Abstract This article investigates the entanglement of knowledge regarding vegetable gardening in early colonial Bengal through the prism of the yearly vegetable exhibitions organized in Calcutta by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India (AHSI, founded in 1820). The European members of the society thought that there were not enough vegetables grown in Bengal and that the commonly eaten vegetables were nutritionally inadequate. In order to ‘improve’ local vegetable cultivation, the society held a yearly exhibition in which Bengali gardeners received prizes for growing new vegetables, such as cauliflower and cabbage. To supply these exhibitions, the society ordered large shipments of seeds and then distributed them to malis (Bengali gardeners) around Calcutta. In the 1830s they extended this practice to their satellite societies across India. The end result was an increase in the cultivation of these vegetables, and eventually their absorption into local cuisine. Yet, Bengali gardeners continued to bring other vegetables to the exhibitions which were not from the AHSI seed. Eventually, the society’s officers reacted to these unsolicited contributions by including awards for them. However, many members were anxious and unsure about these changes, constantly trying to make the vegetable exhibitions mimic the vegetable market at Covent Garden in London. In order to contain the changing exhibitions, they reiterated a divide between ‘native’ and ‘foreign’ vegetables by holding separate exhibitions for each. As such, this article reformulates the idea of mimicry, focusing more strongly on British ambivalence and anxiety as they tried to reiterate colonial boundaries with mixed success.

中文翻译：

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加尔各答市政厅还是考文特花园？殖民园艺知识、模仿及其不满

摘要 本文通过印度农业和园艺学会（AHSI，成立于 1820 年）在加尔各答举办的年度蔬菜展览的棱镜，调查了早期殖民孟加拉关于蔬菜园艺知识的纠缠。该协会的欧洲成员认为孟加拉没有足够的蔬菜种植，普遍食用的蔬菜营养不足。为了“改善”当地蔬菜种植，该协会每年举办一次展览，孟加拉园丁因种植花椰菜和卷心菜等新蔬菜而获奖。为了提供这些展览，该协会订购了大量种子，然后将它们分发给加尔各答周围的马里斯（孟加拉园丁）。在 1830 年代，他们将这种做法扩展到印度各地的卫星社会。最终结果是增加了这些蔬菜的种植，并最终将它们吸收到当地美食中。然而，孟加拉园丁继续将其他蔬菜带到展览中，这些蔬菜不是来自 AHSI 种子。最终，该协会的官员对这些不请自来的捐款做出了反应，包括对他们的奖励。然而，许多成员对这些变化感到焦虑和不确定，不断试图使蔬菜展览模仿伦敦考文特花园的蔬菜市场。为了遏制不断变化的展览，他们通过为每种蔬菜举办单独的展览来重申“本地”和“外国”蔬菜之间的区别。因此，本文重新阐述了模仿的概念，