132 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



from the leaf ; and then, fortunately, it is only exhaled 

 when the leaves have been thoroughly wetted by a long- 

 continued fall of rain succeeding a period of dry 

 weather. I say fortunately because then, where the 

 tree is abundant, as it is about here, the atmosphere 

 over leagues and leagues of country is suffused with 

 a faint odour of onions. 



The leaf of the neem tree is remarkable, not only for 

 the odour which it exhales, but also for its small size 

 and its curious resemblance to the native saw ; it is 

 similarly curved and similarly notched : so exact is the 

 resemblance that, according to native belief, it was from 

 observing the neem leaf that the original carpenters 

 were led to the invention of the saw. 



The neem leaves when dried have an odour some- 

 thing resembling senna ; it is an odour which insects 

 of all kinds dislike extremely. These dried leaves are 

 consequently very much used to spread over shawls and 

 to place in valuable manuscripts to preserve them from 

 moths and book-worms. 



I will conclude this account of the scents of the 

 neem and the babool with a few words about that 

 queen of perfumes attar of roses. The rose from 

 which it is made grows about here in great perfection. 

 It is an ugly, ragged-looking rose ; but the scent is un- 

 equalled. It is always spoken of by the natives as the 

 " rose of the country " ; but I am not sure whether it is 

 really indigenous to India or if it was introduced by the 

 Mogul emperors from Persia. But whether the rose 

 is indigenous to India or not, it was in India that the 

 secret was discovered of extracting from it the attar. 



