Klemcnt in the luitina of India. 281 



over, on several isc^Iated hill j^roupa in Southern India, the 

 number of reprrsintative t'orni.s apparently (liniini.sliiii;^ j[^ra- 

 dually to the northward. The be8t-kn(j\vn of the.se groups i.s 

 that of the Shevrny hills, near Salem. The plains of the 

 Caruatie from the Krishna (Kistna) river to ('ape Coniijrin 

 are ineluded in this region by .Mr, Wallaee; but in this he is 

 certainly in error; and he has, I think, been niisled by incorrect 

 localities for some typical forms, such as the Uropeltidai *. 



4. The Kastern-lJengal province. This is limited on the 

 west by a line drawn northwards from the head of the Bay 

 of Bengal. Calcutta is just on the edge, and jjerhaps rather 

 within than without it. It Ixdongs to Mr. AV allaee's Indo- 

 Chinese subregion, the limit of which 1 should be inclined to 

 draw a little further to the westward than he does. This, 

 however, is a trifling detail. 



I further subdivided the Indian province into subprovinces, 

 as below : — 



a. Gangetic suLprovince or Hindustan f, extending south 

 as far as the Xerbudda, in its eastern ])ortion comprising 

 only the valley of the Son and the Gangetic plain as far east 

 .IS Benares. 



b. Deccan subprovince — from the Xerbudda to the Krishna, 

 bounded on the west by a line drawn a little east of tiie crest 

 of the Western Ghats or Syahadri range, and on the east by a 

 line drawMi nearly north and south a little east of X'llgpiir. 



r. Bengal subprovince — bounded by the last on the west, 

 and extending as far south as the Goddvari. 



d. Madras subprovince — all the peninsula south of the 

 Krishna river and to the eastward south of the Godavari, 

 and east of the Xilgiri and other hills belonging to the range 

 of the Westci'n Ghats. The upper portions of some small 

 isolated hill-ranges, however, such as the Shevroys and 

 Kolamullies, have a Malabar fauna. This Madras sub- 

 province also includes Xorthern Ceylon. 



My provinces correspond to Mr. Wallace's subregions. The 

 accompanying small maj) (j). 282) shows the approximate limits 

 of the provinces and subprovinces. It is as well, since I have 

 evidently been misunderstood, to say that the subdivision 

 proposed refers solely to the Indian peninsula. The Eastern- 



• This family of snakes is entirely confined to the province or sub- 

 region I have defined. Colonel Itetfdnnie, by fur the nest authority on 

 South-Indian Kentilin, has pointed out that no L'ropcltida? are ever found 

 in the plains of the Madras I'residency, except on the west coajjt. 



t I pointed out that by natives of India this term is applied to the 

 rpj>er (lanpetic plain, and not, as it is by European geographers, to the 

 whole of India. 



