36 GARDENS OF THE PLAINS AGRA 



with elaborate garden-houses and pillared halls. 

 These were royal gardens, but " in the time of 

 Sultan Ahmed Mirza," Babar's uncle, " many of 

 the greater and lesser Begs formed gardens, 

 some large, others small. Among these, the 

 Chehar Bagh of Dervish Muhamed Terkhan, in 

 respect of climate, situation, and beauty, is 

 equalled by few. It is situated lower down 

 than the Garden of the Plain, on a small eminence 

 that rises above the valley of Kulbeh, and 

 commands a view of the whole vale, which 

 stretches out below. In this Chehar Bagh there 

 is a variety of different plots laid out one above 

 another, all on a regular plan, and elms, cypresses, 

 and white poplars planted in the different com- 

 partments. It is a very perfect place. Its 

 chief defect is that it has no great stream of 

 running water." 



Babar's love of flowers and gardens would seem 

 to have been as much a national as a personal 

 characteristic. To this day the far-off towns 

 of Eastern Turkestan are celebrated for their 

 orchards. Sir Aurel Stein, in his account of 

 his adventurous journey to the sand -buried 

 cities of Khotan, constantly mentions the gardens 

 w,hich formed such pleasant camping-grounds 



