SOILS. 83 



close examination as it may yield prehistoric remains of man, if nothing 

 else. The tree stumps have a diameter of from 1| to 2 feet at base of 

 the bole which is broken off in all cases seen by me. The natives of the 

 place said the stumps were those of a tree called " Kanna Maram " which 

 I have not been able to identify. From the position of this submerged 

 forest two inferences may be drawn, either that there has been a depression 

 of the ground since the forest was in full growth, or (what is less likely) 

 that the trees grew in a hollow below sea level which was f omerly rather 

 inland, for trees of such size were not likely to have grown close to the sea. 

 South of the muddy bottomed creek which opens into the sea to the 

 north of the village is a very low bank of dark coloured clay, full of 

 Potamides and other littoral marine shells, in very excellent preserva- 

 tion. It is just raised above highwater mark. 



CHAPTER IX. 



SOILS. 



In most regions the soils forming the surface of the country are 



reckoned as amongst the youngest geological formations recognisable. 



In Tinnevelly, however, this is certainly not so as concerns one of the 



two principal varieties of soil, which variety (the red one) is distinctly 



older than some of the seolian or wind formed rocks. 



The two great groups into which the soils found in Tinnevelly and 



Two groups, red and Madura may be divided are the red and the black. 



^^^^^- Other varieties occur, but they may safely and 



conveniently be reckoned to one or other of the great sections. Of the 



two, the red soils are certainly the older section as will be shown in the 



next chapter. In point of extension the red soils occupy by far the 



the larger area, but the area of the black soils is also very large and very 



continuous in the southern parts of Madura and north-eastern parts of 



Tinnevelly. The south of Tirumangalam taluq and 

 The cotton soil area. 



south-west of Ramnad zemindari in Madura and 



( 83 ) 



