THE FLORA OF THE INDIAN DESERT. 5U) 



and among other crops. Originally cultivated, it has now completely established 

 itself, and requires no care whatever, preferring however a sandy soil. It is 

 public property, every traveller being allowed to partake of the "^cooiing fruit 

 to his heart's content, and it is indeed very refreshing after a hot camel ride. 

 Several other cultivated members of the Cucurbit ace-e seem to establish them- 

 selves in the fields, and thrive without being further cared for. 



Sesamum indicum, a plant much cultivated in the region (for oil), seems to 

 persist in and spread from a field on which it has been grown. The plant was 

 not observed in the vicinity of the larger towns. We noted it often attacked by a 

 kind of spike-disease. 



In the village of Phalodi, we observed two huge specimens of Tamarix oriev 

 talis, evidently planted, with stems perhaps a yard in diameter. Other tree< 

 were seen outside the village. A number of small shrubs and seedlings of this 

 species occurred in the neighbourhood of the parent plants, and appeared to 

 thrive well on sandy ground. 



* * * * 



Those interested in the agriculture of our region and matters connected 

 therewith are referred to : K. D. Erskine, The Western Rajputana States Resi- 

 dency and The Bikaner Agency (Rajputana Gazetteers, Vol. III-A.). The com- 

 monest crops observed by us on our route were : the grasses Pennisetum typhoi- 

 deum (bajra) and Andropogon sorghum (jowar) ; the pulses Phaseolus aconiti- 

 folius, Phaseolus mungo var. roxburghii, Cyamopsis psoralioides. Sesamum 

 indicum and Citrullus vulgaris have already been mentioned as common escapes. 



Among the trees cultivated in and round villages we note Prosopis spicigera 

 (which when growing near water sometimes looses its spines and becomes quite 

 a fine tree), Ficus bengalensis and Ficus religiosa, Zizyphus jujuba, Azadirachta 

 indica, Poinciana elata, Mangijera indica. 



In the irrigated gardens near the principal towns, such as Balsamand (close 

 to the edge of the rocky plateau near Jodhpur), Bada Bag (in a rocky depression 

 in the Jaisalmer plateau, Plate XI), and Amarsagar (near Jaisalmer, Plate 

 XII-B.) are to be found most of the trees, shrubs and herbs commonly cultivated 

 in Western India. 



