[29] Papaiya, the papau tree, Carica papaya, has the curious
property of making meat tender, if placed near it.
[30] Madar, ak. The latter term is derived from Sanskrit arka,
'the sun', on account of the fiery colour of its flowers.
[31] The plant yields a silk cotton from the seeds and a rich white bass
fibre from the bark, both likely to be of commercial value (Watt, ii.
38 ff.)
[32] Used in equal proportions with black pepper, the fresh blossoms are a
useful and cheap remedy for asthma, hysteria, and epilepsy (ibid. ii.
44 ff).
[33] Sirki is the upper portion of the blossoming stem, and
sentha the lower portion of the reed grass Saccharum ciliare
(ibid. vi, part ii, 2.)
[34] Sarkanda is the Panjab name for the grass Saccharum
arundinaceum, but it is also applied to Saccharum ciliare in last
note (ibid. vi, part ii, 1 f.).
[35] Khaskhas, used for screens, is the root of the grass Andropogon muricatus (ibid. i, 245 ff.)
[36] Chhappar.
[37] This is true of the higher class Musalmans; but there were splendid gardens in the palaces of the Moghul Emperors: see C.M. Villiers Stuart, The Gardens of the Great Mughals, 1913.
[38] The subject of the flowering of the bamboo has been investigated by Sir G. Watt, who writes: 'A bamboo may not flower before it has attained a certain age, but its blossoming is not fixed so arbitrarily that it cannot be retarded or accelerated by climatic influences. It is an undoubted fact that the flowering of the bamboo is decided by causes which bring about famine, for the providential supply of food from this source has saved the lives of thousands of persons during several of the great famines of India.' Hence the provision of the edible seeds by the extension of bamboo cultivation has been recommended as a means of mitigating distress (Economic Dictionary, vol. i, 373 ff., 386).