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 408 SUL Natural productions: vegetable.-Of woods and forests though none now remain, tradition tells of the existence within the last sixty years. One large tract of dense jungle, it is said, extended in an unbroken stretch from the residence of the Rája of Amethi quite up to the provincial road to Lucknow, and the Bhadaiyán jungle, also, which even after the mutiny covered more than a thousand acres, is said to have been the remains of an extensive wood, patches of which are still to be found in villages far removed from Bhadaiyán. The only tree-covered tracts of spontaneous growth at the present day are dhák jungles. These, however, cannot be called forests of which they lack the stateliness and density ; seen in the twilight at the season of the year their leaves are gathered for fuel, their crooked trunks and branches present the appearance of a number of gaunt weird figures in all sorts of grotesque and fantastic attitudes. The absence of forest scarcely furnishes matter for regret. If they have come under the axe, it is because it is more profitable to cultivate the land they occupied; and a satisfactory substitute for them, devoid of their unhealthiness, is to be found in the large and noble groves with which the district is plentifully studded. Two or three well known single groves are over fifteen acres in extent, and elsewhere separately planted ones combine to fill an area of more than half that size. The trees most in favour for groves are the mango, the jámun, and the mahua, interspersed now and then, especially near village sites, with an áonla, gúlar, or kathal; the mahua is also often found alone or in clumps of two or three in open spots, as are the bel, the kaitha, and the nim. Grand old solitary trees of immense magnitude, the banyan, the pákar and the pípal, planted perhaps in the days of Bliar supre- macy, here and there form a prominent feature in a village landscape; and the cotton tree and the dhák are at one season of the year rendered con- spicuous for a long distancc round by the brilliancy of their profuse and gaudy blossoms. The tamarind and the palm which affect damp and feverish localities are comparatively rare in the district; such as there are lie principally near old Muhammadan qasbas. The babúl is common everywhere. The sissoo and the tun, though they seem to thrive with very moderate care, are only found in the civil station and in road-side avenues planted from nurseries at that place. The asok, the teak, and the Millingtonia are of recent introduction, and must, with regará to this dis- trict, be at present considered garden trees. A teak raised from seed sown a few years ago is now eighteen feet in height, and has a fine straight stem, with a girth at its thickest part of eighteen inches. It is already valuable for its handsome foliage, but, as it takes from sixty to eighty years to come to maturity, it will be time enough two or three generations hence to base an opinion on it as to whether trees of its class could be profitably grown in this climate for their timber. Of horticultural produce a great variety is to be found in the public gardens at Sultanpur, and also in many private ones. Most sorts of European vegetables will thrive in the cold season, though fresh sced requires to be imported annually for them; the cabbage, cauliflower, beet-root, carrot, and tomato reach great perfection ; the artichoke, asparagus, and celery, the pea and various sorts of beans, though inferior to the former, are still of a very fair quality; brocoli and Brussels sprouts have been found to succeed