82 
THE TEOPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Aug, 1, 1901. 
tion of this noble fruit. There ai e at least about fifty 
choice varietiea of this unique ttuit, some of which can- 
not be bought} but are grown in the orchards of native 
gentlemeu, and kept for presentation to important 
officials and select friends. 
The Mango is the one fruit in which the native of 
India takes a real interest. You may mention to him 
many other fruits, but he will tell you "They don't 
come up to the Mango." 
No on« who has not lived some time in India, and 
haa discovered what a choice Mango, just ripe, means, 
can form any adequate idea of the exquisite flavour 
of this fruit. 
New arrivals in India, having heard of the Mahgo, 
very often set hold of seedling bazaar Mangoes, and 
pronounce them a tine combination of tow and tur- 
pentine. They have a sort of turpentine flavour, and 
the inferior varieties are very stringy, and can only be 
sucked. Nevertheless, there are often exquisite flavours 
even among these. 
The Mango is never allowed to ripen on the tree, 
but ia plucked at a certain sta^e and packed in large 
jars among straw, This operation is called putting 
the fruit in pdl. The reason given for this is that the 
Mango ripens more evenly and thorough than on the 
tree. In England Pears are treated' in much the same 
way. When taken off the tree they are not fit to eat, 
and many kinds of Pears require to be kept a long 
time before they are fit to eat. 
This characteristic of the Mango fruit would prove 
adTantageous for exportation, as it would ripen on the 
voyage. 
All the choise varieties most probably originated by 
seed-variation, and their good qualities are kept np by 
proper cultivation. 
All the fine varieties are propagated by grafting them 
on seedlings of the ordinary ones. 
The Mango tree cannot be grown successfully in 
localities subject to severe frost. On one occasion, in 
Liuoknow; in the first week of January, five degrees of 
frost were registered. All the Poinsettias in the 
Horticultural Garden were, of course, killed outright ; 
the young seedling Mango plants in the nursery pre- 
pared for grafting were killed ; and up to six feet from 
the ground all the leaves of the large Mango trees were 
blackened, but above that line no leaves were touched. 
]n the hot dry weather the trees want regular 
watering. 
Some place in India not subject to frost, and where 
water can be easily got at, and with good soil, would be 
suitable for a garden such as is here suggested. 
There are so many exquisite varieties of Mango that 
they could not readily be studied, and their character- 
istics found out, without being collected in one garden. 
From thence they could be disseminated to all parts 
of the Empire where the climate would be likely to 
»uit them. 
I have often tried those that sometimes appear in the 
London shops from the West Indies and other Atlantic 
islands. I never fonnd one worth eating. They would 
not ba looked at by an Indian Mango connoisseur. 
I have often wondered why wealthy English 
gentleman, with extensive gardens and acres of glass- 
houses, have never, that I am aware of, undertaken 
to build a special house for the reception and growth 
of the trees that produce one of the finest fruits in the 
world. 
It is the same with oranges. The British markets are 
flooded with foreign Oranges, which are often unripe 
and sour. When ripe they are mostly stale, and not 
infrequently have a flavor of onions or tar. The 
flavour of tar is acquired from the ship-hold, and that 
of onions comes from a mixed cargo of oranges and 
onions ! , , , . 
To eat an Orange ofl the tree when prefectly ripe 
would be a revelation to persons who have not been in 
Orange countries, and the difference between those im- 
ported and those taktn off the tree at the right time is 
Homethiiig like the difference between night and day. 
And yet one never hears of any wealthy gentleman 
undertaking to erect a special house for Oramges, and 
to collect these fine things which are to be found in 
various parts of the world. 
There is such a thing as a movable glass-house on 
rails. Such contrivances would be very useful in Eng- 
land, where foreign fruit trees might be kept warm 
under glass in winter, and the house wheeled off them 
in summer to expose them to direct sunlight and rain, 
both being very invigorating to ail trees. 
If the present movable house is somewhat cum- 
bersome 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 inventing 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 gre^t 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, powdery parasite that 
more or less covers them. There is the ammoniated 
sulphate of copper, used successfully bv the French 
to combat mildew on vines ; there is a carbolic soap, 
and petroleum, and other combinations that might be 
tried. 
I must not forget, however, that I am vnriting 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 exis- 
tence. You have to eat Guava jelly, freshly made, with 
clotted cream, on toast, to understand what thii 
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 jttt 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 cultivation 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 
strangle 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. Everyone 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 ia 
a mystery. 
I think I have enumerated all the choice frnit 
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 institutioni- 
that new varieties could be evolved from seed, for no 
private garden could possibly undertake the creation 
of new varieties of the fruits herein mentioned on 
the scale that would be required for success. 
It might be said, especially with regard to Oranges 
— why undertake such a troublesome and expensive 
job, when shiploads of Oranges are already imported 
from various places ? Well, no one will say that 
Apples are not grown in this country in large 
quantities — the bewildering number of varieties at 
the shows testifies to this — yet shiploads of Applei 
come from Canada and the fjnited States. 
What is being done in America with regard to 
fruit trees should be a lesson to the rulers of th« 
British Empire. 
