20 



within the boundaries of the Presidency. North 

 of the river Tapti are Gujerat (including 

 Kathiawar), Kutch and the isolated province of 

 Sind. 



The rainfall of the whole area is not even. 

 The monsoons which blow from the Arabian 

 Sea spend most of their strength in the Konkan 

 and on the Western Ghats, more so towards the 

 south. Thus the Deccan is robbed of a large 

 portion of its rain by the screen of the Ghats. 

 Sind, Gujerat and Kutch receive very little rain. 

 In consequence of this uneven distribution of 

 rainfall, the vegetation of the country is not 

 uniform. The last mentioned areas are semi- 

 desert and it would be too much to expect ferns 

 to grow here, though Adiantum caudatum L. 

 var. edgeworthii Bedd. has been recorded by 

 Lowe to occur in Sind. It is also possible that 

 Adiantum kmulatum Burm. which is common 

 throughout the rest of the Presidency, and the 

 cosmopolitan Adiantum capillus veneris L. 

 occur in Gujerat and Sind. 



In the Konkan and on the Ghats, as far 

 south as Mahableshwar, where the rainfall is 

 considerable, though not so great as in the 

 country to the south of this hill, are the 

 deciduous forests, whose trees shed their foliage 



