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. 



