185362.] CENTRAL TABLE-LAND : FIVE DISTRICTS. 247 



ground and produces a yellow flower, and a fruit of the size CHAP. 



of a small green chilly, which is gathered by the Natives . 



and used as food. I have never seen this root in any other, 

 except in the Black land. A species of wild Hyacinth is 

 also very common ; several other kinds of weeds common to 

 other soils are also produced upon Black soil. 



Geology and topography " The Black Cotton soil rests 346 

 chiefly upon sand, kunkur or lime. When excavations are 

 made for the purpose of obtaining water, it is found to ex- 

 tend 20 or 30 feet ; and when resting upon the lime, the 

 water found is brackish and unfit for domestic purposes ; 

 when resting upon sand the water is generally sweet. The 

 soil may be stated to range from two yards to 30 or 40 feet 

 deep. The district of Cuddapah is very mountainous. The 

 Black Cotton soil commences at a short distance from Cud- 

 dapah, and runs westward on the east side of the Nulla- 

 malah range on through the Bellary district. The plains 

 are undulating, and naturally well drained, the drainage 

 empties itself into small rivers, which again discharge 

 themselves chiefly into the Paupugny and the Pennar rivers. 

 One of these small rivers called the Khoondoo, which is fed by 

 the drainage from the Black lands is, in the hot weather, so 

 brackish as to be unfit for household purposes or irrigation. 

 And in some places the soil is so impregnated with salt 

 that the latter can be obtained by gathering it off the surface 

 of the land. This salt is required for agricultural stock, and 

 cannot be dispensed with. In the river beds, a species of slate 

 containing Pyrites of iron is procured, which is used both 

 in building and flooring houses. The height above the 

 level of the sea may be stated to range from 2,000 to 2,300 

 feet in this province. 



Climate. " The climate in the hot weather is very hot ; 347 

 and the Black soil becoming thoroughly heated, retains it 

 until it is cooled down by the rains. Slight showers may 



