476 



NATURE 



\_March 15, 1888 



ATeteor- Showers. 

 R.A. Decl. 



Near 55 Aurigre 98 ... 46 N. ... March 14-25. 



,, e Ursa; Maj oris ... 143 ... 49 N. ... March 20. 

 ,, ;9 UrscC Majoris . . . 162 ... 58 N. ... Rather slow. 



THE PUBLIC GARDENS OF BRITISH INDIA, 

 ESPECIALLY THE BOTANIC GARDENS} 



'T'HE appearance of the hundredth Annual Report of the 

 ■^ Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, is an event of no little 

 interest in the botanical world, not alone for what it contains, 

 but also for the evidence it affords of the vitality and vigour of 

 the institution, the primary object of which was to disseminate 

 useful information respecting the vegetable products of the pos- 

 sessions of the "Company," and to introduce exotic plants of 

 economic value. 



Dr. George King, F. R.S., the present able Superintendent, 

 gives a concise history of the foundation and progress of the 

 Garden down to the present time ; and the appendices show that 

 the establishment was never conducted with greater activity. We 

 might make some interesting extracts from the present Report ; 

 but our object now is to give a foreigner's view of the principal 

 horticultural establishments in India. 



Mr. Warburg roughly classes the gardens under three heads, 

 according to their degree of scientific and practical utility, as 

 distinguished from purely pleasure-gardens, though no hard and 

 fast line can be drawn, because some of the gardens are maintained 

 partly for pleasure and partly for profit. There are only three 

 real botanic gardens in India — we let Mr. Warburg speak for 

 himself — namely, Calcutta, Madras,^ and Saharunpore, unless we 

 count the garden at Ganesh Khind, near Poona, which is often 

 erroneously called a botanic garden. Besides these, there is the 

 botanic garden at Peradeniya in Ceylon, which, however, comes 

 under the Colonial Office. Of the officially so-called botanical 

 gardens, two were originally founded as such by far-seeing 

 officials : Calcutta by General Kyd in 1786, and the Ceylon 

 Garden by Sir Joseph Banks in 1810 ; the latter having been 

 established at Peradeniya ever since 1S21. The origin of the 

 Sarahunpore garden in the North- West Provinces I did not 

 ascertain [it was originally a pleasure garden of the native 

 princes, and when Lord Moira conquered the Mahrattas he 

 caused it to be transformed into a botanic garden ; and the first 

 Superintendent was Dr. Govan (1816-23), who was succeeded by 

 the better-known Dr. Royle, Dr. Falconer, and Dr. Jameson] ; 

 and the gardens of Ootacamund and Singapore have passed 

 through various stages before attaining their present condition. 

 Of agricultural experimental gardens I am acquainted with those 

 of Kandesh (Bombay Presidency), Saidapet (near Madras), Nag- 

 pore (Central Provinces), and Hyderabad (in the Deccan). 



There is also a horticultural garden in Lucknow, an agri-hor- 

 ticultural garden in Lahore (Punjab), and the beautiful garden 

 at Madras belonging to an Agri-horticultural Society. Similar 

 Societies exist in Calcutta, Rangoon, and probably in other 

 places ; the first publishing a special Journal. ^ 



In almost every town where there is a considerable European 

 population or garrison there are ornamental gardens or parks, 

 called into existence by the demand, and almost necessity, for 

 some such place for social recreation — riding, driving, and walk- 

 ing — in a tropical country, where many of the pleasures and 

 amusements of our Europeans towns cannot be enjoyed. Then 

 there are numerous extensive and costly gardens belonging to 

 the native princes and nobles.^ 



Respecting the gardens having a practical aim, we may be 

 very concise, as their objects are much the same, subject only to 

 the climatal differences of the various provinces, and consequently 

 the kinds of plants that may be profitably cultivated within their 



' Chiefly from an article by O. Warburg in vol. xliv. of the Botanische 

 Zeitung. 



^ Mr. Warburg refers here doubtless to the Madras Presidency, as the 

 botanic garden is at Ootacamund in the Nilghirries, and not at Madras. It 

 should be understood that we are only extracting passages from a rather long 

 article. 



3 And we may add that there is an experimental garden in the mountains 

 at Mussoorie m connection with Saharunpore ; another at Uarjeeling, partly 

 pleasure and partly practical ; and an important experimental garden at 

 Mongpo (Sikkim), u»der Mr. J. Gammie : the two last offshoots of Calcutta. 



