VALLEY OF THE SOANE. 119 
three months, by the preparation of 2401bs. of Catechu. The present 
was her second husband, an old man; by him she never had any 
children, and in this respect alone did the poor creature think herself 
very unfortunate, for her poverty she did not feel. Rent to the Rajah, 
tax to the police, and rates to the Brahminee priest, are all paid from 
an acre of land, yielding so wretched a crop of barley, that it more 
resembled a fallow-field than a harvest-field. All day long she is 
boiling down the catechu wood, cut into chips, and pouring the decoc- 
tion into large wooden troughs, where it is inspissated. 
This Zillah is famous for the quantity of Catechu its dry forests 
yield. "The plant is a little thorny tree (a dire enemy of mine), erect, 
and spreading a rounded coma of well-remembered prickly branches. 
Its wood is yellow, with a dark brick-red heart: it is most productive 
in January and useless in June. 
Feb. 27th.—Left for Hirrah, through a similar country to that 
passed yesterday. Rocks all highly inclined, often vertical, of ribbon- 
jasper, quartz, and hornstone. Monkeys, parrakeets, and hornbills, 
pigeons, owls, and flocks of peacocks were seen. Found a Leguminous 
tree, very like the Butea in every respect but its small white flowers 
(probably B. parviflora), looking as if snowed upon, a Gardenia (?) 
with large oval fruit, eaten by the natives, Phyllanthus Emblica, Kydia 
calycina, and the dwarf Phenix. 
- Feb. 28th.—Marched to icis the path leading first over hills with 
the bed of flinty rock projecting everywhere, to the utter ruin of our 
vehicles and the elephants' feet, and then over undulating hills of 
limestone. . On the latter found a tree of Cochlospermum; its curious 
fleshy branches spread out somewhat awkwardly, and each is tipped with 
a cluster of glorious golden-yellow blossoms, as large as the palm of the 
hand and very beautiful. I think Lindley is certainly right in referring 
it to Cistee: it is a tropical Gum-Cistus in features, produce, colour 
and texture of petals and their caducous frail nature. The bark 
abounds in a transparent gum, which the white ants seem fond of, for 
they have killed many trees here. At Kotah, a small village at the 
junetion of the Soane, beside a river of that name, we encamped, and 
experienced another furious dust-storm from the north-west. 
Scorpions appear very common here, they are of a small kind, an 
inch and a half long. We caught several under stones: one stung 
Mr. Theobald on the finger, the smart was like burning for an hour or 
two, and then ceased to be felt. 
