Or who would approve of giving dressed almonds to a cow?"
- Elliot, III. 33.
"Horses," says Athanasius Nikitin, "are fed on peas; also on Kicheri,
boiled with sugar and oil; early in the morning they get shishenivo."
This last word is a mystery. (India in the XVth Century, p. 10.)
"Rice is frequently given by natives to their horses to fatten them, and a
sheep's head occasionally to strengthen them." (Note by Dr. Caldwell.)
The sheep's head is peculiar to the Deccan, but ghee (boiled butter) is
given by natives to their horses, I believe, all over India. Even in the
stables of Akbar an imperial horse drew daily 2 lbs. of flour, 1-1/2 lb.
of sugar, and in winter 1/2 lb. of ghee! (Ain. Akb. 134.)
It is told of Sir John Malcolm that at an English table where he was
present, a brother officer from India had ventured to speak of the sheep's
head custom to an unbelieving audience. He appealed to Sir John, who only
shook his head deprecatingly. After dinner the unfortunate story-teller
remonstrated, but Sir John's answer was only, "My dear fellow, they took
you for one Munchausen; they would merely have taken me for another!"
NOTE 18. - The nature of the institution of the Temple dancing-girls seems
to have been scarcely understood by the Traveller.
