1064 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
December 26, 1903. 
product, the material for which Nature has abundantly sup- 
piled in many of our possessions, and which only requires de¬ 
veloping to bring it into practical use. As we believe the 
season for these fruits in the West Indies is in August and 
September, the crystallised product might well come into the 
English market at this, the best season of the whole year. 
The second fruit about which we would speak is the Litchee 
(Nepheiium Litchi), the produce of a handsome evergreen tree 
belonging toi the natural order Sapindac-eae, a native of South 
China, but introduced and now largely cultivated in India for 
the sake of the fruit. De Candolle states that the introduction 
of the plant into Bengal dates from the end of the eighteenth 
century. It is in Bengal that the best results have been 
obtained with regard to the quality of the fruit, but fine fruits 
have also been obtained in the Lucknow Horticultural Garden 
and the Saharunpur Government Garden. The fruits:, which 
are borne in large clusters-, as shown in the drawing, are in¬ 
dividually about lj in. in diameter, nearly spherical, with a 
thin rind, which upon drying becomes brittle or woody, and 
is covered all -over with small protuberances. When fresh they 
are red, or of a greenish colour tinged with pink, and filled 
with a white jelly-like pulp, almost transparent, and having a 
delicious sweetish acid, taste, which is cooling and most grateful 
to the palate, especially in hot weather. In the centre of this 
pulp, which is an aril, is a large black shining seed. 
In Sir George Watts’ “ Dictionary of the Economic Products 
of India ” is a quotation from an article on the Litchi by Dr. 
Bonavia which is worth repeating here. He says: “ Here is 
a fruit tree which -resists the heaviest rains and stands the 
hottest winds, and -also the fro-sts of these provinces (North- 
West Provinces). Moreover, it bears annually an abundant 
crop of fine, well-flavoured, aromatic fruit, which c-an readily 
be sent t-o distant markets without -injury. Instead of being 
planted by the -one or two, it -should be planted by the thousand. 
From -all I know -o-f the hardiness and fruitfulnes-s of this ret¬ 
ina,rka-ble tree, I feel confident that if any individual (or com¬ 
pany), possessing the necessary capital, were to plant an exten¬ 
sive orchard of Litc-h-i trees—say, where canal wat-er would be 
easily obtained, or where well wat-er is within easy reach-—he- 
wo-uld very probably make a good life-long business o-f it-.” Com¬ 
menting -on this 1 , the writer -of the article -o-n the Litchi in the 
“ Dictionary ” says-: “ This result has been abundantly attained 
in Bengal, and although statistics of the extent of the trade 
cannot be given, it may b-e said that in the Lower Provinces, 
the Litchi tree is- almo-st co-ext-e-nsively cultivated with the 
Mango. It comes- into -s-ea-so-n a, little before that- fruit, and in 
the larger cities, such as Calcutta, is s-o-ld in every fruit-dealer’s 
shop, the streets for a month o-r six weeks being literally be¬ 
strewn with the rind and large seeds rejected by the wayside 
consumers. The- fruit- t-o- be enjoyed must, however, be eaten 
as so-on after being plucked -as possible-. When fresh, the great 
bunches lo-o-k like-bright, pinkish Strawberries;, but they ra-pidly 
lose their blo-om, and ,a-ss-ume a dirty-brownish colour.” 
In India, China-, Siam, and other Eastern countries the fruit 
is held in the highest esteem, and is eaten b-o-th in the fr-e-sh 
and dried states:, -and is also- prepared in a great variety o-f 
ways. By taking off the -outer rind when the fruit-si are- fully 
ripe, and removing the hard black seeds from the centre, and 
them preserving the fle-shy po-rtio-ns in. syrup, -a. delicious adjunct 
for dessert is produced. At the Colonial Exhibition in 1886 
t-liey were -exhibited thus prepared, as well as in their fresh 
state, and under b-o-th conditions they were very delicious, in 
the fresh state especially -so, but- a-s it is impossible to import 
them in this condition it- do-e-s no-t se-em a difficult matter to 
preserve them in syrup, as is do-ne. -so successfully with Pines 
and other fruits. If this were- done, there would be little or 
no- demand for the dried .brown fruits with the black shrivelled 
pulp, with nothing but .a swe-e-t, mawkish taste, that we now 
see occasionally in some of our -best fruiterers’ shops. So 
greatly -are these fruits in demand in all parts o-f China- that it 
is s-aid they are packed in tin cases with spirits and honey and 
sent to- Peking for the Emperor’s use, and even the trees them¬ 
selves are conveyed thither. Being sent, -off when in flower, the 
fruits a-re generally ripe -when they arrive at- Peking. 
Leamington’s Gardens. 
. Leamington is known to almost every schoolboy as the 
centre of England, and those who have fallen victims to- the 
picture postcard craze are by now well aware of the appearance 
of the famous tree which marks the exact centre. As an inland 
watering place it also has no equal, and both in winter and 
summer it is a mo-st fashionable resold for people to “ take the 
waters.” Perhaps horticulturists know the town bet-tea - as an 
up-to-date garden town, and it is usually referred to in guide¬ 
books as- the “ town of gardens.” Beautifully situated on the 
River Learn, and right in the- Shakespeare country, it would 
be difficult to find a more fashionable and up-to-date town in 
the country. The gardens- cover over 60 acre®, and are dis¬ 
tributed all over-the place—in, the streets, squares, and every¬ 
where where they well -add to the- attraction of the town. 
As an old Ke-wite, I at once looked up Mr. T. W. Dell, the 
able superintendent of the gardens, who is- also an old Kewite, 
and it was- indeed a pleasant afternoon that I spent in visiting 
the well-kept gardens under his- charge. Mr. Dell is a gar¬ 
dener of the old school, and I believe he- s-aid it was forty 
Litchee (Nephelium Litchi). Reduced about one-third 
BELOW - NATUKAL SIZE. 
years since he left Kew, but, unlike many of his school, he 
keeps pace- with the horticultural fashions of the day, and wher¬ 
ever the. popular mixed bedding and informal borders can be 
adopted they are. One’s sen-s-es are not shocked by such in¬ 
congruities as wild gardens surrounded by formal architecture, 
lor where the surroundings a-re formal w r e find the old carpet 
beds and ribbon, borders, and in spite- of the cold season the 
beds- are in their style magnificent. Near the pavilion in the 
Jep-hson Gardens the style adopted is chiefly sub-tropical, and 
a-s there is- a good winter accommodation the; Palms and Dra¬ 
caenas, are very fine specimens-. The- decorative worth of the 
Zeas are we-ll demonstrated. When, mixed with huge Ficus 
eiastica, Fuchsia, standard Geraniums and Fuchsias, the effect 
is very pleasing. 
A very pretty effect is produced in several parts o-f the town 
by beds- o-f huge specimen, Zonals, with a, groundwork of Violas. 
Tho-se who have large beds- to- fill should adopt, the system of 
planting out, specimen, Zonals and Fuchsias ; standard Ivy-leaf 
Pelargoniums are another feature to be seen here. One seldom 
see® these gorgeous plants- grown in this way;’ as specimens 
