98 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



DRY ZONE AFFORESTATION AND RECLAMATION OF 



WASTE LAND. 



Delhi and its Works. 



By A. E. P. Griessen, F.R.H.S. 



I N 1 902 — a decade before the ancient capital of the Moghuls was restored 

 to its pride of place as the coronation gift of the King Emperor — Lord 

 Curzon, then Viceroy and Governor-General of India, invited an 

 expression of opinion on the possibilities of reafforesting the Northern 

 Ridge of Delhi, which, at the time, formed the boundary of the Civil 

 Lines. 



There were not wanting indications that the original flora of this 

 historic portion of the ridge had, for strategic reasons, suffered 

 considerably during the Relief of Delhi. Besides, owing to the free 

 exercise of grazing rights, or rather to the limited restrictions against 

 grazing, and the close proximity of the ridge to the city, it was 

 repeatedly depleted by cattle. The presence, however, of a few young 

 trees seemed to suggest that the local authorities had paid some 

 attention to its possible restoration, though no definite scheme had 

 been formulated. 



My own special duties in connexion with the preparations for the 

 Great Coronation assemblage left me but little leisure for an inquiry 

 of this nature, but I undertook a general survey of the ridge and 

 ventured to suggest that much could be done by protecting the entire 

 area, and not only allowing Nature to do its work, but supplementing 

 Nature's work with a planting scheme aiming at the utilization of all 

 natural depressions, where vegetable mould had collected, for planting 

 operations. Several pits were then excavated to ascertain the possibili- 

 ties of the suggestion, and it was found that the idea was practicable. 

 Beyond this, very little was then attempted, as the Durbar works 

 claimed all my time and attention, and after the Durbar the idea 

 was left to the local authorities to develop. 



At the same time inquiry was made into the questions of reclaiming 

 the barren land outside the Northern City Wall. The soil was strongly 

 impregnated with salts, and it was evident that little could be done 

 in the absence of an abundant water supply. Failing this, it was 

 suggested that improvement might result by treating the site so as 

 to retain as much of the rainfall as possible, and thereby check the 

 action of the salts, afterwards planting as a park with salt-resisting 

 species. 



An experiment on these lines was conducted in the plot bordering 

 the Alipur Road just below the cemetery ; and, though the result 



