aking
signals from the terraced roofs, with a view of encouraging the
pigeons to attack the flock of some one else.... Every owner is
overjoyed in seeing his own pigeons the most dexterous in misleading
their opponents.'--Manucci, _Storia do Mogor_, i. 107 f.

[14] _Mugdar_.

[15] _Rohu_, a kind of carp, _Labeo rohita_.

[16] The use of the bow and arrow has now disappeared in northern India,
and survives only among some of the jungle tribes.

[17] A curious relic of the custom of cock-fighting at Lucknow survives in
the picture by Zoffany of the famous match between the Nawab
Asaf-ud-daula and Col. Mordaunt in 1786. The figures in the picture are
portraits of the celebrities at the Court of Oudh, whose names are
given by Smith, _Catalogue of British Mezzotint Portrait_, i. 273.

[18] _Bater, Coturnix communis_.

[19] Lucknow is now an important racing centre, and the Civil Service Cup
for ponies has been won several times by native gentlemen.

[20] The feather or curl is one of the most important marks. If it faces
towards the head, this is a horse to buy; if it points towards the
tail, it is a 'female snake' (_sampan_), a bad blemish, as is a
small star on the forehead. A curl at the bottom of the throat is very
lucky, and cancels other blemishes. A piebald horse or one with five
white points, a white face and four white stockings, is highly valued.
The European who understands the rules can often buy an 'unlucky'
horse at a bargain.

[21] _Dub, Cynodon Dactylon_.

[22] _Chadar._

[23] _Cicer arietinum_: the word comes from Port, _grao_, a grain.

[24] _Moth_, the aconite-leaved kidney-bean, _Phaseolus aconitifolius_.

[25] _Barsati_ from _barsat_, the rainy season; a pustular
eruption breaking out on the head and fore parts of the body.

[26] The Native gentleman's charger, with his trained paces, his
henna-stained crimson mane, tail, and fetlocks, is a picturesque sight
now less common than it used to be.

[27] _Chita_, the hunting leopard. _Felis jubata_.

[28] _Mahawat_, originally meaning 'a high officer'.

[29] This specially applies to the Jain ascetics, who keep a brush to
remove insects from their path, and cover their mouths with linen.

[30] A common piece of imitative magic: as the bird flies away it carries
the disease with it. The practice of releasing prisoners when the King
or a member of hi