, with middling-sized,
white, fragrant flowers ; resembles more than any other species
in leaf, flower, and fragrance the common Jasmine of the
English gardens. The flowers are much used for perfume in
this country, retaining their odour when dried. When in a
thriving condition a rather troublesome plant to keep in order,
sprawling over a large extent of space, and emitting roots from
its stems whenever they touch the ground. It may be trained
upon a single stem, which will eventually become as thick as a
man's wrist, supporting, at the height of two or three feet, a large
bushy head. But thus trained it is very apt to be blown down
by strong winds.

12. J. heterophyllum.— Of this Dr. Wallich observes, " this
ornamental Jasmine is probably the largest of the genus,
growing, as I am informed, to a considerable tree." Bears very
numerous yellow, delightfully fragrant flowers, but not in the
Calcutta Gardens, where, Dr. Voigt states, it has been more than
thirty years without flowering.

13. J. laurifolium. — A twining shrub of handsome, verdant,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 519

glossy foliage; leaves lanceolate, pointed, five inches long;
bears in February lax corymbs of middle-sized, white, faintly-
fragrant flowers.

14. J. ligustrifolium. — A shrub of low growth, ornamental if
only for its privet-like decussate foliage ; leaves oval, pointed,
deep-green on their upper and pale on their under surface,
leathery ; bears in February, in vast profusion, small umbels of
middle-sized feebly-fragrant flowers.

15. J. nudiflorum. — A trailing plant of slender habit, native of
China. Flowers an inch in diameter, yellow, scentless, borne in
great profusion upon the plant when destitute of leaves. Intro-
duced by Mr. Fortune from Chusan in 1854 into the Agri-
Horticultural Society's Garden, where it gradually died off;
seemingly unsuited to the climate.

16. J. officinale. — The old familiar shrub, with light, graceful,
pinnate, deep-green foliage, and cheerful sprays of fragrant
white flowers, so commonly trained against the sides of houses
in England ; hardly, if at all, known here, except that a plant
or two may be met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.
None were there in Dr. Void's time.

O

17. J. pubescens.— A moderate-sized branching shrub, with
heart-shaped, deep-green, silky leaves, and the young branches
very downy ; bears during the Cold season principally, in
unlimited profusion, crowded downy umbels of large, pure- white,
fragrant flowers, at which time it is exceedingly ornamental ; a
very common plant. Dr. Koxburgh says it " is in flower during
the Bains chiefly," which does not quite accord with my obser-
vation.

18. J. Sambac— ARABIAN JASMINE — Bel — Beta. — A bushy
under-shrub, from two to two-and-a-half feet high, with ash-
coloured branches, and shining oval leaves from four to six
inches long and three inches broad ; in a perfectly sound and
healthy condition would undoubtedly be a handsome plant for
its foliage alone ; but, from some unassignable cause, scarcely a
leaf upon it but is always found either cankered, or partially
decayed, or half nibbled away ; insomuch that, although indis-
pensable in every garden for the exquisitely fragrant flowers it
produces, it is best allotted a place in the background in an
unfrequented spot. There are three or four varieties hardly to
be distinguished by the leaves, except that they are rounder and

520 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

more heart-shaped, and more decrepit- looking, the larger and
finer the flowers ; blossoms during the Hot months. Propagated
by layers.

1st. The SINGLE -FLOWERED ARABIAN JASMINE. — Bears more
profusely than the other varieties, and more fragrant flowers.

2nd. The DOUBLE-FLOWERED ARABIAN JASMINE — Rdebel.

3rd. The GREAT DOUBLE ARABIAN or TUSCAN JASMINE —
Motiya — Mogra. — Bears flowers like little white Roses ; in much
request among the natives, and sold in great quantities in the
bazars, strung together as neck-garlands. In the flowers of this
variety, possibly from the plant having been grown in a too-
enriched soil, there is sometimes a curious propensity in the
petals to become converted entirely into leaves.

19. J. scandens. — A scandent shrub, with oblong-cordate
shining leaves, from one to six inches long ; bears in January
and February corymbs of numerous pure white, delightfully
fragrant flowers.

20. J. simplicifolium. — A spreading shrub, with exceedingly
pretty myrtle-like foliage of oval highly-polished leaves, less
than two inches long; bears in the Hot season small white
fragrant flowers.

21. J. syringsefolium. — A large twining bushy shrub, with
glossy, rich, syringa-] ike leaves; bears in February corymbs of
small white faintly-fragrant flowers.

22. J. trinerve. — An extensively-climbing shrub, with polished
oval, sharp-pointed leaves, remarkable for the strong manner
in which their three longitudinal nerves are marked ; bears in
February flowers very similar to those of the last.

23. J. sp. — An unnamed species very common in gardens
about Calcutta ; a twining shrub, ornamental for its rich foliage
of lanceolate, long, pointed, highly varnished leaves, from two
to three inches in length ; bears constantly, but particularly in
February, terminal corymbs of large, sparkling, white, very
fragrant flowers, with the tube and under-side of two of the lobes
purple. The calyces also, as well as the unexpanded buds,
which are of a shining purple, have a very beautiful effect inter-
mingled with the white flowers. One of the most delightful of
the Jasmines, and especially pleasing when in the morning it
perfumes the garden with its agreeable odour.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 521

Nyctanthes.

N. Arbor-tristis.— Ear SingJiar. — A tree about ten feet high,
of most harsh and disagreeable aspect, common all over India :
deserves some situation in the garden where it can be least seen
for the boundless profusion of small, star-like, white flowers,
with orange centre, which it bears each night from September
to November, scenting at that time the atmosphere for a wide
distance around with a delightful honey-like fragrance. The
flowers all drop off in the morning, and the ground becomes
perfectly carpeted with them. It is of very rapid growth, and
the great long woody shoots which it bears annually should be
cut completely in after flowering. It is propagated by seed.

EHKETIACE^].
Heliotropium.

H. Peruvianum — HELIOTROPE. — In most works upon gardening
the Heliotrope is stated to be a shrub two feet or less in height.
This gives a very poor and inaccurate notion of what the plant
is in localities most congenial to it. At Ootacamund, for in-
stance, in the Nilgherries, in some gardens it forms a fine com-
pact verdant hedge, three or four feet high ; and in one garden
in particular a plant might be seen as much as ten feet in height
and forty feet in circumference in the form of a dense bush,
loaded in its season with blossoms. In the plains of India,
however, it never attains to a large size. It succeeds very well
in the open border, but is sometimes apt to perish from excess
of wet in the Kains. It blossoms in the latter part of the Cold
weather with its trusses of small lilac flowers, so well known for
their sweet Vanilla-like fragrance.

The most successful mode of cultivating this plant I have
found to be as follows : — Sow the seed in October ; pot the
seedlings off singly into large pots in which they are to remain
permanently, and treat them in the way directed for producing
the Tree mignonette ; that is, nip off the undermost leaves and
buds as soon as they appear, and allow the plant to run up
with a clean stem to about four feet high, supporting it with a
bamboo stake. When arrived at that height allow it to form a
head. Thus formed it will require no further trouble, as it will

522 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

show little tendency afterwards to give out shoots below. In
September of the following season it will come beautifully into
blossom full two months earlier than plants left to themselves
would do. Three or four plants thus treated, and placed near
the verandah, have a very ornamental appearance, and in the
morning particularly perfume the air delightfully. It is easily
propagated by layers in the Cold season. There are several
varieties, between some of which there is no marked difference.
But the one called Yoltaireanum, not uncommon in Calcutta, is
a very beautiful and distinct one. The young shoots are of a
bluish-purple, and the unexpanded trusses of bloom of a very
dark-purple' colour; the leaves, also, are of a finer, darker
green.

•
LAMIACE^].

Ocimum.
Toolsee.

Weedy-looking herbaceous plants, with little to commend
them to a place in the garden except the agreeable and peculiar
fragrance of their leaves ; raised from seed, which they produce
in abundance.

1. 0. sanctum. — A small plant with leaves and stem of a dull
red-purple, and small purplish flowers ; common all over India,
and well known for the sanctity in which it is held by the
Hindoos ; very apt to become a troublesome weed in gardens
where it has once established itself, shedding its seed abroad,
and producing young plants in profusion, which the malees are
very reluctant to destroy.

2. 0. Basilicum, var. glabratum — BASIL — Gooldl Toolsee.—
Pleasing for the freshness of its rather large spear- formed,
bright-green fragrant leaves.

Orthosiphon.

1 . 0. incurvus. — A small herbaceous plant, delicately beautiful
when in full blossom in the Hot season ; flowers small, pink,
borne very numerously in long spikes. Propagated from cuttings
or by seeds.

2. 0. stamineus. — A very interesting and pretty little herba-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 523

ceous plant ; blossoms in June, with lavender-coloured flowers,
curious for their long-projecting white stamens. Raised easily
from seed.

Plectranthus.

P. aromaticus— BREAD-AND-BUTTER PLANT. — A low-growing,
wide-spreading herb ; bears small, pink, insignificant flowers ;
interesting only for its solid succulent leaves, .which possess a
pleasant aromatic fragrance. ' Every slip will readily strike.

Coleus.

1. C. Blumei. — An herbaceous plant, about two feet high,
common in the Calcutta gardens ; remarkably ornamental when
in a^ healthy and thriving condition ; the heart-shaped, saw-
edged leaves being then of a clear yellowish -green, curiously
blotched over with marks of dull purple ; bears pretty spikes of
small pale-blue flowers; must be renewed frequently from
cuttings, as it becomes unsightly from age.

2. C. scutellarioides. — When well-grown a most delightful pot-
plant ; the stem, leaf-stalks, and leaf- veins of deep blood-red
colour, which, mingled with the green of the leaves, gives it a
very beautiful appearance, more especially so when in blossom
with its spike of small pure azure-blue flowers. To be effective
several plants should be grown in broad shallow flower-pots.
Propagated easily by division.

3. C. Verschaffelti. — A very lovely plant, with saw-edged, thick
leaves, which, together with the stems, when in a healthy condi-
tion and exposed to the sun, rival in glow and colour the richest
crimson velvet. Most easily propagated by cuttings in sand.
Of this there now exist perhaps some thirty varieties, distin-
guished with fancy names, according to the markings of their
piebald leaves of red and yellow ; now common in Calcutta.

Anisochilus.

A. carnosus. — A rather pretty herbaceous pot-plant ; bears in
September small lavender flowers on club-like heads.

Lavandula.
L. Spica — LAVENDER. — This delightful shrub is easily raised

524 GARDEN PLANTS. PAET II.

from seed, and may be preserved for years, and grown to a con-
siderable size ; but never, that I can learn, has been brought to
blossom on the plains. On the Nilgherries plants of compara-
tively small size produce flowers abundantly.

Pogostemon.

P. Patchouli — Pucha-pat. — A coarse-looking, low, herbaceous
plant, of no interest whatever in the garden, but for the peculiar
strong fragrance of its leaves, which are sometimes gathered and
laid in a chest with linen to impart to it a fine scent. Propa-
gated easily by cuttings or slips.

Colebrookia.

Large uninteresting shrubs, with coarse sage-like leaves ; bear
spikes of small insignificant flowers in March, but hardly deserve
the room they occupy in a garden. 1. C. oppositifolia. — Flowers
pale chocolate. 2. C. ternifolia. — Flowers pale green.

Mentha.

M. auricularia. — A small herbaceous plant; very pretty when
in blossom in November, with small lavender flowers, on dense
spikes, three or four inches long, and as thick as a man's little
finger. Propagated by slips or cuttings.

Salvia.

Of the several handsome species of this genus few, it has been
found, can endure the climate of the plains.

1. S. splendens. — A rather large herbaceous plant, very superb
when in full blossom; the large gaping flowers, together with
their large bracts, being of a brilliant scarlet. Some care must
be bestowed to keep it in a healthy and thriving condition,
otherwise it looks unsightly, notwithstanding its handsome
flowers. It soon becomes old and worn, and must be frequently
renewed from cuttings. It requires shade, bearing indifferently
much if any exposure to direct sunshine.

2. S. angustifolia. — An herbaceous plant with long slender
prostrate stems, and of very untidy habit ; flowers small, pretty,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 525

of a bright pure blue, produced in the Cold season ; does not
thrive well unless transplanted occasionally, which is best done
in October.

3. S. patens. — A tuberous-rooted herbaceous plant ; bears very
large exceedingly beautiful flowers of the purest azure-blue;
thrives well and is a common plant at Ootacamund, but is rarely
to be met with on the plains, the climate of which it cannot
long endure.

4. S. coccinea. — A small herbaceous plant, nearly always in
blossom, with long erect spikes of small crimson-scarlet flowers,
rather pretty, but not very showy. Raised easily either from
slips or from seed.

Dracocephalum.

Herbaceous plants, remarkable principally for the aromatic
fragrance of their leaves ; particularly

D. Canariense— BALM-OF-GILEAD. — They are best treated as
annuals, as they cannot be kept through the Hot and Eain
seasons without more care bestowed on them than they deserve.

Phlomis.

P. leonurus — JEKUSALEM SAGE. — A coarse-looking, bushy
plant, about three feet high, rather gaudy when in full bloom in
the Cold season, with its succession of large bright-orange flowers
produced in crowded whorls along the stem. Propagated readily
from cuttings.

Holmskioldia.

H. coccinea. — A large woody, spreading shrub, five to seven
feet high ; bears, in October and November, very curious flowers,
in form like diminutive chamber-candlesticks, of a bright tawny-
red, in boundless profusion, and is then a most beautiful object ;
requires to be cut closely in after flowering, to keep it compact
and within bounds. Propagated from cuttings, or from seed.

Gomphostemma.

G. melisssefolium. — A small herbaceous plant ; bears, in Sep-
tember, whorls of largish orange-coloured flowers; a coarse-
looking thing at best, much resembling a Dead-nettle.

526 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

VERBENACE^E.

Aloysia.

A. citriodora.— LEMON-SCENTED VERBENA. — Well known for
the fine fragrance of its leaves : a very common plant in the
gardens about Calcutta ; bears, principally at the beginning and
end of the Cold season, long, pretty, graceful spikes of very
small milk-white, fragrant flowers. At Ootacamund it grows to
become an immense shrub, six or eight feet high, with stem
thicker than a man's arm, and remains constantly covered with
a profusion of blossoms ; plants, however, on the plains soon
become decrepit and unsightly, and are rarely found more than
two feet high before they die off. It is best, therefore, to renew
plants by laying down slips or cuttings in the Cold weather.
These should be put in a flower- pot filled with silver-sand, and
kept in a shady place till they strike, which they do very readily.
The young plants should then be potted singly, and by the
Rains they will become large and handsome.

Verbena.

Many of the species, hybrids, and varieties of this beautiful
genus may be met with from time to time in the Calcutta
gardens, but no dependence can be put upon their being found
there permanently, as they are very apt, under any treatment
whatever, to die off towards the end of the Eains. The losses,
however, may be repaired by repeated sowings. If a packet of
choice seeds be procured from England and sown in October,
a good supply of plants of several varieties may be raised, which
will come into blossom in March ; and little difficulty will be
found in keeping these till the following Cold season, during
which they will blossom beautifully. Some two or three of the
commoner kinds it may perhaps be found not necessary to mul-
tiply in this way, as they are of a robust nature, and young
plants propagated from layers will survive the Hot and Eain
seasons. From their trailing habit when put out in the border,
Verbenas have usually an untidy appearance. Small circular or
oval beds, each filled with a distinct variety, have a most charm-
ing and glowing effect during the very long time the plants last
in the full height of their bloom.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 527

The Verbena loves a soil well enriched with vegetable mould,
but is impatient of wet. The beds in which it is planted should
be slightly raised, so as to form low mounds. The tendency of
the stems to throw out roots, wherever they rest upon the earth,
sufficiently indicates that it requires frequent renewal of soil.
The finer kinds never, that I have been able to discover, produce
seed here.

1. V. venosa. — Keadily known by its long, spear-formed leaves ;
bears dull-lavender flowers ; a very robust but not an attractive
plant.

2. V. Bonariensis. — A coarse-looking plant of upright growth,
about three feet high ; bears large clusters of very small unin-
teresting lavender flowers.

Stachytarpheta.
The following are raised from seed : —

1. S. mutabilis.— A large shrubby, herbaceous, rather coarse
plant, with rough woolly leaves ; flowers small, Verbena-like,
bright-red, upon spikes sometimes two or three feet long ; nearly
always in bloom.

2. S. Jamaicencis. — An herbaceous plant with smooth, pale-
green leaves ; produces long spikes of small blue flowers ;
common, and of little merit.

3. S. Orubica. — An herbaceous plant distinguished from the
last from its leaves being strongly veined and much crimped, and
its flowers of a violet colour.

Lantana,

A genus of very beautiful flowering plants, remarkable for the
strong sage- like scent of their leaves ; nearly always in blossom
during the warmer months ; very rapid in their growth, and
requiring repeatedly to be cut in, to keep them within bounds ;
easily propagated by cuttings or by seed, which they all bear
freely.

1. L. trifolia.— A small common, somewhat coarse-looking
plant, but, notwithstanding, rather pretty ; blossoms with heads
of lavender-coloured flowers, succeeded by berries of the same
colour, bright like enamel, and as ornamental as the flowers.

2. L. Selloviana.— A small trailing plant, having altogether the
habit and appearance of a Verbena, except for the bright little

528 GARDEN PLANTS. • PART II.

blue berries it bears, and the scent of its leaves ; flowers pale
purple.

3. L. Camara.— WILD SAGE. — A large bushy shrub, four or
five feet high ; most rapid in its growth, with dark-green foliage
of oval-notched, rough, powerfully-scented leaves ; a common
plant, often found growing wild, nevertheless exceedingly beau-
tiful when in full blossom, as it nearly always is, with its nume-
rous small, semi-spherical compact corymbs of orange and yellow
flowers, succeeded by bunches of purplish-black seeds. There
are a great many varieties, named according to the colour of
the flowers they bear. ' Le Bon Jardinier ' gives the names of
as many as eighteen, of which some half-dozen, perhaps, are now
cultivated here.

4. L. nivea. — In habit and foliage similar to the last ; flowers
white, tinged with lavender, with yellow centre; exceedingly
delicate and beautiful.

Citharexylon.

C. subserratum. — A large handsome shrub, with much of the
appearance of a Duranta, with dark-green verdant foliage ; bears
during the Kains long drooping spikes of numerous small, milk-
white, very fragrant flowers.

Clerodendron.

A genus that comprises some of the most beautiful plants
with which our gardens are adorned. Nothing can possibly
surpass the loveliness of some of the species, particularly the
seven first described below. The several species do not appear
as yet to have been well determined. . " Whoever," says Dr.
Lindley, " shall investigate the true distinctions between the
beautiful species of Clerodendron with scarlet inflorescence,
will find as ample a harvest of confusion to be reaped as he
can desire." *

Some occasionally yield seed, and all may be propagated
without difficulty by cuttings put down in the Eains, or from
offsets or suckers, which most species send up abundantly. Sir
J. Paxton observes : " Flowers are produced from the top of
the current season's shoots; therefore cut away wood of the
previous season to within two or three buds of the base."

* Edwards's ' Botanical Register for 1844,' p. 19.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 529

1. C. Ksempferi. — A shrub about three feet high; flowers,
borne in April, of a coral-crimson colour, in a large close mass,
surmounting the head, of dark handsome leaves, in a very
stately way. Sir J. Paxton says this is probably identical with
2. C. fulgens. It, as well as C. pyramidale, Mr. Errington tells
me, is most easily propagated by cuttings of the young shoots,
which soon become handsome plants.

3. C. urticsefolium. — A plant of lower growth than the preced-
ing, but very similar in the manner of flowering. Its deep rich
green leaves set off admirably the exquisite crimson-scarlet
heads of flowers which rise above them in September.

4. C. pyramidale. — A shrub three or four feet high; bears,
during the Kains, its flowers in enormous, dense, conical heads,
presenting a truly magnificent appearance, though their colour
is perhaps somewhat inferior to that of other kinds, being of
rather a pallid crimson, not so brilliant as in either of the two
preceding.

5. C. hastatum. — A tall-growing shrub, native of Sylhet;
remarkable for its handsome spear-head-like leaves; flowers
described as more than five inches long, greenish-white, with
the mouth of the throat marked with fine purple dots, borne in
April and May.

6. C. splendens. — A dwarf climber, native of Sierra Leone;
blossoms in large close clusters of gorgeous crimson flowers ; of
exquisite beauty when in fine 'condition, as sometimes seen in
the stoves in England. In the vicinity of Calcutta it can hardly
be kept alive, and flowers, but very indifferently, in January.

7. C. squamatum.— The stems of this shrub rise naked from
the ground about three feet, and then bear a parasol-like expan-
sion of handsome, rich green, heart-shaped leaves, surmounting
which rise the heads of blossom, resembling a mass of bright
crimson coral. When in full flower, in April and May, no
plant can surpass this in beauty.

8. C. sp. from Mauritius : in Garden of the Agri-Horticul-
tural Society. — Somewhat resembles the last; blossoms in
October, producing afterwards large, enamel-like, deep-blue
seeds.

9. C. fallax. — A shrub about three feet high ; produces, in
March, pale violet-coloured flowers in large semi-spherical
heads upon slender stems.

2 M

530 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

10. C. fragrans. — A vigorous, low-growing, large-leaved plant ;
flowers very double, like little roses, white tinged with pink, of
exquisitely delicate fragrance, borne in large compact heads
during all the Hot and Rain seasons ; the leaves have a most
disagreeable fetid smell ; a very troublesome plant in the
border on account of its throwing up suckers to a considerable
distance around.

11. C. infortunatum. — A common roadside weed, very pretty,
however, in February and March, when bearing its large heads
of pinkisk-white flowers.

12. C. nutans. — A tall shrub, about eight feet high ; blossoms
in November with an immense profusion of large white, tubular,
hanging flowers, presenting a most lovely appearance.

13. C. siphonanthus. — A small shrub, native of India; blos-
soms in May, with a great profusion of white tubular flowers,
three or four inches long, when the plant, with its long strap -
like leaves, has a very chaste, handsome appearance.

14. C. odoratum. — A shrub of considerable size and spreading
habit, requiring to be well cut in to be kept within bounds ;
produces in February and March an unlimited profusion of
pretty pale-blue, sweet-scented flowers. There is a variety
that produces white flowers.

15. C. phlomoides. — A shrub of some size, produces numerous
small creamy-white flowers, very sweet-scented, particularly at
night; a common jungul plant, hardly deserving admittance
into the garden.

16. C. serratum. — A large-leaved, coarse, unattractive shrub,
nearly always in blossom ; flowers dull light-blue, not large nor
interesting.

17. C. Thomson!. — A most beautiful climbing plant, of recent
introduction, bearing during the Eains, in great profusion, large
corymbs of flowers, with white calyx, and corolla with purple
tube and deep-crimson limb; succeeded by purple berries
of the size of a pea, very ornamental with the white persistent
calyx. Most easily propagated.

18. C. speciosum. — Lately introduced.

Duranta.

1. D. Plumieri. — A rather large woody, thorny, but handsome
spreading shrub, native of the West Indies, about six feet high,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. . 531

with bright-green foliage. Constantly in blossom with numerous
drooping bunches of bright azure-blue flowers, succeeded by
pretty orange-coloured berries of the size of a pea ; a common
plant, found in most Indian gardens. From its neat foliage and
thorny nature it forms a very pretty garden hedge. Kaised
easily from seed or by cuttings.

2. D. Ellisii. — Differs in no very marked degree from the
last, except that its flowers are white and its leaves somewhat
smaller.

Petraea.

1. P. Stapelia. — A very extensive scandent shrub, with noble
lanceolate leaves, native of South America: requires a stout
framework of bamboo for its support ; bears bright, pure azure-
blue, large, star-like flowers, in large, elegant, wreath-like
clusters ; when in full blossom in October, and more especially
in February, one of the loveliest objects in nature the eye could
rest upon. It may be also trained as a standard. Propagated
by layers, or from rooted suckers, which it not unfrequently
sends up.

2. P. erecta. — Except in its more upright habit of growth, the
difference between this and the last is not very marked.
The bracts are shorter, and more resemble the lower petals of
the flower, the leaves are smaller, and the plumes of blossom
perhaps not so handsome.

Callicarpa.

Not very ornamental plants ; bear large bunches of small,
uninteresting flowers, succeeded by numerous shot-like berries,
in October.

1. C. cana. — Has large coarse woolly leaves, with berries of
a milk-white colour. 2. C. lanceolaria. — Kather large coarse
leaves, and bears pale lilac flowers. And 3. C. purpurea. — A
neat shrub with small leaves ; bears numerous pretty lavender
berries.

Congea.

C. azurea. — Native of Maitaban; an exceedingly extensive
climbing shrub, sometimes covering entirely the summit of a

2 M 2

532 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

large tree, and when in blossom in January, and seen from a
distance, has a very splendid effect, presenting a large uninter-
rupted expanse of pale dull-red blossoms, somewhat resembling
in form those of Petra3a.

GESNERACE.E.

Gesnera.

A very numerous genus of choice, small herbaceous plants ;
of exquisite beauty when blossoming in a thriving condition ; for
the most part unsuited seemingly to the climate of the plains,
as not more than the two following, I believe, are to be met
with in the Calcutta gardens.

1. G. Douglasii. — A very handsome species, with erect stems
about ten inches high, upon the summit of which alone the
foliage is borne : leaves lanceolate, four inches long, woolly, of
a soft, agreeable yellowish-green ; bears, between January and
April, rather large tubular flowers of a vivid orange-red. It
requires at all times the shelter of a verandah or conservatory.
The soil in which it is grown should by no means be dense, or
at all impervious to water. In the pot in which it is to be
planted lay some large pieces of brick, and over them a layer of
cocoa-nut fibre, and then fill the upper half with a light soil
of leaf-mould, river-sand, and shreds of cocoa-nut fibre, through
which the water will drain down as soon as poured. Easily pro-
pagated by removal of the suckers it sends up.

2. G. tubiflora. — A native of Buenos Ayres, and a very com-
mon plant indeed about Calcutta. The stems lie prostrate upon
the ground, bearing at their extremities whorls of woolly
lanceolate leaves five inches long; produces, in April, clusters
of heavy but not disagreeably-scented, large, palish Primrose-
coloured flowers, of tubular form, the tube three inches long,
and then expanding so as somewhat to resemble a white Petunia.
The root is tuberous, and might easily be mistaken for a large
Potato ; should be grown in a pot, but will bear exposure to
the weather. Easily propagated by separation of the tubers in
the Cold season, but the plants, I believe, do not blossom for
some time if the roots are much disturbed. Dr. Lindley con-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 533

siders this more properly a Gloxinia than a Gesnera. (See
1 Botanical Eegister for 1845,' p. 3.)

3. G. Leichtlina. — A very handsome plant; with large heart-
shaped, dark-green leaves, rendered soft and woolly by the
crimson pubescence with which they are covered, with their
under-surface of a deep crimson ; in character much like those
of some of the Begonias : throws up footstalks two feet high,
bearing a spike of pretty pale-vermilion flowers, opening in long
succession. The bulbs, much like those of an Achimenes, were
sent me from England, and throve and blossomed well in my
verandah at Gowhatti.

4. G. splendens. — The tuber of the size of a large Potato.

5. G. magnifica, purpurea. — These two last also I received
from England : they throve in my verandah, but did not
blossom.

Besides the foregoing, about twelve named varieties are now
cultivated, I am told, with success in the Betel-house.

Achimenes/

A genus of herbaceous tuberous-rooted plants, producing
during the Eains a continued succession of large, most lovely
flowers, in form something like those of the Petunia, but with
a more flattened limb. The number of varieties is very great,
nearly all of which may be easily procured from seedsmen in
England. The plants are best kept under shelter from sun and
rain, though I have seen them thriving very vigorously exposed
to the full force of the latter, greatly of course to the detriment
of their tender flowers. Their roots do not go deep into the
earth, they therefore need only shallow pots or pans. If pots
are used, half fill them with large pieces of brick, then put a
layer of cocoa-nut fibre, and fill up with leaf-mould rendered
grey with silver-sand and lightened with shreds of cocoa-nut
fibre. If pans are used, lay at the bottom of them a layer of
cocoa-nut fibre, and fill up with soil the same as used with pots.
The pans should then be let down in empty flower-pots, the
rims of the former resting upon the rims of the latter, as repre-
sented by fig. 8, page 69. By this means the plants will be
raised up to view, and vermin will be prevented from creeping
in through the hole at the bottom of the pans. When the

534 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

tubers begin to start, about March, put them in the soil an
inch deep, not more than three at the most in each pan. After
they have appeared above ground, water them constantly, or
they will be liable to die down again. They remain in blossom
more or less from June to October. In November cease to
water them, and allow them to die down. They may then be
left in their pots just as they are, and put away in some dry
place till the time comes round again in March to repot them.
Or the tubers may be taken up ; but when this is done great
caution must be used, and the soil be watered some hours
beforehand to render it as loose as possible, as the tubers, from
their scaly nature, are very brittle, and easily damaged. The
several kinds may then be put away separately in jars or pots
of sand till the season to repot them.

An interesting method of growing Achimenes is to put a
tuber in a handful of leaf-mould, and bind moss round it with
string, so as to form a ball of the size of a Pumelo. Lay it
upon a flat earthen pan, with holes for drainage. Suspend the
pan in the verandah, and keep the moss constantly damp. The
Achimenes will thrust itself through the moss, and thrive and
blossom, and form a very pretty ornament. I have grown
A. longiflora and A. alba in this way.

Mr. Grote had in his garden at Alipore a small circular bed,
under the shade of a tree, in the open ground, planted with
Achimenes, which, he told me, throve and flowered well there.
The bed had a good foundation of kunkur for drainage. And Mr.
S. Jennings at Allahabad says : " I know of nothing that equals
Achimenes for the open border during the Bains."

None of the varieties appear to bear having their shoots
shortened ; and if much damaged in this way by the wind or
any other cause, they do not recover themselves so as to thrive
so well afterwards. The tops of the shoots, planted in sand, and
well-watered, soon form vigorous young plants. I have tried to
strike other portions of the shoots ; but not found any success-
ful, except cuttings with a single joint. This kind of cutting,
with about an inch of stem left below the joint, so as to serve as
a peg to secure it in its place, is let into the soil, so that the
joint with its contiguous pair of eyes and leaves is half buried.
This will soon form a rooted plant. A sprig also put into a
phial of water soon forms roots. Except, however, in case of

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 535

accidental breakage of a rare specimen, propagation by cuttings
is not worth while resorting to, as the plant is so prolific in
producing tubers.

The following I have had blossoming satisfactorily in my
verandah ; they comprise none of the so-named Tydaea kinds,
several of which I have tried, but without success as might have
been expected, since they do not make scaly tubers, but only
slender underground steins, nor suffer drying like Achimenes.

1. A. longiflora major. — Flowers large, of a clear, pale azure-
blue ; this is certainly about the most beautiful of all, as it is
the commonest and most hardy. The plant is distinct from
others in its tendency to throw up numerous suckers at a dis
tance from the main stem.

2. A. longiflora alba.— A variety of the former and equally
beautiful, with pure-white flowers.

3. MAUVE QUEEN, flowers very large, of a deep, pure azure-
blue, with orange eye; somewhat similar to longiflora major;
but the plant is of a different habit, rather delicate, and not
very free in blooming ; 4. AMBROISE VERSCHAFFELT, flowers
French-white, beautifully pencilled with violet: a delightful
plant and a profuse bloomer ; 5. DR. BUENZOD ; 6. CARL WOL-
FORTH ; and 7. PARSONI, are ordinary kinds of different shades of
purple ; 8. VIOLACEA SEMIPLENA, a profuse bloomer, very hand-
some, with curious half-double purple flowers ; 9. GRANDIFLORA,
a very distinct plant, with large handsome leaves ; flowers of a
delicate rose-tint, with white eye ; the bulbs are as thick as a
man's little finger, and as much as four inches long ; 10. ROSEA
ELEGANS, a slender plant, with very small leaves; flowers small,
bright pink; 11. METEOR, and 12. CARMINATA SPLENDENS, of
different shades of crimson ; 13. VIVICANS, and 14. ECLIPSE, are
all but the same; flowers not large, of dazzling scarlet; 15.
SCARLET PERFECTION, flowers carmine-scarlet.

Amongst those mentioned as the most beautiful are, Aurora,
described as very fine, with flowers two inches in diameter, deep
heavy scarlet, with light yellow eye, besides : —

Adonis; amabilis; elegans; Escheriana; Estella; gigantea; ignea;
magnifica; Mazeppa; Roezlia.

Gloxinia.
This, like the last, is a very numerous genus of tuberous-

536 GAKDEN PLANTS. PAKT II.

rooted herbaceous plants, some remarkable for the velvet-like
lustre on their large oval leaves. They produce roundish bell-
formed flowers of astonishing splendour during the Bains.
They are easily obtained from England, and sometimes blossom
beautifully, but do not seem to last long in this country, owing
perhaps to sufficient care not being bestowed upon them. The
mode of cultivation suited to them is the same nearly as that
given for Achimenes. Sir J. Paxton observes that " the richest
colours are usually produced in somewhat mellowed light, and
that blossoms shaded by the leaves will be found of a richer
tint than more exposed blossoms." They require some situation
under shelter from the sun and from the rain. They thrive
vigorously and blossom well, Mr. J. Scott tells me, in the grass
conservatories in the Botanical Garden. Mr. Coles Hardinge
states that at Eangoon he hybridized the flowers of plants he
had in bloom there, and was very successful in raising fresh plants
with the seed he saved from them. He sowed the seed in well-
drained pans, filled with a mixture of sand and sifted leaf-mould,
and covered with a piece of glass. They germinated in a week,
and the seedlings were fit for pricking out singly into small pots
in about a month : then they were covered with bell-glasses,
till they had become strong and formed tubers. Mr. Coles
Hardinge owed much of his success, I believe, to his seed having
been fresh, as that which I have procured from England I have
found to fail in germinating. Dr. J. Beaumont, of Indore, writes
to the Agri-Horticultural Society : —

" I find Gloxinias do better if made to flower twice a year. I
plant the bulbs in January; they flower in April; are dried in
May ; repotted and watered as soon as they begin to sprout in
July, and they flower again in August and September. Treated
thus, the bulbs are finer, larger, and grow much stronger than if
flowered only once; and there is the advantage of two crops of
flowers."

G. maculata.— A very common plant in Calcutta, altogether
distinct from any of the florists' kinds spoken of above ; of large
strong-growing habit, handsome for its bright, glossy, succulent,
heart-shaped leaves ; bears in November, when it can be
brought to blossom, which it is very shy of doing, large pale-
blue, tumid, bell-formed flowers. It should be potted in a light
rich soil, and be supplied with abundance of water during the

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 537

time of its growth. Shortly after the time of flowering the
stems die down, when the large scaly tubers should be put away
undisturbed in their pots till about May, at which time they
begin to start again, and should be repotted.

£3schynanthus.

Plants of this genus are natives of humid forests, and several
are found in Assam. As regards their leaves and manner of
growth, they much resemble the Hoya, but produce flowers very
dissimilar. In their native localities they are epiphytal, and in
Europe are said to succeed best in reduced moss, with a little
heath-soil and potsherds, as also to flourish most luxuriantly on
a log of wood covered with moss, fastened with copper wire.
The above mode of culture points out the necessity of a light
open soil of vegetable mould for their cultivation in this
country. In the vicinity of Calcutta they thrive, generally
speaking, but very indifferently, though plants of so much
beauty as to deserve every attention bestowed upon them to
make them thrive. Their cultivation in the Betel-house is
attended with some success, I understand ; though they flower
but poorly there.

