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posed for three or four months to thunder, lightning, and rain. The 

 prophet, no doubt, alludes to it in that passage deploring the 

 desolation of Judea; "the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage 

 in a vineyard; as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers; as a be- 

 sieged city !" 



During these periodical rains, and for a few weeks after, the 

 aspect of the country is verdant and beautiful. At other seasons 

 the russet hue generally prevails; the autumnal tints, which give 

 so much beauty to the English woods and groves, are little known 

 in the torrid zone; but there is sufficient variety in the verdure of 

 the trees and plants to produce a pleasing contrast. In the Bhader- 

 poor purgunna are many noble burr-trees, extensive mango topes, 

 and abundance of the mowah (bassia butyracea). This is a valu- 

 able tree, indigenous to many parts of India, and particularly 

 flourishing in my districts; it attains the size of an English oak, 

 grows in almost any soil, and from the beauty of the foliage, makes 

 a conspicuous appearance in the landscape; its timber is very 

 desirable, from being proof againt the destructive teeth of the 

 termites; those formidable ants, it is said, are unable to eat it. 

 The leaves are large and shining; and the flowers, which grow in 

 full bunches, of so rich a nature, that when gathered and dried in 

 the sun, they resemble Malaga raisins in flavour and appearance. 

 These blossoms are ate in various ways, either as a preserved fruit, 

 or to give an acidity to curries and other savoury dishes; but their 

 greatest consumption is in the distillery of arrack, of which there are 

 many kinds, from rice, jaggaree, tari, and sugar: this, by way of 

 distinction, is called mowah-arrack, and is so strong and cheap a 

 spirit, that the lower class of natives drink it to great excess; its 



