MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 561 
or two tanks with sufficient duck on to amuse one, but in no great quantities ; 
nukta, red-crested pochard (/. rufina), and ganganey teal are what I have 
bagged. ) 
Peacock in suitable places are in fair numbers. I have seen and shot a few 
painted partridges and two florican ; there are no grey partridges. I was told 
that there was no quail in the district, but the common quail at all events 
this year is generally distributed ; Ihave also shot a rain quail or two, and some 
small quail which I did not identify ; the crop of the country is rice ; when 
that is cut, except here and there, where there is an odd patch or two of 
irrigated cultivation, the fields remain bare ; so the only place to find quail is 
in the grassy “ bands” between the rice fields. This is taken advantage of by 
the native bird-catcher who walks along the “ bands” with a large oblong 
net over his head, beating the grass as he goes along. As regards species of 
water-birds which I saw, I could count them on my fingers, probably on one 
hand ; even the common pied kingfisher was scarce. Hurrial are generally to 
be found about villages, and the common grey hornbill, locally called danéis, 
_ is not uncommon ; both make a welcome addition to the bill of fare. I saw 
five wild pigeons near Bosna ; in fact it seems to me that I am better situated 
as far as ornithology and entomology are concerned in Sambalpur than in 
Raipur, but as I have seen so very little of the former, I can say nothing 
for certain. 
Before I came out I received a commission to catch pretty butterflies, but I 
have seen none but the commonest kinds; but as none have English names and 
my Indian nomenclature has lapsed, I can say no more, 
I have mentioned before that the principal crop is rice; here and there, 
however, there is a small crop of sugarcane of indifferent growth, some few 
patches of miserable-looking castor oil, a field or two of wretched cotton and 
gram, and a fair amount of bad “ till’ ; on the other hand the linseed does not 
look at all bad, I was desirous of photographing some Indian crops as they 
stood in the field. I have not seen anything worthy of exposing a plate on 
(I do not allude to rice). 
The jungles seem composed for the most part of various more or less useless 
timber, principally saj. I have often, on the march through jungle, asked 
my shikari the name and use of every sort of tree I passed, and the reply to 
the latter query was in nearly every case “ Of no use.” My other botanical 
observations were principally practical. Various villages have weekly their 
market-days or bazaar-days; at most of them tomatoes, brinjals, a green 
equivalent to spinach, onions, etc., can be obtained. A most important 
discovery I made at Bosna (Sambalpur road) is that potatoes can be obtained 
in quantity ; they are brought from Raipur. I find native tobacco—the dark 
and mild sort—very good when smoked in a leaf-pipe after the native fashion ; 
the light-coloured leaf is too strong. 
