The Garden Magazine, August, 1924 
411 
tury is also given by Chow Ta-Kouan: “From May to October it 
rains every day. After the summer solstice the fall of rain is so 
great that the waters rise seventy or eighty feet and cover the 
tops of big trees, while all the dwellers at the sides of the rivers 
retire to the mountains. Then from November to April the rain 
ceases entirely, the rivers permitting the passage of only small 
barks, and the deepest waters measuring not more than three to 
five feet. Thereupon the inhabitants return to the work in the 
field. 
The crops are ripened during the period of inundation, and the 
ground over which it extends is what they cultivate, and where 
they sow the seeds. In this they make use of no implements. 
. . . The Cambodians have one cereal which grows on low 
lands without sowing; though the water reaches ten feet in 
depth, this rises day by day along with it. They use no method 
of fertilizing their grain or herbs.” 
This extraordinary rise and fall of the waters affected the lake 
and the lowlands extending some twelve miles toward the 
temple, but this and the city were themselves above the flood 
and on somewhat sandy soil. 
Chow Ta-Kouan even tells us something of the flowers, trees, 
and vegetables which were cultivated in the garden. He 
wrote: “There are many species of trees that are odoriferous 
and beautiful, as well as an infinite number of flowers which 
grow in the water.” Among these was the Water-lily which 
bloomed in the first month. This was both white and deep red, 
and no doubt grew around the edges of the moat, and in the 
shallow ponds which were at the foot of the terrace at each side 
of the causeway. There was also the sacred Lotus which sprang 
up in abundance in almost every muddy shallow. Its rose- 
pink blossoms were held in great esteem as it was a much revered 
emblem of Buddhism. As such it frequently appears in the 
bas-reliefs and other ornaments of the palace and temple. As 
mentioned by Chow Ta-Kouan. the root and seeds of the Lily 
and Lotus were used for food. Another plant which spread 
everywhere over the ponds was the Water-hyacinth, but this 
was little considered, and was at times more troublesome than 
beautiful. 
Perhaps the most noticeable of the trees that grew on the 
lowlands was the Mangrove, which in the wet season was in such 
deep water that it was cut down for fire-wood and carried away 
in boats. Around the temple and city were Cocoanut and 
Arica Palms, Banyans, Bananas, and the Yam, all intertwined 
with masses of liana vines. There, too, were the Teak, the wood 
of which was used in carvings, the Flamboyant free whose 
naked trunk gleamed white from a distance. In the gardens, 
according to our Chinese authority, flourished Pomegranates, 
the Peach, Indian Fig, and Orange, while the Almond was 
in favor for shade as well as for its nuts. 
Among the vegetables of the kitchen garden, he says, were 
Onions, Mustard, Water-melons, Cucumbers, and Pumpkins. 
The flowers cultivated in the gardens seem to have included 
the Champec, notable for its sweet-scented flowers, the Hibiscus, 
and the Olea fragrans, much used for making garlands and for 
scenting drinking water and tea. There were also Oleanders, 
the sacred Convolvulus, which furnished a running motif for 
art, and the Moonflower, which opened at night. Orchids 
sprang in glorious profusion from the limbs of the trees, while 
the Grenadilla climbed in great masses up the trunks. 
ORCHIDS OF THE MALAY PENINSULA 
“Orchids sprang in glorious profusion from the limbs of the 
trees’’ in the gardens of Cambodia nearly eight centuries ago 
“while the Grenadilla climbed in great masses up the trunks’’ 
N OT long after the account by the Chinaman, Chow Ta- 
Kouan, the original inhabitants of Siam began to throw 
off the over-lordship of the Khmers, who were the builders of 
the city and temples. In the 14th Century the Thais or 
Siamese were victors in a series of wars, and more than once 
captured and pillaged Angkor Thom. Inability to defend the 
city in the 15th Century led the Khmer kings to abandon it for 
a new capital at Lovek. In the 16th Century, however, Lovek 
itself was overthrown by the Siamese, and the Khmers practi¬ 
cally passed out of existence. During that century the Portu¬ 
guese for a time had trading posts in Cambodia, as did the 
Dutch in the century following. But for the next hundred 
years Europeans were pretty well out of touch with the country, 
and the amazing ruins were well nigh forgotten. 
In the last few years, however, the French, who have a 
protectorate over the district, have begun to clear away the 
extraneous growths of vegetation in an attempt to reconstruct 
the temple, and even the city, as they were in the days of their 
glory. One factor which makes this easier, is that the Cam¬ 
bodians used no mortar, but fitted the stones so closely together 
that even to-day it is not difficult to locate their former position 
LETTUCE AND TOMATOES FOR WINTER 
Lettuce: Plant seed August 20th in the open. 
Transplant month later to greenhouse—space about 6} inches apart. 
Crop ready in five weeks, or 70 days from seed to table. 
Tomatoes: Plant seed August 5th. 
Transplant to 3-inch pots in 3 to 4 weeks. 
Transplant to greenhouse soil 3 weeks later. 
Ready for table about October 25th—plants continue to bear 
well into January. 
