



82 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[February 10, 1912. 



would want an article to itself, but P. and the answer, on any day of the year, 

 viscosa, P. nivalis, P. Sieboldii, and P. is " to-day." It takes time to make up a 

 japonica must not be omitted. I think the good collection, and if expense is an object 



charming biennial Primula malacoides will 

 go through most winters with the shelter of 

 cold house. Arabis aubrietioides is an 

 effective pot plant — cuttings strike easily 

 and make good little flowering plants, but 



the stock must be worked up by propaga- 

 tion, to which many plants are very amen- 

 able. Therefore, a commencement may be 

 made any day ; but, again I repeat, there 

 will be no success without endless fore- 



slugs are very partial to them. Ramon- thought and 

 dias and Shortias must not be omitted, 



care. 

 Brackley, Lis card. 



T. 



ffles Bulley, 



especially the charming 



Shortia uni- 



flora, which can be easily propagated. 

 Many members of the Dianthus family 

 are suitable. Soldanellas, Oxalis ennea- 

 phylla, Moltkia petraa, Gentians, sev- 

 eral of the Corydalis species. C. angusti- 

 folia is very early, and C. cheilanthifolia 

 and alba are satisfactory. Androsaces 

 and countless others will combine to give a 

 fresh and changing color picture every 

 week. A few dwarf shrubs should be in- 

 cluded to make a background. The Japa- 

 nese Maples are excellent for the purpose, 



INDIA. 



GARDENING IN THE INDIAN EMPIRE. 



Gardening, after English methods, is now 

 " booming " throughout India, and the requi- 

 sites have to be imported, the largest seller 

 being Britain. The trade advertisements in the 

 gardening papers keep the local gardener and 

 cultivator in existence. He selects from the 

 advertisement, sends the order to the London 

 agent, who buys and pays for the goods and 

 ships them out to India. Consequently, the sup- 

 plier in Britain runs no risk of bad debt, as the 

 orders are cash transactions in England. But it 





Bardch 



^^^■■■■■^^^^^^■M 



m^tmm 



UWe tch. 



Fig. 36.— view in the gardens at sajjan niwas gardens, udaipur, india 



and Tree Paeonies, some hardy Azaleas 

 and Sun Hoses may be worked in with ad- 

 vantage. 



Just a word on the proper use of the 

 frames. The lights should be off in all but 

 severe weather and heavy rain. Alpine 

 plants need no coddling, but the warm 

 rain we so often get in winter is liable to 

 excite them into early growth at the ex- 

 pense of flowers. Soldanellas will seldom 

 bloom if they are exposed to such 

 weather — they are better kept pretty dry 

 in winter. It is well to have the pots 

 lifted and examined for slugs several 

 times in the autumn and winter. 



Of course, all dwellers near London 

 should make constant pilgrimages to the 

 Alpine house in the herbaceous quarters 

 at Kew and get an object lesson. 



I have run on too long, and yet I have 

 not said half enough. The question may 

 be asked, " When should a start be made 1" 



- 



is the man in India who selects, and to him price 

 lists should be posted. 



Roughly, the area of India is over 555,000,000 

 acres, of which 68,000,000 acres are under forest, 

 135,000,000 acres not available for cultivation, 

 207,000,000 acres sown with crops, &c. The area 

 under food grains, Rice, Wheat, Barley, &c, is 

 183,000,000 acres, under oil seeds 12,000,000 

 acres, whilst other crops include Sugar, Coffee, 

 Tea, Jute, Cotton, Indigo, Opium, Tobacco, fod- 

 der plants, &c. 



Over 14,000,000 ploughs and 3,000,000 carts 

 are in use on the land; these are being gradu- 

 ally brought up-to-date by enterprising factories 

 in Britain. 



Farm servants number over 4,000,000, field 

 labourers 29,000,000, fruit and vegetable growers 

 600,000, general labourers 17,000,000, agricultural 

 implement dealers 216,000, cow-dung and char- 

 coal sellers 725,000, water-carriers 1,000,000, &c. 

