TCD MS 10515 folio 41r
[April 28th 1916] trees and pomegranates thrive beneath the shelter of their branches. A typical stillness reigns in these luxuriant groves. In the silent evenings not a breath of wind stirs the branches; occasionally is heard the soft notes of the Bulbul, the low cooing of a dove or the shrill cry of a Kingfisher I do not know if an explanation has advanced to account for the distribution of the palms in a narrow belt along the margin of the river; for within that belt no palm tree grows, all is barren desert. At first I naturally thought that the grove was confined to the margin of the river and irrigation channels because the trees would there obtain a plentiful supply of water bt perculation through the soil. But later we found that within the wooded belt, where the sands were completely barren, the ground was im-