A BUSY MONTH 137 



chop it in pieces, and then they, with shrill shouts 

 and " la-la-la-las," rolled it over to the old pond and 

 down among the jungle, for their winter use. In 

 England one would have had it sawn into garden 

 seats and tables. Once I did have some plant- 

 stands made of mango-wood, but in a year or so 

 they simply pulverised into earth the effects of 

 such a damp climate. So if one wants nice charm- 

 ing arches and seats, one has to use teak and sal, 

 and even they must be tarred before being inserted 

 into the ground. 



This is indeed a busy month in the garden, now 

 it is raining properly. To see how the jungle has 

 grown up to Jogee's knees while he was chopping 

 wood ! Besides dividing and replanting all the 

 ferns, etc., nearly every palm has been repotted 

 also, and not before they wanted it. Some had 

 become a mere basket of roots tied tightly in 

 among broken bricks, with just the merest morsel 

 left of original earth, and yet they were sporting 

 green fronds 5 or 6 feet long. It was a marvel how 

 they existed. Palms are a special " choc " of the 

 Burra Sahib. He takes great pleasure in them, 

 and knows how to grow them into things of beauty 



