April i, 1891.] 
THE TROPICAL AORlOtILTURI ST- 
705 
FKUIT GROWING IN INDIA. 
A Bhoit time ago we drew attention in these 
columns to the imptrtancp, generahy, of encouraging 
the cu tivation of fruit trees in this country as au 
industry, and on llie present occasion wc propose to 
deal with it more specifically by entering in greater- 
detail into how it should be done, and the varieties 
most suitable for a commeucemeut. In tho forefront 
of all Indian fruit trees we will place the Mango ; 
not only on accouirt of its being most gc uerally grown 
all over the country, but also becan-e it is the one 
fruit tree in which the Natives of India really take 
an interest. Those who have not had opportunities 
of tirsting good mangoes, have a notion that this fruit 
is like so mucli low and turpentine. A more erroneous 
idea never was entertained ; it would be as accurate 
to conclude that the ciiaraoteristics of the crab apple 
are those that dislinguieh all the varieties of the 
apple in England. Even the fibrous uncultivaied 
mango very often has a mo.'-t exqui-ite flavour, but 
the only way to enjjy it is to do as the Native does 
and suck it ! The e are mangof s of all shapes, sizes, 
colours and varieties anel they flourish all over India. 
Some years ago a scheme was submitted to the 
Government of the N.-W. Provii c‘’s for the establish- 
ment of a Mango S.'ciety, with (ho object of studying 
and tabulating the varieties of th-s fine frnii ; of 
making- coloured diawings of them; of forming an 
extensive orchard where all the known choice de.s- 
criptions might be collected, propagated and distri- 
buted; and for learning by experiments the best 
ways of cultivating and improving them from seed. 
The proposal unfortunately did not meet with the 
approval of Government, and fell into abeyance. 
Attempts were then made amongst Native gentlemen 
to promote the idea, but met with no support. The 
following instance illustrates the light in which sitne 
minds regard philanthropy. A cerlain collector of 
choice varieties po.sset sel a rare speoiratn, for a few 
grafts of which he was asked for pbiuting in a public 
garden. Ills reply was that the could not think of 
parting with cuttings cf hi.s unique specimen as it 
would at once b". propagated and dilfnscd and so 
become common. His one idea w.'S t > jealously guard 
what he had, instead of p' rmitting his fellow men to 
participate in its production. 
In the ‘t Flora c f British India ” about 20 disiinct 
species ot mangifira are described, and it is stated 
that there are about 30 in all. There is, therefore, 
a fine field for Hcrlicultural Societies in India for 
their further development. Bengal, Bombay, Madras 
and the N.-W. Provinces o.an produce quite 50 dif- 
ferent varieties all well worth sending to Europe, in 
place of the wretched specimen.s from the Vfest Indies 
now to be found in the London shops. In Madras 
we have the celebrated Salem au'i Bangalore Mangoes ; 
in Bombay the “ Aljihonso,” the “ Pairee ” ancl the 
“ Fernandina ” are grown; whilst in Benares the 
“ Singra,” and in Faltegarh the “ Takari," are of 
delicious flavuur. In India mangoes are always 
plucked when still unripe, and allowed to mature in 
straw. This habit might easily be taken advantage 
of for export, and targe quantities could be trans- 
ported to Europe in specially prepared cool chamber.^. 
Since Australia can successfully send fresh fruits to 
England, there is no reason why Bombay, which is 
but half the distance, should not do the same ; and 
tho trade once started would certainly prove remuner- 
ative enough to cause a largo extension of operations 
to America and Australia. There is, moreover, room 
for an extensive trade between Northern India and 
Bombay. A comparison of prices, shows that whilst 
in tho latter place gi od mangoes at the commence- 
ment of the season sell at Itlfl per dozen and at the 
height of the season at KS or 9 per 100, the choicest 
mangoes of tho N.-AV. Provinces may bo bought at 
R4 per hundred. The rail journey occnines under 
40 hours, and these facts only reriuire to be known 
to create a trade. It is al-ways diflicult to initiate 
anything in India without Governmout support, 
but if Government would but see fit to move in the 
matter, say, by inangurntiug a show to bo held in 
Bombay, there is little doubt hut that the idea would 
rapidly develop. Natives will not be backward in 
tskii'g up new methods of cullivation if such havo 
been proved to them, by means of experiments carried 
out in Government gardens, to be profitable. At 
present their ways of cultivation are crude and bar- 
barous. For instance, the leaves that fall in the 
antumii and winter from trees in orchards are uui- 
vci .sally swept away and used as fuel. Now in these 
leaves there are all tlie ingredients for tho nourish- 
ment of the tree, whilst they aiso prevent the mois- 
ture from evaporatiog too rapidly from the ground. 