1. .32s. grandiflorus. — A native of India ; bears, in September,
heads of large trumpet-like flowers, of a beautiful crimson-
scarlet colour with dark stripes.

2. &s. sp. in Calcutta Botanical Gardens. — Altogether smaller
in habit, is also very beautiful in blossom, producing flowers of
the same colour and at the same season as the last. 3.
Roxburgh!!. Flowers described as scarlet. 4. Ms. zebrina.

CRESCENTIACE^E.
Crescentia.

1. C. Cujete— CALABASH-TREE. — A tree shrub : flowers large,
bell-shaped, greenish-white, with dull-purple lines. Principally
interesting for the pumpkin-like gourd it bears, of which Mr.
Gosse says, in Jamaica admirable domestic vessels are made.

2. C. acuminata. — A curious evergreen shrub, interesting from
the character of its stems, which bear wings, rendering them of
the same broad flat appearance as the leaves.

538 GARDEN PLANTS. TARTU.

Kigelia.

K. pinnata. — A large, coarse-looking tree, unfit for the garden,
remarkable for the curious way in which the bunches of dull
liver-coloured flowers dangle from different parts of it at the end
of their rope-like flowering stems, six feet in length. These
are succeeded by enormous cucumber-like pods, sometimes in
bunches of two or three together. •

BTGNONIACE^E.

Bignonia.

The species of Bignonia, natives of this country, are nearly
all trees of large size, producing great dull red and yellow,
unpleasantly-smelling flowers. Those most deserving a place
in the garden have been introduced into India, and are plants
of scandent habit ; these, when in full bloom, are truly charming
objects. They a,re benefited by being well pruned in after they
have done flowering. All are exceedingly easy of propagation.
Cuttings strike freely.

1. B. Chamberlaynei ; syn. equinoctialis. — A most extensively-
spreading shrub : covers a large space of trellis or wall in a
very short time, and requires to be often pruned in to keep it
within bounds ; throws out slender green stems to a great
length, along which it bears pairs of pinnate leaves. Each
leaf consists of two oval, pointed, wavy, smooth, shining leaflets,
two inches long. From the axils of the leaves are borne
primrose-coloured thimbled-formed flowers, with the tube two
inches long, produced in great profusion nearly at all times,
contrasting beautifully with the richly verdant and graceful
foliage.

2. B. crucigeria.— A climbling shrub of the habit of the pre-
ceding, and bearing in the Hot season flowers similar in form
and size, of a dull tawny-yellow colour ; not a common plant,
nor a very attractive one.

3. B. gracilis.— An extensively-climbing shrub, with rich,
varnished-green, pinnate leaves, of two leaflets, broadly oval,
pointed, two inches long ; bears, during the Hot months, a vast
profusion of flowers, in form and colour similar to those of an

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 539

Allamanda, with a tube two inches long, expanding at tho
mouth into five lobes, three inches across. During the time
that it is in blossom a plant of extraordinary beauty.

4. B. incarnata. — A climbing woody shrub, with smooth, rather
leathery, lanceolate leaves, three to four inches long, bears
flowers similar to the last in size and form, of pale lilac colour,
striped with deep purple ; produced in great profusion in the
Hot months, and presenting a remarkably handsome effect
upon the Bay-leaf-like foliage.

5. B. venusta ; syn. Chirere. — A climbing shrub, spreading over
a vast space where room is afforded it. The foliage consists of
pairs of pinnate leaves along the stem, of two heart-shaped,
pointed, dull-green leaflets, three inches long. From the axil
of each leaf is borne a crowded drooping corymb of tubular
vermilion- coloured flowers, two inches long ; blooming in
January and February in such exuberant profusion as to cover
the entire surface of the plant with a carpet of colour. Probably
no plant in the world presents a more truly gorgeous appearance
than it does then.

6. B. undulata. — Is described as a tree with drooping branchlets
like those of the Weeping-willow, and bearing in March small
racemes of very large, erect, inodorous, orange-coloured flowers.
" When in flower," Dr. Koxburgh says, " one of the most beautiful
small trees I have seen."

7. B. quadrilocularis. — A large tree, blossoms at the beginning
of the Hot season with large erect panicles of many-flowered,
large, rose-coloured, delightfully fragrant flowers.

8. B. amcena. — A small handsome tree, with cheerful foliage
of narrowly-lanceolate dark-green leaves, two inches long ; pro-
duces in the Hot season numerous funnel-shaped large yellow
flowers, with mouth expanding into five orange-coloured lobes.

9. B. picta and 10. B. Rbzleana are of late introduction.

Frederika (Fredericia ?)
F. Guillaumi. — A new creeper recently introduced.

Millingtonia.
M. hortensis.— A lofty tree, with exceedingly beautiful foliage

540 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

of deep-green decompound leaves, looking remarkably handsome
in the Cold season, when in blossom with its numberless panicles
of large, pure-white, fragrant flowers. Not an uncommon tree,
and one, as Dr. Roxburgh well remarks, adapted for avenues and
plantations.

Amphilophium.

A. Mutisii. — A. climbing shrub of most extensive growth,
making its way to the summit of the loftiest trees. Far from
being an ornamental plant, except for the flowers it occasionally
produces in October, which are large, of a fine purple colour,
and, from the manner in which they are borne, somewhat
resemble great clusters of Grapes.

Spathodea.

1. S. uncinata. — An extensively-spreading climbing shrub, with
very slender stems and dense foliage of opposite binate leaves ;
leaflets narrowly heart-shaped, an inch long ; bears in the Hot
season numerous pale livid-red flowers, neither large nor very
interesting.

2. S. serrulata. — A high tree ; bears in May, in great profusion,
drooping creamy- white flowers of extinguisher form, seven inches
long.

Tecoma,

1. T. grandiflora. — A handsome climbing shrub, with graceful
spray-like foliage of bipinnate leaves ; leaflets seven, roundish,
saw-edged, about three-quarters of an inch long. Trained up a
high pole, surmounted by two short cross-beams, in the manner
of a turnstile, it will let fall its great drooping clusters of large
orange-coloured flowers in a very beautiful way during the
Hot months. It sheds its leaves in the Cold season, when it
should be well cut in, and the numerous suckers it sends up all
around be removed, and some enriched soil be given to the
roots. The suckers will afford a supply of fresh young plants.
It bears seed abundantly in November.

2. T. radicans. — A small shrub three or four feet high of most
graceful foliage, similar to that of the last, but of smaller
character and more dense and verdant ; of sprawling habit,
emitting roots from its branches wherever they touch the ground ;

CHAP.V. ORNAMENTAL TEEES, SHRUBS, ETC. 541

constantly in blossom with a profusion of drooping corymbs of
orange-scarlet tubular flowers, an inch and a quarter long.

3. T. jasminoides. — A scandent shrub, with bright, dark green
pinnate foliage ; leaflets five to seven, smooth, shining, narrowly-
oval, pointed ; certainly one of the most beautiful plants of the
garden ; continually in blossom with corymbs of large, rosy- white,
much-expanded flowers, with dark-purple centre. Propagated
readily by cuttings.

4. T. stans. — A small tree, six to eight feet high, of remark-
ably graceful foliage of pinnate leaves : leaflets from seven to
eleven, three or four inches long, much slashed and notched ;
when in full blossom, as in the vicinity of Calcutta it nearly
always is, a most beautiful plant. Flowers very large, funnel-
shaped, with wide-expanded mouth, golden-yellow. It is killed
by the Cold season in the Upper Provinces, but seeds sown
there in March produce plants which blossom beautifully in
October.

5. T. apiifolia. — A variety of the last with parsley-like foliage
is met with in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

6. T. velutina. — A handsome plant of the same size as the
last, and with very similar flowers ; leaflets lanceolate, five inches
long, saw-edged, and not deeply cut.

Eccremocarpus.

E. scaber. — A beautiful, slender, climbing shrub ; bears mid-
dling-sized, tubular, pale-red flowers ; grows freely at Ootaca-
mund, but I have never seen it in the plains. I have many
times sown the seed, but it has never germinated.

ACANTHACE.E.

In plants of this order onr Indian gardens are rather rich.
They are for the most part easy of culture, and are propagated
readily from cuttings during the Bains. All require very much
the same mode of treatment; that is to say frequent renewal,
transplantation to fresh soil every year or so, and close cutting
in when the flowering season is over, otherwise they soon come
to look unsightly.

542 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

In Vol. I., New Series, of the ' Journal of the Agri- Horticultural
Society' is a descriptive and classified list of all the plants of this
order cultivated in the Botanical Gardens, by Dr. T. Anderson,
at the conclusion of which are the valuable remarks I take leave
to subjoin : —

" Until recently all the Acanthaceae have been cultivated in the
open ground, generally in the flower borders of the garden, where
the soil is kept open. Under this treatment many of the species
grow vigorously, and afford in their season of bloom some of the
gayest ornaments of the Indian flower-garden; but there are
many other lovely species, and especially those which inhabit the
cool mountain forests of the Himalaya, the Khassia hills, Ceylon,
and Java, with some delicate American species, which have been
kept alive with difficulty. The dry atmosphere and scorching sun
prevailing during March, April, and May are most pernicious to
these plants, and, excepting perhaps moisture stagnant about
their roots, are the worst conditions in which they could be placed.
Shade-loving species of Acanthacese have, however, lately been
removed to a cool house, like those adopted here for the cultivation
of Orchids and Ferns. In such structures these delicate Acanthaceae
have grown with a surprising vigour, and have become a mass of
beautiful luxuriant foliage, and many of them have already blos-
somed as freely as in their native forests.

" Some of the Kuellia and the allied genera Stephanophysum and
Stemonacanthus, nearly all the Strobilanthi, some of the Daedalac-
anthi, all theAphelandrea?, Cyrtanthera, Beloperone, the American
Justicias, several of the] Erantherna, and five species of Thyrsac-
anthus thrive under shelter ; while exposed in open borders some
of them barely exist, and scarcely ever flower."

Thunbergia.

1. T. fragrans. — An herbaceous climbing plant, with slender
stems and rough, small, heart-shaped leaves ; bears nearly always
beautiful snow-white flowers of the size of a rupee ; very orna-
mental grown in a pot. Propagated from seed, which it bears
in abundance. Contrary to what the name would seem to denote,
the flowers have no fragrance whatever.

2. T. grandiflora. — A most extensive climbing shrub, with heart-
formed leaves ; grows to the summit of the. loftiest trees, cover-
ing them with a curtain of foliage so dense as, when seen from
a distance, to present the appearance of some ivy-clad ruin. It

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 543

may, however, by training and close pruning, be made to blossom
beautifully of a small size ; bears very large, pale-blue, widely-
expanded flowers at all seasons, but principally in the Cold
weather.

3. T. laurifolia. — A large climbing shrub, native of Burmah ;
bears flowers hardly to be recognised from those of the preceding,
but quite different foliage, the leaves being of a long, lanceolate,
tapering form, nine inches long ; when trained over a wall or
trellis the profusion of large flowers, two-and-a-half inches
across, of the palest lavender colour, which it bears, makes it a
truly delightful object during the Cold season. Yields seed
abundantly.

Meyenia.

1. M. Hawtayneana. — A neat, pretty, climbing plant, with
slender thread-like stems, and very rigid heart-shaped leaves,
an inch and a half long; bears, at nearly all seasons, large
azure-blue flowers, with a white tube ; a native of the Nilgher-
ries, and rather delicate in the plains, where it is very apt to die
off; succeeds better in the open ground than in a pot, and
should be planted in a shady spot ; seeds abundantly in the Cold
weather.

There is likewise a white variety.

2. M. erecta. — A dwarf woody shrub two or three feet high,
with smooth, myrtle-like, oval leaves, the stems and young
shoots of a deep purple colour ; bears, principally in the Cold
season, large, beautiful, gloxinia-like, azure-blue flowers, with
pale-yellow tube. This charming plant, introduced from Kew
in 1859, thrives here so well, and is so easily propagated, that it
has now become one of the commonest ornaments of the Cal-
cutta gardens. There is a variety with white flowers, but the
blue is much the handsomer. Propagated by cuttings in the
Bains ; produces abundance of seed in the Cold season.

Hexacentris.

H. coccinea. — An extensively-climbing shrub; ornamental if
kept within bound ; has curious parallel-nerved, narrow, heart-
shaped leaves, about four inches long; bears moderate-sized
flowers of singular form and of yellow and dull^orange-red colour
in the Cold season.

544 GAEDEtf PLANTS. PART IT.

Henfreya.

H. scandens. — A shrub of moderate size, native of Sierra Leone,
with smooth lanceolate leaves five inches long ; bears in March
large, white, handsome, thimble-formed flowers.

Dipteracanthus.

D. ciliatus. — An exceedingly charming small prostrate-grow-
ing shrub, with oval, pointed, hoary leaves, two inches long ;
blossoms in September with beautiful large, thimble-formed,
pure azure-blue flowers with a white tube.

Petalidium.

P. barlerioides. — A very pretty small shrub, with round smooth
leaves ; bears in February and March a profusion of bunches of
large, white, thimble-formed flowers. «

Stephanophysum.

1. S. repens. — A small herbaceous plant ; bears, nearly always,
heads of vivid-scarlet flowers, an inch and a half long, of a horn-
like form, with gaping mouth : sparkling and pretty.

2. S. Baikiei. — A remarkably beautiful plant, about two feet
high, with wavy, oblong, pointed leaves; bears in the Cold
season heads of numerous large, tubular, heath-like, deep-
crimson red flowers, about two inches long. A profuse bloomer.

Strobilanthes.

1. S. scabra. — An exceedingly pretty small shrub when, in
March, it bears in great profusion its clusters of small thimble-
formed, sulphur-coloured flowers.

2. S. auriculata. — A small plant of rather coarse appearance,
but very handsome while bearing its numerous heads of pale
lilac, thimble-formed flowers in the Cold season.

3. S. Sabiniana. — A small shrub two feet high, remarkable for
its large deep-green, pointed oval, saw-edged leaves, from two
to four inches long, with their under-surface of a purplish-red
colour ; bears large lilac flowers in the Cold season.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 545

4. S. maculata, olim Ruellia. — A small herbaceous plant ; when
in vigour very ornamental for the double row of blotches of
silvery film upon each of its large, smooth, glossy, deep-green
lanceolate leaves, three or four inches long. Dr. Anderson
remarks : " The silvery white spots on the leaves, so beautifully
marked in its native forests, are seldom well developed in
Calcutta."

5. S. tomentosa. — A small not very ornamental plant, with
densely woolly stem and leaves.

6. S. sessilis. — Native of Bombay; described in Curtis as
bearing large handsome blue-rimmed flowers with lilac tube.

Goldfussia.

1. G. colorata. — A handsome small shrub three feet high, with
oval, taper-pointed, saw-edged, deep green leaves, which, while
it is in blossom, from December to March, contrast well with its
sprays of gay crimson bell-like flowers.

2. G. isophylla.— A very cheerful and delightful little bushy
plant about two feet high, with dark willow-like leaves ;
blossoms in the shade in the Cold season, with an unlimited
profusion of pale-blue flowers, like those of the Harebell
Campanula.

3. G. anisophylla.— Differs imperceptibly from the preceding,
except in having its pairs of leaves of unequal size, and its
flowers a little larger.

4. G. glomerata. — A dwarf rather prostrate shrub, with hoary
green leaves, which contrast finely with the beautiful large,
deep azure-blue flowers, with swollen white tubes, that it bears
in the Cold season.

5. G. lamiifolia. — A very pretty small slender trailing plant ;
bears in the Cold season numerous little pale-lilac thimble-
formed flowers.

6. G. divaricata.— Dr. Anderson describes as a large shrubby
species from the temperate forests of Nepal ; bearing large
snowy-white flowers with a dark brown spot on the inside of the
tube of the corolla : plants die after ripening their seed.

7. G. rubescens. — Dr. Anderson says : " A native of the sub-
temperate forests of Sikim: a beautiful species producing a
profusion of large blue flowers once only in its lifetime."

2 N

546 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Dsedalacanthus.

D.splendens. — Dr. Anderson says: "A very handsome species."
The segments of the corolla change to a dark cinnabar colour on
the opening of the flower.

Asystasia.

1. A. formosa. — A truly lovely small herbaceous plant, pro-
duces large handsome, bright-scarlet, tubular blossoms in con-
stant succession all the year round nearly; rather delicate;
should be grown in a pot and kept somewhat in the shade.

2. A. Coromandeliana. — A trailing plant of weedy and untidy
habit ; grows in the shade, and overruns the ground in a very
short time; bears numerous pretty thimble-formed pale -purple
flowers, with light straw-coloured tube.

3. A. Africana. — Flowers almost pure white, produced nearly
throughout the year.

Barleria.

1. B. buxifolia. — A dwarf, woody, prickly, weedy kind of plant ;
bears in the Cold season small white, bell-formed flowers, of
little interest.

2. B. ciliata. — A very ornamental bushy shrub about three
feet high ; blossoms in the Cold season with numerous rather
large, bright, pale-blue flowers.

3. B. cristata. — A handsome bushy shrub three feet high;
bears in September and October a profusion of fine azure-
blue flowers.

4. B. dichotoma. — Exactly like the preceding, except that it
bears white flowers in September.

5. B. Gibsoni. — A bushy shrub, about three feet high, with
smooth, pointed, lanceolate leaves, four inches long ; by far the
most showy of all the Barlerias, and a splendid ornament in the
Cold season, when it puts forth its constant succession of bright
azure-blue flowers, three or four times larger than those of any
other species.

6. B. lupulina. — A small thorny plant, with the long, narrow,
glossy leaves prettily marked with their red midrib ; bears small

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 547

straw-coloured flowers on great, chocolate-brown wheat- ear-like
heads ; curious, but not very ornamental.

7. B. rosea. — A small shrub, very beautiful in the Cold
season when bearing its profusion of rose-coloured blossoms.

8. B. sp. — From Mauritius; somewhat similar to the pre-
ceding, but of larger growth ; a splendid object in November
and December, when it becomes one complete mass of rose-
coloured blossom.

9. B. Prionitis. — A small thorny shrub about two feet high,
a common weed of this country ; bears pale nankeen flowers,
which have a pretty appearance upon the deep-green verdant
leaves, when the plant is in good condition.

10. B. caerulea. — A small not very pleasing plant; bears azure-
blue and rather pretty flowers, but on great ugly heads of com-
pressed bracts.

11. B. hirsuta. — An agreeable shrub when in blossom with its
bright azure-blue flowers.

12. B. montana. — A pretty plant, with deep-green leaves shot
with purple : flowers pale rose-colour.

Geissomeria.

G. aurantiaca. — A very handsome shrub, three feet high, with
large, thick, glossy laurel-like leaves ; bears in February and
March blossom-heads of bright vermilion tubular flowers an
inch long ; requires to be kept in a shady situation, or the leaves
lose their fine verdant appearance.

Gymnostachyum.

G. Zeylanicum. — A lovely little plant, Dr. Anderson says,
with variegated leaves, native of the shady forests of Ceylon.
Under the synonym Fittonia are given some two or three other
species of low trailing habit ornamental for the pink or white
veins of their leaves.

Acanthus.

A. ilicifolius — HurJcut. — A shrub about three feet high,
curious for the perfect resemblance its prickly leaves bear to
those of the Holly ; produces in April and May large sky-blue

2 N 2

548 r GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

flowers, somewhat like those of the blue Iris; may be seen
growing wild in wet ditches about Howrah.

Crossandra.

C. infundibuliformis. — A small shrub' two or three feet high,
with lanceolate, taper-pointed leaves, three or four inches long ;
bears largish orange-yellow flowers, upon wheat-ear-like heads,
in uninterrupted succession from March to November.

There is a variety with: orange-scarlet coloured flowers.

Aphelandra.

1. A. cristata. — A noble-looking shrub, three feet high, with
lanceolate taper-pointed leaves, seven or eight inches long;
bears in March, on the summits of the stems, crowds of quadran-
gular spikes of brilliant -scarlet flowers.

2. A. fulgens. — In general character not very dissimilar to the
last, but has smaller leaves ; blossoms in the Cold season, and
produces much larger flowers.

3. A. tetragona. — A plant of extraordinary beauty when in full
blossom ; bears densely-set vermilion-coloured flowers along the
edges of the long cube-formed ears. Of dwarf habit, with rich
foliage of lanceolate, taper-pointed, wavy leaves.

Phlogacanthus.

P. thyrsiflorus. — A large shrub, from six to ten feet high, with
handsome, laurel-like, very verdant leaves ; bears in January
and February, in great profusion, long crowded spikes of large
tawny-brown flowers ; much commended for its beauty by Eox-
burgh.

Graptophyllum.

1. G. hortense. — A shrub of moderate size, with large, oval,
pointed leaves six inches long, of a dull deep-green above and
of a dark-red on the under-surface ; useful placed as a screen to
keep out of view anything unsightly, as well as a fine foil to
flowering plants in front of it. Var. G. pictum. — CARICATURE
PLANT. — A large shrub with remarkably beautiful foliage, the
leaves being large, heart-shaped, of a fine pure green mottled

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 549

with blotches of creamy-white ; interesting also for the pretty
pink flowers it bears.

Cyrtanthera.

1. C. Pohliana. — A small plant with pointed oval leaves three
inches long, bears in the Cold season crowded heads of rose-
coloured, long, tubular flowers, ending in long gaping lobes
with long-projecting stamens ; rather pretty.

2. C. aurantiaca. — Flowers Aphelandra-like, large, handsome.

Adhatoda.

A. cydonisefolia. — A most beautiful shrub in Mr. Grote's col-
lection, native of Brazil ; bears in the axils of the leaves large
flowers, with the upper lip white, spotted with purple at the
top ; the lower deep-purple with a yellow ray down the middle.

Beloperone.

1. B. oblongata. — A handsome small plant, nearly always in
blossom with large purplish-crimson flowers.

2. B. nervosa. — Of larger habit than the last, with larger
leaves ; flowers pink.

3. B. verrucosa — A small plant, with pink flowers not unlike
those of a Dead-nettle.

Eranthemum.

1. E. bicolor. — A small plant, very beautiful when in full
blossom, as it nearly always is, except in the Cold season, with
its rather small, pure-white, sparkling flowers, with a dark-
puce spot on the under lip.

2. E. crenulatum.— - A small shrub, bears in the Cold season
pure-white flowers, prettily pencilled with puce-coloured mark-
ings.

3. E. erectum. — A plant about three feet high, with small
narrow leaves ; bears, in the Cold season, flowers of a most
beautiful blue with dark eye.

4. E. nervosum ; syn. Daedalacanthus. — A large bush, with large
blackish-green leaves; of extraordinary beauty when in full

550 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

bloom in February, with its profusion of deep azure-blue flowers
on large prettily-pencilled ears. Var. E. pulchellum, — Bears
flowers in March, similar, but of a paler blue.

5. E. strictum. — Bears flowers much like those of E. erectum,
but with a light eye, and has much larger leaves.

b*. E. grandifolium. — A plant of straggling habit with pale-blue
flowers.

7. E. racemosum. — A small under-shrub of great beauty, native
of Moluccas, with oblong leaves ; bears in November large pretty
flowers, pale pink, or white tinged with red.

8. E. Blumei.

9. E. cinnabarinum. — From the Tenasserim forests : bears large,
conspicuous flowers.

10. E. igneum. — Lately introduced.

Justicia.

1. J. Betonica. — A small herbaceous plant, remarkable prin-
cipally for the beautiful pencilling of the ears on which the
flowers are borne.

2. J. calycotricha, syn. Thyrsacanthus. — A small, delicate plant,
very pretty when in bloom, in the Cold season, with its close
heads of pale-lemon flowers.

3. J. carnea. — A very choice and handsome plant, two or three
feet high ; bears, in the Cold season, large, gaping, rose-coloured
flowers in great clustered heads.

4. J. coccinea, syn. Thyrsacanthus. — A shrub, three or four feet
high, with large, handsome oval leaves, as much as ten inches
long, of a dark bright-green, relieving beautifully the brilliant,
crimson-scarlet, tubular flowers, two inches long, borne on
densely-crowded spikes. In a good soil apt to be troublesome
from the numerous suckers it throws up around.

5. J. Gendarussa. — Bears flowers of moderate size, dirty-white,
and of little beauty.

6. J. grandifolia. — A handsome-foliaged plant with delicate
flowers ; from the Tenasserim forests.

7. J. rutilans, syn. Thyrsacanthus- — Flowers scarlet.

Peristrophe,
1. P. tinctoria, — A pretty, simple little plant, two feet high ;

CHAP. V. OKNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 551

bears in the Cold season unpretending flowers, consisting merely
of two pale-pink, narrow, strap-like lobes.

2. P. speciosa. — Very similar to the foregoing, except that the
flowers are of somewhat larger size. Koxburgh says of it : "A
native of Bengal, where it blossoms in the Cold season, and is
one of the greatest ornaments of the forests."

3. P. angustifolia aureo-variegata.

Sanchezia.

S. nobilis. — Native of Ecuador : of late introduction : described
as resembling an Aphelandra ; an abundant bloomer, with large
dense terminal panicles of bright yellow tubular flowers set in
broad crimson bracts ; a magnificent object when in bloom.

Fittonia.

Trailing plants with brilliantly-marked leaves, love the shade,
and are suited only for cultivation in the Betel-house. F. agyro-
neura is described as having vivid shining green leaves covered
with silver network.

SCKOPHULAKIACE^E.
Brunsfelsia.

1. B. Americana. — An erect growing shrub, six feet in height,
with lanceolate, dull yellowish-green leaves ; not ornamental,
except in October and March, when in full blossom ; flowers
produced in great profusion, very large, in form somewhat like
those of a Petunia, pure-white at first, becoming on the next day
of a beautiful primrose-colour ; yields seed in the Cold season,
somewhat resembling Holly-berries, from which it may be pro-
pagated as well as from layers.

2. B. undulata.— A shrub of about the same size as the last,
but of a more spreading habit, and with wavy leaves ; produces
very similar flowers, and bears, in March, round seed-pods, like
those of the Wood-apple, of the size of a small Lime.

3. B. montana, — A small shrub, with long narrow, lanceolate
leaves.

552 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

4. B. Cubensis.^A shrub with neat foliage of shining lanceolate
leaves ; plants of this and the last are in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens ; but I have not seen them in flower.

5. B. erecta.

Franciscea.

A genus of exceedingly ornamental flowering under-shrubs,
natives of Peru and Brazils, where they are found growing in
the shady parts of forests. A light pervious soil, containing a
liberal supply of leaf-mould and some sand, [suits them best.
Propagated by layers.

1. F. latifolia. — A small not uncommon shrub; one of the most
lovely plants our gardens contain ; has soft oval leaves of a
most verdant refreshing green, which it sheds in the cold weather,
but by the end of February puts forth again, producing at the
same time numerous exquisitely-fragrant flowers of flattened
form, of about the size of a rupee, at first of a fine deep-blue,
subsequently changing to pure-white; blossoms also in July.
It is usual to cultivate it in large pots, though it may be grown
in the border.

2. F. eximia. — It is stated that " in Belgium this is spoken of
as the finest species of the genus yet in cultivation." It is met
with in Calcutta, but not common ; a somewhat erect-growing
shrub three or four feet in height, with lanceolate leaves,
tapering to a sharp point, from three to six inches long, of a dull
opaque-green colour ; and with downy branches. Blossoms in
February profusely, with flowers very similar to those of the
last.

3. F. uniflora (F. Hopeana ?).— Very similar to the two fore-
going, but with smaller leaves ; flowers somewhat smaller, borne
one on a footstalk, in February and March, presenting a perfect
mass of lovely blossom, pure-white or deep-blue, according to
the time they have opened, mingling together with delightful
effect, and emitting a most agreeable perfume. Its main de-
traction is that it is rather bare of foliage at the time.

4. F. confertiflora. — A handsome shrub, with oval leaves, three
or four inches long ; bears crowded cymes of beautiful lilac
flowers ; a rare plant here, not succeeding well, I believe, in the
climate.

5. F. hydrangeseformis. — Kemarkable for the largeness of its

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 553

leaves, and its close heads of purple flowers ; has, I understand,
not been cultivated in this country with success.

Calceolaria,

The attempt to introduce into this country any of the beauti-
ful plants of this genus 1 believe to be perfectly hopeless.
Good thriving seedlings may be easily raised during the Cold
season, but will be sure to perish upon the first approach of the
Hot weather. I noticed plants in the Gardens at Ootacamund,
but they seemed to thrive very indifferently even there.

Angelonia;

A. grandiflora. — A small herbaceous, not very pleasing plant,
about two feet high ; bears, nearly all the year, long spikes of
numerous small, blue, gaping flowers, with a strong, disagree-
able scent, which some, however, have considered to resemble
that of the Pine-apple ; plants require to be often renewed, or
soon grow to look old and unsightly.

Antirrhinum.

A. majus — SNAPDKAGON. — The seed of this handsome and
familiar herbaceous plant is usually sown in October. The
variety and beauty of the flower will of course depend upon the
seed. The plants will blossom in March, but they do so more
handsomely, I think, from being preserved until the following
Cold season, before flowering.

Maurandya,

M. Barclayana.— A lovely creeping plant of slender habit and
graceful foliage ; requires to be trained on a light trellis, and is
best adapted for growing in pots to decorate the verandah ;
flowers snapdragon-like, of several varieties of colour, dark-
purple, rose, and nearly white ; constantly in blossom. Seeds,
sown as usual with the annuals in October, produce plants that
blossom in three or four months' time. There are two or three
other species of Maurandya, but none at all equal in merit to
this.

554 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

Lophospermum.

L. scandens. — A very handsome herbaceous creeper; requires
a large extent of trellis for its support ; flowers large, very
similar to those of the Foxglove, but more delicate, of a beauti-
ful rose-colour; plants raised from seed in October, and kept
through the Hot weather till the next Cold season, blossom in
great beauty in February ; they require a great deal of pot-
room, and a rich and well-watered soil.

Pentstemon.

Herbaceous plants, about two feet high, producing erect spikes
of pretty flowers of various colours, tubular or bell-formed,
like those of Angelonia but larger, some, it is said, as large as
those of the Lophospermum ; plants raised from seed sown with
the annuals in October will continue in blossom during the Hot
and Kain seasons following. May be propagated by division of
the roots, or by cuttings.

English seedsmen offer seeds of several species bearing scarlet,
blue, yellow, and other coloured flowers ; but the largest and
finest flowers are produced from hybrids with fancy names, which
if desired must be imported from some nurseryman: and many
possibly might be thought well worth it.

Tetranema.

T. Mexicana. — A small pot-plant, half a foot high ; in habit of
growth somewhat resembling the Primrose ; nearly perpetually
in blossom with crowded umbels of small, gaping, pale-lilac
flowers ; a perfect little gem, quite the ornament of the verandah,
where it should be always kept, under shelter from sun and
rain ; requires to be renewed every year ; produces abundance
of seed, which should be sown as soon as gathered, is as fine as
dust, and takes a month or two in germinating. A pane of
glass should be kept over the pot in which the seed is sown, to
prevent the earth from drying too soon. The plants require a
light vegetable soil, and perfect drainage.

Russelia.
1. R, juncea. — A very common, but an exceedingly beautiful,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 555

bushy plant about three or four feet high ; perpetually in full
blossom with tubular bright-scarlet flowers, half an inch long,
borne in great profusion on its long rush-like stems. In Eng-
land it is not unfrequently grown suspended in baskets, over
which the drooping flower-loaded branches have a very delight-
ful appearance. Plants, however, thus treated in this country
would require constant attention, that the soil be not allowed to
dry up through want of watering. Every portion of it that
touches the ground in the Bains takes root. I had in my gar-
den several plants growing out of the crevices of a north wall,
which had rooted themselves there from a plant that happened
to be leaning against it in the Kain season. These had a very
curious and interesting appearance.

2. R. floribunda. — A very handsome plant, bearing little simi-
larity in general appearance to the preceding; flowers not
large, crimson scarlet, borne in crowded bunches along and on
the summit of the stem, in great profusion, at all seasons.
Propagated by division.

Torenia.

1. T. Asiatica. — Called sometimes Syspara creeper, from
beiDg a native of that locality in the Nilgherries ; an extremely
beautiful herbaceous pot-plant ; flowers small, bell-formed, pale-
purple, with a large blotch of dark clear-purple on the lower
lobe, sparkling like enamel ; best renewed annually from seed
sown in March ; the plants thrive well in the shade, with their
pots constantly immersed in pans of water, and blossom in great
beauty in September.

2. T. sp. — A plant resembling the foregoing, but far inferior
to it, the flowers being devoid of the fine deep-purple blotch on
the lower lobe.

Buddlea,

1. B. Lindleyana.— A very ornamental shrub, growing to the
height of six feet ; introduced from Chusan by Mr. Fortune ;
flowers small, but very numerous, pale-pink or rich-violet, borne
densely upon racemes of blossom, four to six inches long, in
unlimited profusion all the warmer months ; requires to be well
cut in, in November. Propagated easily by cuttings.

556 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

2. B. Neemda. — Sir J. Paxton says of this : " One of the most
beautiful plants of 'India." A shrub of small growth; flowers
milk-white, borne densely on long narrow spikes in January.
Propagated by cuttings.

3. B. Madagascarensis. — A large shrub of very rampant growth,
fit only for the shrubbery or outskirts of the garden ; produces
its flowers in January, small, of a bright pale-orange colour,
borne in long, loose, drooping clusters, beautiful to look upon,
but emitting around a most offensive smell ; should be cut in
severely after flowering. Propagated by cuttings.

4. B. paniculata. — A shrub of little merit, with white flowers.

5. B. globosa. — This beautiful plant, so common in the
English gardens, with its balls of orange-coloured blossoms,
has not, I believe, found its way to India,

Digitalis.
FOXGLOVE.

The attempt to cultivate this well-known plant in India has
never, I believe, proved successful.

EPIGYNOUS EXOGENS.
CAMPANULACE^E.

Campanula.

BELL-FLOWEK.

The perennial Campanulas are very numerous, including
among them the old familiar Canterbury Bell and Chimney
Campanula. Young plants raised from seed sown in October
and kept under shelter till the following Cold season, and then
re-potted in fresh soil, may chance to come into blossom ; but in
the vicinity of Calcutta they rarely do so. -Dr. Yoigt mentions
as many as thirteen herbaceous species blossoming in the Cal-
cutta Gardens during the month of June. Not one of these, I
believe, is to be met with there now.

C. Lychnitis.— An exceedingly pretty and not uncommon pot-
plant ; bears, at nearly all seasons, erect spikes, a foot and a

CHAP. V. OENAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 557

half high, of large bright-blue bell-like flowers. Easily multi-
plied by division of the roots.

LOBELIACE^E.
Lobelia.

An extensive genus of herbaceous plants, some of great beauty ;
we have but one garden species, I believe, that lasts with us as
a perennial.

C. radicans. — A small trailing plant, nearly always in blossom,
with a profusion of small pale-violet flowers, having a pleasant
bitter-almond-like fragrance.

Centropogon.

