196 HAUNTS AND HOBBIES 



so bright. In their colouring, however, they are sur- 

 passed by their brethren in the Himalaya, for the 

 parrots of the Himalaya, in addition to the green 

 plumage of their wings and body, have their necks 

 encircled by a crimson band. 



The country now looks extremely pretty. The 

 young wheat of the next spring harvest is just appear- 

 ing. For miles and miles the fields, hitherto bare and 

 brown, now display a surface of the freshest green. 

 Interspersed among them are plantations of cotton and 

 sugarcane, and occasionally patches of the taller rain 

 crops, which, though long ripe, for some reason or 

 other have been left still standing. These crops are 

 magnificent in appearance. They rise to a height of 

 nine or ten feet, and, their stems growing close together, 

 they form an impenetrable screen. A whole army 

 might conceal itself behind them. During the Mutiny 

 this actually occurred. 



A mutineer force lay hidden among these tall crops 

 for three whole days, and that within a mile of the fort 

 of Agra. Their presence was only discovered when 

 they opened fire and charged out on General Greathed's 

 column, which had encamped on the parade ground 

 close adjacent. 



The prettiest of the crops — I mean of those full 

 grown — are the sugarcane and the cotton plants. The 

 sugarcane, tall and green, resembles a patch of the 

 wildest jungle. A tiger might have his lair within it. 

 The cotton field, on the other hand, is the perfection 

 of neatness. The plants, straight and slim, of but 

 moderate height, with bushy crowns, might be walking 



