• SURVEY OF THE GANGES. _ , m 



Fanjur, or horse chesnut, is another ornameiit of this forest; and appears,. 

 at this season, io the greatest advantage, being, in full blossom. The 

 fruit of this tree is frequently worn by Fakirs y in strings, round the 

 neck ; it is given by the hill people to fatten cattle ; and the lower classes 

 sometimes make use of it as an article of food, by reducing the nut to 

 powder, and steeping it in water, till the bitter taste is in some measure 

 extrai^led. We observed here also several bushes of holly, which the 

 native call Kundal. The walnut trees were very abundant ; the fruit of 

 them had attained its full size, and the kernel had begun to acquire a con- 

 sistence. Al®ng the sides of the road, particularly in the vicinity of rivu- 

 lets, were great numbers of the Bamhu reed called Ringal. Some of 

 them grow to a tapering height, of thirty or thirty-five feet ; and are used 

 by the inhabitants, in the thatching of houses and for mats. 



The soil of these hills was various ; in some parts clayey, in others gra- 

 velly ; but in general, of a fine rich earth, producing plants and flowers, 

 too numerous to be minutely examined or described. We met with a 

 few plants of asparagus and wild lavender ; but the strawberries more 

 particularly engaged our attention. They were dispersed in large beds, 

 in the greatest profusion ; and the species found here differed from the 

 common kind, being much larger, strongly dimpled, and of a mottled 

 colour, white and red. The natives to the westward call the strawberry 

 Cap'kullta, but in these hills it is known by the name of Boinda. The 

 flavor of those we found to-day was very superior to any we had yet 

 tasted ; many of them fell little short of the Europe fruit. 



The Gurc'hdli Jemadar proved true to his word ; for in the evening 

 he arrived with all our baggage. 

 4th. Therm. 5<* Marched to Patihai, a large village, containing fifty 



