MANGIFERA 



INDICA 



THE MANGO PLANT 



[Of. Rev. Min. Prod. Ind., 1893, 12 ; 1894, 22 ; 1895, 46-7 ; 1896, 47-9 ; 

 1897, 47-8 ; Jeremiah Head in Journ. Iron and Steel Inst., 1896, No. ii. ; The 

 Min. Indust., 1897, vi., 470-1 ; 1899, viii., 424 ; 1901, x., 445 ; Kept. Chief Inspect, 

 of Mines, Ind. ; Levache, Manuf. of Varnishes, etc. (Mclntosh, transl.), 1899, 

 309-13 ; Thorpe, Diet. Appl. Chem., 1899, ii., 498-500, etc.] 



D.E.F., MANGIFERA INDICA, Linn. ; II. Br. Ind., ii., 13 ; Talbot, 



v., 146-57. n st Trees, etc., 1902, 113 ; Gamble, Man. Ind. Timbs., 1902, 211-3 ; 



Mango. r> u thie, II. Upper Gang. Plain, 1903, 189; Cooke, II. Pres. Bomb., 

 1903, i., 273-4 ; Brandis, Ind. Trees, 1906, 206 ; ANACARDIACE^E. The 

 Mango Tree, am, uli, jegachu, gharidm, tsaratpang, marka, maivashi, 

 mad, mangas, mdmadi, mavina, thayet, etc. A large evergreen tree of the 

 Tropical Himalaya, at 1,000 to 3,000 feet, from Kumaon to Bhutan, 

 the Khasia hills, Burma, Oudh, lower hills of Bihar, and in the Western 

 Peninsula from Khandesh southwards. According to De Candolle it 

 is a native of the south of Asia or of the Malay Archipelago. 



The mango has been known and cultivated all over India from a very remote 

 epoch. It is closely connected with Sanskrit mythology, and finds a place in 

 old Hindu tales and folklore. Mention is made of it by Friar Jordanus, who 

 wrote about 1328, and by most of the early Indian travellers. Varthema in 

 1510 describes it under the name of amba, and Baber, in 1526, speaks of the 

 excellence of the fruit. Again Garcia de Orta, in 1563, writes that those of 

 Hormuz are so good, when in season, that no other fruit can be sold ; he then 

 describes the various kinds known. 



Cultivation. Mangoes can be grown from seed, but it is the general 

 belief that seedlings rarely produce fruit equal to the parents, and the 

 usual method of propagation is by inarching. According to Maries, 

 the best place to plant the mango is on a raised, well-drained piece of 

 land with a good depth of soil. The nature of the soil does not appear 

 to interfere much with the growth of the tree. In Bengal it succeeds 

 equally well on a rich, deep river deposit, on clayey or on sandy soil ; and 

 in Gwalior, Maries wrote that fine trees were grown on kankar, i.e. soil 

 with a large proportion of lime nodules. 



inarching. The " stones " are usually sown at the time the fruit is 

 in season, and the plants raised from them are potted to be grafted by 

 inarching with desirable plants. This is accomplished during the setting- 

 in of the rains in the second year of the growth of the seedling. At the 

 close of the rains the union is usually complete. The essential points in 

 this method of grafting are to bring the cambium of the stock and scion 

 together before the graft is completely severed, the parts being bound 

 together so as to exclude air and water and keep the plants healthy 

 during a short growing season. Care should be taken that the scion be 

 of the same thickness as the stock. 



Planting Out. Planting Out. The best season for planting out the young grafts is 



the monsoon. The following is a brief account of the method recom- 

 mended by Woodrow (The Mango, Cult, and Varieties, 1904, 11). Having 

 selected the plot of ground, holes should be dug about 3 feet in di- 

 mension. The centre of the holes should be about 20 feet distant from 



Manuring. each other. About 20 Ib. of fresh bone manure should be placed in the 



bottom of each. The soil on the margin should then be drawn in to a 

 depth of about 9 inches, and the surface soil, mixed with manure, 



Distance Apart, placed on the top. The holes are now ready to receive the grafts. 

 The soil that is left over is put round the margin as a ridge, or thala, 

 to form a dam which causes the water given to the young graft to sink 



764 



Cultiva- 

 tion. 



Soils. 



Inarching. 