Their own fallen haves go on nourishing the trees for 
centuries, and au experiment in Lucknow showed 
how au almost arid bit of ground was turned into 
all but a t opicai garden aliu''st entirely by the use 
of surface leafage and irrigation. The leaves were 
first brought from outside and afterw.trds the trees 
tliemsflves provided Ih s surface manure, which kept 
on increasing e-. ery year. Am ther point in which 
natives are very careles.s, is irrigation. They almost 
invariably give the ground too much of it ; probably 
going on the nriiiciplo that as they pay no more for 
a let thr-y may as well have it. Without proper 
drainage the soil gets waterlogged and the trees 
become miserablo and perish in a few years. 
AYhat wo have written regarding the prospects of 
increased ciiUivatim of tho mango applies with equal 
force to many other hardy and universally grown 
fiuits, such as tho plantain, the guava, the orange, 
the red and white grape and the loquat. These trres 
will grow on all soils ; though for the orange a 
kiinkur or gravelly one is preferable. A great benefit 
to orange growing is shade, and no tree is better suited 
for this purpo e than the “hair.” Grapes are best 
grown in localities where the rainfall is scanty, or 
where the monsoon is late, and the best variety is a 
thick skinned one which resists ilie bursting action 
of the rains. Guavas may be cultivated to a state 
of great psrfec ion, and in Etawnh a species is grown 
that is almost entirely free from seeds and ofcliirm- 
iiig flavour. A fruit garden should be laid out some- 
what as f' llo'vs: — A high wall should .‘■urrouud it to 
keep out jackals and protect the t ees from sLrms, 
Inside it a row of ‘‘Jarir” trees should be planted 
and inside them a row of mulberry trees, and inrile 
them again a row of guava trees. This triple row 
a l round the fruit gard-n forms an admirable screen 
for breaking the force of hot winds and storms. If 
the ground be exten.sive it should again he divided 
into squ.ares, and row.s by avenues of fruit trees, such 
as mangoes and li-ehis, which are not injured by hot 
wiud.s. The squires, thus protected, should be 
planted with pjlums, apples, lemons, pummeloes. 
plantains, oranges, etc. All khids should not be 
jumbled into one plot, bat a separate plot should be 
devoted to each kind so as to suit the cannal irriga- 
tion to the wants of that particular kind of tree. 
There would then, too, be ample space amongst the 
trees for pine-apple plants, which prefer a certain 
amount of shade. On these lines a fruit garden 
sliould be a great success. Government might be 
induced to start a public garden on this plan, instead 
of maintaining the costly establishment it now does 
for horticultural gardens, mainly for the supply of 
vegetab'es and flowers for sale to European residents. 
— Madras Times, 
— ♦ 
PitOLiFic JIango Thee.s. — A u article on tlie 
cultivation of mangoes in Florida states The trees 
produce on the average from fiiteeu hundred to two 
thou-and maiigi es each, which sell in .‘Southern mar- 
kets from one to three dollars per hundred. — Planters’ 
Monthh/. 
Peiuk Tea. — Wo learn that a further consign- 
ment of Perak tea has come forward by S. S. 
‘‘Achilles,” which arrived in London on the 2nd 
inst. It consists of a very choice quality, which 
has been grown on account of the Perak Govern- 
ment. Mr. Koch, the Government inspector, will 
arrive hero shortly and arrange as to its disposal. 
The inspector maintains that tea of tho very finest 
description can be grown in Perak, as the soil is 
of such good and rich quality. — L. and C, E.vpress, 
Fob. 13th. 
