Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v3.c42.s2.t1.262

v3.c42.s2.t1.262

His Gardens.—If, as has been truly remarked, “that man deserves well of his country who makes a blade of grass grow where none grew before,”¹ what merit is due to him who made the choicest of nature’s products flourish where grass could not grow; who covered the bare rock around his capital with soil, and cultivated the exotics of Arabia, Ceylon, and the western Archipelago; who translated from the Indian Apennines (the mountains of Malabar) the coco-nut and palmyra; and thus refuted the assertion that [589] these trees could not flourish remote from the influence of a marine atmosphere? In his gardens were to be found the apples and quinces of Kabul, pomegranates from the famed stock of Kagla ka bagh² in the desert, oranges of every kind, scions of Agra and Sylhet, the amba of Mazagon, and the *champa-kela*,¹ or golden plantain, of the Deccan, besides the indigenous productions of Rajputana. Some of the wells for irrigating these gardens cost in blasting the rock thirty thousand rupees each; he hinted to his friends that they could not do better than follow his example, and a hint always sufficed. He would have obtained a prize from any horticultural society for his improvement of the wild *ber* (*jujube*), which by grafting he increased to the size of a small apple. In chemical science he had gained notoriety; his *itrs*, or essential oils of roses, jessamine, ketaki, and *keura*,² were far superior to any that could be purchased. There was no occasion to repair to the valley of Kashmir to witness the fabrication of its shawls; for the looms and the wool of that fairy region were transferred to Kotah, and the Kashmiri weaver plied the shuttle under Zalim’s own eye. But, as in the case of his lead-mines, he found that this branch of industry did not return even sixteen annas and a half for the rupee,³ the minimum profit at which he fixed his remuneration; so that after satisfying his curiosity, he abandoned the manufacture. His forges for swords and firearms had a high reputation, and his matchlocks rival those of Bundi, both in excellence and elaborate workmanship.