Page:Life in India or Madras, the Neilgherries, and Calcutta.djvu/530

464 was walking around it, so that our paths would have just met. I stood still, however, and had a good opportunity to see him, as he did not notice me until within some twenty yards or so of where I stood; he then raised his head, and seeing a stranger, politely left me the open hillside, while he turned into a bit of wood close by. In form, he was full, round, and graceful, with a tawny coat beautifully covered with black spots. As his behaviour was so proper, I was pleased to have had a sight of an uncaged citizen of the jungle. Jackals are very numerous and bold, and make constant forays into the barn-yards. Porcupines also are troublesome, doing much mischief to the gardens.

The district through which we passed was, to a great degree, under culture, and many of the views were exceedingly pleasing. The peculiar rounded shape of most of the hills allow them to be ploughed from the base to the summit, and the village is usually placed on the sunny side, a little below the highest point. The kinds of grain most cultivated are wheat and barley, with others not known in America. The prince's-feather is grown for its seed, which is used for food. They sow in May, and reap in September; and, no sooner is the crop ga-