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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
August  21,  1902. 
Lengeras,  and  Budays.  These  names  really  mean  four  large 
classes  of  fruit,  and  the  sub-varieties  of  each  are  endless.  I 
myself  collected  over  500  varieties  in  Durbhungah,  in  North- 
West  Bengal,  one  of  the  homes  of  the  Mango.  The  Budays 
are  of  all  shapes,  and  ripen  in  the  month  of  Bhadon,  the  fifth 
month  of  the  Hindu  year.  The  Budays  are  very  little  known, 
and  are  seldom  seen  in  the  bazaars.  One  of  the  best,  named 
“Fuzhe,”  can  be  bought  in  Calcutta  in  September,  sometimes 
at  about  8d.  each ;  it  is  a  large,  fine  fruit,  weighing  often  21b 
each.  Most  of  the  good  varieties  of  Budays  fetch  from  six 
to  ten  rupees  per  100  in  Durbhungah  Bazaar,  where  they  are 
plentiful. 
Some  of  the  terms  used  in  my  description  of  the  fruit  are 
curious.  “  Nak,”  or  nose,  is  the  native  name  for  the  point 
where  the  pistil  was  situated  on  the  young  fruit  when  it  was 
in  the  flower,  and  where  also  the  root  comes  out  of  the  seed. 
During  my  seven  years  sojourn  in  Tirhoot,  the  “Garden  of 
India,”  I  collected  all  the  finest  varieties  of  Mangos  in  India, 
most  cf  which  were  planted  in  the  Maharajah  of  Durbhungah’s 
grounds.  The  Mango  season  lasted  for  five  months.  We  had 
one  variety,  a  perpetual  bearer,  called  “  Baramassia,”  or  the 
“  Twelve  months  ”  Mango,  always  flowering  and  fruiting,  but 
it  was  of  very  inferior  quality. 
Mangos  in  damp,  wet  countries  grow  best  on  mounds. 
They  will  also  grow,  it  is  true,  in  a  swamp,  but  raised  ground 
well  drained  is  best.  In  dry,  hot  places  you  cannot  irrigate 
too  much  during  the  hot  months,  always  drying  them  up  for 
three  or  four  months  after  the  rains,  if  possible.  I  have  often 
seen  fruits  hanging  on  the  tree  with  a  roct  hanging  out  of  the 
fruit,  having  germinated  as  it  hung. 
Most  of  the  good  varieties  are  accidental  seedlings.  No 
attempt  has  been  made  in  the  selection  of  seeds,  except  in 
Durbhungah.  I  left  before  I  saw  the  results  of  experiments 
made  there,  and  am  afraid  no  one  oared  to  keep  up  the  experi¬ 
ments.  Akbar,  the  great  Mogul  Emperor,  and  his  generals 
did  a  great  deal  to  plant  India  with  Mangos.  So  says  an  old 
Mahcmedan  gentleman,  a  friend  of  mine.  There  remain  still 
near  Durbhungah  many  trees  of  what  is  called  the  “  Lac 
Bagh,”  or  the  garden  of  one  hundred  thousand  trees. 
Those  I  saw  were  4ft  to  5ft  in  diameter — immense  trees  45ft 
apart.  Akbar  reigned  1556-1605,  and  he  left  his  mark  in  Mango 
gardens  all  over  Northern  and  Central  India,  as  'well  as  on 
the  coins.  What  a  difference  this  to  the  temper  of  people 
nowadays !  Most  people  would  say :  “  What  is  the  use  of 
planting  trees?  I  shall  never  see  them  grow  up  and  fruit.” 
But  all  the  same,  they  are  thankful  for  these  lovely,  shady 
groves  Akbar  planted,  particularly  when  they  are  in  camp  on 
a  hot  day. — C.  Maries,  F.L.S.,  V.M.H.  (in  “Journal  of  the 
Royal  Horticultural  Society  ”). 
