THE FRUIT CULTURE ON THE HIMALAYA. 137 



persons there can testify to their excellent quality. Captain Lee says that 

 most of the varieties of English and American apples that he has tried have 

 succeeded at Bundrole (5,000 ft.). Captain Banon, writing from Manauli, the 

 elevation of which is 6,400 ft. says : — " All the English varieties I have yet 

 experimented with have answered admirably. They seem to improve as regards 

 flavour, size, and colour, and usually ripen a month earlier than in England. . . . 

 Some English apples, as for instance Cox's Orange Pippin, which is considered 

 the most delicious apple in England, the soil and climate of this place seem to 

 suit perfectly : and if one grew apples simply for profit one should grow 

 nothing but this sort for the Simla market." Mr. Donald of Dobi reports very 

 favourably of the apple trees in his garden, the elevation of which is about 

 4,000 ft. only above the sea. Buds from English varieties were put on to 

 indigenous trees, and the stocks being large, the trees fruited after four years, 

 and have ever .since borne heavy crops every alternate year. Pears do well 

 to Manauli, but not as well as apples. Captain Banon says that the indigenous 

 medlar pear called shegal {Pyrus pashia), and which is abundant in Kulu, 

 " answers admirably as stock for English pear, medlars, and quinces. If any- 

 thing, this place is a little too cold for pears in some years. Louise Bonne of 

 Jersey is the most profitable pear to grow here for market, though Marie 

 Louise and William's Bon Chretien also grow well and with a superior flavour 

 to the fruit grown in England." Mr. Donald of Dobi says that, pears budded 

 on the quince stock are the most prolific and can stand more moisture. 



That the apricot grows abundantly all over the hills everyone knows : it 

 might, in fact, be called the potato of the Himalayas, but the ordinary kind 

 would not attract the palate of a gourmand. Mr. Carleton's experiments 

 with Kashmir apricots at Ani, a village in Kulu at 3,500 ft., have proved a 

 remarkable success. He says — " The native apricot in this warm valley was 

 not prolific, and from analogy, we concluded that the place was too warm for 

 the Kashmir or English variety. We, however, introduced 10 trees from the 

 Government Garden at Lahore. They grew very vigorously and began to 

 bear fruit the fourth year. They are even more prolific than the native 

 variety in the Kulu valley. The fruit ripens about the 1 5th or 20th of June. 

 I should advise the extensive cultivation of the Kashmir and English apricot 

 in all the lower hills. The successful introduction of the famous Kashmir- 

 American fruit drying machines into Simla would enable enterprising persons 

 to establish a very profitable industry in preparing dried apricots for the 

 Indian markets." Captain Banon notices this important difficulty in regard to 

 the cultivation of the apricot. " For several years past," he writes, " I have 

 noticed that the first ripe apricot and the monsoon rains arrive together on the 

 same day. The effect of the rain is to wash all the flavour out of the apricot, 

 cause the fruit to split open, and prevent its ripening properly. Sometimes, 

 after the first burst of the monsoon, we get ten days or a fortnight's fine 

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