C. fastuosus. — An herbaceous pot-plant, bearing beautiful
bright-crimson tubular flowers, half an inch long. Two or three
specimens were in the conservatory of the Agri -Horticultural
Society a few years ago, but have since disappeared, unsuited
possibly to the climate.

VALERIANACE^E.
Nardostachys.

N, Jatamansi. — SPIKENARD of the ancients; a small, unattrac-
tive, herbaceous pot-plant, native of the Himalayas , and rare in
Calcutta ; bears small dirty-white flowers in March, on a long
erect spike, in much repute for their fragrance.

DIPSACE^E.

Scabiosa.

SCABIOUS.

Plants of these herbaceous perennials, raised from seed in
October, may be preserved till the following October ; repotted

558 GARDEN PLANTS; PART II.

then they will put forth their handsome dark-purple knob-like
heads of blossom during the Cold season.

ASTEBAQIL2E.

Eupatorium.

1. Eu. asperum. — A small herbaceous plant, tolerably pleasing
when in blossom with its numerous groundsel-like dull-purple
flowers.

2. Eu. foeniculaceum. — A plant somewhat similar to the pre-
ceding, but of smaller habit, and with pale-lavender smaller
flowers.

3. Eu. odoratum. — A very pretty small shrub, each of its blos-
soming rods having in September and October a delicate feather-
grass-like appearance, with exceedingly small, densely numerous,
very fragrant flowers. Propagated by division of root, or by
seed.

4. Eu. sp.— A small herbaceous pot-plant, unnamed, lately
introduced into the Calcutta Botanical Gardens ; bears in March
large handsome trusses of compactly-set, large, groundsel-like,
lavender flowers ; when in full blossom a very beautiful plant.

Aster.

1. A. annuus. — A small plant; produces, in May small un-
pretending, white daisy-like flowers ; of little merit.

2. A. sp. — Name un-ascertained ; an exceedingly common plant
in the Calcutta Gardens; strongly resembles that figured in
Curtis as A. Sikhimensis ; very pretty when in blossom, as it
nearly always is during the Hot months, with flowers somewhat
like those of the Michaelmas Daisy, but much larger and finer,
borne in large heads about a foot from the ground. Easily
multiplied by division of the roots.

Bellis.

B. perennis. — DAISY. — Plants of the Daisy, raised from seed
sown in October, will come into blossom the same season. The
few that prove double should be preserved, and the rest thrown

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 559

away. Those preserved should be potted in well-drained pots,
and put in some place under shelter from the Rains till the
following October, when they should be turned out of their pots,
separated at the roots into several small plants, and be then
repotted, or put out in the border in good rich soil. They will
blossom beautifully, thus treated, the second season. No plant
deteriorates so much if not shifted frequently into fresh soil.

Solidago.

S. Canadensis — GOLDEN ROD. — As common a plant in the
Calcutta gardens and thrives equally well as in those of England ;
well known for its long feather-head-like rods of small, bright-
yellow, densely-crowded flowers. Propagated by division.

Dahlia.

D. superflua. — Though the Dahlia thrives well and blows
freely in India, it very rarely produces those fine, handsome,
fully-double flowers which make it so conspicuous an object of
beauty in the gardens of Europe.

The following will perhaps be found the most advisable mode
of cultivation. About July the tubers begin to start. They should
then be just covered over with some light mellow soil, and watered.
When they have made shoots about two inches long, take them
up, and slice off each shoot with a penknife, together with a small
piece of the tuber. Plant out these shoots in a flower-pot filled
with sand, and keep them watered. They will soon establish
themselves as young plants. When they have done so, remove
them into the pots or border where they are finally to remain,
and they will blossom in November and December.

The great object to be aimed at is, by every retarding process
that can be adopted, to prevent the plants from opening their
flowers till about the middle of December. This must be obvious
to any one who has observed how often the same plant that has
commenced blossoming with all but single flowers in November,
will as the Cold season advances, produce them more and more
double.

It is important that from an early period they be carefully
supported with stakes, or they will be sure to be blown down
and be destroyed.

560 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

About February, to facilitate the ripening of the tubers, dis-
continue watering. When the stems decay, cut them down to
within an inch of the soil. Then take up the tubers carefully, so
that the upper part of them, in which alone the eyes are situated,
be not broken or injured. They should not be left exposed long
to the air, or they will be apt to shrivel and perish ; but as soon
as they are quite dry they should be laid in a gumlah, and be
covered well over with dried earth, and stored away in a godown.
" The buds or eyes," as Mrs. London states, " are not scattered
all over the tuber, like those of the Potato, but collected in a ring
round the collar of the root, and when in a dry state are hardly
perceptible. To discover them, nurserymen often plant the
tubers in a hotbed * to start the eyes.' Tubers are sometimes
blind, and though put into the ground, and sending out abundance
of fibrous roots for several years, still never send up a shoot."
The surest way of obtaining plants that produce fine flowers is
to procure tubers from Europe. These, however, wear out, and
become almost valueless after two or three seasons. Seed sown
in October will produce plants which come into flower in Feb-
ruary, of which one perhaps out of some twenty may be considered
worth keeping, and the rest as only fit to be pulled up and
thrown away.

No plant is more easy of propagation by cuttings than the
Dahlia. The tips of shoots nipped off and planted in a flower-
pot half-full of river-sand, with a pane of glass laid over it, will
almost to a certainty all strike, and soon form young plants.

Rudbeckia.

Herbaceous plants, bearing large, showy, but coarse-looking
bright-yellow, ox-eye-daisy-like flowers. Best renewed from seed
sown annually in October.

R. triloba. — A common weedy-looking plant, nearly always in
blossom, with large yellow flowers, having a great ugly cone-
shaped eye in the centre. Propagated by division.

Gaillardia.

G. picta.— An herbaceous perennial, of which there are several
varieties ; an invaluable ornament for the garden, enlivening
it all the Hot and Kain seasons with numberless large, bright,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 561

marygold-formed, copperish-red and yellow flowers. Best re-
newed annually from seed.

Achillea.

1. A. Millefolium — MILLEFOIL. — An herbaceous plant, always
handsome for its graceful, divided, feather-like foliage ; flowers
rather small, very numerous, and of very long duration, pure-
white, borne in large, compact, flattened heads. There is a
variety with rose-coloured flowers. Propagated easily by division.

2. A. nobilis. — Also a handsome plant for its foliage, which,
though quite distinct, somewhat resembles that of the last;
flowers white.

Chrysanthemum.

1. C. Indicum. — A common plant, native of this country, very
showy, when in full blossom in November, with its profusion of
bright, cheerful, golden-yellow, middle-sized flowers ; does best in
the open border, and requires little care bestowed upon it beyond
removing it annually to fresh ground.

2. C. Sinense — THE FLORIST'S CHRYSANTHEMUM — Gool-ddudee
— Chundro-moolik. — Of this delightful plant, so well known and
so universally cultivated, and which during the months of
November and December makes our gardens so gay, most of
the handsome varieties may, I believe, be now met with at
Calcutta : the largest, somewhat smaller than a Dahlia, very
double, and pure-white ; another somewhat smaller, of a clear-
brimstone colour ; and numerous others of different colours and
character, from the size of a China Aster to that of a Bachelor's
Button, or a Chamomile-flower, including those called Pompones
and Chusan Daisies, as well as the Japanese, with their comical
flowers, resembling a Cockatoo's tuft much disordered. Some
varieties are of a much more robust habit than others, and
require little or no care to preserve them ; while very many are
almost sure to perish, unless great care be taken to shelter them
from extremes of sunshine and rain. Arid all, like the Daisy,
are certain rapidly to deteriorate unless removed from time to
time into fresh soil.

The only choice kinds to be met with in India are imported
ones. At Chinsurah I raised a great many plants from English
seed, but without securing a single specimen worth preserving,

2 o

562 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

There are three classes into which the varieties of this plant
are distributed : — 1 . The Incurved, such as have their petals
curved up towards the centre. " Reflexed flowers, or those with
their petals curving downwards," Mr. Dale says, " are now en-
tirely rejected as Show flowers." — 2. The anemone-flowered. —
3. Pompones.

The following is a list of what struck me as the largest
and handsomest of those I saw in blossom in the Temple
Gardens : —

Astrolabe, orange-nankeen ; Bella Donna, delicate lilac ; Beverley, ivory-
white; Cherub, golden amber; Edwin Landseer, rosy ruby; Florence Mary,
very bright salmon-red ; Florence Nightingale, pale sulphur ; General
Slade, Indian red, tipped with bright orange ; Globe, white ; Gloria
mundi; Golden Beverley; Golden Nugget; Hereward; James Salter, a
Japanese; Golden Hermine, golden orange, tipped carmine; Hermine,
blush, tipped purple ; Jardin des Plantes, bright golden orange ; Lady
Eussell, blush lilac ; Lady Slade, delicate lilac pink ; Nil Desperandum,
dark red ; Nonpareil, rosy lilac ; Oliver Cromwell, dark chesnut ; Orlando,
rosy buff; Pelagia, bright orange cinnamon; Prince Alfred; Prince of
Wales, bright fiery red; Progne, crimson carmine; Prometheus, bright
fiery-red salmon ; Queen of England ; Yesta, ivory-white.

The best way of treating the plant, as far as my experience goes,
seems to be this : — About the beginning of January, or directly
the flowers fade and become unsightly, cut the flowering-stems
close down. Turn the plant out of its pot if it be in a pot, or
if it be in the border dig it up. Eemove the whole of the earth
from its roots, and then pull it completely to pieces, by tearing
apart each separate shoot and sucker. Prepare a piece of ground
in a shady spot by digging it up and rendering it mellow with a
mixture of old manure and a little sand. Put down the shoots
and suckers in the manner of cuttings in rows a foot apart,
and a foot between each shoot in the row. Water them daily,
and they will soon establish themselves and grow with great
vigour ; and, by the end of May, become large plants with nume-
rous ground-shoots. They should then be taken up, and the
shoots pulled apart at the roots, and each separate shoot planted
singly in moderate-sized pots, in which they may remain under
shelter from the heavy rains till October. They should then be
repotted into ample-sized pots and a new soil. Some few left in
the border will survive all extremes of weather, but the safer
plan is to put all that room can be found for under shelter.

The Chrysanthemum is subject in the Cold season to the

CHAP. V. OKNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 563

ravages of a large white beetle-maggot, which preys upon the
roots, and eats away the whole of their fibrous parts, thus even-
tually destroying it. When a plant under proper cultivation
appears in a languishing state it may often be referred to this
cause, and it should be turned out of its pot, examined, and
repotted in entirely fresh soil.

The Chrysanthemum is a coarse-feeding plant, and requires a
good rich soil and abundance of water; it is benefited by repeated
applications of liquid manure, and also, it is said, of soap-suds.

Mr. Fortune has described the method of cultivation adopted
by the Chinese, which, he says, brings the plant to great perfec-
tion. One peculiarity in their treatment consists in a liberal use
of night-soil, and in planting them at once in large pots. " The
plants," he states, " are trained each with a single stem. This is
forced to send out numerous laterals near its base. These are
tied down in a neat and regular manner with string of silken
thread. By having the plants clothed with branches in this way,
and by keeping the leaves in a green and healthy state, the
specimens never have that bare and broom-headed appearance
which they often present in England." *

To obtain unusually dwarf specimens, Sir J. Paxton says : —
" Directly the flower-buds are formed, the tops of the shoots pro-
ducing them are cut off at any desired length and planted in
sandy loam. They will form adequate roots and flower as well as
those not decapitated. We have them not more than six inches
high." t This however is a proceeding, I believe, not always
found successful, and is' rarely resorted to. The specimens ex-
hibited in the English shows have usually their stems from
five to even seven feet high.

Artemisia.

1. A. Abrotanum — SOUTHERNWOOD. — The old familiar shrub of
our English gardens, so much used in bouquets for the agreeable
fragrance of its leaves ; not uncommon in the gardens of Calcutta,
where, however, it attains only to a small size, and is generally
grown in pots. Propagated by slips.

2. A. lactifolia. — Sometimes misnamed A. odoratissima. — An
herbaceous plant, at all times pleasing for the peculiar whitish

* ' Tea Districts of China,' p. 124. t ' Bot. Mag.' vii. p. 191.

2 o 2

564 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

hue of its foliage ; continues in blossom all the Cold weather,
when a clump of it looks remarkably beautiful with its heads of
densely crowded, small, milk-white flowers, which, in the heat
of the day, diffuse a most delicious fragrance for some distance
around. Easily propagated by division of roots.

Crossostephium.

C. artemisioides. — A curious dwarf shrub, remarkable for the
strong vitriolic odour of its small whitish-green leaves ; affords, on
account of its very peculiar foliage, a pleasing variety among
other pot-plants ; bears a profusion of clumps of small, dingy-
yellow flowers. Propagated by seed, which it bears abundantly.

Cineraria.

It is utterly vain to attempt to cultivate the choice florists'-
plants of this genus in the plains, otherwise than as annuals in
the Cold season. Young plants may be raised from seed in
October, some of which will perhaps come into blossom, though
never very satisfadwily, just as the Hot weather commences,
after which time all are sure to perish.

Cacalia.

1. C. carnosa. — An herbaceous plant, a common weed in some
parts of India, with fleshy leaves of a pallid-green hue ; flowers
greenish-white, of no merit whatever. •

2. C. hieraceoides. — An herbaceous plant; bears flowers not
unlike those of the Sow-thistle, and not at all more interesting.

COMBEETACE^].

Poivrea.

1. P. coccinea.— A large climbing shrub with very slender
stems ; requires the support of a trellis ; almost constantly in
blossom with a profusion of small, bright crimson flowers, borne
in large compact brush-like bunches, beautifully relieved against
the bright, cheerful, glossy green of the foliage. One of the
handsomest and most prized ornaments of our Indian gardens.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 565

Propagated by layers, which usually take a long time before
rooting. Mr. Mackintosh says that it should be grafted on
Corobretum Pinceanum, or some other free-growing species.

2. P. Roxburgh!!. — A powerful rambling shrub, overgrowing
a great extent of space ; bears in January brush-like trusses of
dingy-white flowers of no attractiveness.

Combretum.

Several species of this genus of noble scandent shrubs are
now found commonly enough . in the gardens about Calcutta ;
all those, however, of an ornamental kind are seemingly of
recent introduction. They are apt to become rampant, and
are benefited by being well cut in when the time of flowering is
over, and bloom the better for it afterwards. They are propa-
gated by layers, which are sometimes slow in rooting. Cuttings
here do not succeed, and some difficulty in striking them ap-
pears to be met with in England likewise, for a writer in the
* Gardener's Chronicle ' observes : — " This arises from not
selecting fit pieces for cuttings, for short-jointed firm bits of
young wood, treated in the ordinary manner, root freely. These
are easily obtained from pot-bound specimens." Some bear
seed abundantly, from which plants may be readily raised, but
these will take four or five years at least before coming into
bloom.

Mr. Mackintosh says : — " As soon as the young wood has
ripened, and the leaves begin to fall, the lateral shoots should
be cut back to within one bud of the base, and if the spurs
thus formed along the main stem become too crowded, they
should be thinned out to a foot apart. By this means C. grandi-
florum has been made to bloom, which is one of the shyest
flowerers of the genus." *

1. C. comosum. — A large climbing shrub, admirably adapted
for covering an arbour or archway ; forms a delightful ornament
during the Cold season, when a perfect mass of bloom with its
countless large, compact, brush-like clusters of bright-crimson
flowers.

2. C. rotundifolium. — A large rambling shrub; bears dull
white flowers, not at all interesting.

* 'Book of the Garden,' vol. ii. p. 717.

566 GAKDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

3. C. grandiflorum. — A rambling shrub, of very powerful
habit ; requires a vast deal of room, and a very robust support
to grow upon ; bears in November, in great profusion, trusses
of fine deep-crimson flowers.

4. C. macrophyllum. — In every respect a truly noble plant;
nothing can surpass it in magnificence and beauty when in full
bloom in February and March ; the very large, laurel-shaped,
wavy, blackish- green leaves of themselves render the plant very
handsome and desirable. It has the advantage also of being
less rampant in growth than other species; flowers borne in
moderate-sized brush-like bunches of the most vivid deep-
carmine, admirably relieved by the dense, dark, grand foliage.

5. C. Pincianum. — A shrub of considerable size, described by
Sir J. Paxton as bearing " panicles of flowers a foot-and-a-half
long of a red or purplish-red colour." With this description
the plants so named in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens do not
altogether correspond, as the flowers they produce are of a light
vermilion or cinnabar colour. Blossoms in February, when
almost leafless, becoming then an entire mass of bloom with its
large compact sprays of numberless trusses of flowers.

6. C. densiflorum. — A noble scandent shrub, with large hand-
some leaves ; bears fine trusses of beautiful crimson blossom in
the Cold season.

7. C. Wightianum. 8. C. Chinense. 9. C. acuminatum. — These
last three are large rambling shrubs, bearing whitish flowers,
not sufficiently ornamental to entitle them to a place in the
garden.

Quisqualis.

Q. Indica.— An extensively-growing scandent shrub, requires
a strong trellis for its support ; bears, during the Hot and Kain
seasons, in constant succession, profuse clusters of flowers of
middling size, at first white, but turning on the following day
to a blood colour. This mixture of the two different- coloured
flowers gives it a very charming appearance. In a good soil it
becomes of very rampant growth, and is then rather unmanage-
able : should be well cut in in the Cold season. Propagated by
layers.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 567

ONAGEACE^E.

Jussiaea.

J. villosa— PRIMROSE WILLOW.— A shrubby herbaceous
plant, two or three feet high; bears rather large, four-petalled,
evening-primrose-like flowers, of a pale dull-yellow colour, not
very ornamental. Propagated from seed, which it bears in
abundance.

(Enothera,

CE. Drummondi — EVENING-PRIMROSE. — A very showy and
beautiful species, and a charming ornament to the garden ;
bears, throughout the Hot and Bain seasons, a constant suc-
cession of large bright-yellow blossoms, which are open not only
in the eveaing, but continue so during a great part of the
day : though perennial, it is best renewed from seed yearly in
October.

Fuchsia.

No plant of this genus has ever been found able, on the
plains, to survive beyond just the commencement of the Hot
season. Specimens have occasionally been shown in Calcutta
blossoming in the Cold weather, but these have in every in-
stance, I believe, been brought down, just at the close of the
Rains, from the hills.

BELVISIACEJE.
Napoleona.

N. imperialis. — A shrub of handsome growth and Camellia-like
appearance ; native of Sierra Leone ; fine, handsome plants
were in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, in the open ground, as
well as in Mr. Grote's garden at Alipore, where they bore in
March and April, close upon the stems, and all but hidden by
the leaves, their not very showy flowers, which are of an apricot-
orange colour, and somewLat like those of a Passion-flower. It
is easily multiplied by cuttings.

568 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART II.

MELASTOMACE^E.

Centradenia.

C. floribunda. — A small herbaceous pot-plant, native of Mexico,
•with dark-red stems and narrow lanceolate leaves, from an inch
to an inch-and-a-half long ; bears from February to March a
profusion of small rose-coloured flowers, at which time it is a
tolerably pretty object, resembling one of the annuals in bloom.
Cuttings strike easily.

/
•
Arthrostemma.

A. lineatum. — A pot-plant, native of Peru, with elliptical rough
leaves, one to two inches long : in my opinion of no great merit,
though considered choice by some ; bears in the Cold season,
rather profusely, largish heads of dingy-white fiWers of mo-
derate size. Propagated by removal of suckers.

Pleroma.

P, trinervia. — A choice and delicate pot-plant, of woody habit,
but of small growth ; very ornamental if only for its rich-green
peculiar foliage ; bears during the Hot months handsome pale-
purple flowers, of moderate size. Propagated by cuttings under
glass.

Melastoma.

1. M. Malabathricum. — A small shrub, similar in character to
the last, but of larger habit, and loose and untidy in its mode of
growth ; a rather delicate plant, requires to be grown in a pot ;
bears in the Cold season large pale-blue flowers ; produces seed
abundantly.

2. M. sangnineum.— Bears in the C?ld weather purplish-blue
flowers, in all other respects very similar to the preceding ; oc-
casionally yields seed, from which yoijng plants may be raised.

Osbeckia.

A genus containing many handsoifte plants with the peculiar
characteristic three-ribbed leaves of the Melastoma and Ple-
roma, and producing beautiful flowers very similar to theirs:

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 569

many species are natives of our Indian hills, but none, that I
am aware of, able to endure the climate of the plains.

Medinilla.

M. vagans. — A small pot-shrub, very handsome from its dark
rich glossy leaves ; bears small crimson flowers, very numerous,
and somewhat like those of an Ardisia, seemingly not opening
well. A rare plant.

Sonerila.

S. margaritacea.— A lovely small pot-plant, with oval-pointed
polished dark-green leaves, marked with rows of pearl-liko
spots, and with deep-red stems ; bears numerous small pretty
three-petalled pink flowers, with showy yellow anthers. Native
of the hills of India, and has been exhibited at the Calcutta
shows, but is a very rare plant. Several other species are met
with in Assam.

Cyanophyllum.

1. C. Burmanni. — Suited only for the Betel-house ; as well as
2. C. magnficum, with leaves of exquisite beauty, deep-green,
velvety above, with three white nerves, and violet-purple beneath ;
one of the grandest of ornamental-leaved plants.

Memecylon.

1. M. tinctorium. — A large woody shrub, or small tree, native
of the junguls of India; a very beautiful ornament to the
garden for its cheerful glossy foliage, as well as for its flowers ;
blossoms in March with very small, fragrant lilac flowers,
cleaving to the stems in compact little bunches, and covering
them in boundless profusion. Propagated by layers and by seed.

2. M. capitellatum. — Differs from the preceding only in that
its leaves are smaller, and that it is somewhat later in its
period of blossoming.

MYKTACE^L

Melaleuca.

M. Cajeputi — CAJEPUT OIL-TBEE. — A moderate-sized tree
with pleasing, dark, evergreen, willow-like foliage, forming an,

570 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

agreeable contrast with the ashy-grey colour of its withered-
looking bark. In much esteem among the natives, who make
use of the large flakes of inner bark, which are easily torn off,
for inscribing their sacred writings upon ; bears small whitish
flowers of no interest. Produces seed abundantly, which when
sown by hand is rarely found to germinate, though numerous
plants spring up self-sown around where the tree stands.

Eucalyptus.

GUM-TREE.

A genus of ornamental trees, natives of the Cape and New
Holland. Some thrive upon the Nilgherries, but none have
been found capable of enduring the climate of the plains.

Callistemon.

A genus of small trees, of which Don writes, " All are worthy
of cultivation from the neatness of their foliage and beauty of
their blossoms, especially those with splendid flowers of crimson
and scarlet."

1. C. linearis— AUSTRALIAN BOTTLE-BRUSH. — A small tree
of willow-like foliage, remarkably beautiful in April, when in
blossom, with its numerous bottle-brush-like tufts of brilliant
crimson flowers.

2. C. salignus. — An extremely handsome and graceful tree-
shrub of willow-like foliage, the leaves emitting, when bruised, a
myrtle-like odour. Very pretty when in blossom in April and
May, with its numerous small white flowers.

Punica.

1. P. Granatum, fl. pi.— THE DOUBLE-FLOWERED POMEGRA-
NATE-— Andr. — The splendid large vermilion-coloured blossoms
of this shrub render it a fine ornament, especially in a large
garden, when seen from a distance. The shrub itself, indepen-
dent of its flowers, is anything but a pleasing one, and, without
attention given to the pruning of it, becomes very straggling
and unsightly. Sir J. Paxton says, " All flowers are produced
at the extremities of the young branches formed the same year ;

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 571

cut away, therefore, all the weak branches of the former year,
and shorten others according to their strength." Propagated
from seed or by removal of suckers.

2. P. nana — THE DWARF DOUBLE-FLOWERED POMEGRA-
NATE.— A pretty pot-shrub about a foot in height ; a great im-
provement upon the preceding, of which Mrs. Loudon says,
without doubt it is only a variety. There is said to be likewise
a double white variety, but this I have never met with in India.

Myrtus.

1. M. communis— COMMON MYRTLE — Bilaeiee Menhdee. —
This old familiar and most agreeable shrub thrives well in all
parts of India, but better in the North- West, I think, than in
Bengal. In neither locality it attains to a very great size. It
bears its pretty small white flowers, succeeded by its blue-black
berries, in the Cold season. Propagated by layers.

2. M. tomentosa. — A handsome shrub, native of the Nilgher-
ries, bearing a profusion of pink blossoms somewhat resembling
those of the Peach. Mentioned in Dr. Voigt's catalogue, but,
possibly from the climate being unsuited to it, not existing now
in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

Caryophyllus.

C. aromaticus — THE CLOVE — Long. — Native of the Moluccas,
where it grows to a rather large tree. Don says, " It is difficult
to transplant. Seeds are usually sown where trees are intended
to remain ; for if the roots are once injured, it is seldom they
recover." Dr. Voigt states that " in Bengal it can scarcely be
kept alive throughout the year." Plants, however, I have been
credibly informed, may be found in one or two gardens in Cal-
cutta as much as four feet high or more.

Eugenia. •

1. Eu. Pimenta— ALLSPICE. — Grows to a tree of considerable
size ; but small shrubby plants are common in the Calcutta
gardens, and are very desirable for their ornamental bright
foliage, and for the fine fragrance of the bruised leaves.

2. Eu. ugnea.— An ornamental shrub with large fragrant
leaves.

572 GARDEN PLANTS. TART II.

3. Eu. Zeylanica. — A pretty shrub, with flowers and foliage in
every respect resembling those of the Myrtle, but larger.

Jambosa.

J. Malaccensis. — In all respects a very ornamental tree, with
large, handsome, laurel-formed, dark, glossy leaves, which relieve
superbly the fine bunches of flowers with their numerous long
crimson filaments; very striking also when covered with its
beautiful fruits. Propagated by seed.

CACTACE^].

A rather numerous group of succulent plants, of which Dr.
Lindley remarks : " America is the exclusive station of this
order, no species appearing to be a native of any other part
of the world." Some, however, must have been introduced into
India at a very early period, as they are now naturalised in the
jungul in nearly all parts of the country. Of Echinocactus,
Mammillaria, Cereus, and Opuntia, the number of species is
very great, most of which would in every probability thrive in
India with proper care. The number of species we possess is
comparatively small, but as large perhaps as there is any need
of for the adornment of our gardens ; for they are more curious
than ornamental, and it is not desirable to possess many of them.
To dispose them to blossom, they should be allowed a certain
amount of exposure to the sun, particularly after their season of
growth is past ; but some of the smaller and more delicate kinds,
if put out entirely in the sun, are apt to become scorched, and to
shrivel. These, too, are very liable to rot, if left exposed to the
wet during the Eains. With regard to the nature of the soil
best suited to them, Mr. M'Intosh observes : —

" A very erroneous notion has prevailed that succulents should
be planted in lime-rubbish, gravel, or similar porous matter, with
a view to prevent them from growing too rapidly, and also that
they should scarcely have any water given to them. Succulent
plants in general do not require much water when in a dormant
state; but when they are growing vigorously, they require as
large a share of that element as any other plants not exactly
aquatic. The free-flowering Cacteae should be placed in the

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 573

richest possible soil, but at the same time it must be capable of
admitting the water to pass through it freely, and for that reason
may have a portion of lime-rubbish, broken pots, or small pieces of
broken bricks mixed with it, to keep it open and porous. Poor
sandy soil should be discarded, and even peat earth is not rich
enough for these plants." *

They are very tenacious of life ; a single joint may be con-
veyed almost any distance without detriment, and will strike
upon being inserted in sand and kept moderately watered. In
England those of a spheroidal form are sometimes grafted upon
stocks of Pereskia aculeata, by making a small hole in their
base and placing it upon the stem of the Pereskia, sharpened to
a point, and binding a little moss round the place of juncture of
graft and stock.

Melocactus.
TURK'S-CAP, OR MELON-SHAPED CACTUS.

A name significant of the form of the plants, which produce
their flowers on a head covered with dense woolly and bristly
hairs. M. erectus is in the Botanical Gardens. Others noted
as most worthy of cultivation are : — M. depressus ; Grengelii ;
macracanthus ; polycanthus ; pyramidalis ; Sellowii.

Mammillaria.

NIPPLE-CACTUS.

Described as "dwarf plants composed of an assemblage of
tubercles, somewhat resembling the teats of animals. These are
generally terminated with bunches of hairy bristles, and between
them the flowers appear." f To me they rather look like, as
regards form, a cluster of small Gherkins. The few that our
gardens contain, so far as I am aware of, are :

1. M. tennis. — Pretty and delicate-looking from its club-like
lobes being hoary with bristles. Suited to a pot of about the
size of a tea-cup. Flowers described as pale yellow.

2. M. pusilla. — Kesembles a little heap of balls of worsted ;
flowers described as pale red.

3. M. longimamma. — Lobes or tubercles long and thin, like a

* 'The Greenhouse,' pp. 182 and 186. f 'Cottage Gardener's Dictionary.'

574 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

man's little finger; quite smooth, surmounted with a starry
head of bristles. " The flowers " are described as " produced on
the summits of the stems, and the largest and most beautiful of
any of the genus, opening in the sun : the interior divisions of
a brilliant yellow, the exterior reddish." *

Others mentioned of especial merit are — M. atrata ; Andraea ;
carnea; cirrhifera, spinis fuscis; coronaria; depressa; fulvispina;
Karwinskii; mangnimamma ; quadrispina; sphacelata; Wildiana.

Echinocactus.

HEDGEHOG-THISTLE.

Curious prickly globular-formed plants.

I.E. Echidne. — Of curious growth, resembling a ribbed Melon,
of the size of a cricket-ball, with star-like arrangements of
thorns along the ribs ; bears in February pretty, delicate, pink-
ish-white flowers, of the size of a Daisy, and somewhat like
those of a Mesembryanthemum, in little groups near the summit
of the plant.

2. E. multiplex.— Described as bearing flowers of a delicate
flesh colour, as large as the plant itself, which is of a balloon
form. In the Botanical Gardens are likewise : — 3. E. Williamsii.
4. E. hexaedrophorus ; 5. E. notophorus ; 6. E. platycerus ; 7. E.
Eyresii. Mentioned also as especially deserving of cultivation
are : — E. echinatus ; densus ; Gilliesii ; imbricatus ; latispinus ;
Mackieanus ; Montevidensis ; parvispinus ; platyacanthus ; scopa ;
spinis albis ; subgibbosus ; tenuispinus ; tubiflorus.

Cereus.

TOKCH-THISTLE.

Curious thorny, long-stemmed, strong-growing plants, de-
manding very little care in their cultivation. The soil best
adapted for them is a mixture of vegetable-mould and decayed
cow-dung well intermixed with crocks and broken bricks.

1. C. eriophorus. — A climbing plant, curious for the woolly kind
of substance with which the stems are covered.

2. C. grandiflorus — NIGHT-BLOWING CEREUS. — Mr. Gosse
writes : — " The magnificent flowers are seldom seen. The plant

* ' Le Bon Jardinier,' pour 1866, p. 567.

CHAP. V. OENAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 575

seems a shy bloomer. In order to see it in perfection one must
see it open at mid night. Cut a few inches of the stem on each
side of the maturing bud, and bring within doors. Soon after
dark it begins to open, and towards midnight expands its noblo
beauty ; a disk six inches in diameter, very double, pure-white
in centre, exterior yellow-brown, most deliciously fragrant of
clove perfume. In the morning beauty and fragrance are gone/'
In this country it is neither a rare plant nor a shy bloomer, but
from the immense size to which it grows is only admissible in a
garden of great extent. Its flowers may be witnessed in perfec-
tion at daybreak, and for some little time after. The flowers, it
is said, may be preserved in full beauty for a long time if the
pistil be removed before impregnation.

3. C. speciosissimus. — This also, seen in the night, when in full
blossom, is said to be an object of almost unrivalled splendour.

4. C. nycticallus. — A climber, requiring an extensive kind of
support for its thin long-jointed stems, which throw out nume-
rous fibrous roots, whereby it adheres to a wall or trunk of a
tree, against which it may be planted ; bears in May very large
white flowers, which open in the night and perish at the dawn.

5. C. hexagonus. — A very common plant of the size of a large
shrub, with stout six-ribbed stems; bears during the Eains a
succession of numerous large white flowers in the night-time,
which perish soon after day-light.

The names of others found in our gardens, but calling for no
particular description, are : — 6. C, triangularis. — A climber; very
common. 7. C. tetragonus ; 8. C. Bonplandi; 9. C. Jamaicensis ;
10. C. loranthoides ; 11. C. multangularis.

Epiphyllum.

A genus of plants with stems resembling a combination of
irregular-edged straps or ribbons growing out of each other in
succession.

1. E. Hookeri. — A plant of considerable size, requiring a large
pot ; grows very rapidly, and is apt to let droop its long flat
stems over the ground and look very untidy ; bears during the
Hot and Eain seasons numerous very large star-formed, white
flowers, comprising very many long narrow petals. These open
in the evening and perish the following morning. At Feroze-

576 GARDEN PLANTS. TART IT.

pore I had plants which throve vigorously, and grew to a great
and unmanageable size, but never blossomed, which is surprising,
as the plant blossoms so freely in Bengal.

2. E. truncatum. — This, of which we possess three varieties,
bears in the Cold weather large gorgeous flowers of a clear bright
pink or rose colour, which, unlike those of so many of the order,
have the merit of displaying their beauty in the day-time. A very
delicate and fragile plant, soon broken to pieces if not sheltered
from the wind or any rough treatment ; thrives in a soil of silver-
sand with the admixture of a little vegetable-mould. The largest
specimens will not require a pot of larger size than a sugar-basin,
which for safety's sake it is well to insert in a larger pot filled
entirely with crocks, whereon the drooping fragile stems may
rest without fear of rotting. From its delicate habit it requires
to be kept in the shade, but possibly a certain amount of ex-
posure to the morning sun would be beneficial. Any small
piece broken off and inserted in the soil will take root. But
Sir J. Paxton says, " To obtain young specimens keep a little
damp moss round any of the branches, and roots will speedily
be found at the place." In England, as a matter of curiosity, it
is sometimes grafted upon Pereskia. A young stem of the latter
has its head cut off and a small slit made. In this the flat stem
of the Epiphyllum is inserted, and the graft tied round with a
little moss. The attempts made to effect this in this country I
have never known to prove successful ; which is of the less con-
sequence, as it is considered preferable to grow the plant on its
own roots.

3. E. alatum.— A plant similar to but of stouter habit than
the preceding. I have not seen it in blossom. Flowers said to
be white.

Rhipsalis.

R. salicornoides. — A curious plant, with short jointed stems,
growing successively upon each other like small pieces of tobacco-
pipe united. Flowers small, yellow, and in no way interesting.
Dr. Voigt states that they " never appear here." I have, how-
ever, seen the plant in blossom in the Calcutta Botanical
Gardens, as well as at the Horticultural shows here. In its
native locality it is epiphytal; the growing of it in pots is
probably the cause of its being so shy of blooming.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 577

Opuntia.

INDIAN FIG, OR PRICKLY CACTUS.

There are several species of this genus of singular plants,
which produce their large oval-formed, thick, flat leaves, one
from the edge of the other, and are usually covered with star-like
arrangements of sharp bristles. Most bear large golden-yellow
flowers of metallic hue, but upon the whole are not objects
sufficently agreeable to be allowed a place in the garden.

