THE TRAVELLER’S PALM.
Some cows and a buffalo are beneath a pīpal tree in the park. On the bank is the sarput, or sirkī, high jungle-grass that often rises to the height of sixteen feet; the bloom waves gracefully, bending to the wind, and elegantly recovers its position.
The next is the castor-oil plant (ricinus communis), much cultivated in Bengal; the oil extracted from the seeds being used medicinally, as well as for burning in lamps.
The tree with the broad and singular leaves is called the Traveller’s Palm: if a knife is stuck into the stem a pure water gushes out. It grows in the most sandy tracts where no water is to be found; hence it is called the Traveller’s Palm. Dr. Wallich mentioned this circumstance, and at the same time he struck his knife into the tree, of which the one before you is a portrait.
The cart is the common hackerī of the country, and the natives belonging to it are asleep beneath it; a chadda, or cloth, is drawn over their heads to protect them from the musquitoes, and their slippers are laid on one side.
The Muhammadan Fakīr, a religious mendicant, in front of the group, is a picturesque personage; he wanders over the country, and supports himself on alms.