231 Horticulture. 



Artichoke, Alocasia, Inuala, &c, should bo planted out in beds about three feet 

 wide, with a path fifteen inches in breadth between the beds. Sow seeds of Gourds, 

 Baudakkai, Bonchi, Dhara-dambala, Brinjals, Chocho, Maize, Katurumurunga, 

 Nivithi, &c. Seeds of European vegetables, such as Pens, Knol-Kohl ' (or Kohl-rabi), 

 Beetroot, Carrots, Scarlet-runners, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Parsley, &c., should not 

 be sown till the beginning of the south-west monsoon. Celery should be sown 

 under cover and the seedlings afterwards pricked out into boxes, finally trans- 

 planting them into a deep trench in which a good layer of manure and soil has 

 been placed. Keeping notes of the various seeds sown or plants put out (the 

 names of varieties, dates of sowing or planting, time of ripening, &c.,) is a method 

 to be especially recommended. The experience thus gained is, of course, of much 

 value and enables one to avoid mistakes which are otherwise liable to occur. 

 Therefore every bed, row or plot should have a label giving some such 

 particulars. 



Fruit Garden.— March to April is the principal flowering season of most 

 fruit trees. Mangoes, Mangosteens and Durians will now blossom in great pro- 

 fusion. Pork up the ground and mulch round the trees, for the quality of the 

 fruit will be greatly affected by 'the treatment the trees now receive. Plantain 

 clumps should be overhauled, cutting out barren stems and dried leaves and 

 burying these in a trench round the plants. These are gross feeders and will take 

 all the manure and mulch it is possible to give them, and, like other fruits, the 

 quality of their produce is dependent on the degree of cultivation they receive. 

 Growers of plantains would do well to grow only two or three of the best varieties, 

 as " Suwandale " and " Koli-Kuttu." In many districts only semi-sour and inferior 

 varieties are cultivated. The list of fruits in season at this time of year is obviously 

 not large; it includes the Star-apple, a large handsome West Indian tree (Chryso- 

 pliyllum Cainito); "Bullock's heart" (Anona reticxdatci) so-called from the shape 

 of the fruit ; " Avocado Pear " (Persea gratissima), which must rank as one of our 

 best fruits; its proper season is July to September; and the "Velvet Apple" 

 (Diospyros discolor), a kind of persimmon with pretty yellow velvety fruits. 



Flowers in Season.— Most of the species mentioned in my last notes are 

 still making a fine show.' To these may be added Schizolobium excelsum, a hand- 

 some deciduous tree introduced from Brazil, producing before the leaves a profusion 

 of yellow blossoms ; the latter form a beautiful yellow carpet on the ground as 

 they drop. The simultaneous flowering of many " lilies " (Amaryllids) is a con- 

 spicuous feature of this season, especially striking being the pure white-flowered 

 Hippeastrum, solandraeflorum, var. and the bright pink-flowered Zephyranthes 

 carinata 0' Rose amaryllis "), both introduced from South America. 



Seasonal Gardening Notes for the Hill Districts. 



By J. K. Nock. 



Flower Garden.— Notes have now been written for a full year, and with 

 the Calendar recently brought out by the Ceylon Agricultural Society, which 

 embodies a brief review for each month, the general routine work should 

 be fairly clear, and the time has now arrived when attempts will be made to deal 

 in detail with the more difficult subjects, as is being done with the crops of 

 the vegetable garden. It is necessary to emphasize the importance during April of 

 collecting and sowing seed to raise plants for the upkeep of beds and borders 

 until the end of the year, frequent stirring of the soil, maintaining drains and 

 culverts open in anticipation of rain etc., etc. Most of the annuals become unsightly 

 when seeding, and should be pulled up as soon as sufficient seed has been gathered ; 



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