Fryer, John: A new account of East-India and Persia: in 8 letters being 9 years travels, begun 1672 and finished 1681 (London, 1698)

Hiflory os East-India. 187
And as solcmnly dividing the Night into as many Fores; h that Chap. VI.
Thirty two Ghongs and Four Pores make the Day , and as many fcrt#\ss
more the Night; in all Sixty four Ghongs and Eight Pores.
As our Year is divided by the Seasons of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Their Year
andWtnter; toevery which we allow a Quarter os a Year: Theirs ^iS!"10
also agree with their Seasons of Weather, but square not in respecT: (bnsT ""
of the Account of the Year, having Four Months for each Season;
but divide the Year into no more than Three Parts, viz.
New CoSa The Rains.
Ger Colla The Cold Season.
Deup Colla The Heats.
To every one of which they attribute Eight Constellations; are
skilled in the Sun's Cotirse through the Zodiac, have their wandring
and sixed Stars, and are exacl:in the Eclipses of the Two Inferior
Luminaries.
What has been Experienced in the particular Accounts, I must
confirm again in this general one, That the first Full Moon in May
brings the Rains, when it Rains a Fortnight only, and holds up till
the middle os June, in which times, Empyemas, Fluxes, Fevers of
all sorts ( except Pestilential) Hemorrhages, rage; aster the Rains
are sully settled, it grows Healthy. From the setling in of the
Rains till theFull Moon in Augusi, it Rains without intermission, after
which it clears up tor a Fortnight, and with little variation ( bating
the accidental Causes of its beginning earlier or later) it Rains all
September till the Elephant breaks up, the last Rainy Star: After
which is the Harvest for Rice, when it is gathered; and then just af-
ter the Rains they are most Sickly, the Sun exhaling Vapours, the
Earth grows Muddy and Stinking, though abundantly Productive :
From thence to the latter end of January commences the Cold Sea-
son, when their Bodies are Healthier, and a lovely Verdure Cloaths
the Earth j at the latter end of this they reap another Harvest with-
out extraordinary pains; all this time the Evenings are very ssiarp,
and at Sural I have seen an hoar Frost in the Morning. From Fe-
hruary the first, till the Rains set in, are the Heats, and in March the
Leafs fall off the Trees, yet always supplied with freQj, so that the
Trees are always Green, though the Grass and Fodder are quite
burnt up; and with difficulty, by the advantage of Aquiducts, a
lean Harvest is brought forth: The Peasants Morning and Evening
draw Water out of Wells by Bussalo's, or Oxen; or else by a
thwart Post poised with a sumcicnt weight at the extremity, laid
over one fixed in the Earth; the Water is drawn by a Bucket of Goats
Skins; others have Pans or Buckets of Leather hanging round about
a Wheel, some always in the Water, others rismg up, and at the
same time others pouring out as the Wheel turns round: And thus
are their best Gardens kept alive.
The Mountains here are one continued Ridge, dividing the Two Mountains*
Coasts each from other, and are all along called the Gaot; they run
North and South till they cross the Imaus,- and are the reason of some
difference of the Seasons, both in resped; of themselves and Low-
B b % Lands ;