Pereskia.

1. P, Bleo— BARBADOES GOOSEBERRY. — A large spreading
shrubby plant, with cylindrical stems covered with long needle-
like spines, and, unlike most plants of the order, bearing abun-
dance of leaves. Flowers very pretty, resembling small single
pink roses ; nearly always in blossom.

2. P. aculeata. — In general appearance much resembling the
foregoing, but a smaller plant. Dr. Voigt states that this species
blossoms in Bombay, but not here, and in England very seldom.
I have not seen it in blossom myself, but the native dealer
from whom I obtained specimens at Hooghly assured me that
it blossomed in the Cold weather. Flowers described as white.

GKOSSULAKIACE^S.
Ribes.

R. rubrum— THE FLOWERING EIBES. — This shrub, so beautiful
an ornament in our English gardens, is only mentioned here to
intimate the improbability of its ever being brought to thrive
in this country.

ESCALLONIACE^.
Escallonia.

E. macrantha. — A beautiful rich-green shrub, bearing bright-
pink fragrant flowers. This very choice plant succeeds with
difficulty even in the elevated region of Bangalore. There is
little probability of its living in the lower plains of India.

2 P

578 GARDEN- PLANTS. PART II.

Itea.

I. Virginica. — Don says, " When this shrub is in vigour it is
entirely covered with racemes of white flowers, and then makes
a fine appearance." Dr. Yoigt mentions it in his Catalogue as
at that time lately introduced. It is quite unknown in . the
Government Botanical Gardens now.

PHILADELPHACE.E.
Philadelphus.

P. coronarius— SYRINGA— MOCK ORANGE. — This shrub, so
common in English gardens, and well known for its fragrant
cream-coloured blossoms, similar to those of the Orange, may
be found in existence occasionally in India, but only in the most
stunted and unthriving condition;

Deutzia.

D. scabra. — A shrub much resembling the preceding ; bears
its delicate white flowers in terminal racemes. " When large
and in full bloom," Sir J. Paxton says, " its beauty can hardly
be imagined by those who have not seen it." A tolerably com-
mon plant in Calcutta, where it thrives moderately well, but far
from realises the above high estimate of it ; it is apt to throw
up numerous suckers, which should be removed.

BAERINGTONIACE^E.
Barringtonia.

1. B. speciosa. — A tree notable for its large handsome character
of foliage ; bears great heads of blossom, with large flowers made
up of a numerous assemblage of long deep-rose-coloured fila-
ments, and which have been likened to painters' brushes ; native
of the Straits, and said to love the shore of the sea ; hardly, if
at all, known in our gardens here.

2. B. racemosa. — A stout timber- tree of similar character to
the preceding. Major Drury remarks, "when in flower it has a

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 579

most beautiful appearance from its long pendulous racemes of
rose-coloured flowers; commonly to be met with along the
banks of the backwaters in Travancore." Little known, I
believe, on this side of India.

3. B. acutangula. — A large timber- tree. " Grows," Eoxburgh
says, " to resemble a middle-sized well-shaped oak, and bears at
the beginning of the Kains long pendulous racemes of scarlet
flowers." Common in most parts of India.

Gustavia.

G. augusta. — A small but stately tree, allied to the preceding,
with magnificent foliage, the leaves being a foot or more long,
of oblong form, of a fine dark glossy green. A single plant of
it flourishes in the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

VACCINIACE^].
Thibaudia.

T. setigera. — Sir J. Paxton observes, " A truly magnificent and
interesting shrub ; native of India. At its roots are immense
thick fleshy nodosities, which coil round the trunks of trees on
which they fix, or adhere to some portion of rock in a surprising
manner. Any light soil suits it. Its small fibrous roots should
only just be covered." Occasionally met with in the Calcutta
gardens. Comes into blossom in January and February with
clusters of very rich and handsome tubular red flowers, in form
like those of a Heath, an inch long ; the leaves resemble those
of the Oleander, but are smaller.

CINCHONACE^E.

Serissa.

S, foetida. — A very pretty small shrub, about two feet high,
with very small dark-green shining leaves ; native of China ;
nearly always in blossom with its sparkling very double white
flowers, of the size of a shirt-button, which, when bruised, emit a
detestable smell. Single-flowered specimens are also to be met

2 P 2

580 GARDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

with, but not so common. Easily propagated by slips or cuttings,
or, it is said, by cuttings of the roots.

Psyehotria.

1. P. undata. — A shrub of moderate size, with foliage of a
pale lurid green; bears in April and May compact heads of
greenish-white flowers ; not an agreeable plant. 2. cyanococca.
3. Chontalensis.

Coffea.

1. C. Bengalensis. — A small shrub, exceedingly beautiful in
the month of February, when in full blossom, with its pure
white flowers, similar to but smaller than those of the White
Periwinkle, in such countless profusion as to produce a most
brilliant effect in the border.

2. C. Arabica— THE COFFEE-PLANT — Kuhwa. — A much larger
and taller-growing plant than the last ; bears flowers somewhat
similar, but rather scantily, and is not nearly so interesting in
an ornamental point of view.

Pavetta.

A genus of plants in general appearance hardly distinguish-
able from the Ixoras.

1. P. Indica. — A large jungul shrub, with large laurel-form,
dark glossy-green leaves, with white midrib. Its foliage is its
principal point of beauty ; bears in February trusses of dirty-
white rather fragrant flowers.

2. P. tomentosa.— A large coarse shrub ; bears loose heads of
white flowers of little merit otherwise than for their fragrance.

3. P. Richardiana. — A shrub with small neat foliage; bears
small white flowers of not much merit.

4. P. diversifolia. — A single plant of this, introduced from the
Mauritius, has been for some years past in the Calcutta Bota-
nical Gardens, where it seems to thrive well ; remarkably
ornamental for its large laurel-form, glossy leaves, which when
young are beautifully marbled.

Ixora.

A genus that comprises several of our most beautiful flower-
ing shrubs, the splendour of which, when in the full perfection

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 581

of their bloom, nothing can surpass. During the time they are
in bloom an occasional application of liquid manure will be
found beneficial, and after they have done blooming they are
the better for being pruned in closely. Some yield seed freely,
from which young plants may be easily raised ; and all may be
propagated more or less easily by cuttings or by layers put
down in the Kains.

A writer who signs himself " Alpha " says : — " All the
varieties are easily propagated by cuttings ; but some of them,
as salicifolia, Griffithi, and acuminata, are so wanting in the
tendency to form bushy plants, that well -furnished specimens of
them can hardly be obtained save by grafting them on good-
sized well-bottomed plants of some better-habited variety.
Coccinea is, judging from my own experience and observation,
the best for grafting upon. I also graft floribunda, which
although of a sufficiently bushy habit, is rather delicate, and
but a slow grower on its own roots. Acuminata throws very
large heads of bloom; and I expect that, grafted on coccinea, it
will form fine specimens, and be more effective than alba." *

1. I. acuminata. — A shrub five or six feet in height. Dr.
Eoxburgh describes it as "a very charming shrubby species,
native of the forests near Sylhet, where it blossoms during the
Hot season, and perfumes the air with the fragance of its
flowers." And Dr Wallich adds : " The opaque, remarkably
pale and glaucous leaves, the subsessile crowded corymbs of
large white blossoms, with white calyces, sufficiently distinguish
this elegant shrub from all the other species."

2. I. alba.— A small shrub, native of China, with handsome
rich foliage of lanceolate leaves, from three to six inches long ;
generally considered a variety of I. stricta. One of the most
choice and beautiful plants of the whole genus ; bears its large
full close corymbs of milk-white scentless flowers in great pro-
fusion during the Hot and Kain seasons, but in highest perfec-
tion in the months of March and October. Bears no seed, but
may be propagated with little difficulty by layers or cuttings.

3. I. Bandhuca,— A round bushy shrub, of moderate size, about
the commonest of the genus ; distinguished from I. coccinea,
which it resembles, by the leaves ending in a blunt oval form,
and by the close way in which their heart-formed base embraces

* • The Florist and Pomologist,' vol. for 1863, p. 45.

582 GAKDEN PLANTS. PART II.

the stem ; bears its compact beautiful corymbs of fine scarlet
flowers throughout the whole year, but in perfection during the
Eains. It requires to be pruned in about November, or it is
apt to become straggling and unmanageable. May be propa-
gated by seed, which it bears abundantly in the Cold season, or
by layers and cuttings, which in the Bains root with the greatest
readiness.

4. I, barbata. — A shrub of very large growth, with fine rich,
deep-green, lanceolate leaves, nearly a foot long ; bears in the
Hot season large, lax, irregular corymbs of long-tubed white
fragrant flowers, singular for the fringe of white hair round their
mouths. Produces seed in the Cold season.

5. I. brachiata. — A stout not very ornamental shrub ; bears in
March panicles of minute white flowers. Seeds in May.

6. I. coccinea. — A shrub about three or four feet in height,
about the commonest, and certainly about the most beautiful of
the genus. Flowers bright scarlet, in large, compact, handsome
corymbs ; nearly always in blossom, but in perfection during
the Eains, when it is a truly splendid object. Nothing can be
finer than the contrast afforded by the glowing scarlet trusses of
bloom against the dark rich bay-green of the leaves. Yields
seed in the Cold season.

7. I. crocea or crocata. — A choice shrub of the English
stoves ; bears handsome trusses of fine orange-coloured flowers.
Unknown in this country.

8. I. cuneifolia, — A shrub of tree-like growth ; bears in March
and April a profusion of compact balls of pure-white fragrant
blossom, of the size of an Orange, which present a truly delight-
ful appearance as they wave to and fro by the force of the wind.
Eipens seed in September.

9. I, grandiflora. — Sir J. Paxton says is only a large-flowered
variety of I. coccinea.

10. I. superba. — The proper name of the plant, misnamed
I. grandiflora, in the possession of some two or three gentlemen
in Calcutta ; native of Assam ; from not more than about a
foot-and-a-half to three feet in height; extraordinary for the
immense size of its leaves, and when in blossom in April with
its huge head of white flowers, very suggestive of a great over-
blown Cauliflower.

11. I. fulgens, — Dr. Eoxburgh observes : — " This elegant,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 583

highly ornamental shrub is a native of the Moluccas, and from
thence was introduced into the Botanical Gardens, where it
blossoms most part of the year." Has smooth lanceolate leaves
from six to eight inches long, and bears corymbs of numerous
long-tubed, pretty, large, scarlet flowers.

12. I. hydrangeaeformis. — Discovered by Mr. Griffith at Sin-
gapore, and described in Curtis as a noble shrub, with fine
lanceolate leaves a foot long, producing handsome trusses of
rich yellow and orange-coloured flowers, superior either to those
of I. coccinea or I. stricta. Not to be met with anywhere about
Calcutta that I am aware of.

13. I. incarnata. — A small choice shrub, native of China, with
fine dark-green foliage : considered, like I. alba, a variety of
I. stricta ; nearly always in blossom with corymbs of pretty
flesh-coloured flowers. Propagated only by inarching : cuttings
and layers do not succeed.

14. I. sp. «x Java.— A species so denominated in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens : a handsome shrub of moderate size ; bears
at the beginning and end of the Hot season a great profusion
of large trusses of creamy-white fragrant flowers.

15. I. Javanica. — A small shrub, accounted one of the very
finest of the genus ; but such as are met with in the Calcutta
gardens are very far from meriting that high rank. It suffers
during the Cold months, and young plants at that period can
with difficulty be kept alive. Distinguished by having leaves
softer and less rigid than others of the genus ; bears during the
Eains compact corymbs of orange-scarlet flowers, rather inclin-
ing to an apricot colour. Sir J. Paxton remarks that this plant
is remarkably handsome from " the younger branches being of
a rich coral colour, the tube of the corolla an inch and a half
long, and the limb an inch across:" points as regard size and
colour not found in the plants we have here.

16. I. lance olaria. — A shrub about five or six feet high, remark-
able for its narrow leaves, six inches long, and one broad ; bears
in the Hot season greenish-white flowers, and seeds at the
beginning of the Cold season. Dr. Wallich observes : — " This
species is so distinct from all the others, as to be easily known.
Its slender hanging branches, pallid and glaucous leaves, and
the small corymbs of crowded flowers, contribute to Bender it a
very ornamental plant in the shrubbery."

584 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

17. I. longiflora. — A handsome lanceolate-leaved shrub ; bears,
in August and September, lax corymbs of exquisitely-fragrant
white flowers, with exceedingly long tubes.

18. I. opaca. — A large shrub, compared with other species, of
rather coarse appearance ; bears large corymbs of very fragrant
white, flowers, before opening, prettily tipped with red.

19. I. parviflora. — A small tree; bears in March small dingy-
white, somewhat fragrant flowers. Not attractive when in
flower, and far from being so at any other time.

20. I. Ragoosula, — A species so-called in the Agri-Horticul-
tural Society's Gardens, but whence the name is derived, or of
what it is the corruption, I have in vain endeavoured to dis-
cover. A most delightful erect shrub, about four feet high,
not bushy, with smooth oblong leaves, about three-and-a-half
inches long ; bears in constant succession, almost throughout
the whole year, small pretty corymbs of delicate rose-coloured
flowers. Propagated easily by cuttings.

21. I. rosea.— A shrub about five feet high, of spreading
habit, with oval, smooth, firm leaves, about six inches long ;
flowers of the same colour as those of the last, but larger, and
in larger loose corymbs. Dr. Wallich remarks : — " This shrub
is exceedingly elegant on account of its large round corymbs,
which for eight months of the year are produced in a constant
succession. The colour of the flowers is a pale-pink, gradually
becoming reddish as they grow old, beautifully contrasting with
the shining dark-green leaves, which are not unlike those of
I. Bandhuca."

22. I. strict a. — A small woody shrub, three or four feet high,
of erect growth, rather scanty both of stems and of foliage :
leaves oval, smooth, about five or six inches long ; bears, more
particularly in March and April, large, very compact, convex
corymbs of flowers of a scarlet-salmon colour, the exquisite
beauty of which nothing can excel. Dr. Koxburgh, however,
remarks that " it is by no means so gaudy as I. coccinea and
I. Bandhuca, which are certainly two of our most showy Indian
shrubs." In my opinion Bandhuca will not for a moment bear
comparison with it. The pallid sickly hue of the foliage often
much detracts from its beauty, and the stems of plants of any
age have mostly a cankered, unhealthy appearance, as though
the climate did not altogether suit it.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 585

23. I. undulata— Pdluk-jooee. — A large ramous shrub, with
large lanceolate, wavy leaves ; bears in April corymbs of nu-
merous small white flowers, having a powerful jasmine fragrance.

24. I. villosa. — A large shrub, with large, lanceolate, wavy
leaves, as much as ten inches long; bears in April large
corymbs of white, fragrant flowers, with very long tubes and
very small limbs.

25. I. floribunda. — A new and remarkably distinct species
lately introduced into the gardens about Calcutta ; a dwarf,
bushy pot-shrub, about a foot and a half high, with small smooth,
lanceolate leaves, hardly two inches long ; bears during the
Hot and Kain seasons neat dense trusses of bright-scarlet
flowers : extremely beautiful, particularly in April, when it is
perfectly loaded with blossom. Propagated by cuttings with
not much difficulty.

To the foregoing have of late been added : amabilis, Ambo-
inensis, affinis, and Dixiana (see p. 598).

Chiococca.

C. racemosa— SNOWBERRY. — A small shrub, though somewhat
graceful, of no great merit ; bears, in May and during the Hot
season, pale-yellow, small, inconspicuous flowers in great abun-
dance.

Psederia,

P. fcetida.— A remarkably pretty, slender, and extensively-
growing climber, bearing, in October, drooping festoons of small
bell-flowers, purple varied with white, emitting a smell so
abominable as to create a perfect stench in the neighbourhood
around.

Hamiltonia.

1. H. azurea. — A large shrub with slender branches, apt soon,
to become straggling, decrepit, and unsightly, and needing
therefore to be wjil cut in every year to keep it neat and in
form ; bears in December great plume-like heads of very small
but very bright and numerous lavender-coloured flowers, which
emit for some distance around a most delightful fragrance.
Easily propagated by cuttings.

2. H. suaveolens. — A large stout shrub, somewhat similar to

586 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

the preceding, but with flowers which are nearly white, and
leaves of much larger character; blossoms in February with
deliciously-fragrant flowers, and continues for a long time a
delightful ornament to the garden. Vastly improved by being
well cut in after flowering.

Leptodermis.

L. lanceolata. — A small shrub; bears, in September, small
lavender flowers of little beauty.

Hamelia.

1. H. patens. — A tree-shrub of dense rich-green foliage; or-
namental for its boundless profusion of sprays of orange-coloured
blossoms, upon which numerous humming-birds are from morn-
ing to night for ever hopping, and inserting their little beaks
into each of the short pipe-like flowers to extract the nectar.
The sprays of flowers are intermingled with bunches of pea-
sized, blood-coloured berries, which, however, seldom ripen but
in the Cold weather, when they turn black. No plant is more
easily propagated either by cuttings or by seed.

2. H. sphaerocarpa. — A shrub of lower growth, stouter stems,
with larger and more showy orange-coloured blossoms, and with
rich verdant leaves, much larger and thicker than those of the
preceding ; the name assigned is apparently a misnomer, as
the fruits are egg-formed, and not at all spherical. This species
drops its leaves in the Cold season, and the branches, at that
time bare, are benefited by being cut in.

Pentas.

P. carnea. — A small herbaceous shrub, very common, but a
truly beautiful plant; bears, in constant succession, Ixora-like
heads of rather small, pale-lavender-coloured flowers. Easily
propagated either by slips or by seed.

Wendlandia.

1. W. paniculata. — A rather large woody shrub or small tree ;
bears in February, in great profusion, splendid large plumes of

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 587

small pure-white flowers, and is then a most beautiful object
to view.

2. W. exserta. — Dr. Roxburgh speaks in highest praise of the
beauty of this plant ; but I have been unable to learn of its
existence, or indeed of any particulars concerning it, in the
Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

Rondeletia.

R. punicea. — A small hard- wooded shrub about three feet
high ; one of the commonest, and at the same time one of the
handsomest ornaments of our gardens ; bears in constant suc-
cession, through the Hot and Eain seasons, compact moderate-
sized trusses of beautiful orange-scarlet blossoms, somewhat like
miniature heads of Auricula : these, as they decay, should be
removed, otherwise they remain a very long time on the plant,
giving it a dirty unsightly appearance. Propagated by layers ;
these should be put down in the Rains, and will take three or
four months before ready for removal. Bears seed also, but
rather scantily, in the Cold season, which some little care must
be taken to secure. The best plan is to search for the berries
before ripe, and tie them up in fine linen, so that on ripening,
when they open and discharge their seed, it may not be lost.

Rogiera.

R. thyrsiflora, — Lately introduced ; of a genus of shrubs de-
scribed as with oval soft-haired leaves, and bearing dense
corymbs of small salver-shaped, rose-coloured flowers.

Portlandia.

P. grandiflora — WHITE HORSE. — Native of Jamaica, where it
is common among rocks. Of this truly noble and choice shrub
plants may be sometimes seen in Calcutta among the collections
of the curious ; three or four are to be met with in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens, which continue constantly in blossom, except
during the Cold season, from which, if not sheltered, they seem
rather to suffer. The character of the foliage is very handsome,
of a fine rich glossy green, contrasting well with the flowers,
which are as much as five inches long, resemble those of the

583 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

white Lily, and diffuse during the night the same delicious
fragrance. Propagated without much difficulty during the Rains
by cuttings in sand.

Manettia.

M. cordifolia. — A small plant, with slender climbing stems ;
requires the support of a light trellis : grown in a pot, a beauti-
ful ornament for the verandah during the Hot and Rain seasons,
when it bears in profusion its moderate-sized tubular, bright-
scarlet flowers. Propagated by separation of the roots, which
are of a tuberous nature ; bears in the Cold months cucumber-
like pods of seed.

Catesbaea.

C. spinosa— SPINOUS LILY-THORN. — A shrub of moderate size,
with myrtle-sized leaves; covered with largel sharp thorns,
hardly to be called ornamental, though when in blossom, as it is
at intervals during the Hot and Rain seasons, curious for the
strange way in which the flowers hang from it without seeming
to belong to it ; they are of the size and form of a large tin
extinguisher, of a pale livid-green, with the mouth part cut into
great notches : said to bear " a yellow berry of the size of a
middling plum ;" but this I have never seen. Propagated by
cuttings.

Higginsia.

H. Ghiesbreghtii. — A new shrub, from N. Grenada, said to bear
yellow and red flowers.

Stylocoryne.

S. Weberi. — A moderate-sized shrub, with lanceolate, polished,
leathery leaves, three-and-a-half inches long ; bears, in January
and February, Ixora-like corymbs of greenish-white flowers,
which emit a delightful fragrance ; thrives best under shade.

Rhodostoma.

R. gardenioides. — An ornamental small shrub, about two feet
high, with neat and pleasing foliage ; bears, in March and April,

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 589

Ixora-like trusses of tubular, rnilk-wbite flowers, which would
be very handsome if all in the truss opened at the same time
instead of only a few in succession.

Gardenia.

1. G. florida— CAPE JASMINE — Gundha-raj . — Native 'of China,
but common in the gardens of India : a most delightful shrub,
with neat handsome glossy foliage ; leaves obovate, about an
inch-and-a-half long ; bears in March and April large very
double, cream -white, sweetly fragrant flowers, having much the
appearance, though not the regularity of petals, of a small
Camellia ; grows to six or eight feet high, but may be kept
to any small and convenient size by pruning. Propagated by
cuttings.

Two fine varieties of this charming shrub were introduced
into the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society some years
ago by Mr. Fortune from China, and are called by his name.

a. Distinguished by its much larger character of foliage, the
leaves being full three-and-a-half inches long, and by producing
much finer flowers.

/3. A superb variety with very large leaves and very double
flowers, of immense size, fully four inches across. This blossoms
somewhat later in the season. Mr. Fortune says that in China
it grows to ten or twelve feet in circumference. The following
description of it has also been given : — " Flowers four inches in
diameter, pure-white, changing to buff, not unlike a large
double Camellia. It is one of the very finest shrubs in culti-
vation, and ra,nks on a level with the double-white Camellia,
which it equals in the beauty of the flowers and leaves, and
infinitely excels in its delicious odour." *

2. G. lucida. — A large shrub, or rather small tree, with rich
noble foliage, the leaves being of a bright shining olive-green,
firm, oval, and about six or seven inches long; bears at intervals
during the Hot and Rain seasons large handsome solitary
fragrant white flowers, three or more inches across ; blossoms
beautifully in a dwarf condition, in which state it may easily be
kept by pruning.

* ' Botanical Register for 1846,' p. 43, extracted from * Journal of the Horti-
cultural Society.'

590 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

3. G. radicans. — A shrub, native of Japan ; bears during the
Hot season very fragrant white flowers.

4. G. latifolia — Pdprd. — A small tree of noble foliage, with
leaves some as much as fifteen inches lon-g, and six inches wide ;
bears large fragrant, white, nine to eleven-lobed flowers. Dr.
Eoxburgh speaks in great admiration of the beauty of this tree.

5. G. ferox. — A stout woody shrub, about four feet high ; bears
in May, when all but leafless, close groups of large, double,
ill-shaped, white flowers, which soon decay and look unsightly,
and are succeeded by fruit-pods of the size of a walnut. Though
once in some esteem, not in any respect an ornamental plant.

6. G. dumetorum. — A tree of moderate size, bears in May very
numerous small white flowers. Of no value in an ornamental
point of view.

7. G. Devoniensis.— Native of West Africa, In Mr. G-rote's
garden at Alipore was a shrub of this noble plant four-and-a-
half feet high, where it flowered in April ; described as bearing
most beautiful flowers, very similar to those of the White Lily,
with a slender tube.

8. G. Stanleyana. — From Sierra Leone ; described as a hand-
some shrub, with numerous spreading boughs, and large oval,
wavy, bright-green leaves ; bears numerous solitary great flowers
with tube and interior of throat purple, and pure white limb ;
delightfully fragrant.

9. G. citriodora. — From Natal ; described as a shrub about
two feet high, having pointed, smooth leaves, and bearing
numerous white flowers, having the form and perfume of those
of the Orange. These two last species are of recent introduction.

Oxyanthus.

0. hirsutus. — A small bush about two feet in height ; bears in
July white fragrant flowers of a star-shaped limb, and tube six
inches long.

Musssenda.

A genus of rather large shrubs, with dense foliage of moderate-
sized, oval, deep dull-green leaves. In a decorative point of view
there is very little difference between the species ; during the
Hot and Bain seasons they are nearly always in blossom, bear-
ing numerous corymbs of star-formed, orange-coloured flowers.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 591

From the calyces of one or two flowers in each corymb are
developed large hoary-white leaves, which, contrasting with
the green of the leaves, constitute principally the ornamental
character of the plants. Propagated by cuttings or by seed,
which they bear abundantly.

1. M. frondosa. — This, which has the largest flowers of any,
being about an inch across, and orange-scarlet, is perhaps the
most desirable one of the species.

2. M. macrophylla, — Has flowers about half the size of the
last, and of deeper colour. 3. M. corymbosa. — Has flowers much
smaller still, of a pale-orange 'colour. 4, M. latifolia. 5. M. luteola.

CAPRIFOLIACE^E.
Weigela.

W. rosea, — A shrub like the Philadelphus or Mock Orange ;
bears at the end of every little side-branch loose clusters of
white and rose-coloured flowers, more than an inch long, and an
inch-and-a-half wide; much cultivated for its beauty in the
gardens of the mandarins in China, and now a very common
ornament in the gardens in England ; introduced by Mr. Fortune
some years ago into the Gardens of the Agri-Horticultural Society,
but seemed quite unsuited to the climate, as the plants soon
showed symptoms of decay, and before long perished.

Lonicera.

1. L, Japonica — JAPAN HONEYSUCKLE. — A very rambling
shrub, requiring the support of a trellis or some stout posts; leaves .
oval, two inches long, dull whitish-green ; bears at intervals, and
nearly at all seasons, but principally in the Cold weather, white
and yellow, strongly fragrant flowers ; a very common plant, met
with in most Indian gardens.

2. L. Periclymenum. — A small shrub, so named in the Calcutta
Botanical Gardens but in no way resembling the common Honey-
suckle of the English gardens ; a not very thriving plant, with
oval leaves about, an inch long, deep-green above, and hoary on
the under-surface ; never, that I have seen, flowering here.

3. L. diversifolia. — A straggling, weedy-looking shrub, native

592 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

of the hills of India ; two or three plants in pots are met with in
the Calcutta Botanical Gardens that have not yet flowered there ;
flowers described as being "of a pale-buff colour, and stalkless."

4. L. sempervirens — TRUMPET HONEYSUCKLE. — A very Beau-
tiful plant when in blossom with its scarlet scentless flowers : a
common ornament of English gardens ; set down by Dr. Voigt in
his Catalogue as existing and blooming here. I have never met
with or heard of it ; neither have I the two following, likewise
mentioned by him : — 5. L. macrantha. — Native of Nepal. 6. L.
Leschenaultii. — Native of the Nilgherries.

7. L. reticulata. — Native of Yeddo, a twining plant, orna-
mental for its foliage of small oval leaves of a deep-green colour,
beautifully netted with cream-coloured reticulations. In Mr.
Grote's garden at Alipore I saw a fine specimen grown in a pot,
which had become quite a small shrub. I learnt that it sheds
its leaves during the Cold season.

Abelia.

A. triflora. — Native of the Himalayas ; a scandent shrub ; bears
in great profusion dense ball-like heads of small white, veiy
fragrant flowers. Introduced into the Botanical Gardens, but I
know not with what success.

Vibernum.

1. V. dilatatum. — Described by Mr. Fortune as " a fine new
Gueldre's Kose ;" and 2. V. macrocephalum, introduced by him,
some years ago from China into the Gardens of the Agri-Hor-
ticultural Society ; both perished, seemingly unsuited to the
climate.

APIACE^E.

Not a single plant of this extensive order contributes to the
embellishment of our gardens in India.

ABALIACE,E.
The few plants of this Order suited for the garden are orna-

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 593

mental solely for their foliage, not bearing flowers worthy of
notice.

Panax.

1. P. cochleatum.— A small shrub with bright dark-green
foliage, the leaves in form resembling shallow sauce-ladles.

2. P. fruticosum.— A small shrub, rather ornamental for its
dense finely split foliage, a sprig of which forms a pretty addition
to a bouquet.

Aralia.

A. papyrifera — BICE-PAPER PLANT. — A shrub bearing resem-
blance to the Castor-oil plant, except that the leaves have a hoary-
white appearance ; introduced into this country by Mr. Fortune ;
bears in the Cold season large mealy-looking heads of small white
flowers. The flowers-terns die down after flowering, and the pith
they contain is the true rice-paper of the Chinese. It is in this
that the interest of the plant consists, rather than in any orna-
mental character it possesses. Propagated by the suckers it
sends up for some distance around, as well as by seed, which it
produces abundantly.

Hedera.

H. Helix— COMMON IVY. — Manages to exist as a small pot-
plant, but makes no growth, and except for association is un-
worthy a place in the garden.

COKXACE.E.

Aucuba.

Au. Japonica. — This fine mottle-leaved shrub, so familiar in
English gardens, can only with great difficulty be kept alive here.
A specimen or two in a small pot is all that I have seen of it in
this country.

SANTALACE^].
Santalum.

S. album— SANDAL-WOOD-TKEE — Chundun. — A small tree,

2 Q

594 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

native of the junguls of India; possesses no merit sufficient to
entitle it to a place in the garden.

ARISTOLOCHIACE^].

BIKTHWOKT — PELICAN-FLOWER.

Aristolochia.

Several of these plants bear flowers of a most curious and
indescribable form. I give the most interesting : —

1. A. labiosa. — A common and very extensive large-leaved
climber, requiring a stout trellis for its support ; bears, in the
Hot season, large flowers, somewhat resembling an inflated bag
below with a helmet above, yellowish-white blotched with brown
and purple ; emitting a most offensive smell, like that of tainted
meat.

2. A. Brasiliensis. — A large climber, with largish heart-shaped
leaves ; bears yellowish flowers.

3. A. acuminata. — A native of Bengal ; blossoms in the Hot and
Kain seasons with large, drooping, dark greenish-purple flowers.

4. A. caudata. — A small climbing plant, about three feet high,
with slender stems and bluntly three-lobed leaves ; bears in the
Cold season curious liver-coloured flowers, letting hang down
from their summit a tail or thread-like appendage two feet long ;
commonly grown in a pot, and well suited for its singularity for
a place in the verandah.

The following plants, not noticed in the foregoing pages, are
among those which, while this work has been going through
the press, have been announced for distribution by the Agri-
Horticultural Society from their new garden at Alipore. The
general character of most of these may in a great measure be
ascertained by reference to the descriptions of the natural
orders and genera to which they belong, given in the body of
the book. Some are unquestionably of great beauty, and val-
uable acquisitions to the garden ; but some, it is possible, may
be considered of little merit ; and others be found unsuited to
the climate.

POL YPODIACEJG.— FERNS.

Adiantum. — caudatum ; fulvum ; and Farleyense, described as a

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 595

splendid Maiden-hair fern : with large pendent, much divided fronds,
growing to upwards of three feet in length.

GKAMINACE^E.

Bambusa. — arthrophylla ; Balcona ; gigantea ; Maxemowiczii.

ARACE.E.

Alocacia — Sikimensis ; zebrina.

Caladium.— argyrophyllum; Cannaertii; Houlettii; Lepeschkinci;
marmoratum ; mirable ; regale ; Schmidtzii ; striatum : Ver-
schafieltii. Hybrid and varieties : Auguste Riviere ; Barillet ; Dr.
Lindley ; Due de Nassau ; Due de Ratisbon ; E. G. Henderson ;
Jules Patzeys ; Louise Porrier : Max Kroll ; Mrs. Dombrain ;
Murillo; Napoleon III.; Prince Albert Edward; Princess Alex-
andra ; Princess of Teck ; Reine Victoria.

Dieffenbachia. — Bausei ; Bowmanii ; lineata ; Weirii.

Aglaonema. — commutatum.

Philodendron. — pertusum ; scandens.

PANDANACE^J.
Pandanus. — inermis ; Javanicus variegatus ; Lerum.

PALMACE^B.— PALMS.

Efyophorbe. — Verschaffeltii, described as a superb plant.

Euterpe. — Sp.

Oreodoxa. — acuminata.

Areca. — disticha ; gracilis ; horrida ; Madagascariensis ; triandra.

Seaforthia. — elegans ; sp. Andamans.

Latania. — glaucophylla ; Borbonica.

Corypha. — Australis ; Tabiera.

Livistona. — Hoogendorpi ; Sinensis.

Licuala. — spinosa.

Sabal. — Adansoni ; minor.

Chamaerops. — Fortunei.

Rhapis. — flabelliformis ; Ground Rattan Palm.

Plectocomia. — Assamica.

Thrinax.— glauca; Thatch-Palm.

Phosnix. — paludosa ; rubricaulis.

Desmoncus. — major.

2 Q 2

596 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II.

HYPOXIDACE^E.

Curculigo. — Sumatrana; and recurvata variegata, described lay
Mr. B. S. Williams as a very elegant Palm-like plant ; leaves more
than two feet long, green, with numerous bands of pure white.

Iris. — Iberica.— This plant has, I believe, much of the character
and constitution of I. Susiana. Mr. T. Ware says of it : " Its dwarf
habit, gigantic flowers, great snow-white erect sepals, its equally
large strangely-coloured petals, and its stigmas with shining black-
purple humped bases (the latter organs resembling some monstrous
insect), make up a flower of singular oddity, and yet of such re-
markable beauty, that few can form any possible idea of this won-
derful plant."

MAEANTACE^E.

Maranta. — atrosanguinea ; Lindenii ; virginalis. Canna. —
Annei discolor ; Bonetti semperflorens ; Bergiana ; bicolor de Java
Bihoreli ; Caledoniensis ; Chantini ; discolor floribunda ; elegan-
tissima ; erecta hybrida ; expansa ; Ferrandii ; Fintelmanni ;
maxima ; metalloides ; metallica ; nigricans ; Van Houttei ; vitata ;
zebrina coccinea, and Auguste Ferrier ; Daniel Hooibrenk ; geant ;
Marshal Vaillant ; Premice de Nice.

COMMELYNACE.E.

Aneilema.— nudiflora.

LILIACE^E.

Gasteria. — (Aloe) Bowieana.

Aspidistra. — punctata, described as a curious plant, remarkable
for producing its flowers under the surface of the earth.

BEGONIACEJE.

Begonia. — Anacreon ; Caroline ; Climax ; Dazzle ; Ensign ; Gem ;
Glitter ; Hermine ; Lothair ; lucida ; Magnet ; Trojan.

VIOLACE.E.

Corynostilis. — albiflorus : a climbing shrub.

CHAP. V. ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ETC. 597

MALVACEAE.

Thespesia. — populnea : Umbrella Tree : — described as a lofty
tree, bearing large yellow flowers with purple spot in centre of the
petals ; well adapted for forming shady avenues.

VITACE^B.

Cissus. — argentea ; Bonplandi ; quadrangular is.

MELIACE.E.
Amoora. — Rohituka.

AMARANTACEJE.

