Abstract

The hot season has commenced in earnest with the maximum tempera- ture going up to 99 degrees. The air is laden with dust and the grasses and weeds of the roadside have dried up. Water in the well has gone. deep and the atmosphere is languid. The weary pedestrian lays his heavy load on the bear-weight and crows above are silent on the Tamarind branches". Tobacco and wheat were harvested some time ago and cotton is picking. The Cactus blooms and the Mexican thistle has its erect cap- sules full waiting to be delivered by the wind. With the demon of drought in the soil beneath and in the atmosphere above, the tree flora presents a mixed and unique aspect which is worth recording. The Evergreens.-Best known of the evergreens is: the mango which is in an advanced stage of flowering and the "fruits are secretly filled with sweet juice". The Nim reigns in splendour as if defying drought and wastes its complete flowers. The hardy Morinda blooms in the night. and pervades its fragrance till morning. Stately Polyalthia puts forth its bunches of flowers in the branches amidst luxuriant and wavy leaves and both Sirish and Rain tree flower extravagantly carrying loads of old fruits, leaves and flowers. Pongamia shows a similar tendency and Peltophorum flowers and fruits in an irregular and inconsistent manner throughout the year. The fruiting season is over in Tamarind and Cassia which undergo periods of rest and the Portia sheds its hollow fruits and buds

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