*_ We must pass on to what Mr. Warburg has to .say concerning the con- 

 ditions and functions of the botanical gardens and their adjuncts. 



several radiuses of activity. The manner in which these prac- 

 tical .ends are attained consists on the one hand of experiments 

 and trials in the acclimatization of useful and ornamental 

 exotic plants ; and on the other hand of raising new and 

 improved varieties of native plants ; and when successful results 

 follow, propagation on a large scale is practised for free distribu- 

 tion or sale. Thus, for instance, during the year 1884-85 the 

 Calcutta Garden sent out 23,500 living plants to various places 

 in India, and forty- two Wardian cases of plants to foreign coun- 

 tries. Further, some 3000 packets of seeds were distributed ; 

 yet the proceeds amounted to only 1075 rupees, because one of 

 the principal functions of the Calcutta Garden is to provide the 

 public gardens and pleasure-grounds with plants. 



In the same year the Saharunpore Garden distributed as many 

 as 42,000 plants and 21,300 packets of seeds ; whereof 31,400 

 plants and 14,000 packets to private persons ; the amount received 

 being 8500 rupees. But ornamental plants, both as livin;^ plants 

 and seeds, occupy the first position, while fruit-trees, timber- 

 trees, and seeds of vegetables take a secondary place. 



The Singapore Garden sent out the large number of 163,000 

 living plants in 1884. These figures, however, are merely ex- 

 tracted as examples of what is done by the different establish- 

 ments, and afford no idea of their relative importance, inasmuch 

 as the number of plants distributed by each one is subject to the 

 greatest fluctuations ; in illustration of which it may be mentioned 

 that the Saharunpore Garden distributed 146,000 plants in 

 1882-83, against 42,000 in 1883-84 ; the difference being almost 

 made up by 100,000 plants of agave. Similarly in 1884 the Hor- 

 ticultural Gardens in Madras sold 100,000 plants of the " Mauri- 

 tius hemp," Fourcroya gigantea. 



As already observed, the nature of the work of the different 

 gardens varies according to the requirements of each district. In 

 many parts, especially in Ceylon, the Nilghirries, British 

 Sikkim, the interests of European planters have to be considered 

 first ; in the rice-growing districts of the Ganges, Malabar, and 

 Ceylon, the things cultivated in the gardens and plantations 

 engage special attention. In Bengal, jute, indigo, and to some 

 extent opiiun, and in Central and Northern India improvements 

 in the cultivation of cereals, are of primary consideration ; while 

 in the Bombay Presidency and some parts of Ceylon cotton is 

 added thereto ; often associated with the latter the sugar-yielding 

 palm, Borassits jlabcUiformis. For the dry regions of the 

 Punjab it is a question of finding suitable woody plants for 

 afforestation, as well as for the saline soil of the North-West 

 Provinces, in order to provide fuel for the agricultural districts, 

 and thereby gain the dung of cattle for purposes of manuring. 

 And among other things of vast importance is the conservation 

 and renewal of the rapidly disappearing caoutchouc forests of 

 Malacca. 



The Singapore Garden has only been a scientific establishment 

 since 1882, when it was placed under the direction of Mr. 

 Cantley ; but much has been done in these few years without 

 destroying the natural beauties of the old garden. A small 

 herbarium has been formed, and the most necessary buildings 

 erected. The new plantations are, as far as possible, system- 

 atically grouped. A special charm of this Garden is a remnant 

 of the original forest, traversed only by a few paths, where one 

 can enjoy, in a small way, the delights of tropical vegetation 

 without the fatigue attending excursions in pathless forests. The 

 fern garden and the palmetum promise to be very rich and 

 attractive ; but a larger income is necessary to carry out the 

 functions of a botanic garden fully and expeditiously. It is 

 perhaps superfluous to add that the Director has to superintend 

 the gardens and promenades of the town ; but in order to un- 

 derstand the whole of the circumstances, it is important to bear in 

 mind that he has also been placed at the head of the newly created 

 Forest Department for the whole of the Straits Settlements — an 

 arrangement which of course causes him no inconsiderable 

 amount of additional labour. 



Seeds and plants are continuously being distributed from Kew, 

 where all new things are reported and presented, and where 

 competent authorities are consulted on the merits of the samples 

 sent in. At this centre advice is sought, and there is a constant 

 interchange of ideas and experiences between it and the Indian 

 establishments, the advantages of which are so evident that it is 

 unnecessary to enumerate them. 



With the exception of rice, tropical cultivation generally is 

 so uncertain and subject to fluctuation, owing to the conditions 

 of labour, communication, and credit, that improvements are very 

 slow ; and the experimental work is not so systematically con- 