Alternanthera. — Herbaceous plants, with coloured leaves; am abilis ;
discolor; paronychoides; spathulata.

PIPERACEJE.— PEPPERS.
Piper. — magnolifolium ; marmoratum ; Verschaffeltii.

FABACE^E.

Brownea. — Antiguiensis.

Adenanthera. — pavoniana: a tall tree bearing spikes of small
yellow flowers.

ROSACES.

Rosa. — Roses : A list of as many as 115 different kinds of Roses
is given. This, while omitting several long-established and familiar
roses of the country, comprises many of the recent and finest kinds,
but contains likewise many which, though fine, have been superseded
by others still finer, and find no longer a place in the Rose-grower's
list of the present day ; some, for instance, such as Abdel-Kadir
and Belle de Massifs, are of very secondary merit, and are quite dis-
carded.

OLEACE^].
Osmanthus. — ilicifolius ; a neat shrub with Holly-like leaves.

SOLANACE^J.

Solanum. — ciliatum.

598 GAEDEN PLANTS. PART IT.

GESNERACE^].

Gesnera. — amabilis ; citrina rosea ; insignis ; Lindleyana ; roseo
punctata tubiflora : also Ada ; Madame A. Lacomble ; Morgenliclit ;
Nikets ; Octavia ; Eosalie ; Sceptre Corail ; Zonnendal.

Achimenes. — grandiflora ; grandis ; tubiflora ; Williamsii. Also
Cherub ; Dazzle ; Diamond ; Estella ; Excelsior ; Georgiana ;
Leopard ; Masterpiece ; Martha ; Oberon ; Pink Perfection ; Eose
Queen.

Gloxinia. — Acton Green ; Advancer ; Fassinux ; Fenelon ; Goethe ;
Grand a Paris ; John Groug ; Lamartine ; Laura ; Madame Gustave
Guilmot; Montfort; Schiller.

BIGNONIACE^].
Bignonia. — picta ; Eoezliana.

ACANTHACE^E.

Meyenia. — Vogeliana.

Sericographis. — Ghiesbreghtiana ; squarrosa.
Hypoestes. — Dixiana ; purpurea.
Libonia. — Penrhosiensis.

CACTACE^E.

Echinopsis. — leucotricha ; intermedia ; oxygona ; Zuccariniana :
produce large handsome flowers.

CINCHONACE^].

Ixora. — amabilis, which Mr. B. S. Williams describes as a
vigorous-growing hybrid, bearing freely large terminal corymbs
of deep salmon, orange-shaded flowers.

AEALIACE^E.

Aralia. — Guilfoylei. Mr. B. S. Williams says : " A very distinct
species, with large pinnate leaves, leaflets light green, margined
with pure white."

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES OF PLANTS;

AND

GENERAL INDEX.

ADAM'S NEEDLE.

ADAM'S Needle, 381.
Adjutant's Hedge, 392.
Agricultural and Horticul-
tural Society, 3.
Akee, 201.
Alkekengi, 304.
Alligator Pear, 237.
Allspice, 571.

Carolina, 441.

Japan, 441.
Almond, 101, 278.

Indian, 279.
American Aloe, 349.

Marmalade, 254.

Ammonia, 43.
Animals, 48.
Annuals, 25, 281.

Sowing, season for, 101,
282.

mode of, 282.

Transplanting, 283.

Watering, 284.
Ants, 43, 59.
Apple, 245.

Elephant, 218.

Eve's, 493.

Love, 166.

Malay, 265.

Mammee, 205.

Otaheite, 234.

Rose, 265.

Star, 254.

Thorn, 304.

Wood, 218.
Apricot, 242.
Arabian Chamomile, 319.
Arbor vitae, 389.
Arnotto, 401.

Arrowroot, 93, 97, 98, 113.
Artichoke, 1 8, 52, 93, 100, 160.

Jerusalem, 97, 98, 160.
Asparagus, 20, 95, 96, 97, 98,

99, 100, 102, 119.
Aubergine, 155.
Auricula-flowered Ipomcea,510.

BIRDS.

Austrian Briar, 470.
Avocado Pear, 101, 237.

B.

BABOONS, 48.
Baer, 88, 95.
Bale Fruit, 218.
Balloon Vine, 291.
Balm of Gilead, 525.
Balsams, 79, 100, 284, 294.
Bamboo, 334.

Sacred, 424.
Bandna, 177.
Baobab, 199.
Barbadoes Gooseberry, 577.

Pride, 450.

Sweet William, 305.

Basil, 522.

Bastard Ipecacuanha, 503.

BEANS —

Asparagus, 149.

Broad, 59, 100, 150.

Chevaux-de-frise, 150.

Dwarf, 152.

Egyptian, 274.

French, 100, 101, 102,
152.

Goa, 150.

Lima, 153.

Runner, 152.

Scarlet Runner, 151.

Sacred, 274.

Water, 419.

Bearded Hawkweed, 322.
Beds, 25, 107.

Beet, 47, 59, 95, 100, 101, 143.
Beetles, 46.
Belladonna Lily, 342.
Bell Flower, 315, 556.
Bell-glasses, 40, 76.
Bencoolen Nut, 101, 272.
Bengal Sage, 158.
Berberry, 424.
Betel-houses, 36.
Betel Nut Palm, 339.
Birds, 47.

CARDOON.

Birdsfoot Trefoil, 442.
Bird's Nest Spleenwort, 331.
Birthwort, 594.
Blimbing, 102, 236.
Blood, 18, 185.
Blood Flower, 503.
Bones, 20.
Borage, 310.
Borecole, 135.
Bottle Brush, 570.

Gourd, 126.

Box, 397.

China, 427.
Brazil Nut, 280.
Bread-and-Butter Plant, 523.
Bread Fruit, 187.

Nut, 187, 272.

Jamaica, 272.
Brinjal, 97, 98, 155.
Brocoli, 137.
Brussels' Sprouts, 135.
Budding, 85.

Bulbous Plants, 13, 47, 326.
Bullock's Dung, 1 7.

Heart, 209.

Bully Tree, 255.
Butterfly Plant, 374.

c.

CABBAGE, 21, 45, 93, 95, 97,
99, 100, 101, 102, 132.
Cabbage Palm, 339.
Cajeput Oil-Tree, 569.
Calabash Tree, 587.
Calendar, 93.
Californian Poppy, 293.
Callimato Tree, 238.
Canary Creeper, 103, 282, 290.
Candle Nut, 272.
Candy Tuft, 287.
Cane, 339.

Canterbury Bell, 556.
Cape Gooseberry, 98, 102, 258.
Capsicum, 153.
Capuchin's Beard, 162.
Cardoon, 162.

600

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES OF PLANTS,

CARICATURE PLANT.

Caricature Plant, 549.
Carnation, 88, 101, 103, 435.
Carpenter Insect, 44.
Carrion Plant, 508.
Carrot, 93, 100, 101, 168.
Cashew Nut, 275.
Cassava, 124.
Castor-oil Plant, 395.
Catchfly, 296.

Lobel's, 296.
Caterpillars, 45.
Cauliflower, 20, 45, 88, 100,

101, 102, 135.
Celeriac, 167.

Celery, 20, 59, 93, 99, 101,

102, 165.

Changeable Rose, 411.
Chard, 161.
Cherimoyer, 210.
Cherry, 24-4.

Barbadoes, 205, 414.

Brazil, 264.

Cayenne, 264.

Peruvian, 258.
Chestnut —

China, 274.

Chinese, 273.

Moreton Bay, 277, 449.

Otaheite, 277.

Spanish, 273.

Water, 279.
Chili, 153.
China Aster, 316.

Pink, 296, 434.

Chinese Air-plant, 370.

Kuronda, 257.

Potato, 122.

Chives, 119.
Cinnamon, 440.
Citron, 227.

Fingered, 227.

Poncire, 227.
Civit-cat Fruit, 199.
Climate, 9.
Climbing Plants, 326.
Clove, 435, 571.
Clove-scented Echites, 496.
Club Gourd, 129.

Moses, 327.

Cockroaches, 46.
Cockscomb, 98, 299.
Cockscomb Coral-Tree, 447.
Cocoa Nut, 88, 100, 269.
Coffee, 580.
Cold Season, 9, 11, 58.
Colewort, 134.
Collard, 134.
Columbine, 101, 423.
Compost, 21.
Conifers, 387.

Conservatories, 35, 36.
Conveyance of Plants, means

of, 89.
Convolvulus major, 103, 305.

minor, 304.
Coral Plant, 394.
Corn Bluebottle, 322.
Cowa, 206.

Cowa-Mangosteen, 101, 206.
Cowslip, 515.
Cowslip Creeper, 504.
Cream Fruit, 498.
Cress, 93, 94, 100, 101, 102,

132.

Crickets, 44.
Crossing, 2.
Crown Imperial, 377.
Crows, 42, 47.
Cucumber, 46, 97, 98, 100,

126.

Cucumber tree, 236.
Currant, 267.
Custard Apple, 88, 99, 101,

218.
Cuttings, 10, 44.

Age of wood for, 73.

Character of plants from,
73.

Contrivances for striking,
74.

Description of, 72.

Season for, 72, 99.

Soil for, 76.

in open ground, 74.

in sand, 74.

in sand and water, 79.

in water, 78.
Cypress, 389.
Cypress Vine, Crimson, 305.

Weeping, 390.

D.

DAISY, 101, 558.
Damp, 10, 53.
Dandelion, 162.
Date, 172.
Day Lily, 379.
Deadly Poison Plant, 497.
Decorations, 36.
Devil-in-a-Bush, 292.
Devil's Bit, 316.
Fig, 293.

GARDENS.

EARTH NUT, 277.
Egg Plant, 155.
Eglantine, 470.
Elder, 268.

Elephant Creeper, 512.
Elephant's Dung, 18.

Ear, 398.

Food, 436.

Digging, 28, 107.
Division, 70, 81.
Drainage, 10, 34.
of Pots, 68.
Durian, 199.

Endive, 100, 162.

Eve's Apple, 493.

Evening Primrose, 322, 567.

Everlasting Pea, 444.

Everlastings, 320.

Exhibitions, 3.

Eyes, Propagation by, 80.

P.

FAN PALM, 172.
Feather Grass, 285.
Fennel, 167.
Fennel Flower, 292.
Fern, 326, 328, 594.

Climbing, 333.

Gold and Silver, 330.

Hare's foot, 332.

Tree, 333.

Fig, 21, 88, 93, 103, 183.
Fig Marygold, 299, 439.
Filberts, 273.
Fingered Citron, 227.
Fish, 20.

Flamboyant, 450.
Flax, Scarlet, 294.
Flos Adonis, 292.
Flower Fence, 450.
Flying Foxes, 48.
Foliage —

Cleansing of, 21, 66.
Forbidden Fruit, 224, 493.
Forget-me-not, 309.
Fork-trowel, 40.
Fowl's Dung, 18.
Foxglove, 556.
Fraxinella, 430.
French Sorrel, 142.
Fritillary, 377.
Frost, 12.
Fruits, 169.
Fukeer's Bottle, 126.

G.

GAMBOGE THISTLE, 293.
Gardener's Garters, 333.
Gardens, 2.

Agri-Horticultural, 3.

AND GENERAL INDEX.

601

GARDENS.

Gardens, Calcutta Botanical,

2, 54.

Nursery, 6.
Ootacamund, 1, 54.
Private, 3.
Saharunpore Botanical, 3,

54.

Garland Flower, 356.
Garlic, 119.
Gaybine, 306.
German Aster, 100, 103, 282,

284, 316.

Ginger, 97, 98, 112.
Gingko, 271, 390.
Glass-houses, 35.
Globe Amaranth, 298.
Glory Pea, 444.
Goats, 49.
Goat's Dung, 18.
Goatsfoot Convolvulus, 510.
Gobbo, 140.
Golden Bartonia, 323.

Rod, 559.

Goor, 16.
Gooseberry, 267.

Barbadoes, 267, 577.
Cape, 258.
Hill, 264.
Gootee, 83, 97.
Grafting, 84.
Wax, 84.
Granadilla, 197.
Grape Vine, 16, 18, 88, 93,

95, 102, 103, 212.
Grasses, 285, 333.
Greek Creeper, 447.
Green Manure, 14.
Grubs, 46.
Guano, 19.
Guava, 99, 101, 261.
Apple, 262.
Cattley's, 262.
Guinea, 263.
Hill, 264.
Many-fruited, 263.
Pear, 261.

Purple-fruited, 262.
Red, 262.
Strawberry, 263.
Gueldres' Rose, 592.
Gum Cistus, 407.
Gum-tree, 570.

H.

HAND-GLASSES, 76.
Hanging-baskets, 37.
Hawthorn, 461.
Heartsease, 100, 286, 405.
Heart-seed, 291.

JACOB^A.

Heath, 426.

Hedgehog Thistle, 574.

Hedges, 27.

Heliotrope, 10, 80, 88, 101,

103, 521.
Henbane, 304.
Henna, 488.
Hill Raspberry, 249.
Hoeing, 28.
Hog Plum, 101, 235.
Holly, 490.
Hollyhock, 291, 410.
Honey Locust, 456.
Honeysuckle, 591.
French, 302.
Japan, 591.
Trumpet, 592.

Honeywort, 309.

Horned Poppy, 293.

Horse-radish, 131.

Horse-radish Tree, 130.

Horticultural Societies, 3.

Horticulture, state of, 1.

Hot season, 9.

Humidity, 10.

Hyacinth, 101, 383.
Grape, 382.

Hybridizing, 2.

I.

ICE PLANT, 59.

Icaco, 238.

Implements, 39.

Inarching, 84.

Indian Butterfly Plant, 371.

Corn, 111.

Cress, 289.

Fig, 266, 577.

Shot, 359.

Sorrel, 98, 200.

Indigo, 442.
Insects, 42.
Iris, 350.

Chalcedonian, 350.

English, 351.

Persian, 350.

Spanish, 101, 350.

Widow, 350.
Iron-wood Tree, 416.
Irrigation, 28.
Ivy, 593.
Ivy -leaf Geranium, 434.

J.

JACKALS, 48.
Jack Fruit, 185.
Jnck Fruit Nut, 272.
Jacobsea, 282, 321.

LILY.

acobaea Lily, 342.

amaica Wild Liquorice, 503.

amrosade, 265.

apan Cedar, 389.

faponica, 252.

Fasmine, 516.

Jasmine, Arabian, 519.

Cape, 589.

Cataloniau, 518.

Chili, 497.

Spanish, 494, 518.

Tuscan, 520.
Jerusalem Thorn, 449.
Jonquil, 348.
Judas-tree, 456.
Jujubes, 252.
Juniper, 388.

K.

KHURREE, 16.
King of the Woods, 375.
Kite Flower, 304.
Knight's Star Lily, 343.
Knol Kohl, 93, 100, 101, 102,

137.

Kodalee, 39.
Kohl-rabi, 137.
Koorpee, 39.
Kumquat, 225.

LABELS, 42.

Lady's Slipper, 375.

Langsat, 228.

Lanseh, 228.

Larkspur, 58, 292.

Laurel, 460.

Lavender, 523.

Lawns, 26.

Layering, 81, 97.

Laying out of a garden, 22.

Leaf-mould, 15.

Leek, 100, 118.

Lemon, 226.

Burton's 227.
Lemon Ningpo, 227.

Water, 197.
Lemon Grass, 334.
Lemon-scented Verbena, 526.
Leopard Flower, 351.
Lettuce, 43, 59, 93, 94, 97,

100, 101, 102, 104.
Lettuce-tree, 437.
Lichee, 83, 94, 95, 101, 170,

202.

Lilac, 499.
Lily, 378.

African, 380.

602

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES OF PLANTS,

LILY.

Lily, Belladonna, 342.

Day, 379.

Guernsey, 344.

Jacobs^ 342.

Knight's Star, 343.

Pig, 337.

Swamp, 342.

Traveller's Midnight, 305.
Lime, 42.

Superphosphate of, 20.
Limes, 225.
Liquid manures, 20.
Logwood, 449.
Longan, 203.
Loquat, 93, 94, 247.
Lord Anson's Pea, 302.
Lote-Bush, 275.
Love-in-a-mist, 402.
Love-lies-bleeding, 298.
Lumbang Nut, 272.
Lupins, 59, 284, 300, 441.
Lutqua, 204.

M.

MADAGASCAR PERIWINKLE,

494.

Mahogany, 428.
Maize, 97, 111.
Malabar Nightshade, 145.
Maiees, 4.

Mammee Apple, 205.
Mammee-Sapota, 254.
Mandioc, 124.
Mango, 84, 88, 94, 95, 97,

102, 169, 229.
Varieties of: —

Alphonso, 230.

Arbuthnot, 231.

Arracan, 231.

August, 231.

Bangalore, 232.

Bombay, 231.

China, 230.

Davies, 231.

De Cruze's Favourite,
231.

Goa, 231.

Lucknow, 231.

Madame, 231.

Madras, 231.

Malda, 230.

Moorshedabad, 231.

Peter, 230.

Singapore, 230.

Tarse, 231.
Mangosteen, 206.
Manilla Nut, 277.
Manures —

Animal, 17.

OCHRO.

Manures, Green, 14.

Liquid, 20.

Mineral, 20.

Stable, 17.

Vegetable, 14.
Majoram, 159.
Marvel of Peru, 438.

Sweet-scented, 438.
Marygold, 321.

African, 319.

French, 103, 319.
Mask Flower, 313.
Matee, 490.

Melon, 18, 46, 79, 95, 96, 189.
Melon-shaped Cactus, 573.
Midnapore Creeper, 511.
Mignonette, 103, 284, 288.
Millefoil, 561.
Mint, 102, 158.
Mock Orange, 578.
Monkey Bread, 199.

Flower, 314.

Jack, 188.

Monkey's Puzzle, 388.
Moon Flower, 305.
Morel, 110.
Mountain Ebony, 455.
Moving Plant, 445.
Mowing-machine, 40.
Mulberry, 85, 182.

Indian, 183.
Mullein, 313.
Mushroom, 108.
Mussel-shell Creeper, 445.
Mustard, 93, 94, 100, 101,

102, 138.
Myrtle, 78, 571.
Mysore Raspberry, 249.

N.

NASEBERRY, 255.
Nasturtium, 282, 289.
Nectarine, 242.
Neeseberry, 255.
Nerinee, 39.
Nets, 40, 48.
Nicker Tree, 27.
Night-blowing Cereus, 574.
Night-soil, 18.
Nipple Cactus, 573.
Norfolk Island Pine, 388.
Nurserymen, 6.
Nuts, 269.
Nux Vomica, 48.

o.

OCHRO, 97, 98, 140.

PIMENTO.

Oil-cake, 16.

Okra, 140.

Old Maid, 494.

Oleander, 496.

Oleaster, 182.

Olive, 258.

Onion, 52, 95, 96, 99, 100,

102, 117.

Orange, 81, 87, 98, 99, 219.

Otaheite, 225.

Seville, 219.

Sylhet, 219.

Orchids, 37, 67, 94, 326, 360.
Otaheite Cashew, 265.

Gooseberry, 188.

Oyster Plant, 163.

P.

P^EONY, 423.

Pak-o, 271.
Palms, 338, 595.
Palma Christi, 395.
Palmyra Tree, 172.
Pampas Grass, 334.
Pansy, 103, 286, 405.
Papaw, 194.
Paraguay Tea, 490.
Parrots, 48.
Parrot's Beak, 444.
Parsley, 95, 167.
Parsnip, 167.
Passion-flower, 401.
Paths, 22, 25.

Peach, 16, 84, 85, 88, 93, 94,
95, 98, 99, 100, 102,

103, 239.
Double Chinese, 460.

Pear, 247.

Peas, 48, 93, 94, 100, 101,
102, 145.

Peat, 13.

Pelican Flower, 594.

Pepper-
Bell, 153.
Bird, 153.
Cayenne, 153.
Goat, 153.

Peppermint, 158.

Periwinkle, 494.

Perennial Phlox, 512.

Persian Wheel, 32.

Peruvian Daffodil, 347.

Phaora, 39.

Pheasant's Eye, 292.

Physic Nut, 394.

Picotee, 435.

Pigeon's Dung, 18.

Pig's Dung, 18.

Pimento, 560.

AND GENERAL INDEX.

603

PINE APPLE.

Pine Apple, 94, 97, 98, 99, 173.

Striped Leaf, 340.
Pink, 101, 103.
Pistachio Nut, 275.
Pitcher Plant, 397.
Plantain, 95, 177.

Arrakan, 181.

Cavendish, 181.
PJanting, 25, 69.
Plants —

Bulbous, 13, 326.

Climbing, 37, 326.

Conveyance of, 89.

Division of, 71, 81.

Dormant, 10.

Fragrant flowered, 327.

leaved, 326.

Imported, 12.

Plants of ornamental foliage,
327.

Situation for, 25.

Suited for pots, 326.

Suspended, 37.

Verandah, 326.
Plum, 93, 94, 95, 98, 99, 101,
102, 243.

Bokhara, 244.

Cocoa, 238.

Date, 256.

Long, 252.

Natal, 257.

Puneeala, 196.

Round, 252.
Poles, 36.
Pomegranate, 99, 259.

Double-flowered, 570.

dwarf, 571.

Pompelnose, 223.
Pompoleon, 223.
Poppy, 284, 293.

Californian, 293.

French, 293.
Porcupines, 49.
Portugal Laurel, 460.
Potato, 101, 154.

Chinese, 122.

Sweet, 97, 157, 511.
Pot-culture, 61.
Pots, 38, 42, 61.

Plants for, 326.
Potting —

Operation of, 63.

Season for, 62.

Soil for, 64.
Prickly Cactus, 577.
Prickly Pear, 266.
Primrose, 514.
Primrose Creeper, 504.
Primrose Willow, 567.
Prince's Feather, 288.

ROSES.

Pruning, 88.
Pudding-pipe Tree, 451.
Pumelo, 101, 223.

Amoy, 224.

Canton, 224.
Pumpkin, 126.
Puneeala, 196.

Q-

QUAKING GRASS, 285.
Queen of the Orchids, 371.
Quince, 244.

Bengal, 218.

R.

RABBITS, 48.

Radish, 93, 100, 101, 102, 139.

Rain Season, 9.

Rake, 39.

Ramboutan, 204.

Raspberry, 249,

Hill, 249.

Mauritius, 249.

Mysore, 249.
Ratan, 339.
Rats, 48.
Rattlewort, 301.
Red Bean-Tree, 447.
Red Gourd, 129.
Red Head, 503.
Rhubarb, 141.
Ribbon Grass, 333.
Rice-paper Plant, 593.
Ring Pots, 38, 467.
Rocket Larkspur, 292.
Ronsa Grass, 334.
Roots-
Laying bare of, 102, 215.

Pruning of, 88.

Rose, 21, 49, 79, 90, 326, 460.
Roses —

Budding of, 99, 464.

Cuttings of, 102, 463.

Grafting, 465.

Importation of, 462.

Layering, 463.

Manuring, 94, 467.

Pillar Roses, 468.

Propagation of, 85, 95.

Pruning, 100.

Situation and soil for, 465.

Standards, 465.

Groups, 467.

Banksian Roses, 471.

Bourbon Roses, 475.

China Roses, 99, 477.

Damask Roses, 469.

Damask Perpetual Roses,
472.

Doon, 484.

SEEDS.

Roses, Fortune's Yellow, 471.

French Roses, 465.

Climbing Roses, 484.

Hybrid Bourbon Roses, 470.

Hybrid China Roses, 470.

Hybrid Perpetual Roses,
472.

Hybrid Provence Roses,
470. "

Musk Roses, 483.

Noisette Roses, 481.

Provence Roses, 469.

Scotch Roses, 470.

Sweet Briar, 470.

Tea-scented Roses, 478.

Tea - scented Noisette

Roses, 482.
Rose-bay, 496.
Rose, changeable, 411.
Rose of Heaven, 296.
Roselle, 102, 200.
Rue, 430.

s.

SAFFLOWER, 322.
Saffron, 352.
Sage, 95, 159.

Bengal, 158.

Jerusalem, 525.

Wild, 528.

St. John's Wort, 417.
Salsify, 96, 100, 162.
Salt, 20, 224.
Sand, 13.

Sandal Wood, 593.
Sandwich Island Tee Plant, 385.
Sapota, 84, 255.
Sapotilla, 255.
Savanna Flower, 497.
Scabious, 101, 316, 557.
Scandent Shrubs, 326.
Schools for Malees, 5.
Scorzonera, 163.
Scotch Kale, 135.
Screw Pine, 337.
Screw Tree, 408.
Scythe, 40.
Sea Daffodil, 347.
Sea Kale, 139.
Sea-side Grape, 237.
Sea-side Potato, 510.
Seasons, 9.
Seeds, 11, 50.

Acclimated, 50.

American, 57.

Annuals of, 51.

Cape of Good Hope, 57.

Dormant, 10, 59.

English, 57.

Failure of, 58.

604

INDEX TO ENGLISH NAMES OF PLANTS, ETC.

SEEDS.

Seeds, Gathering of, 51.

Government Gardens,
from, 54.

Imported, 55, 57.

Packing of, 55, 58.

Shrubs, of, 51.

Soaking of, 59.

Sowing of, 11, 59, 108.

Storing of, 53.

Vegetables, of, 52.

Vitality of, 53.
Seetee, 17.
Sensitive Plant, 457.
Shaddock, 224.
Shades, 41.
Shallot, 119.
Shoe Plant, 412.
Shovel, 39.
Siriss, 458.
Slips, 72.

Snail Flower, 447.
Snake Gourd, 129.
Snapdragon, 313, 553.
Snowberry, 585.
Snowdrop, 342.
Snowflake, 342.
Soapsuds, 21, 65.
Soapwort, Calabrian, 296.
Soils, 13.
Soot, 42.
Soursop, 209.
Southernwood, 563.
Sow Bread, 515.
Spade, 39.
Spanish Arbour Vine, 510.

Bayonet, 382.

Broom, 441.

. Nectarine, 238.

Sparrows, 47, 59.
Spearmint, 158.
Speckboom, 436.
Spiderwort, 376.
Spikenard, 557.
Spinach, 93, 100, 143.
Spina Christi, 457.
Spinous Lily Thorn, 588.
Sprouting Broccoli, 137.
Squash, 46, 93, 95, 100, 102

128.

Squirrels, 48.
Stable Manure, 17.
Star of Bethlehem, 382.
Stock, 286.

Virginia, 297.
Yellow, 287.
Strawberry, 93, 90, 100, 101,

250.

Tree, 427.

Subaltern's Butter, 237.
Sunflower, 98, 318.

UMBRELLA-TREE.

Swallow-wort, 503.
Swan River Daisy, 317.
Sweet Alison, 287.

- Bibool, 458.

- Bay, 440.

- Briar, 470.

- Calabash, 197.

— Lime, 226.

- Pea, 25, 301.

— Potato, 511.

- Sop, 209.

- Sultan, 322.

— William, 101, 435.
Sword Flag, 351.
Syringa, 578.
Syringe, 40.

Syspara Creeper, 555.

T.

TALLIES, 41.
Tamarind, 239.
Tamarisk, 405.
Tangier Pea, 302.
Tank soil, 14, 74.
Tapioca, 93, 124.
Tassel Flower, 321.
Tea Plant, 416.
Temperature, 9, 12.
Thieves, 49.
Thrift, 514.
Thyme, 95, 159.
Tiger Flower, 351.
Toad-flax, 313.
Toad Plant, 508.
Toads, 47.
Tobacco, 303.
Tomato, 99, 100, 166.
Tomi-tomi, 197.
Torch-Thistle, 574.
Tous les Mois, 115.
Transplanting, 70.

Trowel, 40.
Traveller's Tree, 353.
Trellis, 37.
Trident, 40.
Truffle, 110.

Trumpet Honeysuckle, 592.
Tube Rose, 380.

Creeping, 504.
Tulip, 377.
Turf, charred, 16.
Turk's-cap Cactus, 573.
Turmeric, 98, 113, 354.

wild, 355.

Turnip, 100, 101, 138.
Turnip-rooted Cabbage, 137.
Turnip-rooted Celery, 167.

u.

UMBRELLA-TREE, 597.

ZEDOARY.

Jnderground Kidney Bean,

277.
Utensils, 39.

V.

VALERIAN, 316.
Vanille, 115.
Vegetable Mould, 15.
Vegetables, culinary, 107.
Venus' Looking-glass, 315.
Verandah, plants for, 326.
Vermin, 42, 59.
Violet, 101, 405.
Viper's Bugloss, 309.
Virginian Stock, 287.
Voa Vanga, 268.

w.

WALLFLOWER, 407.
Walnut, 274.

Indian, 272.
Wampee, 101, 217.
Wardian cases, 89.
Water Bag, 30.
Water-Bean, 419.

Caltrops, 279.

Water-Cress, 130.

Melon, 94, 194.

scoop, 33.

Watering, 9.

of potted plants, 65.
Watering-pot, 40, 65.
Wax Plant, 505.
Weeds, 49.

Weeping Cypress, 390.
Weeping Willow, 391.
Weevils, 54.
Wells, 30, 32, 33.
West Coast Creeper, 504.
White Ants, 44.
White Gourd, 126.
White Horse, 587.
Wild Liquorice, 448.
Wild Olive, 182.
Winds, 12.
Wood Ashes, 16.
Woondee Fruit, 206.
Worms, 46.

Y.

YAMS, 96, 102, 121.

Malacca, 122.

New Zealand, 122.
Yellow Sultan, 322.
Yellow Water-bean, 41 9.
Yew, 390.

z.

ZEBRA-PLANT, 358.
Zedoary —

Long, 354.

Red, 355.

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES

OF

CLASSES, ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

ABELIA.

Abelia, 592.

triflora, 592.
Abelmoschus —

esculentus, 140.
Abroma, 408

augusta, 408.
Abronia, 298.

arenaria, 298.

umbellata, 298.
Abrus, 448.

precatorius, 326, 448.
Abutilon, 413.

Bedfordianum, 326, 413.

marmoratum, 413.

striatum, 413.

Thompson!, 413.
Acacia, 327, 458.

Catechu, 458.

cornigera, 458.

decurrens, 459.

Farnesiana, 458.

Haustoni, 459.

modesta, 27, 458.

speciosa, 458.
Acalypha, 285, 394.

densiflora, 394, &c.
AcANTHACEvE, 312, 541.
Acanthus, 547.

ilicifolius, 547.
Achillea, 561.

Millefolium, 561.

nobilis, 561.
Achimenes, 69, 197, 326, 533.

carminata, 535.

grandiflora, 535.

longiflora, 535.

Parsoni, 535.

rosea, 535.

violacea, 535.

vivicans, 535.
Achras —

Sapota, 255.
Achyranthes, 438.

alopecuroides, 438.
Acroclinium, 320.

roseum, 281, 320.
ACKOGENS, 327.

AKEBIA.

Actiniopteris, 332.

flabellata, 332.
Adansonia —

digitata, 199.
Adhatoda, 549.

cydonisefolia, 549.
Adiantum, 331.

caudatum, 594.

lunulatum, 331.
Adonis, 292.

autumnalis, 292.
jEchmea, 340.

discolor, 340.

fulgens, 340.
^gle—

Marmelos, 218.
Aerides, 361, 373.

affine, 373.

Fieldingii, 373.

Lindleyanum, 373.

Lobbii, 373.

odoratum, 373.

quinque vulnerum, 373,

&c.
jErua, 438.

sanguinolenta, 438.
./Eschynanthus, 326, 537.

grandiflorus, 537.

Roxburghii, 537.

zebrina, 537.

sp., 537.
jEschynomene— •

Sesban, 27.
Agapanthus, 380.

umbellatus, 380.
AGARICACE^B, 108.
Agaricus, 108.
Agathosma, 430.
Agati, 443.

grandiflora, 443.
Agave, 349.

Americana, 27.

variegata, 349.
Ageratum, 316.

Mexicanum, 281, 316.
Aglaia, 429.

odorata, 327, 429.
Akebia, 397.

quinata, 326, 397.

ALTHAEA.

Aleurites — triloba, 272.
Allamanda, 94, 326, 490.

cathartica, 491.

neriifolia, 491.

Schottii, 491.

sp. from Java, 491.

sp. from Kew, 491.

violacea, 491.
Allium, 382.

Ascalonicum, 119.

Cepa, 117.

fragrans, 382.

Porrum, 118.

sativum, 119.

Schsenoprasum, 119.
Alocacia, 335.

Lowei, 335.

metallica, 335. •

Veitchii, 335.

zebrina, 335.
Aloe, 381.

Abysinnica, 381.

attenuata, 381.

Indica, 381.

intermedia, 381.

nigricans, 381.

saponaria, 381.
Alonsoa, 313.

incisifolia, 313.
Aloysia, 72, 526.

citriodora, 101, 103, 326,

526.
Alpinia, 95, 356.

Allughas, 356.

calcarata, 357.

Malaccensis, 357.

Mutica, 357.

nutans, 356.

punicea, 357.
Alsophila, 333.
Alstonia, 496.

nereifolia, 496.
Alstromeria, 348.

psittacina, 348.
Alternanthera, 438.

amabilis, 438.

paronychyoides, 438.
Althaa, 291, 410.

rosea, 291, 410.

606

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

AMARANTACE^E.

AMARANTACE^E, 142, 298,

438.
Amaranthus, 98, 298.

caudatus, 281, 298.

Gangeticus, 143.

hypochondriacus, 281,
298.

oleraceus, 142.

salicifolius, 209.

tricolor, 281, 298.
AMARYLLIDACE^E, 341.
Amaryllis, 342.

Belladonna, 342.

Josephina?, 342.
Amherstia, 453.

nobilis, 453.
Amorpha, 443.

fruticosa, 443.
Amphilophium, 540.

Mutisii, 540.
Amygdalus, 460.

communis, 278.

Persica, 239.
var. Isevis, 242.
var. fl. pi., 460.
ANACARDIACE^E, 229, 275.
Anacardium —

occidentale, 275.
Anaectochilus, 375.

Dawsonianus, 375.

Ordianus, 375.

setaceus, 375.
Ananassa, 340.

sativa, 173.

striatifolia, 174, 340.
Andropogon, 334.

Martini, 326, 334.

Schcenanthus, 334.
Anemone, 101, 422.

coronaria, 422.

Japonica, 422.
Angelonia, 553.

grandiflora, 553.
Angrsecum, 362, 373.

superbum, 373.
Aniseia, 509.

media, 326, 509.
Anisochilus, 523.

carnosus, 523.
Anona —

Cherimolia, 210.

muricata, 209.

reticulata, 209.

squamosa, 208.
ANONACEJE, 208, 421.
Anthericum, 384.

vespertinum, 384.
Anthurium, 377.

cordifolium, 377.

leuconeurum, 377, &c.

ARTABOTRYS.

Antigonon, 437.

leptopus, 437.
Antirrhinum, 101, 313, 553.

majus, 313, 553.
Aphelandra, 96, 548.

cristata, 548.

fulgens, 548.

tetragona, 548.
APIACEJE, 165, 324, 592.
Apium —

graveolens, 165.

var. Rapaceum, 167.
Apluda, 334.

aristata, 334.

APOCYNACE.E, 256, 490.

AQUIFOLIACE^E, 490.
Aquilegia, 423.

vulgaris, 423.
ARACE^E, 111, 595
Arachis —

hypogaea, 277.
Aralia, 593.

