AUSPICIOUS PLANTINGS 243 



Buddhists alike, so much so that, to quote Sir 

 George Bird wood again : " If a man live to 

 eighty-four he is by that fact alone constituted 

 a saint, however big a blackguard he may have 

 been — or still prefer to be." 



According to an old Indian treatise on garden- 

 ing, five trees should be first planted, as they 

 are luck bringing — phalsa {Grewia asiatica), bhila 

 or marking-nut tree, punag {Rottlera tinctoria), 

 sirisha {Mimosa Sirissa), and nim {Melia Azardir- 

 achta) ; after this, plantations of any kind can 

 be made. The auspicious sides for planting are : 

 on the east the bur (Ficus indica) and karanda 

 {Carissa Carandas) ; on the south gular {Ficus 

 glomerata) and bambu ; on the west amalaka 

 {Emblica officinalis) and bila {Aegle Marmelos) ; 

 on the north pakar {Ficus infectoria), bhor 

 {Zizyphus Jujuba), and kaitha {Feronica Ele- 

 phantum). The bur tree should not be planted 

 at the gate of the house or in such a place that 

 the shadow of it may fall on the building. All 

 large trees are inauspicious within the house, i.e. 

 in the central courtyard, particularly those of a 

 thorny nature — a sensible rule, as is that which 

 prescribes the cool north side of the mansion as 

 the most propitious on which to lay out the 



