GOOD GROWTH verSUS PROPS AND SUPPORTS. 
>45 
is our purpose in a future sketch to run 
rapidly through the flora of the Indian con- 
tinent. Most of our readers are already 
doubtless aware of the taste of Orientals for 
fine gardens, and a description of some of the 
most celebrated of these, with the famous 
rose gardens, may afford materials for future 
remarks. At present we may observe that 
the whole region is rich in flowers, which for 
variety, brilliance, and fragrance, can be 
surpassed by those of no other quarter of the 
world. The very thought of the Indian rose 
is sufficient to call up the idea of delight, as 
any of our readers who have enjoyed the 
delicious perfume exhaled from pure and 
unadulterated " otto " can testify. The thing, 
however, is extremely rarely imported into 
this country in its genuine state. When 
really pure, its fragrance is exquisite beyond 
description. 
To return to Sindh. A certain " Ex- 
political," in some very aptly named " Dry 
Leaves," has laboured with astonishing in- 
dustry to throw discredit on our policy in 
that province, both in a commercial and 
political point of view. These observations 
of ours may be useful to disprove a few of 
his blundering statements. Like most other 
writers who have a case to establish and no 
facts to go upon, he shifts his ground from 
one thing to another, so as to display his 
remarkable talent for writing a great many 
words without any meaning attached to them. 
This at least renders his book harmless. 
Very often we find works full of silliness, but 
nevertheless very amusing, and rather valu- 
able for their details. In this case, however, 
the author's incapacity is equal to his ab- 
surdity, so that, while labouring to prove our 
wickedness in taking possession of Sindh, he 
only proves that he is a vulgar, conceited, and 
somewhat reckless advocate of men whom he 
admits to be gross and selfish, short-sighted 
and cruel tyrants. What could induce him to 
take up their defence ? What could induce him 
to paint Sindh in such false colours ? Was he 
engaged professionally by the Amirs, as Mr. 
George Thompson was by the Rajah of 
Sattara ? If so, the case is altered. The 
lawyer must do his client's bidding. The 
work put into his hands, however dirty its 
nature may be, must be performed. But the 
" Ex-political " is silent on this head. 
GOOD GROWTH versus PROPS AND 
SUPPORTS. 
For many years we have endeavoured to 
shame the gardeners out of a system of sup- 
porting plants totally at variance with every 
principle of gardening, and destructive of the 
best properties. The hopes of great prizes 
50. 
for great plants induced gardeners to turn 
mechanics, and to grow things in a state 
which it was impossible to maintain from a 
flower without unnatural props. Let any 
one walk through an exhibition of geraniums, 
of potted roses, of calceolarias, and many 
other plants, and if he has a spark of pride 
about him, or the least respect for gardening as 
a science, he must blush for very shame to 
see it prostituted to a vitiated taste, and the 
plants, which ought to show the skill of a 
gardener, exhibiting the ingenuity of a me- 
chanic, called in to make up for the ignor- 
ance, the bad taste, or the deficiency of the 
cultivator. But so long as horticultural 
societies could be found awarding prizes to 
the worst grown but best propped up plants, 
so long was it certain that the worst grown 
and best propped plants would be the aim of 
the gardener. Nobody seemed to care how 
much the science was degraded. It appeared 
to be lost sight of altogether that three- 
fourths of the labour expended on a plant was 
unworthy of a gardener, and merely applied 
to cover his ignorance or idleness. It does 
not seem to have struck the employer that 
one-half the labour employed in his houses 
was to maintain a plant in an unnatural 
state and position, and that half the hands 
would do if this nonsense were forbidden. No, 
show after show merely produces an increase 
of the evil, a degradation of the profession, a 
desecration of the plant, and an encouragement 
to the raising and selling a spurious and un- 
natural race of novelties, incapable of sup- 
porting themselves, but tolerated because they 
are as good for the bundle-of-sticks system 
as a stronger plant. There is no skill re- 
quired to produce a geranium as large as a 
currant bush, so long as their miserably drawn 
branches may be fastened to sticks with half- 
a-dozen ties, and their spindly flower-stems 
bound up to: splints to hold the blossoms in 
their proper places. But of what use were our 
feeble remonstrances against this discreditable 
system while gold medals were given to en- 
courage the prostitution ? Of what use was 
it for us to argue against a man's profit, when 
he only had to degrade a plant and take his 
money ? The only hope we had was that in 
time we should awaken the employers to the 
unworthy occupation, and through them the 
societies to the necessity for checking it by 
withholding the prizes. We are therefore 
glad to observe in the schedule of the Chis- 
wick shows of 1850, there is the following 
gentle hint : — 
" The judges in making their award will 
give, both in this and the next letter, a 
marked preference to plants grown in their 
natural forms, without stakes or stays." 
This, however, is only applied to heathy 
N N 