Guilfoylei, 598.

papyrifera, 593.
ARALIACE.E, 592.
Araucaria, 326, 387.

Bidwelli, 388.

Cookii, 388.

Cunninghamii, 388.

excelsa, 388.

imbricata, 388.
Arbutus, 427.
Ardisia, 515.

crenulata, 515.

paniculata, 516.

solanacea, 515.

umbellata, 516.
Arduina bispinosa, 257.
Areca, 338.

Catechu, 339.

oleracea, 338.
Arenga, 339.

saccharifera, 339.
Argemone, 293.

Mexicana, 293.
Argyreia, 511.

argentea, 511.

cuneata, 512.

nervosa, 512.

splendens, 326, 511.
Aristolochia, 326, 594.

acuminata, 594.

Brasiliensis, 594.

caudata, 594.

labiosa, 594.
ARISTOLOCHIACE^E, 594.
Armeria, 514.

cephalotes, 514.
Artabotrys, 421.

odoratissimus, 326, 421.

BAMBUSA.

Artemisia, 563.

Abrotanum, 326, 563.

lactifolia, 326, 563.

odoratissima, 563.
Arthrostemma, 568.

lineatum, 568.
ARTOCARPACE.E, 185, 272.
Artocarpus —

incisus, 187, 272.

integrifolius, 185, 272.

Lacoocha, 188.
Arum, 103, 334.

Dracunculus, 335.

pictum, 94, 326, 334.
Arundina, 368.

bambusifolia, 368.
Arundo, 333.

Donax, 333.

versicolor, 333.
Asclepias, 45, 503.

arborescens, 503.

Curassavica, 503.

Mexicana, 503.
ASCLEPIADACE.E, 502.
Asparagus, 326, 384.

acerosus, 384.

ascendens, 385.

officinalis, 119.

racemosus, 121, 326, 385.
Aspidistra, 596.

punctata, 596.
Aspidium, 332.

proliferum, 332.

squalens, 332.
Asplenium, 331.

Nidus, 331.
Aster, 558.

annuu's, 558.

Chinensis, 281.

sp. 558.

ASTERACE.E, 160, 316, 558.
Astrapsea, 73, 409.

Wallichii, 409.
Asystasia, 546.

Coromandeliana, 546.

formosa, 326, 546.
Aucuba, 593.

Japonica, 593.
AURANTIACE.E, 217, 427.
Averrhoa —

Bilimbi, 236.

Carambola, 235.
Azalea, 427.

Babiana, 351.
BALSAMINACE^E, 294.
Bambusa, 334.

aureo-variegata, 334.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

607

BAMBUSA.

BRASSAVOLA.

CALADIUM.

Bambusa, nana, 334.

Bellis, 558.

Brassavola, cucullata, 368.

Banksia, 440.

perennis, 558.

Brassica —

Banisteria, 415.

Beloperone, 549.

oleracea, 132.

argentea, 415.

nervosa, 549.

Rapa, 138.

laurifolia, 326, 415.

oblongata, 549.

BRASSICACE.E, 130, 286, 407.

Barleria, 73, 546.

verrucosa, 549.

Briza, 285.

buxifolia, 546.

BELVISIACE^E, 567.

gracilis, 285.

ciliata, 546.

Benincasa —

maxima, 285.

caerulea, 547.

cerifera, 126.

BROMELIACEjE, 173, 340.

cristata, 546.

BERBERIDACE^E, 424.

Bromheadia, 373.

dichotoma, 546.

Berberis, 424.

palustris, 373.

Gibsoni, 546.

aristata, 424.

Brosimum —

hirsuta, 547.

Asiatica, 424.

Alicastrum, 272.

lupulina, 546.

Fortuniana, 424.

Broughtonia, 367.

Prionitis, 547.

Leschenaulti, 425.

sanguinea, 367.

rosea, 547.

Bertholletia—

Browallia, 103, 312.

sp. from Mauritius, 547.

excelsa, 280.

elata, 281, 312.

Barosma, 430.

Beta—

Brownea, 453.

Barringtonia, 578.

yulgaris, 143..

Antiguiensis, 453.

acutangula, 579.

Bignonia, 94, 326, 538.

Ariza, 453.

racemosa, 578.

amcena, 539.

coccinea, 453.

speciosa, 578.

Chamberlaynei, 538.

grandiceps, 453.

BARRINGTONIACE.E, 578.

Chirere, 539.

Brunsfelsia, 551.

Bartonia, 323.

crucigera, 538.

Americana, 551.

aurea, 323.

equinoctialis, 538.

Cubensis, 552.

Basella—

gracilis, 538.

erecta, 552.

alba, 145.

grandiflora, 36.

montana, 551.

cordifolia, 145.

incarnata, 539.

undulata, 551.

BASELLACE^E, 145.

picta, 539.

Bryophyllum, 406.

Batatas, 511.

quadrilocularis, 539.

calicinum, 406.

edulis, 157, 511.

Rozleana, 539.

Buchanania —

paniculata, 326, 511.

undulata, 539.

latifolia, 276.

Bauhinia, 73, 326, 455.

venusta, 25, 539.

Buddlea, 96, 555.

acuminata, 455.

BlGNONIACE^E, 538.

globosa, 556.

aurantiaca, 455.

Billbergia, 38, 340.

Lindleyana, 555.

Candida, 456.

bicolor, 340.

Madagascarensis, 556.

corymbosa, 456.

melanantha, 340.

Neemda, 556.

diphylla, 456.

pyramidalis, 340.

paniculata, 556.

purpurea, 456.

tricolor, 340.

Bugainvillea, 437.

racemosa, 280.

vittata, 340.

glabra, 437.

retusa, 455.

zonata, 340.

speciosa, 437.

Richardiana, 455.

Bixa, 401.

spectabilis, 326, 437.

tomentosa, 455.

Orellana, 401.

Buxus, 397.

triandra, 456.

Bletia, 326, 362, 368.

Chinensis, 397.

variegata, 456.

hyacinthina, 368.

sempervirens, 397.

Beaumontia, 495.

verecunda, 368.

BYTTNERIACE^E, 289, 408.

grandiflora, 326, 495.

Blighia —

Begonia, 69, 85, 326, 398.

sapida, 201.

c.

argyrostigma, 399.

BORAGINACE^E, 309.

fuchsioides, 400.

Borago, 310.

Cacalia, 321, 564.

humilis, 400.

officinalis, 310.

carnosa, 564.

hydrocotylifolia, 399.

Borassus —

coccinea, 281, 321.

longipila, 400.

flabelliformis, 172.

hieraceoides, 564.

Malabathrica, 400.

Boronia, 430.

CACTACE^E, 266, 572.

manicata, 399.

Boucerosia, 508.

Csesalpinia, 451.

nitida, 400.

crenulata, 508.

coriaria, 327, 451.

platanifolia, 400.

umbellata, 508.

Grahami, 451.

reniformis, 400.

Brachycome, 317.

paniculata, 451.

Rex, 401.

iberidifolia, 281, 317.

sepiaria, 27.

rubrovenia, 401.

Brassavola, 368.

CiESALPINE-ffi, 449.

BEGONIACE^E, 398, 596.

glauca, 368.

Caladium, 94, 103, 326, 335.

608

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

CALADIUM.

Caladium, amabile, 336.

argyrites, 336.

Belleymei, 336.

Chantini, 337.

Wightii, 337.
Calamus, 339.
Calandrinia, 297.

umbellata, 297.
Calantbe, 374.

masuca, 374.

vestita, 374.
Calathea, 358.

bicolor, 359.

zebrina, 358.
Calceolaria, 78, 313, 553.

pinnata, 313.
Calendula, 321.

officinalis, 321.

pluvialis, 281.
Calliandra, 459.

brevipes, 459.

haematocephala, 459.

longipes, 459.

Portoricensis, 459.
Callicarpa, 531.

cana, 531.

lanceolaria, 531.

purpurea, 531.
Callichroa, 319.

platyglossa, 319.
Calliopsis, 281, 317.

filifolia, var. Burridgi,
318.

tinctoria, 317.
Callirhoe, 291.

digitata, 281, 291.
Callistemon, 326, 570.

linearis, 570.

salignus, 570.
Callistephus, 316.

hortensis, 316.
Calodendron, 430.
Calonyction, 98, 305.

grandiflorum, 305.

muricatum, 305.
Calophyllum, 417.

Inophyllum, 417.
Calotropis, 502.

gigantea, 502.

Hamiltoniana, 502.

CALYCANTHACE-S:, 441.

Calycanthus, 441.

floridus, 441.
Calysaccion —

longifolium, 207.
Camarea, 415.

lucida, 415.
Camellia, 81, 415.

Japonica, 415.
Campanula, 315, 556.

Loreyi, 315.

CASSIA.

Campanula, Lychnitis, 556.

Speculum, 315.
CAMPANULACEJE, 315, 556.
Canavalia —

gladiata, 148.
Canna, 102, 359.

Achiras, 359.

Annsei, 359.

crenulata, 360.

Cubensis, 360.

discolor, 359.

diversicolor, 360.

edulis, 115, 359.

esculente, 360.

flaccida, 360.

gigantea, 359.

glauca, 360.

Indica, 359.

Lagunensis, 360.

Lamberti, 360. *

limbata, 360.

lutea, 359.

Roscreana, 359.

Schubertii, 359.

Warczewiczii, 359.

zebrina, 359.

CAPPARIDACE^E, 389, 407.
Capparis, 407.

horrida, 407.

tryphylla, 408.
CAPRIFOLIACE^E, 268, 591.
Capsicum —

annuum, 153.

baccatum, 153.

fastigiatum, 153.

frutescens, 153.

grossum, 153.
Caralluma, 508.

fimbriata, 508.
Cardiospermum, 291.

Halicacabum, 291.
Carica —

Papaya, 194.
Carissa —

Carandas, 256.

Chinensis, 257.
Carthamus, 98, 322.

tinctorius, 322.
CARYOPHYLLACE^E, 296, 434.
Caryophyllus, 571.

aromaticus, 571.
Caryota, 339.

sobolifera, 339.
Cassia, 451.

alata, 96, 452.

auriculata, 452.

Australis, 452.

fistula, 451.

florida, 452.

glauca, 452.

Javanica, 452.

OESTRUM.

Cassia, marginata, 452.
Castanea —

Chinensis, 273.

vesca, 273.
Castanospermum, 449.

Australe, 277, 449.
Casuarina, 391.

muricata, 27, 391.
CASUARINACE.E, 391.
Catesbaea, 588.

spinosa, 588.
Cattleya, 325, 362, 367.

Aclandiae, 367.

crispa, 367.

labiata, 367.

Mossiae, 367.

Skinneri, 367.

Warszewiczii, 367.
CEDRELACE^E, 428.

Celosia, 299.

cristata, 283, 299.
Centaurea, 322.

Americana, 322.

Cyanus, 322.

moschata, 322.

suaveolens, 322.
Centradenia, 101, 568.

floribunda, 568.
Centranthus, 316.

macrosiphon, 281, 316.
Centropogon, 557.

fastuosus, 557.
Centrosema, 446.

Plumieri, 326, 446.

Virginianum, 446.
Cerasus, 460.

Jenkinsii, 244.

Lauro-cerasus, 460.

Lusitanica, 460.

vulgaris, 244.
Cerbera, 492.

fruticosa, 492.
Cercis, 456.

Canadensis, 456.

Siliquastrum, 456.
Cereus, 574.

eriophorus, 574.

grandiflorus, 574.

hexagonus, 575.

nycticallus, 326, 575.

speciosissimus, 575.

triangularis, 575, &c.
Cerinthe, 309.

major, 309.

retorta, 309.
Ceropegia, 507.

Gardneri, 507.
Cestrum, 500.

aurantiacum, 500.

fcetidissimum, 500.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

609

CH^ENOSTOMA.

Chsenostoma, 314.

polyanthum, 314.
Chamajrops, 340.

Martiana, 340.
Cheilanthes, 330.

argentea, 330.
Cheirauthus, 407.

Cheiri, 407.
CHENOPODIACEJE, 143.
Chimonanthus, 441.

fragrans, 11, 326, 441.
Chiococca, 585.

racemosa, 585.
Chrysanthemum, 81, 94, 97,

319, 326, 561.
carinatum, 319.
Sinense, 561.
Indicum, 561.

CHRYSOBALANACE.E, 238.
Chrysobalanus —

Icaco, 238.
Chrysophyllum, 489.

Cainito, 254, 326, 489.
Cicca—

disticha, 188.
Cichorium —

Endivia, 162.

ClNCHONACEjE, 268, 579.

Cineraria, 100, 103, 282, 284.

320, 564.
Cinnamomum, 326, 440.

Zeylanicum, 440.

Cipura, 326, 350.
Cissus, 425.

discolor, 326, 425.
CISTACE.E, 407.
Cistus. 407.

ladaniferus, 407.
Citharexylon, 428.

subserratum, 528.
Citrus, 428.

acida, 225.

Aurantium, 219.

decumana, 223.

Japonica, 225.

Limetta, 226.

Limonum, 226.

medica, 227.

vulgaris, 219.
Cladanthus, 319.

Arabicus, 319.
Clarkia, 323.

elegans, 323.

pulchella, 323.
Clausena, 427.

heptaphylla, 326, 427.
Clematis, 421.

brachiata, 421.

Cadmia, 421.

Flammula, 421.

COFPEA.

Clematis, Gouriana, 421.

ViticelJa, 421.
Cleome, 289.

viscosa, 289.
Clerodendron, 528.

fallax, 529.

fragrans, 326, 530.

fulgens, 529.

hastatum, 529.

infortunatum, 530.

Ksempferi, 529.

nutans, 530.

odoratum, 530.

phlomoides, 530.

pyramidale, 529.

serratum, 530.

siphonanthus, 530.

speciosum, 530.

splendens, 326, 529.

squamatum, 529.

sp. from Mauritius, 529.

Thomsoni, 530.

urticafolium, 529.
Clianthus, 444.

Dampieri, 301.

pu nice us, 444.
Clinfconia, 315.

pulchella, 315.
Clitoria, 326, 445.

erecta, 446.

heterophylla, 445.

Ternatea, 445.
Clivia, 349.

nobilis, 349.

Gardeni, 349.
CLUSIACE.E, 205, 416.
Cobaea, 513.

scandens, 326, 513.
Coccoloba, 437.

macrophylla, 437.

uvifera, 237.
Cochlearia —

Armoracia, 131.
Cochlospermum, 407.

Gossypium, 407.
Cocos —

nucifera, 269.
Codiseum, 395.

latifolium, 395.

longifolium, 396.

pictum, 395.

variegatum, 396, &c.
Coelogyne, 362-366.

cristata, 367.

media, 367.

nitida, 367.

odoratissima, 367.

rigida, 367.

undulata, 367.
Coffea, 580.

CRASSULA.

Coflea, Arabica, 580.

Bengalensis, 580.
Colebrookia, 524.

oppositi folia, 524.

ternifolia, 524.
Coleus, 326, 523.

Blumei, 523.

scutellarioides, 523.

Verschaffeltii, 523.
Collinsia, 314.

bicolor, 314.
Collomia, 307.

coccinea, 307.
Colocasia, 335.

antiquorum, 111.

odorata, 335.
Colvillea, 451.

racemosa, 451.

COMBRETACE^E, 279, 564.

Combretum, 37, 326, 505.
acuminatum, 565.
Chinense, 565.
comosum, 565.
densiflorum, 565.
grandiflorum, 565.
macrophyllum, 565.
Pincianum, 565.
rotundifolium, 565.
Wightianum, 565.

COMMELYNACE.<E, 376.

Congea, 531.

azurea, 326, 531.

CONVOLVULACE^E, 157, 304,

509.
Convolvulus, 304, 509.

pentanthes, 326, 509.

tricolor, 304.
Cookia—

punctata, 217.
Cordia, 508.

Sebestena, 508.

CORDIACEJE, 508.

Cordyline, 385.

ensifolia, 385.

ferrea, 385.

reflexa, 385.

terminalis, 385.
CORN AC E^E, 593.
Correa, 430.
CORYLACE^S, 273.
Corylus —

Avellana, 273.
Cosmos, 318.

bipinnatus, 318.
Costus, 357.

argyrophyllus, 357.

speciosus, 357.
Crambe —

maritima, 139.
Crassula, 406.

2 B

610

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

CRASSULA.

Crassula, miniata, 406.

nitida, 406.
CRASSULACEJE, 406.
Cratsegus, 461.
Layi, 249.
Crescentia, 537.

acuminata, 537.
Cujete, 537.
CRESCENTIACE^E, 537.
Crinum, 45, 95, 326, 344.
amoenum, 344.
Asiaticum toxicarium,

345.

augustum, 345.
brevifolium, 344.
canaliculatum, 345.
defixum, 344.
latifolium, 345.
longifoliuin, 344.
lorifolium, 345.
scabrum, 346.
Sumatranum, 345.
superbum, 345.
Zeylanicum, 345.
Crocus, 352.

sativus, 352.
Crossandra, 548.

infundibuliformis, 548.
Crossostephium, 564.

artemisiodes, 326, 564.
Crotalaria, 301.

juncea, 281, 301.
Croton, 326, 395.
Crowea, 430.
Cryptomeria, 389.
Japonica, 389.
Cryptostegia, 502.

grandiflora, 37, 326, 502.
Cucumis —

Melo, 189.
Momordica, 194.
sativus, 126.
utilissimus, 128.
Cucurbita —

Citrullus, 194.
maxima, 129.
Melopepo, 128.
CUCUBITACE^:, 125, 189.
Cuphea, 103, 302, 487.
platycentra, 487.
purpurea, 281, 302.
Cupressus, 326, 389.
funebris, 390.
torulosa, 390.
sempervirens, 390.
Curcuma, 354.
comosa, 354.
longa, 113.
Roscoeana, 354.
Zedoaria, 355.

DAPHNE.

Curcuma, Zerumbet, 354.
Cyanophyllum, 569.
Burmanni, 569.
magnificum, 569.
Cyanotis, 376.

vittata, 376.
Cyathea, 333.
CYCADEACE.E, 386.
Cycas, 386.

circinalis, 386.
revoluta, 386.
Cyclamen, 515.
Cydonia, 460.

Japonica, 460.
vulgaris, 244.
Cymbidium, 362, 373.
aloifolium, 373.
eburneum, 373.
giganteum, 373.
Mastersii, 373.
Cynara —

Cardunculus, 162.
Scolymus, 160.
Cynodon —

dactylon, 26.
Cyperus —

hexastachyus, 26.
Cypripedium, 375.
concolar, 375.
Hookeri, 376.
insigne, 375.
niveum, 376.
purpuratum, 375.
venustum, 375.
Cyrtanthera, 549.
Pohliana, 549.
aurantiaca, 549.
Cyrtanthus, 346.
Cyrtoceras, 505.

reflexum, 505.
Cyrtopera, 369.

flava, 95, 369.
Cytisus, 442.

D.

Dacrydium, 326, 391.

elatum, 391.

taxifolium, 391.
Dsedalacanthus, 546.

splendens, 546.
Dahlia, 79, 96, 98, 99, 326
559.

superflua, 559.
Dalbergia, 326, 448.

Sisso, 326, 448.
Dalechampia, 394.

Roezleana, 394.
Daphne, 439.

Fortuniana, 439.

DIELYTRA.

)aphne, viridiflora, 439.
)atura, 98, 281, 304, 501.
alba, 304.
chlorantha, 304.
fastuosa, 304.
sanguinea, 501.
suaveolens, 501.
)aucus —

Carota, 168.
Davallia, 332.
Delima, 421.

sarmentosa, 421.
Delphinium, 281, 292.
Ajacis, 292.
Consolida, 292.
Dendrobium, 365.

aggregatum, 365.
Andersonii, 365.
angulatum, 365.
Calceolaria, 365.
Cambridgeanum, 36^.
chrysanthum, 365.
Dalhousianum, 365.
densiflorum, 365.
Devonianum, 365.
Falconer!, 365.
Farmed, 366.
fimbriatum, 366.
formosum, 366.
macranthum, 366.
macrophyllum, 366.
nobile, 366.
Parishii, 366.
Pierardii, 366.
secundum, 366, &c.
Desmanthus, 557.

punctatus, 557.
Desmodium, 445.

gyrans, 281, 445.
Deutsia, 578.

scabra, 578.
Dianella, 384.

nemorosa, 384.
Dianthus, 296, 434.
barbatus, 435.
Caryophyllus, 435.
Chinensis, 281, 296, 434
Heddewigi, 435.
laciniatus, 434.
Dicerma, 445.

pulchellum, 445.
Dichorisandra, 376.

ovata, 376.
Dictamnus, 430.

Fraxinella, 430.
DICTYOGENS, 121.
Didiscus, 324.

caeruleus, 281, 324.
Dielytra, 423.

spectabilis, 423.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

Gil

DIGITALIS.

Digitalis, 556.
Dillenia, 421.

speciosa, 211,421.

DlLLENIACE<£, 211, 421.

Dioscorea —
alata, 121.
atropurpurea, 122.
fasciculata, 122.
globosa, 121.
Japonica, 122.
purpurea, 121.
rubella, 122.
sp., 122.

DlOSCOREACE^E, 121.

Diosma, 430.
Diospyros —

Kaki, 256.

Dipladeuia, 326, 498.
DIPSACE^E, 316, 557.
Dipteracanthus, 544.

ciliatus, 544.
Dodonaea, 27, 414.

Burmanniana, 414.

dioica, 414.

Dolichos — Sinensis, 149.
Dombeya, 326, 408.

acutangula, 409.

cuspidata, 409.

palmata, 408.

tiliaefolia, 409.

viburaifolia, 409.
Dracaena, 326, 385.

australis, 385.
Dracocephalum, 310, 523.

Canariense, 326, 523.

Moldavicum, 310.
Drimea, 384.

revoluta, 384.
DRUPACE^E, 239, 278, 460.
Dryandra, 440.
Drymoglossum, 329.

piloselloides, 329.
Duranta, 27, 530.

Ellisii, 531.

Plumieri, 530.
Durio — zibethinus, 199.

E.

EBENACEJE, 256.
Eccremocarpus, 541.

scaber, 541.
Echinocactus, 574.

Echidne, 574.

multiplex, 574, &c.
Echites, 326, 496.

caryophyllata, 496.

cymosa, 497.

lisianthiflora, 497.

picta, 326,_497.

ESCHSCHOLTZIA.

Echium, 309.
EHRETIACE^E, 521.
EL.-EAGNACE^E, 182, 391.
Ekeagnus, 326, 391.

conferta, 182.

dulcis, 391.

Emblicu — officinalis, 188.
ENDOGENS, 111, 172, 269,

285, 333.

EPACRIDACE^E, 426.
Epacris, 426.
Epidendrum, 367.

ciliare, 367.

cochleatura, 367.

crassifolium, 367.

falcatium, 367.

macrophyllum, 367.

polyanthum, 367.

vitellinum, 367.
Epiphyllum, 575.

alatum, 576.

Hookeri, 575.

truncatum, 576.
Eranthemmn, 549.

bi color, 549.

Blumei, 550.

cinnabarinum, 550.

crenulatum, 549.

erectum, 549.

grandifolium, 550.

igneum, 550.

nervosum, 549.

pulchellum, 550.

racemosuin, 550.

strictum, 550.
Erica, 426.

speciosa, 426.
ERICACEAE, 426.
Eriobotyra — Japonica, 247.
Eriococcus, 396.

glaucescens, 396.

sp., 396.
Erysimum, 287.

Arkansanum, 288.

Perofskianum, 287.
Erythrina, 79, 446.

Bellangerii, 447.

Blakei, 446.

corallodeudron, 447.

Crista Galli, 447.

Hendersoni, 447.

herbacea, 446.

Indica, 446.
Erythrochiton, 429.

Braziliensis, 429.
Escallonia, 577.

macrantha, 577.
ESCALLONIACE^:, 577.
Eschscholtzia, 284, 293.

Californica, 293.

FILICIUM.

Eucalyptus, 570.
Eucharidium, 323.

coiicinnum, 323.
Eucharis —

Amazonica, 326, 347.
Eugenia, 571.

Michelii, 264.

Pimenta, 571.

ugnea, 571.

Zeylanica, 571.
Euonymus, 489.

garcinifolia, 489.

variegata, 489.
Eupatoriura, 558.

asperum, 558.

foeniculaceum, 558.

odoratum, 326, 558.

sp., 558.
Euphorbia, 392.

Bojeri, 392.

jacquini flora, 90, 326, 393.

splendens, 393.
EUPIIORBIACE^E, 124, 188,

272, 285, 392.
Euryale, 418.

ferox, 418.
Eurycles, 346.

Amboinensis, 346.
Eustrephus, 304.

angustifolius, 384.
Eutoca, 308.

viscida, 308.

Wrangeliana, 309.
Exacum, 303.

tetragonum, 281, 303.
Excoecaria, 326, 394.

bicolor, 394.
EXOGENS.

Diclinous, 124, 182, 272,
285, 391.

Epigynous, 160,259,279,
315, 556.

Hypogynoas, 130, 196,
274, 286, 401.

Perigynous, 145, 237,
277, 299, 439.

vulgaris, 150.

FABACE*:, 145, 239, 277, 441.
Feronia —

elephantum, 218.
Ficus—

Carica, 183.

eburnea, 392.

repens, .392.
Filicium, 414.

decipiens, 326,414.

2 R 2

612

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

FITTONIA.

Fittonia, 551.

argyroneura, 551.
Flacourtia —

cataphracta, 196.

inermis, 197.

FLACOURTIACE^E, 196, 401.
Flemingia, 447.

Chappar, 448.

strobilifera, 447.
Fceniculum —

officinale, 167.
Forsythia, 500.

viridissima, 500.
Fourcroya, 349.

Cantala, 349.
Fragraria —

vesca, 250.
Franciscea, 101, 326, 552.

conferti folia, 552.

eximia, 552.

Hopeana, 552.

hydrangeseformis, 552.

latifolia, 552.

uniflora, 552.
Frederika, 539.

Guillaumi, 539.
Fritillam, 377.
Fuchsia, 567.

FUMARIACE.E, 423.

Funkia, 379.

subcordata, 326, 379.

G.

Gaillardia, 560.

picta, 560.
Galanthus, 342.

niralis, 342.
Garcinia —

Cowa, 206.

Mangostana, 206.
Gardenia, 589.

citriodora, 590.

Devoniensis, 590.

dumetorum, 590.

ferox, 590.

florida, 326, 589.

— Fortuniana, 589.

latifolia, 590.

lucida, 589.

radicans, 590.

Stanleyana, 590.
Gaura, 323.

Lindheimeri, 281, 323.
Geissomeria, 547.

aurantiaca, 547.
GENTIANACE.E, 303, 498.
GP:RANIAGE^E, 433.
Geranium, 10, 101, 103, 326,
433.

Nepalense, 433.

GROSSULARIACE^E.

Gesnera, 532.

Douglasi, 326, 532.

Leichtlina, 533.

magnifica, 533.

splendens, 533.

tubiflora, 103, 532.
GESNERACE^S, 311, 532.
Geum, 101, 485.

atrosanguineum, 485.
Gilia, 307.

achilleasfolia, 307.

capitata, 307.

tricolor, 307.
Ginoria, 487.

Americana, 487.
Gladiolus, 96, 326, 351.
Gleditschia, 456.

triacantha, 456.
Gleichenia, 333.
Globba, 95, 354.

spathulata, 354.

subulata, 354.
Gloriosa, 379.

superba, 95, 326, 379.
Gloxinia, 326, 535.

maculata, 96, 99, 536.
Gnidia, 439.

eriocephala, 439.
Godetia, 323.

Lindleyana, 323.

roseo-alba, 323.

rubicunda, 323.
Goldt'ussia, 545.

anisophylla, 545.

colorata, 545.

glomerata, 545.

isophylla, 545.

lamiifolia, 545.
Gomphocarpus, 503.

fruticosus, 503.
Gomphostemma, 525.

melissaefolium, 525.
Gomphrena, 298.

globosa, 281, 298.
GRAMINACE^E, 111, 285, 333,

595.
Grammatophyllum, 373.

Finlaysonianum, 373.
Graptophyllum, 326, 548.

hortense, 548.

pictum, 548.
Grevillea, 73, 440.

buxifolia, 440.

robusta, 326, 440.
Grewia —

Asiatica, 200.

sapida, 201.
Grislea, 488.

tomeutosa, 488.
GROSSULARIACE.E, 267, 577.

HELIOTROPIUM.

Guilandina —

Bonduc, 27.
Gustavia, 579.

augusta, 579.
GYMNOGENS, 271,386.
Gymnogramme, 330.

chrysophylla, 330.
Gymnostachyum, 547.

Zeylanicum, 547.
Gynerium, 334.

argenteum, 334.

H.

Habranthus, 342.
Habrothamnus, 72, 84, 101
103, 500.

fasciculatus, 326, 500.
Haemanthus, 346.

multiflorus, 346.

virescens, 346.
Hsematoxylon, 449.

Campechianum, 449.
Hakea, 440.
HALORAGACE^:, 279.
Hamelia, 94, 586.

patens, 586.

sphaerocarpa, 586.
Hamiltonia, 96, 326, 585.

azurea, 585.

suaveolens, 585.
Hedera, 593.

Helix, 593.
Hedychium, 95, 326, 355.

angustifolium, 356.

chrysoleucum, 356.

coronarium, 356.

flavum, 356.
Hedysarum, 302.

coronarium, 302.
Heimia, 487.

myrtifolia, 487.
Helianthus, 318.

annuus, 318.

argenteus, 318.

argyrophyllus, 318.

Californicus, 318.

grandiflorus, 318.

Texanus, 318.

tuberosus, 160.
Helichrysum, 320.
Heliconia, 352.

buccinata, 352.
Helicteres, 408.

Isora, 408.
Heliophila, 288.

arabioides, 288.
Heliotropium, 326, 521.

Peruvianum, 521.

Voltaireanuui, 522.

ORDEES, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

613

HEMEROCALLIS.

Hemerocallis, 379.

fulva, 379.
Hemionitis, 329.

cordata, 329.
Henfreya, 544.

scandens, 544.
Hepatica, 423.
Hexacentris, 543.

coccinea, 326, 543.
Hibiscus, 291, 410.

Africanus, 291.

calisureus, 291.

collinus, 411.

giganteus, 281, 291.

Jerroldianus, 95, 412.

heterophyllus, 411.

Lam pas, 411.

lilliiflorus, 412.

Lindleyi, 281, 291.

mutabilis, 94, 411.

Rosa Sinensis, 94, 412.

Sabdariffa, 200.

Syriacus, 94, 411.

tortuosus, 411.

Trionum, 291.
Higginsia, 588.

Ghiesbreghtii, 588.
Hippeastrum, 95, 326, 343.

ambiguum, 343.

equestre majus, 343.

fulgidum, 343.

Johnsoni, 343.

reticulatum, 343.

stylosum, 343.
Hiptage, 415.

Madablota, 326, 415.
Holmskioldia, 96, 525.

coccinea, 525.
Holostemma, 502.

Rheedii, 502.
Hovenia —

dulcis, 253.
Hoya, 94, 103, 326, 505.

bella, 506.

carnosa, 506.

coriacea, 507.

imperialis, 507.

longifolia, 507.

macrophylla, 507.

mollis, 506.

orbiculata, 507.

Paxtoni, 506.

Potsii, 506.

Simmondsii, 507.

variegata, 507.

viridiflora, 507.
Hunnemannia, 293.

fumariaefblia, 293.
Hyacinthus, 383.

Orientalis, 383.

IPOMOPSIS.

Hydrangea, 101, 326, 486.

Japonica, 487.

variegata, 487.

mutabilis, 487.
HYDRANGEACEJE, 486.
Hydrocera, 295.

triflora, 295.

HYDROPHYLLACEJE, 307, 513.
Hymenocallis, 347.

speciosa, 347.
Hyoscyamus, 304,

niger, 304.
Hyperanthera —

Moringa, 130.
HYPERICACE.E, 417.
Hypericum, 417.

Chinense, 417.

pallens, 417.

patulum, 417.

Iberis, 281, 287.

odorata, 287.

umbellata, 287.
Ilex, 490.

Aquifolium, 490.

Paraguayensis, 490.
Imantophyllum, 349.

cyrtanthifolium, 349.

miniatum, 349.
Impatiens, 294.

Balsamina, 294.
Imperata —

cylindrica, 26.
Indigofera, 442.

atropurpurea, 442.

decora, 443.

violacea, 442.
Inga, 73, 459.

haematoxylon, 459.
Inocarpus —

edulis, 277.
Ipomoea, 305, 326, 510

dasysperma, 510.

ficifolia, 510.

hederacea, 305.

Jalapi, 510.

limbata, 281.

macrorhiza, 510.

Pes caprse, 510.

polyanthes, 510.

purpurea, 305.

rubro-caerulea, 37, 98,
281, 305.

semperflorens, 509.

tuberosa, 510.

tyrianthina, 510.

vitifolia, 510.
Ipomopsis, 307, 512.

JAMBOSA.

Ipomopsis, elegans, 307, 461,

512.
Iresine, 438.

aureo-reticulata, 438.

Herbstii, 438.
IRIDACE^:, 349, 596.
Iris, 101, 326, 350.

Chinensis, 350.

Iberica, 596.

monBoides, 351.

Nepalensis, 350.

Persica, 350.

Susiana, 350.

Xiphioides, 351.

Xiphium, 350.
Ismene, 347.

calathina, 347.
Itea, 578.

Virginica, 578.
Ixia, 101, 326, 352.

flexuosa, 352.

Helleni, 352.

Trichonema, 352,

viridiflora, 352.
Ixora, 94, 326, 580.

alba, 581.

acuminata, 581.

amabilis, 598.

barbata, 582.

Bandhuca, 581.

brachiata, 582.

coccinea, 582.

crocea, 582.

cuneifolia, 582.

floribunda, 585.

fulgens, 582.

grandiflora, 582.

hydrangeaeformis, 583.

incarnata, 583.

Javanica, 103, 583.

sp. ex Java, 583.

lanceolaria, 583.

longiflora, 584.

opaca, 584.

parviflora, 584.

Ragoosula, 584.

rosea, 584.

stricta, 584.

superba, 582.

undulata, 585.

villosa, 585, &c.

J.

Jacquinia, 516.

aurantiaca, 516.

ruscifolia, 516.
Jambosa, 572.

alba, 266.

aquea, 266.*

614

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

JAMBOSA.

Jambosa, Malaccensis, 265,
572.

vulgaris, 265.
JASMINACE^E, 516.
Jasminum, 94, 326, 516.

angustifolium, 517.

approximatum, 517.

arborescens, 517.

auriculatum, 517.

Azoricum, 517.

candidum, 517.

caudatum, 517.

chrysanthemum, 517.

coarctatum, 518.

fruticans, 518.

grandiflorum, 518.

heterophyllum, 517.

laurifolium, 517.

ligustrifolium, 519.

nudiflorum, 519.

officinale, 519.

pubescens, 519.

Sambac, 519.

scandens, 520.

simplicifolium, 520.

syringaefolium, 520.

trinerve, 520.

sp., 520.
Jatropha, 394.

integerrima, 395.

multifida, 394.

pandursefolia, 94, 326,

395.
Jonesia, 454.

Asoca, 83, 454.

JUGLANDACEJE, 274.

Juglans — regia, 274.
Juniperus, 326, 388.

cernua, 389.

