134 DR. HOOKER'S MISSION TO INDIA. 
splintered quartz, of the Behar hills, drain off the superficial moisture; 
while the undulating surface allows of water-courses, and offers 
every facility for the removal of the alluvium. For these reasons, 
though the atmosphere may be equally dry in both places, the soil is 
far from being so ; witness the abundance of wells and tanks here, and 
their rarity in Behar. The copious effloresced salts of the latter 
country, which are indicative of gneiss in many parts of India, are an 
additional promoter of sterility. 
Upon soil and surface of this nature, I saw neither Catechu, Oliba- 
num, Butea, Diospyros, Terminalia, Dwarf Palm, nor any of the cha- 
racteristic plants of Behar, which had accompanied me from the Dunwah, 
through all countries where the rock was superficial, and irrespectively 
of the chemical nature of these rocks, whether primitive, volcanic, lime- 
stone, or sandstone: the vegetation rather resembled that of the flat 
banks of the Ganges, but too lofty for good trees of Peepul and Banyan, - 
or for the Banana and Sugar-cane to grow. The Acacia Arabica is 
common here, and I believe rare to the eastward of this meridian; for 
I saw little of it in Behar. It is a plant very partial to a dry climate, 
and indifferent, in a great measure, to the soil. Its distribution seems 
governed by the same laws as affect the camel, its constant companion 
over some thousands of leagues of longitude. Neither of them flourishes 
east of the Soane river (to the south of the Himalaya, at least), below 
the mouth of which, on descending the Ganges, a marked change in 
the humidity of the atmosphere is experienced. 
Mango, which is certainly the fruit of India, as the Pine-apple is of 
the Eastern Islands, and the Orange of the West, is now blossoming, and 
a superb sight it is. The young leaves are purplish-green, and form 8 
curious contrast to the deep lurid hue of the older foliage ; especially 
when the tree is (which often occurs) dimidiate, one half the blue, and 
the other the red series of colours; when in full blossom, all forms à 
mass of yellow, diffusing a fragrance rather too strong and peculiar to 
be pleasant. 
We passed a village, where a large fair was being held, and singularly 
familiar were its arrangements to my early associations. The women 
and children are the prime customers ; for the latter whirl-you-go-rounds, 
toys, and sweetmeats were destined ; to tempt the former, little booths 
of gay ornaments, patches for the forehead, ear-rings of quaint shapes, 
