223 



thrown out, but has not been able to keep alive. Irri- 

 gation is the obvious remedy for this, but then the fear 

 is generally felt that irrigation would bring on mildew. 



Soils. 



The soil that prevails is the black alluvial loam com- 

 monly known as " black cottoi\soil." It has all the well- 

 known characteristics that distinguish this soil wherever 

 it is met with the uncommon fertility, the tendency to 

 crack and sink into fissures and holes, which makes it very 

 dangerous for riding, the great powers of absorption, the 

 extreme muddiness and softness in rainy weather, and the 

 retentiveness of moisture. It is of varying depths, from 

 6 inches to 30 feet, and its average depth is probably 

 about 10 feet ; beneath it is found red gravelly clay, or 

 sand. The general name for it all over the district is 

 mar, or murriar, but in Rajwara it is usually called rabur. 

 Elsewhere rabur is considered a more clayey variety of 

 mar, quicker to dry, and apter to fissure, mostly found 

 in low bottoms. It is a stronger soil than average mar if it 

 gets water enough, but it dries so rapidly that, unless a 

 shower of rain falls during the ploughing, it is as hard as 

 a stone before sowing can be begun. The true mar 

 should be perfectly flat and level, free from stone or sand, 

 the water running off it by gently-sloping channels, 

 without denuding the land. Where it is undulating, the 

 action of water carries off the top-dressing of good soil, 

 leaving the gravelly clay exposed ; or else it cuts deep 

 channels down to these substrata, and spreads their 

 materials over the land. Hence the classification of every 

 description of soil depends on the degree in which it 

 departs from the standard, either undulation, stoniness, or 

 sandiness. If it lies in a hollow, it is called rabur. If it 



