sed to treat all their guests with
uniform courtesy, though it was hardly possible not to make an exception in
favor of Sir Modava.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have to admit that, with the limitations the
excellent commander has put upon me, there is force in what he said about
the dryness of the subject. I delight in botany; and it will not be my
fault that I fail to interest you, especially the ladies, who are always
and everywhere fond of flowers. But I bow to the mandate of the supreme
authority here, and will do the best I can with the broad topic with which
I am to struggle. But I will do you the justice to believe that you all
want to know something more about the fauna of India.

"I have to observe in the first place that almost one-half of this great
region is tropical, though not a square foot of it is within three hundred
and fifty miles of the equator. In the Himalaya Mountains we have regions
of perpetual snow; and in the country south of them it is more than
temperate; it is cold in its season. You can see for yourselves that in a
territory extending from the island paradise of Ceylon to the frozen
regions of the highest mountain in the world, we have every variety of
climate, and consequently about every production that grows on the surface
of the earth.

"Our tropical productions are not quite equal to those that grow on the
equator. The coffee, sugar, tobacco, and spices are somewhat inferior to
those of Java, Sumatra, and Celebes. Rice is the staple food of the common
people, and has been raised from prehistoric periods. Maize, which I
believe you Americans call Indian corn"--

"Simply corn, if you please," interposed the commander.

"But corn covers grain of all kinds," suggested the doctor.

"Not with us; we call each grain by its own name, and never include them
under the name of corn. It is simply the fashion of the country; and if you
spoke of corn in Chicago, it would mean maize to the people who heard you."

"I shall know how to speak to an American audience on this subject
hereafter; but _corn_ and millet are raised for the food of some of
the animals. Oilseeds, as flax for linseed, are largely exported. The
cultivation of wheat has been greatly improved, and all the grains are
raised. In the Himalayas, on the borders of China, teas are grown under
European direction; and you will excuse me if I suggest that they are
better than those of 'the central flowery nation.' Dye-stuffs, indigo, and