138 Oranges and Lemons of India. 



light shade for nurseries. The seed of this small tree 

 should be sown in lines, north and south, about a 

 yard apart, at the commencement of the rains. The 

 lines should have at least fifteen feet between. In 

 one year, this tree, in good soil, will grow twenty feet 

 high. As the trees grow, they can be thinned out to 

 about twelve feet or so apart. This small and quick 

 growing tree does not live a long time, but it can be 

 easily renewed ; moreover, it would be advisable to 

 change the site of the nursery every five or six years. 

 Besides quick growth, the agast has the great 

 advantage of affording just the amount of shade 

 needed for an orange nursery. The leaves are pinnate 

 and not too dense. In South India and Ceylon, 

 natives eat both the leaves, flowers, and young pods 

 of the agast, cooked in their various dishes. I have 

 often given its leaflets, mixed with other native plants, 

 to prisoners, as a vegetable. 



