6 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 
In travelling northward through Jeypore to Delhi, then south- 
ward by way of Agra, Cawnpore, and Lucknow, to Benares, and 
finally westward to Bombay, I was frequently struck with the 
amount of uncultivated land, and with the absence of forests. 
India is so densely peopled, and so much of the population is 
engaged in agriculture, that one would naturally expect the whole 
country to be subjected to husbandry ; but, as a matter of fact, 
large tracts lie waste, probably for want of water; and at the 
time of my journey, which was the dry season, active cultivation 
seemed restricted within the limits of irrigation. I was interested 
in observing that the methods of raising water from wells for 
irrigation were mostly the same as in Egypt ; but one process was 
new to me. It consisted of a huge water-bag, made out of a 
bullock’s hide, lowered down by ropes and pulleys to the bottom 
of the well, then drawn up by two or four bullocks, and, by a 
simple arrangement of the pulleys, when the mouth of the bag 
comes to the surface, the bottom is pulled higher, so that the 
contents are emptied into the channels which convey the water 
to the desired points. 
In regard to forests, I rarely in my journey of 2,400 miles saw 
anything that we in Australia would call “bush.” There were 
some patches about Delhi, and also near the Nerbudda, between 
Jubbulpore and Bombay, where, however, the trees were very 
young ; and, lastly, on the picturesque ranges which are crossed 
before reaching Bombay. Solitary trees, often of great size and 
beauty, were not uncommon, and many villages were embowered 
in leafy groves. 
In regard to temperature, although it was the coolest time of 
the year (January), the thermometer sometimes got as high as 
95° in the shade. The nights were generally cold, and the daily 
range occasionally as much as 50°. We seldom had any wind, or 
not more than light airs; and as the sky was usually cloudless, 
the sun poured down its heat upon us without mitigation. 
This is not the place to enlarge upon the wonderful architecture 
of India, especially the old mosques and tombs of the Mogul 
