Bullocks are often taken by them, but men seldom.

The sal (_alias_ sakhoo) trees are here stunted, gnarled, and ugly, while in the Tarae forest they are straight, lofty, and beautiful.

The reason is, that beyond the forest their leaves are stripped off and sold for _plates_.

They are carried to distant towns, and stored up for long periods, to form breakfast and dinner plates, and the people in the country use hardly anything else.
Plates are formed of them by sewing them together, when required; and they become as pliable as leather, even after being kept for a year or more, by having a little water sprinkled over them.

They are long, wide, and tough, and well suited to the purpose.