Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057352).pdf/354

 346 SIT and is used at the Holi and at weddings for smearing the clothes of those who take part in those joyous festivals. A red dye is also obtained from a gum which the pípal yields, and from it the country red ink is made. The khajúr is the common date palm, and is useful in this part of India rather for its leaves than for its fruit, the former making good matting; its fruit is very small, and it yields a juice or tári just like that of the properly so called tári tree. 'The kachnár in the month of February is exceedingly pretty being one mass of lilac-coloured flowers; and these are not only pretty to the eye, but when cooked form a delicate vegetable for the table. The fruit of the koula is about the size of a small orange. The siras, of the genus acacia, is a small but graceful tree, with pretty leaves, and covered in the season with yellow flowers. The tamarind and baraboo are two well known to require any description here. The dhák mentioned above is known in other parts of India as the palás or parás, and from this word the village of Plassey, the scene of Clive's famous victory, takes its name. These are the trees of Sitapur. There are no forests to be met with as has already been stated: nor do we find the malıua tree which is so com- nion in the other parts of Oudh. This is very much to be regretted, as the profits arising from it are very considerable, and in bad seasons the zamindars and grove-holders would have something to fall back upon. In one district (Partabgarh), the area of which is only two-thirds that of Sitapur, the settlement officer has estimated the yearly value of the mahua crop at one lakh and a half of rupees, the flower being used in the distil- lation of spirit, the fruit as food for man, and when plentiful for beast; and the seed for oil. Uncultivated products.—The other uncultivated vegetable products of this district are the fibres obtained from the roots of the dhák, from the múnj and sarpat grass, and from the date palm already mentioned. Froni the múnj and sarpat a string is twisted which is woven into matting, and a coarse rope is made from the other two which is used for tying up cattle and such like purposes. Mud wells are often lined with a sort of cable made from the rús, a wild shrub, growing to the height of four or five feet. Wild animals.--The wild animals resemble those of Upper India gene- rally, and are the níl-gåe, the black buck, párha, gond, and other kinds of deer, the wild pig, fox, jackal, wolf, and hare. We meet with none of the larger carnivora, nor are wild elephants, rhiuoceroses, or wild buffaloes found anywhere within the district. There are a few wolves; no rewards are paid for killing snakes. In the river itself there are the different varieties of the Indian crocodile and river porpoise, and of course fish of many descriptions, but the hilsa, the Cekti, and the mahsir are not among them. " The following sporting particulars are given by Major Tweedie :- As a rule, on the plains in India game of all descriptions will generally be found inost abundantly in the neighbourhood of large rivers. The