l of cultivation, chiefly however, of rice; some
sugarcane is visible, but it is of inferior quality, and evidently not
sufficiently watered. Sursoo is considerably cultivated. The river Noa
Nuddee is about seventy yards wide, with a stream of three miles an hour;
it is full of sand-banks and of quicksands, and is crossed with great
difficulty on elephants; by men it is easily fordable. The only shooting
about the place is Floriken, which are very abundant, ten or twelve being
seen in one day.

We left for Hazareegoung, a Bootea-Assam village to the north. We passed
through a similar open country not much cultivated, but overrun with
grassy vegetation. The path was of the ordinary description, and not
kept at all cleared: crossed a small stream twice, with a pebbly bed and
sub-rapids, a sure indication of approaching the hills. These, in their
lower portion, have a very barren appearance, but this may arise from the
cultivated patches: land-slips are of very frequent occurrence.

The grasses of the enormous plains, so prevalent every where in this
direction, are Kagaia, Megala, Vollookher, Saccharum spontaneum, this is
soft grass, and affords an excellent cover for game, Cymbopogon hirsutum,
which is more common than the C. arundinaceum, Erianthus, Airoides,
Rottboellia exaltata, Arundo, (?) Anatherum muricatum, Apluda, Trizania
cilearis, is common in the old rice khets.

Among these occur a tall Knoxia, Plectranthus sudyensis, and P.
uncinatus.

I observed Vareca, Grislea, about Dum Dummia. Elytrophorus is common in
rice khets.

Towards Hazareegoung we came on a high plain, covered principally with S.
spontaneum. Among this occurred Lactuioides, Premna herbacea, Grewia,
with here and there Pterygodium. I observe here Bootea bamboo baskets
made water-proof by caoutchouc; this is a practice much adopted by the
Booteas: and the trees are here. The large coloured stipulae are
peculiar to the young shoots cultivated, they are often a span long. The
young fruit is enveloped by three large coloured scales, which originate
from the annuliform base; this is hence a peduncle, not a bracte, as I
before supposed.

January 1st, 1838.--Halted.

_January 2nd_.--Marched to Ghoorgoung, a small village, eight miles
from Hazareegoung and nearly due north. We crossed similar grassy
tracts: the country gradually rising as we approached the hills.

Very little cultivation occurred. Crossed the Mutunga, now dry, but the