Feb. 1848. INDIAN OLIBANUM. 29 



the road side, so called from a detachment of infantry 

 having been attacked and decimated at the spot by that 

 fell disease ; it is covered with inscriptions and votive 

 tokens in the shape of rags, &c. We continued to ascend 

 to 1360 feet, where I came upon a small forest of the 

 Indian Olibanum (Boswellia thirifera), conspicuous from 

 its pale bark, and spreading curved branches, leafy at their 

 tips ; its general appearance is a good deal like that of the 

 mountain ash. The gum, celebrated throughout the East, 

 was flowing abundantly from the trunk, very fragrant and 

 transparent. The ground was dry, sterile, and rocky ; 

 kunker, the curious formation mentioned at p. 12, appears 

 in the alluvium, which I had not elsewhere seen at this 

 elevation. 



Descending to the village of Burshoot, we lost sight of 

 the Bosivellia, and came upon a magnificent tope of mango, 

 banyan, and peepul, so far superior to anything hitherto 

 met with, that we were glad to choose such a pleasant 

 halting-place for breakfast. There are a few lofty fan- 

 palms here too, great rarities in this soil and elevation : 

 one, about eighty feet high, towered above some wretched 

 hovels, displaying the curious proportions of this tribe of 

 palms : first, a short cone, tapering to one-third the height 

 of the stem, the trunk then swelling to two-thirds, and 

 again tapering to the crown. Beyond this, the country 

 again ascends to Burree (alt. 1169 feet), another dawk 

 bungalow, a barren place, which we left on the following 

 morning. 



So little was there to observe, that I again amused 

 myself by watching footsteps, the precision of which in the 

 sandy soil was curious. Looking down from the elephant, 

 I was interested by seeing them all in relief, instead of 

 depressed, the slanting rays of the sun in front producing 



