60 Dr Christie on the Agriculture, <§rc. of the 



nad and belwul lands are in many places intermixed, especially 

 towards the eastern border of the hilly tract, where the valleys 

 hS^Ve still a sufficient natural supply of water for rice-cultiva- 

 tion, and the adjoining high lands can be only cultivated with 

 dry crops. 



The belwul lands are farther subdivided into several differ- 

 ent kinds, two of which only require particular notice, viz. the 

 regur or yerree, and mussub or mussaree. The former is the 

 black cotton ground already described ; the latter includes all 

 those soils which have originated from the disintegration of the 

 neighbouring hills. It therefore differs most materially in dif- 

 ferent situations, and is sometimes called red ground from its 

 prevalent colour. 



The cotton ground, or regur soil, forms one of the most cu- 

 rious features in the physical geography of this part of India. 

 It has been already described in the geological part of this pa- 

 per, where it was shewn that, in all probability, it has origi- 

 nated from the disintegration of trap-rocks *. It varies in 

 depth from two or three to twenty or thirty feet, and even 

 more, and is of prodigious extent, covering all the great plains 

 in the Decan and Kandeish, some of those in Hydrabad, and 

 perhaps also in other parts of India. It is as remarkable for its 

 fertility as for its very great extent ; and a very curious circum- 

 stance is, that it is never allowed to lie fallow, and never re- 

 ceives the slightest manure. Even the stems of the cotton plant 

 are not allowed to remain on it, being employed for making 

 baskets, or used as fire-wood ; and farther, in all those parts of 

 the country where the cotton-ground is met with, there is so 



• I am indebted for the following report on the chemical nature of the 

 cotton ground, to Mr Reid, Lecturer on Chemistry, who was so kind as to 

 examine a portion of it. 



" Fuses readily before the blowpipe into a dark black slag. 



» In platina foil, it forms a lighter-coloured slag, having a greenish-grey 

 colour. 



" Fused into a solid mass in a large covered crucible placed in a furnace ; 

 a crust of oxide of iron gathered on its surface. 



" It consists of silica in a minute state of division, with portions of lime, 

 alumina, and oxide of iron. The proportion of vegetable and animal debris 

 appeared to be very small. Minute portions of the roots of vegetables were 

 seen on close inspection with the naked eye." 



