MYSORE AND C00E6. 245 



• only in cultivation, and in the most favourable posi- 

 tions wliere fine specimens are seen. Flowers small 

 but very numerous and densely fascicled on the 

 matured wood, whitish, changing to pale yellow, 

 appeiaring in May, Fruit depressed-globose, clear, 

 fleshy, faintly 6-lobed and 6-seeded, varying in size 

 from a large gooseberry to a crab-apple, ripening in 

 November. Being highly esteemed for its acid fruit, 

 the tree is commonly found in gardens, where it is 

 often spoken of by English people as the ' Indian 

 gooseberry tree.' "Wood mottled brown, red and 

 yellow, centre darker but showing little definition 

 of heartwood. Weight 43 — 50 lb. per cubic foot. 



Remarkable for its durability under water, which 

 it also clears of all impurities. To effect the latter 

 object, it is a common practice to throw chips of 

 wood into a well or drinking pond . The bark is a 

 good tanning material, and medicinal properties are 

 attributed to it, as also to the flowers and fruit. 

 The latter is held in great esteem by all classes, who 

 consider it to be refrigerant, diuretic, [and laxative. 

 It is also pickled largely, and commands a market 

 value of about Es. 32 per candy of 7 cwts. It is an 

 excellent thing to quench thirst and is said to im- 

 prove the taste of water. The peasants like to suck 

 the fruit while on fatigue duty, as when ascending 

 a steep hill. 



Cultivation. — Although very hardy in dry situ-, 

 ations among rocks, the Nelli requires a good deal 

 of moisture and proper cultivation to enable it to 

 yield superior fruit. The seeds are very hard and 

 take nearly a year to germinate in the ordinary 

 course, but by steeping for 24 hours in camphorated 

 water germination will be effected within a few 

 weeks. It is doubtful, however, if the sowing 

 would be very productive of seedlings, as a large 

 percentage of the seed is usually bairren. When 

 the seedlings are nearly two feet high, plant in large 



