226 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



power of the naked and baked earth is so great that 

 not a condensed drop will settle upon it, or a trace of 

 moisture be found. From this cause dew may be seen 

 early in the morning spangling the verdant lawn when 

 there is no humidity whatever upon the gravel walk 5 

 and upon a burnt-up heath, any plant which may 

 have preserved its greenness, will attract moisture, 

 when the withered grass continues perfectly dry. The 

 pulses which are sown in the rainless parts of India 

 not only preserve themselves, but often aid in pre- 

 serving millet and other small grain with which they 

 are mixed. When the Hindu, in his simple hus- 

 bandry, sows several kinds of seed on the same land, 

 he does not therefore give a proof of his ignorance of 

 the art. There is in it a little of the schooling of ex- 

 perience the practical knowledge of the climate with 

 which he has to deal. He sows his small grain in 

 order that he may have a good crop if the season 

 should send him rain ; and he at the same time sows 

 pulse in order that he may not only reap pulse in the 

 event of a drought, but that he may even then perhaps 

 obtain with it a little accompanying grain. 