 Sixty-five per cent, of the population is supported 

 by agriculture and gardening, and the actual 

 workers number 60,000,000 men and 27,000,000 

 females engaged in agricultural and gardening 



pursuits. The total population of India is 

 315,000.000. Compare these huge areas and num- 

 bers with those of Great Britain ! 



Owing to the variety of climates in India, the 

 produce of gardens varies, and what will prosper 

 in one part may be a failure in another. Small 

 pamphlets on plants, trees, seeds, &c, are pre- 

 ferable to huge, bulky catalogues, and the former 

 do not cost so much to produce or to post. The 

 same applies to catalogues relating to gardening 

 tools, insecticides, fertilisers, appliances, garden 

 requisites, &c. Information on these heads should 

 be printed in separate pamphlet form rather than 

 included in a large general catalogue. The neces- 

 saries for the gardener should be kept separate 

 from those of the builder or engineer. 



In addition to public, municipal and Govern- 

 ment gardens, a great deal of money is now spent 

 on the gardens of clubs, hotels, Army depots, 

 railway companies, native princes, private gentry, 

 &c, and all the necessary articles have to be 

 imported. Garden sundriesmen in Britain should 

 be busy with Indian orders during the next few 

 years if they will bestir themselves. 



At spring time the Peshawur Valley, the peer- 

 less garden of the frontier, is seen at its very 

 best. Hedges of Roses, banks of Honeysuckle, 

 groves of Oranges and Persian Lilac bask in ike 

 balmiest of air, whilst green English-looking turf 

 gladdens and rests the eye at every step. 



Cricket grounds, polo grounds and golf links 

 abound throughout India, and the greens and 

 turf usually give an immense amount of trouble 

 to keep in condition. Dust storms often make 

 things unpleasant. 



Alfresco entertainments are fashionable. Thus, 

 at a dinner party given on a glorious moonlight 

 night in the grounds of an official, the winding 

 drive to the house was illuminated by rows of 

 tiny lamps, the lawn was tastefully arranged 

 with tables for two with Palms and lamps inter- 

 mixed, and the shrubbery around was hung with 

 Chinese lanterns. 



The rain lore of the Hindus is made up to a 

 great extent of the most extravagant supersti- 

 tions. One is the rain-making ceremony in Bel- 

 lary ; when the rains fail, the women of the agri- 

 cultural class obtain a frog and tie it alive to a 

 new winnowing fan made of bamboo. On the 

 fan is placed a few Margosa leaves, and the 

 women walk round the village singing a prayer, 

 the purport of which is that the rain-god may 

 send rain that the frog may have a bath. Each 

 villager sprinkles the frog with water and gives 

 alms to the singers. 



The Bengal Cinchona plantation does not ap- 

 pear to be in a very flourishing condition. An 

 additional hundred acres has been planted with 

 Cinchona, but the supply of bark will continue 

 to be small. 



It has been noted that the influence of Indian 

 forests on rainfall is probably small. The denu- 

 dation of the soil, owing to the destruction of 

 forests, may be regarded as an established fact. 



For want of rain flowers in gardens droop and 

 die, while the leaves shrivel up, and vegetables 

 when sown, particularly Potatos, wither. 



The Kumaon planters are establishing a fruit 

 and vegetable stall in the open market under th* 

 supervision of a lady. Clean, well-grown fruit 

 and vegetables will be for sale in place of 

 withered-up goods. 



The experimental farm in Jeolekote is making 

 headway in fruit culture. Saffron is to be intro- 

 duced to the hills. 



Fruit-growing in Mysore is receiving atten- 

 tion, and an estate of 112 acres at Bikashipur 

 has recently been floated as a company. The 

 crops show, this year, Grapes three tons and 

 Apples 500 dozens ; whilst for 1913 crops are ex- 

 pected to show, Grapes 80 tons and Apples 4,880 

 dozens. It is anticipated that fresh fruit fr«m 

 Bangalore can be placed on the markets of all tha 



large towns in India. 



out 



The Poona Agricultural College is turning o 

 men who desire to take up agriculture as a pro- 

 fession. 



Government has sanctioned the proposal f<> r 



