INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 139 



however, afford only a very faint indication of the degree of 

 humidity. 



The vegetation of the plain of the Dekhan is not very dif- 

 ferent from that of Mysore. The flora is not extensive, the 

 great drought of the hot season being unfavourable to vege- 

 tation. The earliest collection of its plants was made by Co- 

 lonel Sykes, and is now in the possession of the Linnean So- 

 ciety. In Graham's Catalogue there is an enumeration of all 

 the plants known to him, and its flora has recently been ex- 

 plored by Dr. Gibson and Dr. Stocks. The green hilly tract 

 bordering upon the Concan, being more elevated, as well as 

 more humid than the remainder of the district, presents a 

 peculiar vegetation. Some of its plants are apparently con- 

 fined within very narrow limits, and are not known elsewhere 

 in India. 



7. Khandesh. 



This province occupies the lower part of the valley of the 

 Tapti river, and is enclosed on the north by the Satpura 

 range, a branch of the Vindhia, which has an elevation never 

 exceeding 2500 feet, and is often much lower. To the south, 

 the Ajanta range, separating Khandesh from the basin of the 

 Godavery and the district of Aurangabad in the Dekhan, is 

 even less elevated, rarely attaining so great an elevation as 

 1800 feet. To the east this province is separated by no very 

 definite boundary from the Ellichpur district of Berar. 



The valley of Khandesh is, in general, a level plain, rising 

 gently towards the mountains on both sides. Occasional flat- 

 topped hills are scattered over the surface, and the slopes of 

 the Ajanta and Satpura ranges are covered with dense jungle. 



The rainy season, in Khandesh, is the south-west monsoon, 

 commencing in June. The rains are heavy and long-continued, 

 but we have not been able to ascertain their exact amount, nor 

 have we any definite knowledge of the flora of the province. 



8. Berar. 



The province of Berar includes the districts of Ellichpur 