Chinensis, 389.

communis, 389.

dimorpha, 389.
Jussiaea, 567.

villosa, 567.
Justicia, 550.

Betonica, 550.

calycotricha, 550.

carnea, 550.

coccinea, 550.

Gendarussa, 550.

grandifolia, 550.

rutilans, 550.

K.

Ksempferia, 95, 355.

Galanga, 355.

rotunda, 355.

sp., 356.
Kalanchoe, 406.

LAVANDULA.

Kalanchoe, heterophylla, 406.

laciniata, 406.

varians, 406.
Kalmia, 427.
Kaulfussia, 322.

amelloides, 322.
"Kennedya, 446.
Kerria, 485.

Japonica, 485.
Kigelia, 538.

pinnata, 538.
Klugia, 311.

Notoniana, 311.
Kolreuteria, 414.

paniculata, 414.
Koniga, 287.

maritima, 287.

L.

Lablab—

cultratum, 149.

vulgare, 149.
Lachenalia, 384.
Lactuca —

sativa, 164.
Laelia, 367.

acuminata, 367.

anceps, 367.

autumnalis, 367.

majalis, 367.

purpurata, 367. *

superbiens, 367.
Lafoensia, 488.

Vandelliana, 488.
Lagenaria —

vulgaris, 126.
Lagerstromia, 94, 488.

elegans, 488.

Indica, 488.

Reginse, 489.

LAMIACEJE, 158, 310, 522.
Lansium —

domesticum, 228.
Lantana, 94, 326, 527.

Camara, 528.

nivea, 523.

Selloviana, 527.
• trifblia, 527.
LARDIZABALACE^E, 397.
Lathyrus, 301, 444.

latifolius, 444.

Magellanicus, 302.

odoratus, 301.

Tingitanus, 302.
LAURACE^E, 237, 440.
Laurus, 440.

nobilis, 440.
Lavandula, 523.

Spica, 326, 523.

LUCUMA.

Lawsonia, 488.

alba, 27, 326, 488.
LECYTHIDACE^E, 280.
Leea, 425.

sanguinea, 425.
Lemonia 429.

spectabilis, 326, 429.
Leontodon taraxicum, 162.
Lepidium — sativum, ,132.
Leptodermis, 586.

lanceolata, 586.
Leptosiphon, 307.

densiflorus, 307.
Leucojum, 342.

aestivum, 342.
LILIACE.E, 117, 377, 596.
Lilium, 378.

auratum, 378.

longifolium, 96, 101/326,
378.

Wallichianum, 379.
Limatodes, 374.

rosea, 374.
Limnanthes, 290.

Douglasii, 290.
LINAGES, 294, 431.
Linaria, 103, 281, 313.
Linum, 101, 294, 431.

grandiflorum, 281, 294.

tetragynum, 431.

trigynum, 431.
Littsea, 349.

geminiflora, 349.
Livistona, 339.

Mauritiana, 339.
Loasa, 324.

aurantiaca, 324.

nitida, 324.
LOASACE.E, 323.
Lobelia, 85, 315, 557.

radicans, 557.

ramosa, 281, 316.

speciosa, 315.
LOBELIACE^E, 315, 557.
Lonicera, 326, 591.

diversifolia, 591.

Japonica, 591.

Leschenaultii, 592.

macrantha, 592.

Periclymenum, 591.

reticulata, 592.

sempervirens, 592.
Lophospermum, 101, 554.

scandens, 326, 554.
Lotus, 442.

Jacobaeus, 442.
Lourea, 444.

Vespertilionis, 326, 444.
Lucuma —

mammosa, 254.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

615

LUFFA.

Luffa —

acutangula, 125.
Lupinus, 281, 300, 441.

Hartwegi, 300.

hirsutus, 300.

hybridus, 300.

luteus, 300.

Menziesi, 300.

mutabilis, 300.

nanus, 300.

pilosus, 300.
Luvunga, 428.

scandens, 428.
LYCOPODIACE^E, 327.
Lycopodium, 328.

bicolor, 328.
Lycoris, 344.

aurea, 344.

radiata, 344.
Lygodium, 333.

scandens, 333.
LYTHRACE^E, 302, 487.

M.

Madia, 319.

elegans, 319.
Maasa, 515.

racementosa, 515.
Magnolia, 420.

fuscata, 420.

grandiflora, 420.

pterocarpa, 420.
MAGNOLIACE.E, 419.
Mahonia —

pinnata, 425.
Malcomia, 287.

maritima, 281, 287.
Malope, 290.

trifida, 290.
Malpighia, 414.

coccifera, 415.

glabra,205,414.

urens, 205, 414.
MALPIGHIACE.E, 205, 414.
MALVACEAE, 140, 200, 290,

410, 597.
Malvaviscus, 412.

arboreus, 94, 412.
Mammea —

Americana, 205.
Mammillaria, 573.

longimamma, 573.

pusilla, 573.

tenuis, 573.
Mandevilla, 497.

suaveolens, 497.
Manettia, 588.

cordifolia, 94, 326, 588.
Mangifera — Indica, 229.

MIMOSA.

Manihot —

utilissima, 124.
Maranta, 326, 358.

arundinacea, 113.

rosea, 358, &c.

MARANTACE.E, 113, 358, 596.
Marica, 350.

humilis, 350.

Northiana, 350.

plicata, 350.
Martynia, 310.

diandra, 98, 281, 310.

fragrans, 311.

lutea, 311.
Matthiola, 286.

annua, 286.
Maurandya, 326, 553.

Barclayana, 553.
Medinilla, 569.

vagans, 569:
Melaleuca, 569.

Cajeputi, 569.
Melastoina, 73, 568.

Malabathricum, 568.

sanguineum, 568.
MELASTOMACE^E, 568.
Melia, 428.

sempervirens, 428.
MELIACE.E, 228, 428.
Melocactus, 573.

erectus, 573.
Meledinus, 492.

monogynus, 326, 492.
Memecylon, 569.

capitellatum, 569.

tinctorium, 569.
Mentha, 524.

auricularia, 524.

piperita, 158.

viridis, 158.
Meriandra —

Bengalensis, 158.
MESEMBRYACEJE, 299, 439.
Mesembryanthemum, 299,
439.

cordifolium, 439.

pomeridianum, 299.

tricolor, 299.
Mesua, 416.

ferrea, 326, 416.
Meyenia, 543.

erecta, 543.

Hawtayneana, 326, 543.
Michelia, 420.

Champaca, 326, 420.
Micromelum, 428.

integerrimum, 326, 428.
Millingtonia, 539.

hortensis, 29, 539,
Mimosa, 457.

NAPOLEONA.

Mimosa, brevipenna, 326, 457.

pudica, 457.

sensitiva, 457.

OSE^E, 457.
Mimulus, 78, 281, 284, 314.

speciosus, 314.
Mimusops, 490.

Elengi, 326, 490.

Kauki, 255
Mirabilis, 438.

Jalapa, 438.

longiflora, 438.
Momordica —

Charantia, var. muricata

125.
Monstera —

deliciosa, 182.
MORACE.E, 182, 392.
Morchella —

esculenta, 110.
MORINGACE.E, 130.
Morus —

Indica, 183.

multicaulis, 183.

nigra, 182.
Mucuna —

nivea, 149.
Munronia, 428.

Javanica, 428.
Murraya, 427.

exotica, 326, 427.

Sumatrana, 427.
Murucuja, 404.

ocellata, 326, 404.
Musa, 177.

Africana, 182.

Arakanensis, 181.

Chinensis, 181.

rubra, 180.

sapientum, 179.
177, 352.
Muscari, 382.

botryoides, 382.
Mussaenda, 94, 590.

corymbosa, 591.

frondosa, 591.

macrophylla, 591.
Myosotis, 309.

palustris, 309.
MYRSINACE.E, 515.
MYRTACE^E, 259, 569.
Myrtus, 571.

communis, 326, 571.

tomentosa, 264, 571

N.

Nandina, 424.

domestica, 11,326, 424.
Napoleona, 567.

616

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

NAPOLEONA.

Napoleona, imperialis, 567.
Narcissus, 101, 347.

Jonquilla, 348.

Tazetta, 348.
Nardostachys, 557.

Jatamansi, 557.
Nasturtium —

officinale, 130.
NELUMBIACE^, 274, 419.
Nelumbium, 419.

luteum, 419.

speciosum, 274, 419.
Nemesia, 313.

floribunda, 313.
Nemophila, 58, 282,»284, 307.

atomaria, 308.

discoidalis, 308.

insignis, 281, 307.

maculata, 308.
NEPENTHACE.E, 397.
Nepenthes, 326, 397.

distillatoria, 397.
Nephelium —

lappaceum, 204.

Lichi, 202.

Longanum, 203.
Nephrodium, 332.
Nerine, 344.

Sarniensis, 344.
Nerium, 496.

odorum, 326, 496.
Nicandra, 304.

physaloides, 98, 281, 304.
¥ictotiana, 98, 281.

Tabacum, 303.
Nigella, 292.

Hispanica, 292.
Nolana, 59, 309.

atriplicifolia, 309.

paradoxa, 309.

prostrata, 309.

NOLANACE^E, 309.

Nothochlaena, 330.
NYCTAGINACE^E, 298, 437.
Nyctantb.es, 94, 521.

Arbor tristis, 326, 521.
Nymphsea, 419.

caerulea, 419. .

edulis, 419.

pubescens, 419.

rubra, 419.

stellata, 419.

versicolor, 419.
NYMPH^ACE^E, 417.

o.

Ocimum, 326, 522.
Basilicum, 522.
sanctum, 522.

OXYSTELMA.

(Enothera, 322, 567.

bistorta, 323.

Drummondi, 567.

tetraptera, 322.
Olea, 498.

Capensis, 499.

Europaea, 258.

fragrans, 326, 498.

grata, 499.

myrtifolia, 499.
OLEACE.E, 258, 498, 597.
ONAGRACEJE, 322, 567.
Oncidium, 373,

ampliatum, 374.

bicallosum, 374.

crisp urn, 374.

lanceanum, 374.

luridum, 374.

papilio, 374.
Onychium, 332.

lucidum, 332.
Ophiopogon, 386.

Japonicum, 386.
Ophioxylon, 492.

serpentinum, 492.
Opuntia, 577.

vulgaris, 266.
ORCHIDACE^E, 115, 360.
Origanum —

vulgare, 159.
Ornithogalum, 382.

caudatum, 382.
ORONTIACE^E, 182, 376.
Orthosiphon, 522.

incurvus, 522.

stamineus, 522.
Osbeckia, 568.
Osmanthus, 499.

ilicifolius, 499.
OXALIDACE.E, 235, 294, 431.
Oxalis, 96, 100, 294, 326,
431.

bipunctata, 432.

corniculata, 294.

Bowei, 432.

cernua, 432.

cuprea, 432.

Deppei, 432.

lanata, 432.

rosacea, 432.

rosea, 294.

tetraphylla, 432.

Valdiviana, 294.

variabilis, 432.

versicolor, 432.
Oxyanthus, 590.

hirsutus, 590.
Oxystelma, 562.

esculentum, 502.

PAVETTA.
P.

Psederia, 585.

fcetida, 326, 585.
Paeonia, 423.
PALMACE^E, 172, 269, 338.

595.
Panax, 326, 593.

cochleatum, 593.

fructicosum, 593.
Pancratium, 95, 326, 347.

fragrans, 347.

maritimum, 347.

Zeylanicum, 347.
PANDANACE.E, 337, 595.
Pandanus, 337.

odoratissimus, 326, 337.
Papaver, 293.

Khaeas, 293.

somniferum, 293.
PAPAVERACE^E, 293.
PAPAYACE^E, 194.
PAPILIONACE^:, 300, 441.
Pardanthus, 351.

Chinensis, 351.
Paritium, 413.

tiliaceum, 413.
Parkinsonia, 449.

aculeata, 27, 449.
Parsonsia, 495.

corymbosa, 326, 495.
Passiflora, 73, 197, 326, 401.

adiantifolia, 402.

Buonaparteana, 402.

Chinensis, 402.

caerulea, 402.

caeruleo-racemosa, 402.

edulis, 197, 402.

fcetida, 402.

Gontierii, 403.

holosericea, 403.

incarnata, 197, 403.

kermesina, 403.

laurifolia, 197, 403.

Loudoni, 403.

lunata, 403.

maliformis, 197.

Middletoniana, 403.

minima, 403.

princeps, 403.

punctata, 404.

quadrangularis, 197, 404.

racemosa, 404.

rotundifolia, 404.

serratifolia, 404, &c.
PASSIFLORACE^E, 197, 401.
Pastinaca —

sativa, 167.
Pavetta, 580.

diversifolia, 326, 580.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

617

PAVETTA.

PLUMIERIA.

PROTEACE;E.

Pavetta, Indica, 580.

Phaseolus, lunatus, 153.

Plumieria alba, 494.

Richardiana, 580.

multiflorus, 151.

Podocarpus, 326, 390.

tomentosa, 580.

vulgaris, 152.

Chinensis, 390.

PEDALIACE.E, 310.

PHILADELPHIACE^E, 578.

elongatus, 390.

Pedilanthus, 392.

Philadelphus, 578.

Podolepis, 320.

tithymalpides, 392.

coronarius, 578.

gracilis, 320.

Pelargonium, 433.

Phlogacanthus, 96, 548.

Pogostemon, 524.

lateripes, 434.

thyrsiflorus, 548.

Patchouli, 326, 524.

zonale, 434.

Phlomis, 525.

Poinciana, 95, 450.

Pentalinon, 497.

leonurus, 525.

elata, 450.

suberectum, 326, 497.

Phlox, 95, 281, 306, 512,

Gilliesii, 450.

Pentapetes —

Drummondi, 306.

pulcherrima, 450.

phcenicea, 98, 281, 289.

Phoenix —

regia, 450.

Pentas, 586.

dactylifera, 172.

Poinsettia, 96, 393.

earnea, 326, 586.

sylvestris, 172.

albida, 393.

Pentstemon, 554.

Photinia, 461.

pulcherrima, 393.

Pereskia, 577.

dubia, 326, 461.

Poivrea, 564.

aculeata, 267, 577.

Phrynium, 358.

coccinea, 326, 564.

Bleo, 577.

dichotomum, 358.

Roxburghii, 565.

Pergularia, 504.

Physalis —

POLEMONIACE^, 306, 512.

odoratissima, 326, 504.

Peruviana, 258.

Polianthes, 380.

Perilla, 310.

Pierardia —

tuberosa, 326, 380.

- Nankinensis, 310.

sapida, 204.

POLYGALACE^E, 413.

Peristrophe, 550.

Pimenta — •

POLYGONACE^E, 140, 237, 436.

angustifolia, 551.

vulgaris, 326.

Polygonum, 436.

speciosa, 551.

PINACE.E, 387.

adenophyllum, 436.

tinctoria, 551.

Pinus, 387.

POLYPODIACE^E, 328, 594.

Persea — •

longifolia, 387.

Polypodium, 330.

gratissima, 237.

Pisonia, 437.

adnascens, 330.

Petalidium, 544.

morindifolia, 326, 437.

coronans, 330.

barlerioides, 544.

Pistacia—

glabrum, 330.

Petraea, 531.

vera, 275.

Horsfieldii, 330.

erecta, 531.

Pisum — sativum, 144.

Lobbianum, 330.

Stapelia, 531.

Pitcairnia, 341.

proliferum, 330.

Petroselinum —

Altensteini, 341.

quercifolum, 330.

sativum, 167.

bromeliaefolia, 341.

Wallichii, 330.

Petunia, 95, 281, 303.

fructicosa, 341.

POMACES, 244, 461.

nyctaginiflora, 303.

integrifolia, 341 .

Porana, 509.

phoenicea, 303.

latifolia, 341.

paniculata, 326, 509.

Phacelia, 308.

Olfersii, 341.

volubilis, 509.

tanacetifolia, 308.

punicea, 341.

Portlandia, 587.

Phaius, 368.

PITTOSPORACE^:, 425.

grandiflora, 326, 587.

maculatus, 368.

Pittosporum, 326, 425.

Portulaca, 281, 284, 297, 436.

Wallichii, 368.

Tobira, 425.

meridiana, 436.

Phalaanopsis, 371. T

variegatum, 425.

Thellusoni, 297.

amabilis, 371.

verticillatum, 425.

POTULACACE.E, 297, 426.

cornu cervi, 372.

Platystemon, 294.

Portulacaria, 436.

grandiflora, 371.

Californicum, 294.

Afra, 436.

Lowii, 372.

Plectranthus, 523.

Potentilla, 485.

Mannei, 372.

aromaticus, 326, 523.

Pothos, 376.

Parishii, 372.

Pleroma, 568.

• argyraea, 376.

rosea, 372.

trinervia, 568.

gigantea, 376.

Schilleriana, 372.

PLUMBAGINACE.E, 513.

scandens, 376. •

Schumanni, 372.

Plumbago, 514.

Primula, 514.

Pharbitis, 306, 511.

Capensis, 514.

Auricula, 515.

Leari, 37, 511.

Larpentae, 514.

Polyanthus, 515.

limbata, 306.

rosea, 101, 514.

veris, 515.

Nil, 306.

Zeylanica, 514.

Primula vulgaris, 514.

Phaseolus, 447.

Plumieria, 494.

PRIMULACE^, 514.

Caracal la, 447.

acuminata, 326, 494.

PROTEACE^E, 440.

618

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES,

Primus —

Armeniaca, 242.

Bokharensis, 244.

domestica, 243.
Psidium —

Cattleianum, 262.

Chinense, 262.

Guajava, 261.

Guiniense, 263.

polycarpon, 263.

pumilum, 263.

sp., 263.
Psophocarpus —

tetragonolobus, 150.
Psoralea, 443.
Psychrotia, 580.

undata, 326, 580.
Pteris, 331.

amplectens, 331.

Cretica, 331.
Pterospermum, 326, 409.

lancesefolium, 409.
Punica, 570.

Granatum, 259, 570.

nana, 571.
Pyrus —

communis, 247.

Malus, 245.

Q-

Quamoclit, 37, 98, 305.

phoenicea, 306.

vulgaris, 281, 305.
Quassia, 430.

amara, 430.
Quisqualis, 94, 566.

Indica, 326, 566.

R.

RANUNCULACE^E, 292, 421.
Ranunculus, 101, 423.

Asiaticus, 423.
Raphanus —

sativus, 139.
Rauwolfia, 492.

canescens, 492.
Ravenala, 353.

Madagascarensis, 353.
Reinwardtia, 431.
Renanthera, 362, 370.

arachnites, 370.

coccinea, 370.
Reseda, 288.

odorata, 281, 288.
RESEDACE^E, 288.
RHAMNACE.*£, 252.
Rhaphiolepis, 461.

Indica, 461.

RUBUS.

Rhaphistemma, 504.

pulchellum, 504
Rheum, 141.
Rhipsalis, 576.

salicornoides, 576.
Rhodanthe, 320.

maculata, 320.

Manglesii, 281, 320.
Rhododendron, 427.
Rhodostoma, 588.

gardenioides, 588.
Rhyncospermum, 496.

jasminoides, 326, 327,

496.
Ribes, 577.

Grossularia, 267.

nigrum, 267.

rubrum, 267, 577.
Richardia, 337.

Ethiopica, 96, 100, 326,

337.
Ricinus, 395.

communis, 395.
Rivea, 511.

Bona nox, 326, 511.
Rogiera, 587.

thyrsiflora, 587.
Rondeletia, 587.

punicea, 326, 587.
Rosa, 326, 461.

alba, 470.

Banksise, 471.

Brunonii, 483.

Canina Borbonica, 483.

centifolia, 469.

Chinensis, 477.

Damascena, 469.

Gallica, 470.

gigantea, 472.

Indica, 477.

involucrata, 472.

Lawrenceana, 478.

lutea, 470.

Lyellii, 484.

microphylla, 484.

moschata, 483.

multiflora, 471.

odorata, 480.

Pheolina, 476.

rubiginesa, 470.

semperflorens, 477.

spinosissima, 470.

ternata, 471.
ROSACES, 269, 461, 597.
Roupellia, 498.

grata, 326, 498.
Rubus, 485.

albescens, 249.

Idaus, 249.

rossefolius, 249, 485.

SCABIOSA.

Rudbeckia, 560.

triloba, 560.
Ruellia, 73, 546.

maculata, 326, 546.
Rumex —

montanus, 142.
Russelia, 554.

floribunda, 555.

juncea, 38, 554.
Ruta, 326, 430.

angustifolia, 430.

graveolens, 430.
RUTACE^E, 429.

s.

Saccharum —

spontaneum, 26.
Saccolabium, 362, 372.

ampullaceum, 372.

guttatum, 372.

micranthum, 372.

miniatum, 372.

retusum, 372, &c.
SALICACE^, 391.
Salisburia, 390.

adiantifolia, 271, 390.
Salix, 391.

Babylonica,:391.
Salpiglossis, 95, 281,282, 312,

sinuata, 312.
Salvia, 310, 524.

angustifolia, 524.

coccinea, 525.

officinalis, 159.

patens, 525.

splendens, 79, 326, 524.
Sambucus —

nigra, 260.
Sanchezia, 551.

nobilis, 551.
Sanseviera, 380.

Capensis, 380.

Guineensis, 380.
SANTALACE.E, 593.
Santalum, 593.

album, 593.
Sanvitalia, 318.

procumbens, 318.
SAPINDACE^, 201, 291, 414.
Saponaria, 296, 436.

Calabrica, 296.

officinalis, 436.
SABOTAGED, 254, 489.
Saxifraga, 486.

sarmentosa, 486.

sp., 486.

SAXIFRAGACE^E, 486.
Scabiosa, 316, 557.

atropurpurea, 316.

ORDERS, GENERA, AND SPECIES.

619

SCHIZANTHUS.

Schizanthus, 312.
Schizopetalon, 288.
Walkeri, 288.
Scilla, 382.
Scindapsus, 377.
Scorzonera — Hispanica, 163.

SCROPHULARIACEvE, 312, 551.

Securidaca, 326, 413.

Brownei, 413.

scandens, 413.

virgata, 413.
Selaginella, 328.

Isevigata, 328.
Senecio, 321.

elegans, 321.
Serissa, 579.

foetida, 579.
Scsamum, 98, 311.

Indicum, 281, 311.
Sideroxylon, 490.

inerme, 490.
Silene, 296.

Armeria, 296.

pendula, 296.

pseudo-atocion, 296.

SlMABURACEjE, 430.
Sinapis — alba, 138.
SOLANACEJE, 153, 258, 303,

500, 597.
Solandra, 501.

grandiflora, 501.

oppositifolia, 501.
Solanum, 501.

argenteum, 326, 502.

coriaceum, 501.

Lycopersicum, 166.

macranthum, 502.

Melongena, 155.

tuberosum, 154.
Solidago, 559.

Canadensis, 559.
Sollya, 426. ;

heterophylla, 426.
Sonerila, 569.

margaritacea, 569.
Sophora, 448.

tomentosa, 448.

viola cea, 448.
Southwellia —

Balanghas, 274.
Sparaxis, 352.

grandiflora, 352.

lineata, 352.

tricolor, 352.
Sparteum, 441.

junceum, 441.
Spathodea, 540.

serrulata, 540.

uncinata, 326, 540.
Spathoglottis, 368.

SYZYGIUM.

Spathoglottis, Fortuni, 368.
Specularia, 315.

pentagonia, 315.

Speculum, 315.
Sphenogyne, 319.

speciosa, 319.
Spilanthes, 98, 318.

oleracea, 281, 318.
Spinacea —

oleracea, 143.
Spiraea, 485.

corymbosa, 486.

nutans, 486.
Spondias —

dulcis, 234.

mangifera, 235.
Sprekelia, 103, 342.

Dalhousieae, 343.

formosissima^ 342.
Stachytarpheta, 527.

Jamaicensis, 527.

mutabilis, 527.

Orubica, 527.
Stanhopea, 374.
Stapelia, 508.
Statice, 513.

duriuscula, 513.
Stephanophysum, 544.

Baikiei, 544.

repens, 544.
Stephanotis, 72, 504.

floribunda, 99, 326, 504.
Sterculia, 408.

coccinea, 408.

STERCULIACE,E, 199, 274, 408.
Stigmaphyllon, 415.

periplocifolium, 415.
Stipa, 285.

pennata, 285.
Strelitzia, 353.

angustifolia, 353.

reginae, 353.
Strobilanthes, 544.

auriculata, 544.

Sabiniana, 544.

scabra, 544.

sessilis, 555.

tomentosa, 555.
Stylocoryne, 588.

Weberi, 326, 588.
Sutherland ia, 444.

frutescens, 444.
Swainsonia, 444.

galegifolia, 444.
Swietenia, 428.

Mahagoni, 428.
Syringa, 499.

vulgaris, 499.
Syzygium —

Jambolanum, 264.

TIIYMELACEJE.

T.

Tabernaemontana, 493.

amygdalifolia, 493.

citrifolia, 493.

coronaria, 493.

densiflora, 493.

dichotoma, 493.

recurva, 493.

Wallichiana, 493.
Tacsonia, 404.

mollissima, 198, 404.

pinnatistipula, 404.
Tagetes, 281, 319.

erecta, 319.

patula, 319. ,
Talauma, 419.

pumila, 326, 419.
TAMARICACE^E, 405.
Tamarindus —

Indica, 239.
Tamarix, 405.

dioica, 405.

Gallica, 405.

271, 390.
Taxus, 390.
Tecoma, 94. 95, 326, 540.

apiifolia, 541.

grandiflora, 540.

jasminiodes, 541.

radicans, 540.

stans, 541.

velutina, 541.
Tephrosia, 443.

Candida, 443.
Terminalia —

Catappa, 279.
TERNSTROMIACE^E, 415.
Tetranema, 69, 554.

Mexicana, 326, 554.
THALLOGENS, 108.
Thea, 416.

Chinensis, 416.
Thespesia, 597.

Populnea, 597.
Thevetia, 492.

nereifolia, 492.
Thibaudia, 579.

setigera, 579.
Thuja, 326, 389.

Orientalis, 389.
Thumbergia, 96, 312, 326, 542.

alata, 312.

fragrans, 542.

grandiflora, 542.

laurifolia, 543.
Thunia, 368.

Bensonii, 368.
THYMELACE^E, 279, 439.

620

INDEX TO LATIN NAMES OF CLASSES, ETC.

THYMUS.

Thymus —

Serpyllum, 159.
Tigridia, 351.

Pavonia, 351.
TILIACE.E, 200.
Tolpis, 322.

barbata, 322.
Torenia, 326, 555.

Asiatica, 555.

sp., 555.
Tradescantia, 376.

discolor, 376.

zebrina, 376.
Tragopogon —

porrifolius, 162.
Trapa —

bicornis, 279.
Tribulus, 430.

cistiodes, 431.

lanuginosus, 430.
Trichomanes, 333.
Trichosanthes anguina, 129.

dioeca, 130.
Triphasia —

trifoliata, 217.
TROP^EOLACE^:, 289, 410.
Tropjeolum, 103, 281,289,410.

majus, 289.

peregrinum, 290. t
Tuber, 110.
Tulipa, 377.
Tupistra, 386.

maculata, 386.
Turnera, 406.

trioniflora, 406.

ulmifplia, 407.

TURNERACEjE, 406.

Tweedia, 504.

cserulea, 504.

u.

Urania, 353.

speciosa, 353.
Uraria, 445.

macrostachya, 445.

picta, 445.
Urena, 410.

lobata, 410.
Urtica, 326, 392.

pulchella, 392.

salicifolia, 392.
URTICACE^E, 392.

V.

VACCINIACEjE, 579.

VITIS.

VALERIANACE.E, 316, 557.
Vallota, 344.

purpurea, 344.
Vanda, 362, 369.

Batemanni, 376.

caerulea, 369.

casrulescens, 370.

Cathcarti, 369.

cristata, 370.

gigantea, 369.

Jenkinsii, 370.

Lowii, 370.

Roxburghii, 369.

teres, 369, &c.
Vangueria —

edulis, 268.
Vanilla, 94, 95, 103, 374.

albida, 374.

aromatica, 115, 374.

grandiflora, 374.

ovalifolia, 374.

planifolia, 115, 374.
Venidium, 322.

calendulaceum, 322.
Verbascum, 313.
Verbena, 76, 84, 85, 96, 101,
103, 310, 326, 526.

Bonariensis, 526.

venosa, 527.

VERBENACE^:, 310, 526.
Viburnum, 592.

dilatatum, 592.

inacrocephalum, 592.
Victoria, 418.

regia, 418.
Vinca, 494.

alba, 494.

major, 494.

rosea, 494.
Viola, 286, 405.

cucujlata, 405.

odorata, 405.

primulaefolia, 405.

serpens, 405.

tricolor, 286, 405.
VIOLACE^E, 405.
Virgilia, 448.

aurea, 448.

Capensis, 449.
Viscaria, 296.

oculata, 296.

rosa-cceli, 296.
VITACE,£, 212,425.
Vitex, 326.
Vitis—

vinifera, 212.

ZYGOPHYLLACE.E.

w.

Weigela, 591.

rosea, 591.
Wendlandia, 586.

exserta, 587.

paniculata, 586.
Whitlavia, 308.

grandiflora, 381, 3U8.
Wigandia, 513.

Vigieri, 513.
Wistaria, 443.

Sinensis, 326, 443.
Wrightia, 495.

antidysenterica, 495.

coccinea, 495.

X.

Xanthochymus —

pictorius, 207.
Ximenesia, 318.

encelioides, 318.
Xylophylla, 326, 396.

angustifolia, 396.

elongata, 396.

Y.

Yucca, 88, 381.
aloifolia, 381.
gloriosa, 382.
stricta, 382.

z.

Zamia, 386.
Zea—

Mays, 111.
Zephyranthes, 342.

carinta, 343.

rosea, 343.

tubispatha, 343.
Zingiber —

officinale, 112.

ZlNGIBERACE^, 112, 354.

Zinnia, 98, 317.

elegans, 281, 317.

pauciflora, 317.
Ziziphus —

Jujuba, 253.

vulgaris, 252.
ZYGOPHYLLACE/E, 430.

INDEX TO NATIVE NAMES OF PLANTS.

AKROT.

COWA.

IMLEE.

A.

Badam, 278.

D.

Baer, 95, 253.

Akrot, 272.
Aloo, 154.

Baghonuko seem, 150.
Bakul, 490.

Dad murdun, 452.
Dephul, 188.

Aloocha, 243,

Baia, 411.

Dese* Badam, 279.

Am 229

Bans, 334.

Dhab, 488.

.TVlll, a£i*/9

Archaee, 231.
Arman, 232.
Asmantarah, 232.
Batavee, 231.

Batavee, Neeboo, 223.
Begoon, 155.
BSg-Poora, 227.
Bel, 519.

Dharee, 488.
Dhenroos, 140.
Dhootura, 304.
Domootee, 295.

Bel, 231.
Bhutoora, 231.
Bindobunnee, 231.
Bogul, 232.

Bela, 519.
Bel-phul, 218.
Bet, 339.
Bhooin Chumpa, 355.

Doob, 26.
Dood-pituli-seem, 150.
Doopaharya, 289.
Do-rungee, 478.

Booree, 232.

Bhoot, 111.

Chchaeton Moora, 232.

Bhurbhand, 293.

G.

Chuckchukeea, 231.

Bihee, 244.

Gajur, 168.

Feroghabunnee, 231.
Gopal Bhog, 230.

Bilaetee Begoon, 156.
Bilaetee Gab, 256.

Gau-putta, 512.
Genda, 310.

Kala Puhar, 232.

Bilaetee Imlee, 199.

Ghoyan, 97, 111.

Kelooa, 232.

Bilaetee Menhdee, 571.

Gool, 461.

Kheera Chota, 232.

Bilaetee Nona, 209.

Daodee, 561.

Koput Bunga, 232.

Bilaetee Umra, 234.

Kesh, 299.

Kuchchaee Meethea, 232.

Bilimbee, 102, 236.

Khaira, 410.

Kysapatee, 230.

Bukayun, 428.

Menhdee, 294.

Langera, 230.

Buko, 443.

Mukmul, 298.

Mohun Bhog, 232.

Burbutee, 149.

shub-bo, 380.

Mookh-Muchee, 232.

Busuntee, 431.

-i-ubbas, 438.

Nagroo, 231.

-i-cheen, 494.

Nareech, 232.

-i-ujaib, 411.

Pheeta Khas, 232.

-i-ushrufee, 431.

Phoolee. 232.

c.

Goolab Jam, 265.

Phreet/232.

Gooiai Toolsee, 522.

Pyara-khas, 232.
Shah-Pusund, 232.
Soondaiea, 232.
Soondershaw, 230.
Surees, 232.
Surees-Khas, 232.
Tai-ah, 232.

Chabuk-chhuree, 502.
Chai Koomra, 126.
Chandnee, 493.
Chari-koni-seem, 150.
Cheenee Badam, 277.
Cheenee Kumrunga, 236.
Cheene Nurunga, 217.

Goordal seem, 149.
Gundha raj, 589.
Gundhun, 119.
Gungchee, A448.
Guraniya Aloo, 122.
Gurhul, 411.
Gychi-seem, 150.

Ananas, 173.
Anar, 259, 570.
Aroo, 239.
Aroo Bokhara, 244.
Ashphul, 203.

Chichinga, 129.
Chinchinda, 143.
Chooee-mopee, 457.
Choopree Aloo, 121.
Chukotura, 223.
Chulta, 211, 42lS^

H.

Haieem, 132.
Har-Singhar, 521.
Hijlee-Budam, 275.
Huldee, 113.

Asoc, 454.

Chumbelee, 518.

Hurkut, 547.

Ata, 208.

Chumpa, 420.

Chundro moolik, 561.

I.

B.

Chundun, 593.

Babool, 458.

Cowa, 206.

Imlee, 239.

622

INDEX TO NATIVE NAMES OF PLANTS.

JAIT.

PALUK.

SUFUREE.

J

Kurun Phool, 427.

Panee Koomra, 126.

w •

Kuth Bel, 218.

Panee-phul, 279.

Jait, 27.

Kuth Bela, 518.

Pan kupoor, 427.

Jamun, 264.

Papra, 590.

Jdrul, 489.

Peeyaj, 117.

Jatee, 518.

.

Peetercelee, 167.

Jau, 405.
Jeea-seem, 149.
Jhinga, 125.
Jooee, 517.
Jumrool, 266.
Juwa, 412.

Lai Jumrool, 266.
La"! Koomra, 129.
LSI Murich, 154.
Latl Sag, 142.
Laokee, 126.
Lobeea, 149.

Pepiya, 194.
Phalsa, 200.
Phool Kobee, 135.
Phoontee, 194.
Phuiaee, 458.
Phui-as, 405.
Pista Budam, 275.

K.

Long, 571.
Lutqua, 204.

Pitulee-jumai-puli-seen), 150.
Podeena, 158.

Poee, 145.

Kajoo, 275.
Kala da-na, 306.

M.

Pucha-put, 524.
Pudum, 419.

Kaminee, 427.
Kash, 26.
Keera, 126.
Kela, 177.
Cheenee Chumpa, 179.
Chumpa, 179.
Daccaee, 179.

Malaka Umrool, 265.
Maiutee, 496.
Maisuree, 490.
Meeta Neebo, 226.
Menhdee, 27, 103, 488.
Mesta, 200.

