a useful addition to the then scanty means of
the lower orders of the people. The flavour of the fruit itself differs so
much, that no description can be given of the taste of a mango--even the
fruit of one tree vary in their flavour. A tope (orchard) of mango-trees
is a little fortune to the possessor, and when in bloom a luxurious resort
to the lovers of Nature.

The melon is cultivated in fields with great ease and little labour, due
care always being taken to water the plants in their early growth. The
varieties are countless, but the kind most esteemed, and known only in the
Upper Provinces, are called chitlahs,[24] from their being spotted green
on a surface of bright yellow; the skin is smooth and of the thickness of
that of an apple; the fruit weighing from half-a-pound to three pounds.
The flavour may be compared to our finest peaches, partaking of the same
moist quality, and literally melting in the mouth.

The juice of the melon makes a delicious cider; I once tried the
experiment with success. The Natives being prohibited from the use of all
fermented liquors, I was induced by that consideration to be satisfied
with the one experiment; but with persons who are differently situated the
practice might be pursued with very little trouble, and a rich beverage
produced, much more healthy than the usual arrack that is now distilled,
to the deterioration of the health and morals of the several classes under
the British rule, who are prone to indulge in the exhilarating draughts of
fermented liquors.

At present my list of the indigenous vegetables of India must be short; so
great, however, is the variety in Hindoostaun, both in their quality and
properties, and so many are the benefits derived from their several uses
in this wonderful country, that at some future time I may be induced to
follow, with humility, in the path trodden by the more scientific
naturalists who have laboured to enrich the minds of mankind by their
researches.

The natives are herbalists in their medical practice. The properties of
minerals are chiefly studied with the view to become the lucky discoverer
of the means of transmuting metals; seldom with reference to their
medicinal qualities. Quicksilver, however, in its unchanged state, is
sometimes taken to renew the constitution.[25] One gentleman, whom I well
knew, commenced with a single grain, increasing the number progressively,
until his daily close was the contents of a large table-