IMPERIAL GARDENS FOR FRUIT-TREE DISSEMINATION. 311 
If the present movable house is somewhat cumbersome it could be 
made in sections ; and surely the engineers who have built the bridge over 
the Forth, and have done other wonderful things, would be equal to invent- 
ing a house that could be easily drawn away by either horse, steam, or 
hydraulic power. 
Then I am told that the reason why Orange trees are not popular 
in England is that their leaves have to be washed, which is a great 
bother. I am afraid, however, that sufficient experiments have not been 
tried, with washes syringed over the leaves, to rid them of that curious 
sooty, pow^dery parasite that more or less covers them. There is the 
ammoniated sulphate of copper, used successfully by the French to com- 
bat mildew on vines ; there is carbolic soap, and petroleum, and other 
combinations that might be tried. 
I must not forget, however, that I am writing about Imperial Gardens 
for the dissemination of fruit trees which are little known, and not about 
private gardens. 
Where Mango trees in India can be grown, Guavas, Lichis, and 
Bananas can be also grown. 
Of Guavas there are two forms, the globular and the pyriform. 
Those sold in bazaars are not choice, but they make one of the finest 
fruit jellies in existence. You have to eat Guava jelly, freshly made, with 
clotted cream, on toast, to understand what this fine thing means. 
All Guavas make a capital stew — peeled, with the seeds scooped out, 
and stewed in sugar and a little water. They are excellent, with a sul 
generis flavour. 
The raw fruits are not much relished by the English in India, owing to ' 
their strong scent ; some cannot tolerate them in a room. But there are 
Guavas and Guavas. The choice varieties would be worthy of cultiva- 
tion in an Imperial Garden. There is one fine variety which I came 
across in Lucknow. It was presented to me by a native gentleman, and 
strange to say, it had the flavour of Strawberries ! It is curious that 
this flavour should be imitated by two such distinct fruits as the Grape and 
the Guava. 
Of the Persimmon I know nothing, except what I read of it. Of the 
Mangosteen I know nothing from personal experience. Every one who 
has eaten it declares it to be a delicious fruit. I was informed that it had 
been introduced into the lower ranges of the Nilgiri Hills. Why they 
have not introduced it into Ceylon and cultivated it for commercial 
purposes is a mystery. 
I think I have enumerated all the choice fruit trees of which I have 
experience, and which might be grown in Imperial Gardens for 
dissemination throughout suitable places in the Empire. In such gardens 
these trees could be studied, and the best mode of cultivating them and 
propagating them discovered. Moreover, it is only in such institutions 
that new varieties could be evolved from seed, for no private garden could 
possibly undertake the creation of new varieties of the fruits herein men- 
tioned on the scale that would be required for success. 