Pulwul, 98, 130.
Puneeaia, 196.
Putwa, 200.
Pyara, 261.

E.

Daccaee Martaban, 179.
Kuntela, 180.
Kutch, 180.
Mahl-bhog, 180.
Martaban, 179.
Mohun-bhog, 180.
Ram, 180.
Keora, 337.
KStukee, 337.
Khajoor, 172.
Khirnee, 101, 255.

Mogra, 520.
Mom phulee, 277.
Moolee, 139.
Moorgha, 299.
Mootho, 26, 49.
Motiya, 520.
Mudar, 502.
Mukhun seem, 148.
Mukka, 111.
Murich, 154.
Mutur, 145.

Race, 138.
Raebel, 520.
Ram Kela, 180.
Ram phul, 209.
Ram torooee, 140.
Rendee, 395.
Rukto Guraniya Aloo, 121.
Rukto-seem, 149.
Rushoon, 119.

Khum Aloo, 121.

»

Khamach, 149.

N.

s.

Khumb, 110.

Khura-Peel, 476.

Nagsura, 416.

Sag, 142.

Khurbooza, 189.

Nashpatee, 247.

Sada-jumai-puli-seem, 150.

Kobee, 132.

Neeboo, 225.

Seb, 245.

Kool-phul, 252.

Nona, 209.

Seem, 150.

Koosoom, 322.

Nuree, 188.

Seeta-phul, 208.

Koozea, 484.

Nurikel, 269.

Selgum, 138.

Korna Neeboo, 226.

Nurikelee Kool, 253.

Seotee, 483.

Krishn churun, 450.

Nurphul, 188.

Shah-toot, 183.

Kuchnar, 456.

Nurungee, 219.

Shwet-seem, 149.

Kuchoo, 97, 111.

.

Shukur-kundo, 157, 511.

Kudoo, 126.

Shureefa, 208.

Kuhwa, 580.

0.

Singhara, 279.

Kukree, 128.

Siriss, 458.

Kumla Neeboo, 219.

Ooloo, 26.

Sook-durshun, 344.

Kumrunga, 235.

Sooltana Chumpa, 417.

Kund, 518.

Soopara, 339.

Kunel, 496.

P.

Sooruj Mukhee, 318.

Kuntul, 185, 272.

Soosnee Aloo, 122.

Kunwul, 274, 419.

Pahta-muiidur, 446.

Soot Moolee, 121.

Kuvela, 125.

Panch seem, 150.

Sufree Am, 261.

Kuronda, 256.

Paluk jooee, 585.

Sufuree Koomra, 129.

INDEX TO NATIVE NAMES OP PLANTS.

623

SUHUJNA.

UMULTAS.

ZURD.

Suhujna, 130.
Sun, 301.
Sungtura, 219.
Sunko juta, 445.

Torooee, 125.
Toot, 183.
Turbooza, 194.

Uncroor, 212.
Unjeer, 183, 261.

w.

T.

u.

Woondee, 207.

Tal gachh, 172.
Til, 311.
Tiparee, 258.
Toolsee, 552.
Toomul, 207.

Udruk, 112.
Ukul-bhar, 359.
Umra-, 235.
Umroot, 261.
Umultas, 451.

z.

Zurd Aroo, 242.
Zurd Kunel, 492.

THE END.

LONDON .

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

August, 1874.

LIST OF LAW BOOKS

AND WORKS

IN GENERAL LITERATURE

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CALCUTTA.

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CONTENTS.

PAGE

Acting Allowance Code 11

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AlifLaila 8

Anglo-Indian Domestic Life . . . . 10

Articles of War 11

Balfour, Nurses for India . . . . 8

Banerjea, Kumara Sambhava . . . . 5

„ Raghuvansa . . . . . . 5

Bell, Nazi-i-be-Nazir 8

„ Rajaniti 10

Bengal Administration Report . . . . 9

„ Army List 11

„ Directory 12

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„ Route Book 12

Blanford, Physical Geography . . . . 4

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Bower, Bhamo Route to China . . . . 12

Broome, Bengal Army . . . . . . 11

Calcutta University Calendar . . . . 4

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Comte's Posivitism by Lobb .. .. 12

Court Araish-i-Mahfil 9

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Cunningham, Archaeological Reports . . 6

Dal ton, Ethnology of Bengal . . . . 5

Fawcett, Indian Finance . . . . 6

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Gardening for India, A Manual of . . 6

Geoghegan, Silk in India . . . . 10

Ghosh, Mathematical Papers . . . . 4
„ Solutions, Todhunter's Mensuration 5

Goodeve, Management of Children . . 8

Hindustani Vocabulary 9

Hunter, Medical Hints 8

„ Health in India 8

.T dian Domestic Economy . . . . 9

„ Annals of Medical Science . . 7

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Indigo Manufacture 10

Jute, Report on Cultivation of . . 10

Keene, Guide to Agra 5

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Kissory C. Mittra, Dwarkanath Tagore 10

PAGE

LAW BOOKS, List of .. .. 13-16
Lethbridge, History of India .. .. 3
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Long, Records of Government . . . . 7

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Madras : its Army and Commerce ... 5

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Ransonnet, Ceylon 12

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Reid, Inquiry into the Human Mind . . 4

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Route Book for Bengal 12

Rowe and Webb, Hints on Study of

English 6

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Salzer, Homoeopathy

Scott, Notes on Surveying . . . .
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Schmid, Soldiers' Guide

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Stoker, Management of Tea Plant

Tawney, English People . . . . 4
Tea Industry in Bengal ,. .. ..10

Thomas, Rod in India 8

Three Years in Europe 10

Thuillier, Surveying 6

Tim Daly's Mess Stories 7

Vaughan, Pukshto Grammar . . . . 9

Voyle, Military Terms 11

West, Land and Law in India . . . . 10

Willmot, Plane Trigonometry . . . . 4

Willson, Mechanics 3

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CLASSIFIED LIST OF LAW BOOKS, pp. 13-16.

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A History of India.

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History and Geography of Bengal.

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English People (The) ;

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DESCRIPTIVE ETHNOLOGY OF BENGAL.

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CONTENTS :

Introduction. — GROUP I. — Hill tribes of the Northern Frontier : — Khamtis ;
Singphos; Mishinis ; Chulikata Mishmis; Padam and other Abors; Miris ;
Dophlas ; Akas and Hrusso ; Nagas west of the Doyang River ; Kukis ; Mani-
puris ; Koupoiiis ; Mikirs; Jyntias and Kasias ; Garos*. GROUP 1 1. — Population of
the Asarn Valley : — Kachari, or Bodo, Mech and Dhimal tribes ; Mech ; Koch, or
Kocch. GROUP III. — The Northern Borders: — Butias ; Lepchas ; Limbus and
Kuantis; Murmis; Haioos (Campbell), or Hayas, or Vayas. GROUP IV. — Tip-
perah and Chittagong tribes. GROUP V. — Hiuduised Aborigines and broken tribes :
— Cheros and Kharwars; Parheyas; Kasans, or Nagesar ; Bhuihers; Boyars; Nag-
bangsis; Kaurs, or Kauraras; Mars. GROUP VI. — The Bhuniya, or Bhuiya: —
Bhuiyas : Bhuuiyas, or Keonjhor ; Bendkars, or Keongar, or Sanaras. GROUP VII.
— The Kolarians: — Juangs ; Kharrias; Mundas, Has, Bhumij ; Ho, or LarkaKols;
Mundas, Has, Bhumij; Santals; Birhors; Karvvas ; Kurs«, Kurkas, or Muasis.
GROUP VIII. — The Dravidians : — Oraons; Malers, Paharias, or Hillmen of Raj-
inahal ; Gonds ; Kandhs. GROUP IX. — The Aryans : — Brahmans ; Rajputs, or
Kfchutryas; Kayasths; Gopas; Kurmis ; Kolitas; Agareas ; Trading classes,
artizans, mixed and impure tribes.
" Rarely has even the generous Court of I Neglecting the scientific framework on which

Directors shown so much liberality and en-
lightenment as the Government of Bengal has
done in publishing Colonel Dalton's mag-
nificent quarto on the Ethnology of the
Sixty-seven Millions of the Province. . . .
Colonel Dalton has studied the people, their
physique, their customs, their beliefs, and
their dialects with an interest and a fulness
that have never been surpassed

some 330 pages of delightful description
hangs, many will be content with narratives,
legends, and pictures of beliefs and customs,
which are more interesting than any novel,
while they form rich material for the
Christian missionary and the anthropological
student. We hope to lay some of these
before our readers hereafter." — Friend <f
India, \st May, 1874.

6 LIST OF WOKKS PUBLISHED BY

Hints on the Study of English.

By F. J. KOWE, M.A., Professor of English Literature, Hooghly College, Bengal ;
and W. T. WEBB, M.A., Classical Master, La Martiniere, Calcutta. In the Press.

This book is designed to suit the altered character of the Entrance Examination in
English, for which there is no prescribed text-book. It will comprise chapters on
IDIOM, GRAMMAR, and COMPOSITION ; Common Mistakes, illustrated and corrected ; with
an Appendix of the Test Examination Questions for Entrance Classes.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA :

Four Keports made during the years 1862-63-64-65. By MAJOR-GENERAL
ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM, C.S.I., K.E. Illustrated by 99 Maps, Plans, Inscrip-
tions, Elevations, Views, etc. Volumes I. & II. Pp. viii., iv., xliii., 350, xlix., and
Plates li. ; vii. 459, lii., and Plates lii. to xcix. 8vo. Cloth. Us. 16 cash.

Vol. III. Pp. xiv., 164, vi., and 47 Plates. 8vo. Cloth.

CONTENTS OP VOLS. I. AND II.

Buddha-Gaya; Giryek; Rajgir, or Rajagriha; Baragaon, or Nalanda ; Bihar ; Barabar;
Kasia, or Kusinagara ; Khukhundo, or Kishkindapura ; Kahaon, or Kakubharati ;
Bhitari; Banaras Sarnath; Delhi; Mathura; Khalsi ; Madawar, or Madipur;
Kashipur, or Govisana ; Ramnagar, or Ahichatra ; Kauoj, or Kanyakubja ; Ayuto ;
Allahabad, or Pray aga ; Kosam, or Kosambi ; Sultanpur, or Kusapura ; Ajudhya,
orSaketa; Hatila, or Asokpur; Sahet-Mahet, or Sravasti; Peshawar, or Parash-
awara; Ohind, Utakhanda ; Lahor, or Salatura ; Taxila, or Takshasila; Hasan
Abdal; Badarpur; Kurmal; Rawal-pindi, or Gajipur; Manikyala; Dilawar, or
Bukephala ; Asarur, or Taki ; Sarhind ; Thanesar, or Sthaneswara ; Sugh, or
Srughna; Haridwar, or Gangawadra; Dhundhar, or Jaypur; Ajmer, or A jay a-
mera ; Chandravati, or Jhalra Patan ; Dhamnar ; Sarangpur ; Nalapura, or Narwar ;
Himatgarh ; Gwaliar, or Gwalior ; Nurabad; Clianderi ; Mahoba, Mahotsava-
nagara, &c.

CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

Introduction. -Report 0/1871-72. 1. — Various styles of Hindu and Mahammadan
Architecture. 2. — Mathura. 3. — Bitha. 4. — Garhwa. 5.— Latiya. 6. — Akandha.
7. — Baghsar, or Buxar. 8. — Mahasara, or Masar. 9. — Aramugar, or Ara.
10. — Buddha Gaya. 11. — Pragbodhi, or Mora Mountain. 12.— Gay;i. 13. — Yash-
tivana, or Jethiau. 14. — Old Rajagiiha, or Kusagarapura. 15.— Indrasilaguha,
or Giryek. 16. — Kapotika Monastery. 17.— Eajaona, or Rajjhana. 18.— Kiyul
and Birdaban. 19. — Jaynagar. 20. — Nongarh. 21. — Indappe. Postscript.

A Manual of Surveying for India.

Detailing the Mode of Operation on the Revenue Surveys in Bengal and North-
West Provinces. By COLONEL H. L. THUILLIER, R.A., C.S.I., Surveyor-General of
India, and COLONEL R. SMYTH, R.A. Prepared for the use of the Survey Depart-
ment, and published under the Authority of the Government of India in 1851.
Third Edition. In the Press.

A Manual of Gardening for India.

By THOMAS A. C. FLRMINGER, M.A., Chaplain on the Bengal Establishment;
Honorary Member of the Agri-Horticultural Society of India; and of the Agri-
Horticultural Society of the Punjab. Third Edition. 8vo. Rs. 10.

Latitude and Longitude without Instruments :

Being a Chart for finding the Hour of Sunrise and Sunset for every day in the
Year, at every place in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere. By CAPT. W. L
YONGE, R.A. On paper, Re. 1 ; on India-rubber, Rs. 2-8.

Speech on Indian Finance.

Hy HENRY FAWCETT, ESQ., M.P., delivered in the House of Commons in the
Debate 011 the Indian Budget, August 6, 1872. Sewed. Rs. 4.

THACKER, SPINK, & CO., CALCUTTA. 7

INDIAN ANNALS OF MEDICAL SCIENCE.

Half-yearly. Each Part. Rs. 4.

Part XXIX., July 1872. Contents: Fevers at Kasaloug, by DR. R. T. LYONS.
Dengue Fever, by DR. O'CONNELL RAYE, M.D. Blood in Syphilis, by DR.T.R. LEWIS,
M.B. Crime in Bancoorah. Snake Poisoning : Antidotes, by DR. V. RICHARDS,
M.R.C.S. Pettenkofer's Cholera in India, by DR. D. D. CUNNINGHAM, M.B.

Part XXX., January 1873. Contents : Observation on Mr. Lister's Treatment of
Wounds, by DR. ALEXANDER CROMBIE, M.D. Elephantiasis Arabum, the Disease as it
exists in Orissa, by DR. V. RTCHARDS. Typhoid, or Enteric Fever, by DR. J. E.
MOFFATT. Cholera in the Chittagong Column, Looshai Expeditionary Force. The
Blood in Syphilis, Strieker's Observations, by DR. T. R. LEWIS, M.B. Researches into
the Nature* of the Agents producing Cholera, by DR. T. R. LEWIS, M.B., and DR. D. D.
CUNNINGHAM, M.B.

Part XXXL, July 1873. Contents: Remarks on Pneumatic Aspiration, with cases
of Abscess of the Liver treated by this method, by DR. J. P. P. McCoNNELL, M.B.
Typhoid Fever : its relation to Soil-water, by PROFESSOR MAX v. PETTENKOFER, trans-
lated by DR. D. D. CUNNINGHAM, M.B. Native Practice in Rajpootana, by SURGEON-
MAJOR W. J. MOORE, L.R.C.P. Cholera in Alioore, by DR. R. T. LYONS. On the
Treatment of Vaginismus, by DR. J. EWART, M.D\ The Treatment of Uterine Catarrh,
by DR. J. EWART, M.D. Case of Iliac Abscess, by DR. PALMER. Injury to the Brain
caused by a fall from a horse, by DR. J. EWART, M.D. A case of Gun-shot Wound of
the Chest, by DR. FERRIS. Resume of Cases treated during the months of April and
May, 1873, in the Presidency General Hospital, by DR. EDWARD LAWRIE, M.B. Cholera
in Ships and the Aim of Quarantines, by MAX v. PETTENKOFER, translated by DR. D. D.
CUNNINGHAM, M.B. Introductory Lecture delivered at the Medical College, Calcutta,
at the opening of the Session 1873-74, by DR. H. C. CUTCLIFFE, F.R.C.S. Experi-
ments with Snake-poison, by DR. V. RICHARDS. Statistical Notes on Leprosy in
Northern India, by DR. V. RICHARDS.

Part XXXII., January 1874. Contents: Article 1.— On Sudden Death, by
SURGEON R. H. CURRAN. 2. — Some Enquiries into the Cause of Goitre, and circum-
stances under which Critinism is developed, by J. B. WILSON. M.D. 3. — Observations
on Cholera in Orissa, and its connection with Pilgrimage to Juggernauth, by DR. H.
CAYLEY. 4.— Endemic Fever in Lower Bengal, by DR. J. G. FRENCH, M.D., M.Cn.,
and F.R.C.S. 5— On the Eurasian Future, by DR. W. J. MOORE, L.R.C.P. 6.— On a
Hsematozoon Inhabiting Human Blood: its relation to Chyluria and other diseases, by
DR. J. R. LEWIS, M.B. 7. — The Daily Range of Normal Temperature in India, with
practical Remarks on Clinical Thermometry, by A. CROMBIE, M.D. 8. — A contribution
to our means of detecting Dhatoora in Food, by DR. M. THOMSON, M.D. 9. — On
Liebuick's Operation for Cataract, by DR. J. E. TUSON, M.D. 10. — Medical Notes on
the Convict Settlement, Port Blair, by DR. V. RICHARDS.

To Indian Officers, Civil and Military,

Who wish to Retire, or those who have Children to Start in Life. An Address.
By a BROTHER OFFICER. Stitched. Rs. 8.

Tim Daly's Mess Stories.

Edited by F. E. W. Reprinted from the " Madras Times."

8vo. Cloth, gilt. Rs. 2-8.

Selections from unpublished Records of Government.

For the years 1758 to 1767, inclusive, relating mainly to the social condition of
Bengal. Vol. I., with a Map of Calcutta in 1784. By the REV. J. LONG, Member
of the Government Record Mission. 8vo. Cloth. Rs. 5.

Eainfall Tables.

Table of Average Monthly and Annual Rainfall in Northern India, &c. By H. F.
BLANFOUD, ESQ., Meteorological Reporter to Government. One sheet. As. 4.

8 LIST OP WORKS PUBLISHED BY

Manual for Nurses in India.

Second Edition. By E. BALFOUK, ESQ. Cloth. Rs. 2.

Goodeve's Hints for the General Management of Children

In India in the absence of Professional Advice. Entirely re-written by JOSEPH
EWART, ESQ., M.D., FEL., U.C., Surgeon, Presidency General Hospital; and Pro-
fessor of Physiology, Medical College, Calcutta. Illustrated. Limp cloth. Rs. 3.

Medical Hints for the Districts,

And Companion to the District Medicine Chest, arranged for Government Officials,
their Families, and Camp Followers, and for all who are cut off from oral Medical
Advice. By A BOMBAY ARMY SURGEON. Fcap. 8vo. Cloth. Rs. 3-8.

Health in India :

Medical Hints as to who should go there ; how to retain Health there and on
Returning Home. By GEORGE YEATES HUNTER, ESQ., Surgeon, Bombay Army.

16mo. Cloth, gilt. Rs. 2.

" It Jias been written with great care and thought, and deserves to be read by every
European who is or may be in India." — Hindoo Patriot, June, 1873.

" His advice is generally good and practicable even to the non-professional man." —
Indian Daily News.

" That the advice contained in Mr. Hunter's work is generally very sound hardly
admits of question." — Englishman.

The Bengal Dispensatory.

Compiled chiefly from the Works of Roxburgh, Wallich, Royle, Ainslie, Wight,
Arnol, Pereira, Fee, Richard, and Lindley, including the Results of numerous
Special Experiments. By DR. W. B. O'SHAUGHNESSY. Large 8vo. Cloth. Rs. 8.

Homoeopathy,

An Inductive Method of Cure. By DR. L. SALZER, M.D. 8vo. Stitched. Rs. 4.

The Rod in India;

Being hints how to obtain sport ; with remarks on the Natural History of Fi>h,
Otters, &c., and illustrations of Fish and Tackle. By HENRY SULLIVAN THOMAS,
ESQ., Madras Civil Service, F.L.S. and F.Z.S. Illustrated with Lithographs and
Woodcuts. 8vo. Boards. Rs. 5.

The contents of this book are briefly as follows : The lover of the gentle art is
shewn how to take the mighty mahseer with a fly, with a dead bait, with an artificial
minnow, with a spoon, or with grain. He is introduced to minor fish to be taken with
a trout fly ; also to a pike-like fish for which he can troll or set trimmers ; and to an
eel which a night line will duly convey into a pie. There is a Chapter also on the fish
to be caught in estuaries ; another on the tackle to be used ; and a few words about
crocodiles and otters, artificial and real.

All the instructions for fishing, though simple and practical, are founded on the
true basis of a knowledge of the habits of the animal to be captured. For those who
may read it from a natural history point of view only, there is a special appendix to
guide them, without searching, to the parts they want.

The Alif Laila ;

Or, Book of the Thousand Nights and one Night. For the first time published
complete in the original Arabic, from an Egyptian Manuscript taken to India by
the late MAJOR TURNER MACAN, Editor of the Shah Nameh. Edited by the late
SIR W. H. MACNAGHTEN, Bart. Very scarce. (Published at £13.)

4 vols. Royal 8vo. Sewed. Rs. 25.

Nazr-i-be-Nazir.

Translated from the Urdu by LIEUT. C. W. BOWDLER BELL.

8vo. Stitched. Rs. 4-8.

THACKER, SPINK, AND CO., CALCUTTA.

9

Rajaniti of Lallu Lala.

Translated from the Braj-Bhasha by LIEUT. C. W. BOWDLER BELL.

8vo. Stitched. Rs. 6.

Grammar of the Pukshto Language.

As spoken in the Trans-Indus Territories under British Rule. By COLONEL J. L.
VAUGHAN. Stitched. Rs. 5 net.

Kulliyat (Selections from the) ;

Or, Complete Works of Mirza Rafi-us-Sauda (being Ihe Parts appointed for tlie
High Proficiency Examination). Translated by CAPT. M. H COURT.

8vo. Sewed. Rs. 3.

Nusr-i-Benazur (The) ;

Or, The Incomparable Prose of Meer Hassen. Literally translated into English by
CAPT. M. H. COURT.

8vo. Sewed. Rs. 5-8.

Araish-i-Mahfil (The) ;

Or, The Ornament of the Assembly. Literally translated from the Gordon by
CAPT. M. H. COURT. 8vo. Sewed. Rs. 8.

Hindustani Vocabulary (Pocket).

Classified Words, Alphabetical List of useful Words, with Grammar, &c.

Limp cloth. Rs. 2.

Modern Persian Phrases.

Revised by AKA MEERZA ZKINUL
8vo. Cloth. IU 4.

By an Officer of the Hyderabad Contingent.
ABIDEEN SHEER AZEE.

Indian Domestic Economy

And Receipt Book. With Hindustanee (Romanised) Names, comprising numerous
Directions for plain wholesome Cookery, both Oriental and English, and every
information on household affairs likely to be required by Families, Messes, and
Private Individuals. By DR. R. RIDDELL. Seventh Edition. Carefully revised.

Crown 8vo. Rs. 7-8.

" It contains numerous useful hints of the
kind called ' wrinkles ' by knowing people
on various matters besides cookery." — Indian
Daily News.

" The seventh edition contains upwards of
600 pages of valuable receipts, which extend
over every imaginable subject connected
with the culinary art. Not by any means
the least valuable part of the book are the
numerous miscellaneous domestic receipts,
the ignorance of which is such a frequent
cause of annoyance, especially in the Mofus-
sil; while much may be learnt from the
sensible chapters on the management of
horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry, and the
proper cultivation of the kitchen garden

Bengal Administration Report.

Report on the Administration of Bengal, 1872-73, with a Statistical Summary in
four parts: I. — Introduction; II. — Statistical Summary; III. — Report for 1S72-
73, and IV.— Tables and Returns. Large 8vo. Half-bound. With Map, Rs. 8-8.

Agora-Machia;

Or, The Battle of the Markets : a Lay of Modern Rome. 8vo. Pp. 24. As. 12.

and orchard. Altogether the book is worthy
of the most cordial commendation, and is, in
the truest sense of the word, one which no
lady's or gentleman's library should be
without."— Times of India, July, 1871.

" This seventh edition has not only been
carefully revised, but has also been issued in
a more popular form, with the addition of
Indian names to the recipes to enable new-
comers to explain to their servants the dishes

they \vant prepared The book is

very valuable for its purposes, and would be
quite as useful, as far as hints in house-
keeping go, in England as in India."— Friend
'ndia, July 20th, 1871.

10 LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY

Anglo-Indian Domestic Life.

Town Life in Calcutta among Europeans. Letters from an Artist in India to his
Mother in England. With very numerous Illustrations lithographed in the text.
Illustrated. Second Edition. ' Super-royal 8vo. Cloth, gilt. Rs. 7.

Kural Life in Bengal,

Illustrative of Anorlo-Indian Suburban Life With description of the Growth and
Manufacture of INDIGO. Letters from an Artist in India to his Sisters in Eng-
land. By the Author of " Anglo-Indian Domestic Life." 166 Engravings.

Super-royal 8vo. Cloth, gilt. Rs. 6-8.

Silk in India.

Some Account of the Cultivation of Silk iu India, especially of the various
attempts to encourage and extend Sericulture in that country. Compiled by
J. GEOGHEGAN, Esq., Under-Secretary to the Government of India, Department
of Agriculture, Revenue, and Commerce. Foolscap folio. In stiff cover. Rs. 2.

Jute.

Report on the Cultivation of, and Trade in, in Bengal ; and on Indian Fibres
available for the manufacture of Paper. By HEM CHUNDER KEE.

Folio, boards, with Map separate. Rs. 8.

Tea.

Papers regarding the Tta Industry in Bengal. Second Edition.

8vo. Boards. Rs. 3.

Tea.

Notes on the Management of the Tea Plant. By T. G. STOKER, Tea-planter,
Cachar. 8vo. A pamphlet. Rs. 2.

Delhi. The World's Martyrs and other Poems.

By CHARLES ARTHUR KELLY, Esq., M.A., B.C.S. New and enlarged Edition.

Cloth. Rs. 2.

Memoir of Dwarkanauth Tagore.

Revised and enlarged. By BABOO KISSORYCHAND MITTRA.

8vo. Stitched. Es. 2 ; or bound, with Photograph, Rs. 5-8.

Scripture Truth in Oriental Dress ;

Or, Emblems Explanatory of Biblical Doctrines and Morals. With Parallel or

Illustrative References to Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings in the Arabic, Bengali,

. Canarese, Persian, Russian, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telegu, and Urdoo Languages. By

F. LONG. Half-bound. Re. 1.

Nugse Indicae,

Selected from Zech Oriel's Note-book. By PHIL ROBINSON.

8vo. Cloth, gilt, lettered. Rs. 3.

Three Years in Europe :

Being Extracts from Letters sent from Europe. By a Hindu. Second Edition.

12mo. Re. 1.

The Land and the Law in India.

An Elementary Inquiry and some Practical Suggestions. By RAYMOND WEST,
Esq., Judge of the High Court of Judicature, Bombay. 8vo. Pamphlet. Re. 1.

The Reconstruction of the Native Army,

Suggestions towards. (Reprinted with additions from the Indian Observer,) By
CAPT. R. W. OSBORN. Bengal Staff Corps. 8vo. Pamphlet. Re. 1.

THACKER, SHNK, & CO., CALCUTTA.

11

The Official Quarterly Army List of H. M.'s Forces in Bengal.

Exhibiting the Rank, Dates of Commission, and present Location of every Officer
in the Bengal Army. Quarterly. Large 8vo. Ks. 4.

Revised Indian Army Regulations.

Part II. — Regulations and Orders for the Army of the Bengal Presidency. Pub-
lished by Authority. Royal 8vo. Cloth Boards, Rs. 4 ; interleaved copy, Rs. 5.
Book of Forms referred to in the above. Foolscap folio, enclosed in stiff covers.

Rs. 2.

A Dictionary of Artillery and other Military and Scientific
Terms.

Compiled by COLONEL VOYLE, R.A., author of " The Gunner's Aid."

Second Edition. 8vo., cloth. Rs. 7-8.

•' Every officer, old or young, would find
Colonel VoyleV Dictionary valuable ; to the
young it is simply invaluable. It is written
with an especial view to India, and hence has
a peculiar connection with Indian subjects
and terms, though, of course, it relates to the
Army at large, and to all arms of it." —
Friend of India, 3rd August, 1871.

" Taking it all in all, we doubt that a m >re
really important book in many respects for
the Soldier in India has been published.
Well printed and bound, it should have a
place on the table of every military library
and reading room in the country." — Delhi
Gazette, \2th August, 1871.

Regulations for conducting the Musketry Instruction of the
Native Troops armed with the Enfield Rifle. RO.I.

Indian Articles of War :

Act V. of 1869.

Small Svo. Stitched. Re. 1.

Public Works Department List— Classified List and Distribu-
tion Return of Establishment.

(Published Half-yearly). Rs. 2.

Public Works Code— Code of Regulations for the Public Works
Department.

Third Edition. Revised and corrected to January 1st, 1870. Svo. Rs.4.

Forms referred to in code. 3 Parts. Is. Sd. each.

The Civil Pension Code.

The Civil Leave Code.

The Acting Allowance Code.

The Three Codes bound in one vol.

Re. 1-4.
Re. 1.

As. 8.
Rs. 2-8.

The Soldier in the Field :

A Guide to tho Theoretical Instruction of Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers
in Picquet and Outpost Duties. By MAJOH A. SCHMID, 109th Regiment.

Sewed. Re. 1.

The Rise and Progress of the Bengal Army.

By GENERAL A. BROOME. Vol.1. (All published.) Svo. Cloth. Rs. 5.

Quarterly Civil List for the Lower Provinces of Bengal.

Quarterly. Ka< 3'

12

'LIST OF WORKS PUBLISHED BY

Route Book for Bengal :

SI mwing the Di-tunees from one District to another, and from District to Sub-
division. Compiled by BHOLANATH SEN. Boards. Rs. 2.

History of India for Students, by Pope.

A Text-book of Indian History. With Notes, Tables, Examination Questions, and
Indexes. By the REV. G. U. POPE, D.D. With 16 Maps.

Square 8vo. Cloth. Es. 4-8.

Sketches of Ceylon.

Sketches of the Inhabitants, Animal Life, and Vegetation in the Lowlands find
High Mountains of Ceylon, as well as of the Submarine Scenery near the C->ast,
taken in a Diving Bell. Twenty-six Plates. By BARON DE EANSONNET.

Folio. Cloth. Rs. 25.

Comte's Positivism.

A Brief View of Positivism. Compiled from the works of Auguste Comte. By
S. LOBB, Principal, Kishnaghur College. 8vo. Stitched. Rs. 4.

Report on Trade Route through Burmah.

The Practicability of reopening the Trade Route between Burmah and Western
China. With an Appendix, By CAPTAIN A. BOWERS. Sewed. Rs. 5.

THE BENGAL DIRECTORY.

TRACKER'S DIRECTORY for Calcutta and the Bengal Presidency, including
Bengal, the North-West and Central Provinces, Punjab, Rajpootana, Oude,
British Burma, &c. (Published annually.) Royal 8vo. Cloth. Rs. 14.

The leading features are —

List of all Public Offices under each Department of the Governments of India and

Bengal and a Graduated List of each Department of the Service.
List of all Mercantile Firms, with the names of their partners, assistants, and

home agents.

List of all Public Companies, with the fullest particulars regarding them.
An Alphabetical List of the Military Services.
An Alphabetical List of all Residents in Calcutta and throughout the Bengnl

Presidency, with their several professions and occupations.

" Though called the Bengal Directory, it
is in fact much more— it is a Directory of
British India, excepting Bombay and Madras.
It includes the Punjab in the North- West,
and Burmah in the opposite direction, not
overlooking the Central Provinces. The
book has increased in size, but not in price.
It is more complete than before, and the
' get up ' will not suffer by comparison with
any of its predecessors." — Tfie Indian Daily
Xews, 9th February, 1870.

" An inspection of the table of contents
shows that the book is not merely a com-
pilation got up to meet a universal demand,
but a thorough and complete Handbook of
the Bengal Presidency. Unquestionably
the best publication of the kind in India." —
Indian Statesman, 19th February, 1874.

" The Directory is divided into six parts,
— namely, Civil, Commercial, Military,
Street, Mofussil and Tea, and for the con-
venience of those who may have to consult
the book, these divisions are coloured and

marked on the edge of the leaves. This is a
great convenience, for it is known at once in
what part of the book the information re-
quired is to be found. There is also a good
alphabetical list of all the principal persons
in the Bengal Presidency. The great merit of
the book, however, is its good arrangement.
Everything is in its proper place, and it is
not difficult to find what is required, for there
is a really good index, and not one that is
worse than useless, which is too generally the
case with such "books. In this index a num-
ber of institutions are not put down under
one head, but each one has a separate line
to itself. The compilation of the index is
about the most important part of a work of
this kind, for it is but very little use having
a vast amount of information in a book if we
cannot easily find what we want. The book
gives us a good idea of the resources of Ben-
gal, and to those who have business with that
part of India it must be a very useful pub-
lication."— Madras Times, \Stfi Feb., 1874.

TIIACKER, SPIXK, & CO., CALCUTTA. 13

CLASSIFIED AND CONDENSED

LIST OF LAW BOOKS.

Appeal Cases.

SEVESTRE. — From the Lower Courts in Bengal to the High Court of Judicature at
Calcutta. 1863. 8vo. Rs.20.

Bengal Regulations.

FIELD. — Chronological Table of, Repealed, Amended, Altered, and Unrepealed ;
with Decisions and Index. In the Press.

SELECTION for Candidates for Appointments. Royal 8vo. Rs. 8.

Civil Procedure Code.

BROUGHTON.— With Notes of Cases decided, and Appendix of Rules, Acts, and
Account of the Courts. Fourth Edition. Royal 8vo. Rs. 22.

NELSON. — Commentaries. Royal 8vo. Rs. 20.

TREMLETT.— The Punjab Civil Code, Part I., and Selected Acts. Royal 8vo. Rs. 10.

Circular Orders and Rules.

FIELD.— Of Calcutta High Court, Civil and Criminal. 18G2-71. 2vols. 8vo. Rs. 10.

Companies Act.

STOKES.— With Rules, Notes, &c. Royal 8vo. Rs. 8.

Contract Act.

CUNNINGHAM and SHEPPARD.— With Introduction and Notes. Royal 8vo. Rs. 10.
MACRAE. — With Commentary, Critical, Explanatory, and Illustrative. Rs. 10.

Courts and Legislative Authorities.

COWELL. — History and Constitution (Tagore Lectures, 1872). 8vo. Rs. 8.

Criminal Law.

KNOX, — Criminal Law of the Bengal Presidency. 2 vols. Royal 8vo. Rs. 20.
NEWBERY. — Code of Criminal Procedure ; with Laws of Extradition, &c.

Royal 8vo. Rs. 14.
POCKET PRIMINAL LAW. — The Penal, Criminal Procedure and Police Codes.

16mo. Rs. 4.

PRINSEP. — Code of Criminal Procedure and other Laws ; with Notes, Abstracts of
Interpretations. Fourth Edition. 8vo. Rs. 16.

, Amendment Acts. Annotated by H. T. PRINSEP. Rs. 2.

, Ditto. Translated into Bengali. By KRISHNA PRASANNA BOSE.

8vo. Paper. Rs. 5.

Dictionaries, Legal.

FALLON. — Abridged Dictionary, English-Hindustani, Law and Commercial.

8vo. Rs. 3.

LAW TERMS ; with Glossary of Indian Judicial and Revenue Terms. 8vo. Rs. 7-8.
ROBINSON.— Dictionary of Terms employed in the Courts of Bengal, &c. 8vo. Rs. 6.

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