Notes  on  Conifers. 
I  have  given  in  previous  articles  a  short  description  of  the 
Conifers  that  are  known  to  me,  or,  rather,  those  which  I 
have  had  actual  experience  with.  I  should  now  like  to  make 
a  few  remarks  upon  planting.  We  have  a  long  season  in 
which  this  operation  may  be  performed,  viz.,  from  Septem¬ 
ber  to  April.  This  is  both  earlier  and  later  than  some  re¬ 
commend  ;  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the 
two  months  just  named  are  the  best  for  this  purpose  ;  but  so 
much  depends  upon  circumstances.  In  a  general  way,  how¬ 
ever,  from  early  in  October  to  the  end  of  March  is  a  very 
good  time,  and  this  will  give  us  half  the  year  in  which  we  may 
plant,  providing  the  weather  is  suitable. 
A  few  years  ago  I  transplanted  a  number  of  rather  large 
specimens  about  the  last  week  in  April,  it  being  very  warm 
-and  dry  at  the  time,  and  some  of  the  trees  had  to  remain  out 
of  the  groimd  a  day  or  two  ;  but  the  roots  were  carefully 
protected.  As  soon  as  they  were  planted  a  good  soaking  of 
wTater  was  applied,  and  several  times  subsequently,  with  the 
result  that  all  grew ;  they  are  now  healthy  specimens. 
Perhaps  it  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  majority  of  them  were 
good  trees  to  deal  with,  most  of  them  being  Retinosporas 
and  Cupressus  Lawsoniana  in  variety.  Where  it  is  simply 
a  case  of  planting  home  grown  trees,  the  operation  may  be 
safely  performed  all  through  the  month  of  April,  especially 
if  a  little  attention  is  paid  to  them  in  the  matter  of  watering. 
The  danger  of  late  planting  comes  in  when  the  plants  have 
to  come  from  the  nursery,  and  remain  several  days  perhaps 
out  of  the  ground,  and  the  roots  get  very  drv.  In  such  cases 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  dip  the  roots  in  water  before  planting,  j 
April  is  often  a  better  month  for  planting  than  March  ;  J 
during  the  latter  month  we  often  experience  very  cold  and. 
drying  winds.  This  is  very  unfavourable  weather,  not  only 
for  Conifers,  but  for  planting  in  general. 
Some  authorities  consider  autumn  the  best  season  to 
plant,  and  in  the  case  of  deciduous  hardwood  trees  I  have 
found  it  to  give  the  best  results.  With  Conifers,  however, 
I  have  had  equally,  if  not  better,  results  from  spring  plant¬ 
ing,  an  instance  of  which  has  already  been  mentioned.  One 
great  drawback  to  autumn  planting  is  that  the  soil  is  often 
very  dry  at  that  season.  It  has  been  notably  so  of  recent 
years  after  the  very  hot  and  dry  summer.  Some  two  years, 
ago  I  wanted  to  transplant  a  few  large  specimens  of  Retino- 
spora  plumosa,  but  found  the  soil  so  very  dry  that  the  work 
could  not  be  done  without  a  great  deal  of  labour.  Where  it. 
is  really  necessary  to  plant  under  such  conditions,  a  few 
good  soakings  of  water  should  be  given  the  trees  a  few  days, 
previous. 
Although  Conifers  may  be  planted  at  any  time  during  the- 
winter,  weather  permitting,  I  think  they  do  not  stand  so 
good  a  chance  as  those  planted  in  early  autumn,  or  in¬ 
spring.  In  the  former  case  the  soil  is  warm,  and  the  trees 
become  somewhat  established  before  the  cold  weather  sets 
in ;  whilst  those  planted  in  spring  will  also  be  safe  from 
severe  frosts.  When  planting  takes  place  in  winter,  and  is 
followed  by  a  long  spell  of  frosty  weather,  the  trees  are  often, 
much  injured,  and  sometimes  permanently  disfigured. 
