Feb. 1848. WILD PEACOCKS AND JUNGLE-FOWL. 31 



petuation of character under widely different circumstances, 

 for the crow of the wild jungle-fowl does not rival that of 

 the farm-yard cock. 



In the evening we left Dunwah for Barah (alt. 480 feet), 

 passing over very barren soil, covered with low jungle, the 

 original woods having apparently been cut for fuel. Our 

 elephant, a timid animal, came on a drove of camels in the 

 dark by the road-side, and in his alarm insisted on doing 

 battle, tearing through the thorny jungle, regardless of the 

 mahout, and still more of me : the uproar raised by the 

 camel -drivers was ridiculous, and the danger to my 

 barometer imminent. 



We proceeded on the 11th of February to Sheergotty, 

 where Mr. Williams and his camp were awaiting our 

 arrival. Wherever cultivation appeared the crops were 

 tolerably luxuriant, but a great deal of the country yielded 

 scarcely half-a-dozen kinds of plants to any ten square 

 yards of ground. The most prevalent were Carissa 

 carandas, Olax scandens, two Zizyplii, and the ever-present 

 Acacia Catechu. The climate is, however, warmer and 

 much moister, for I here observed dew to be formed, 

 which I afterwards found to be usual on the low grounds. 

 That its presence is due to the increased amount of vapour 

 in the atmosphere I shall prove : the amount of radiation, 

 as shown by the cooling of the earth and vegetation, being 

 the same in the elevated plain and lower levels.* 



The good soil was very richly cultivated with poppy 

 (which I had not seen before), sugar-cane, wheat, barley, 

 mustard, rape, and flax. At a distance a field of poppies 

 looks like a green lake, studded with white water-lilies. 

 The houses, too, are better, and have tiled roofs ; while, in 

 such situations, the road is lined with trees. 



* See Appendix, C. 



