Chaitanya Nursery

Chaitanya Nursery a horticultural nursery established by Ishwar Chandra Guha in 1894 on an area of about 6.0 ha at Bosepara, Jamalpur. The nursery was named after his father Chaitanya Guha. In addition to being a traditional farm it was conceived as an experimental centre in which Guha attempted to introduce modern scientific agricultural methods, exotic crops, vegetables and flowers in local climatic conditions. Improved and high yielding varieties of potato, cabbage, cauliflower, and birnjal raised in the farm attracted wide attention. Guha also pioneered camphor cultivation in Bengal.

The exotic species which were tried to cultivate included sequa, azalia, Amazon lily, African oil palm, Japanese mulberry, cardamom, cinnamon, coffee, double coconut etc. The nursery once had several thousand species and varieties of plants. It opened its first branch in Dhaka at Tantibazar, where besides seeds, bulbs, cuttings, fresh flowers and bouquets, various fertilisers and medicines for cattle and poultry were available. In addition, the nursery used to offer assistance in garden-design and implementation. Until 1920, the business flourished, but after Isvar Guha's death in 1330 BS the business collapsed and the nursery was closed down. [Dwijen Sarma]