Dr. H. F. C. Cleghom on the Hedge Plants of India. 239 



land). These are overrun with spinous plants^ studded with 

 dwarf Mimosas, or at certain seasons thickly covered with long 

 grass : these interspaces add to the beauty of the country, and 

 contribute in some measure to the fertility of the soil by pre- 

 serving a little moisture ; but their irregularity presents a very 

 slovenly appearance, and the brush is often inhabited by wild 

 hogs and antelopes which greatly damage the crops. Fences as 

 in England are few and rarely to be seen. Some of the fields 

 are surrounded by hedges ; but these are not kept in such repair 

 as to resist the pressure of cattle : they are frequently meant 

 only to distinguish the lands appertaining to particular castes or 

 classes of the villagers. 



The hedges observed in our wanderings generally consisted of 

 Opuntia Dillenii (Haw.), Euphorbia Tirucalli and antiquorum, 

 with Agave americana (L.). When the ground is sown, the 

 gaps are filled up with branches of Vachellia Famesiana, a small 

 tree which grows in many fields. 



It is only in the neighbourhood of large towns, encircling the 

 smaller villages, military cantonments, missionary settlements, 

 or the dwelling-houses of intelligent foreigners, that we find 

 ornamental or even regular enclosures. A few very fine hedges 

 demonstrate how well they would thrive, and show the practica- 

 bility of agricultural improvement, if the will and energy existed 

 among the natives. The hedges of the country in general, even 

 when kept up as fences round temples, are in a very slovenly 

 condition, and are ruined by being overgrown with rank climbing 

 plants, such as those previously enumerated. 



Opuntia Dillenii, Haw. 



Cactus indicus, Rox. 



Hedge Prickly Pear. 



Nag phena, Hindustani. Naga-kuUi, Canarese. 



Probably introduced from South America, though so long 



domesticated all over India, that many consider it a native. 



Commonly used as a hedge-plant about cantonments, forming 

 an impenetrable fence, 4 to 6 feet high ; but excludes the air, 

 and harbours destructive vermin and venomous reptiles. Cul- 

 tivators object to it, because it spreads, cannot be kept within 

 bounds, and impoverishes the land. 



The hotter the district the more luxuriant this plant : it flowers 

 at all seasons, and grows in the most sterile ground — in sand — 

 in the rocky beds of rivers — in the fissures of mud walls. It is 

 easily propagated by planting leaves in the earth half buried ; 

 they seldom fail to strike root and prosper ; it is difficult to era- 

 dicate ; the figs are eaten sparingly in times of scarcity. Spines 

 one to three together in a tuft. 