After  it  is  decided  when  to  plant,  it  is  not  always  an  easy 
matter  to  arrange  where  to  plant.  The  difficulty  is  not  so 
great,  perhaps,  in  planting  single  specimens,  as  it  is  when 
a  border,  bed,  or  groups  have  to  be  taken  in  hand.  In  the 
latter  case,  much  care  and  forethought  are  needed,  or  very 
likely  when  the  trees  are  grown  up  and  require  thinning,  it 
will  be  rather  difficult  to  decide  which  to  remove.  A  little 
time  spent  in  preparing  a  plan  is  not  wasted,  and  will  often 
prevent  a  great  deal  of  bother  later  on.  When  planting  a 
border,  or  bed,  the  kind  of  trees  that  are  intended  to  occupy 
permanent  positions  should  be  decided  upon,  and  suitable 
positions  marked  out  to  receive  them.  When  these  are  put. 
in,  others  may  be  planted  amongst  them,  to  give  a  more 
furnished  appearance  to  the  bed.  Planted  in  this  manner, 
there  should  not  be  much  difficulty  experienced  when  thin¬ 
ning  out  requires  attention. 
Holes  large  enough  to  receive  the  trees  should  be  made, 
so  that  the  roots  may  be  laid  out  their  full  length,  and  not 
cramped  up,  or  turned  upwards,  as  is  sometimes  done  in 
planting  trees.  Very  often  most  of  the  roots  will  be  on  one 
side  of  the  stem,  especially  if  they  have  not  been  frequently 
transplanted.  When  this  is  so,  some  of  them  should  be  care¬ 
fully  brought  round  as  far  as  possible  without  injuring  them, 
so  that  the  tree  may  the  sooner  become  established.  It  is 
a  good  plan  to  put  the  strongest  roots  to  the  most  exposed 
side  ;  by  this  means  the  plant  will  be  better  able  to  stand 
against  the  strong  winds. 
In  planting  large  specimens,  it  will  often  be  found  neces¬ 
sary  to  stake  them,  especially  those  having  small  roots  in 
proportion  to  top  growth,  such  as  many  of  the  Pines  and 
Firs.  The  best  w'ay  to  do  this  is  to  drive  a  stake  well  down 
in  the  bottom  of  the  hole.  In  planting  put  the  stem  of  the 
tree  up  against  it,  and  secure  the  two  with  strong  tar  band. 
Some  protecting  material  should  be  put  between  the  stake 
and  the  stem.  The  former  need  not  be  more  than  2ft  or  3ft 
above  the  ground  line,  according  to  the  size  of  the  tree- 
There  is  nothing  unsightly  in  staking  trees  in  this  manner,, 
and  they  will  last  until  the  trees  become  firmly  established. 
A  good  watering  should  be  given,  especially  when  planting 
in  spring,  and  should  be  repeated  several  times,  according 
to  the  state  of  the  weather.  A  mulch  of  litter  or  lawn 
mowings  is  very  beneficial  during  the  summer,  although  it 
may  be  considered  untidy. — Pinus. 
The  Hops. 
The  Hep  crop  is  unsatisfactory,  and  the  prospects  grow  less 
and  less  reassuring  as  the  season  advances.  The  longer  the 
sunshine  and  genuine  warmth  are  deferred  the  poorer  become 
the  chances  of  a  full  and  valuable  crop.  The  cold  weather  in 
May  and  June  settled  the  fate  of  the  crop  so  far  as  the'  wreight 
of  the  yield  was  concerned.  The  hopes  of  the  growers  are  now' 
centred  on  the  quality  of  the  fruit,  but  present  appearances 
are  by  no  means  reassuring.  The  aphis  blight  has  also  con¬ 
tributed  to  make  the  situation  worse.  The  market  will  pro¬ 
bably  be  favourable  to  the  seller,  especially  if  the  Hops  are  of 
good  quality. 
