52 A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER, is a fine shining green ; and the pendulous strings of flowers surpass 
those of the Laburnum , not only in beauty, but in length and num- 
ber. In the cool of the morning they diffuse a most agreeable per- 
fume. The plant is sacred to Ganeswara , the god that is addressed 
by all those who are about to commence any undertaking ; as 
he is considered to be the Power that hinders or stops all human 
efforts, in the same manner as his father Iswara is the Power that 
deprives all beings of life. The people here, instead of addressing 
themselves immediately to the god, worship him under the form 
of his favourite tree. At this season, the cultivators of every 
village place a stake of the Cacay in the ground, level a circular 
space round it, and purify this area with cow-dung. On this spot 
they assemble before the commencement of seed-time, burn some 
incense before the stake, make offerings of rice, milk, and the like, 
and pray that it will not prevent the success of their crops. The 
ceremony concludes with a rural feast. 
Tobacco. In both the upper and lower Carnatics , taking snuff is much more 
common than in Bengal : indeed, I have never been in a country 
where the custom was more prevalent. Smoking, on the contrary, 
is in great disrepute. The Hooka is totally unknown/ except among 
Mussulmans. The lower classes smoke Cheruts, or tobacco rolled 
up in a leaf ; but a Brahman would lose cast by such a practice, 
and it is not considered as becoming, even among the richer part 
of the Sit dr a tribe. 
Forests. 14th May. — I went to Chinapatam, or Chinapatana , through a very 
beautiful country, consisting of swelling grounds, in some places 
cultivated, and in many more covered with trees, which are inter- 
mixed with steep fantastic rocks and hills. The trees here are by 
far the finest that I have seen in either Carnatic , although they fall 
very short of the stately forests of Chittagong. In these woods the 
bamboo is common. It is nowin flower, and produces a great quan- 
tity of grain, which is gathered for food by the poor inhabitants of 
the neighbourhood. 
