224 SOILS OF INDIA. 



Calder, Govan, and others. To such as have no opportu- 

 nity of consulting the memoirs and works of these natural- 

 ists the following short view of the geology of India may 

 not be unprofitable. 



1. SOILS OF INDIA. 



The soil of India, as that of other countries, is formed 

 principally by the action of the atmosphere on rocks, and 

 dead animal and vegetable matter; the broken down or 

 disintegrated rocks mixed in various proportions with de- 

 caying organic substances, giving rise to the different spe- 

 cies of soil. These soils have particular names in different 

 parts of the country, and in many instances the distinctions 

 are not without their practical utility. We cannot attempt 

 to give a detailed view of this subject, even were it required 

 in a work of this description ; what we consider necessary 

 we shall therefore include under the following heads : — 1 . 

 Soil of Bengal. 2. Cotton ground or regur soil. 3. Mu- 

 saree soil. 4. Nitre or saltpetre soil or ground. 5. Soda 

 soil or ground. 6. Salt soil or ground. 



1. Soil of Bengal. — There is no rock of any kind on the 

 banks of the Hoogley, nor do we meet with any after en- 

 tering on the principal stream of the Ganges, until we 

 approach the province of Bahar. The'whole country seems 

 to consist of a mixture of clay and sand, in such proportions 

 as to form a compound well adapted for the purposes of 

 vegetation, and conducing in no small degree to that fer- 

 tility for which the plains of Bengal are so celebrated. 

 Disseminated scales of mica often give to this soil a. glim- 

 mering appearance, and when mingled in minute grains 

 with the sand, more or less prevalent on the banks of the 

 river during its whole course, they impart a brilliant lustre 

 to the extensive plains. Strata of sand of various colours 

 are frequently observed lying over each other ; these seem 

 to have been formed in successive seasons ; above them is 

 a mixed soil, or sand approaching to soil. When not des- 

 titute of herbage the surface bears a coarse grass or reeds. 



On the Fertilizing Principle of the Inundations of the 

 Hoogley,— It is generally supposed that the fertilizing prin- 

 ciple of the inundations of the great tropical rivers is vege- 

 table matter in various states of decomposition. The fol- 

 lowing details in regard to the silt of the Hoogley are at 



