﻿NEWER 
  ALLUVIUM. 
  41 
  

  

  Geological 
  Survey 
  (No. 
  1 
  of 
  1870), 
  and 
  a 
  mere 
  recapitulation 
  will 
  therefore 
  

   suffice 
  here. 
  From 
  the 
  frontier 
  to 
  a 
  little 
  above 
  Pantanau, 
  this 
  deposit 
  

   follows 
  very 
  closely 
  the 
  existing 
  bed 
  of 
  the 
  river, 
  nowhere 
  attaining 
  a 
  

   greater 
  breadth 
  than 
  6 
  miles, 
  or 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  that. 
  

   Sixty 
  square 
  miles 
  was 
  what, 
  by 
  a 
  rough 
  calculation, 
  I 
  estimated 
  it 
  to 
  

   cover 
  in 
  the 
  above 
  distance. 
  At 
  Pantanau, 
  however, 
  occurs 
  a 
  remarkable 
  

   depression 
  along 
  the 
  channel 
  of 
  the 
  Irrawadi, 
  which 
  I 
  may 
  term 
  the 
  

   navel 
  of 
  the 
  delta. 
  This 
  patch 
  of 
  newer 
  alluvium, 
  which 
  evidently 
  

   occupies 
  a 
  silted-up 
  depression 
  in 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  older 
  alluvium, 
  covers 
  

   an 
  area 
  of 
  140 
  square 
  miles, 
  making 
  a 
  total 
  of 
  200 
  square 
  miles 
  occupied 
  

   by 
  the 
  newer 
  or 
  Irrawadi 
  alluvium, 
  which 
  I 
  shall 
  discuss 
  at 
  greater 
  

   length 
  presently, 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  older 
  deposit 
  universally 
  spread 
  

   over 
  the 
  province 
  outside 
  of 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  hills. 
  

  

  Regur. 
  — 
  The 
  term 
  c 
  regur' 
  has 
  been 
  adopted 
  by 
  Indian 
  writers 
  to 
  

   express 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  varieties 
  of 
  soil 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  India, 
  characterised 
  

   by 
  its 
  dark 
  color, 
  and 
  suitability 
  for 
  the 
  cultivation 
  of 
  cotton, 
  whence 
  it 
  is 
  

   also 
  called 
  the 
  c 
  cotton 
  soil/ 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  light 
  soil, 
  ranging 
  in 
  color 
  from 
  

   blackish 
  to 
  gray, 
  but 
  devoid 
  of 
  any 
  tinge 
  of 
  red, 
  and 
  frequently 
  contains 
  

   fragments 
  of 
  agates 
  and 
  other 
  trappean 
  minerals. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  

   calcareous, 
  though 
  not 
  so 
  rich 
  in 
  lime 
  as 
  the 
  older, 
  red, 
  or 
  kunker 
  clay, 
  

   which 
  underlies 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  Gangetic 
  valley. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  be 
  foreign 
  to 
  my 
  purpose 
  to 
  discuss 
  the 
  different 
  theories 
  

   held 
  by 
  previous 
  writers 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  origin 
  of 
  regur, 
  which 
  may, 
  however, 
  

   be 
  seen 
  by 
  referring 
  to 
  Carter's 
  " 
  Geological 
  Papers 
  on 
  Western 
  India," 
  

   Bombay, 
  1857 
  ; 
  but 
  the 
  mode 
  of 
  occurrence 
  of 
  regur 
  in 
  Pegu 
  is 
  too 
  

   peculiar 
  to 
  be 
  passed 
  without 
  comment, 
  especially 
  as 
  it 
  entirely 
  supports 
  

   the 
  view 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  hold 
  regur 
  to 
  be 
  derived 
  from 
  decomposed 
  trap, 
  

   a 
  view 
  always 
  held 
  by 
  myself, 
  from 
  a 
  study 
  on 
  the 
  ground, 
  of 
  the 
  

   relation 
  of 
  regur 
  to 
  trap 
  areas 
  in 
  the 
  Rajmahal 
  hills 
  and 
  Narbada 
  

   valley 
  {vide 
  Records, 
  Geological 
  Survey, 
  Vol. 
  II, 
  page 
  298). 
  I 
  have 
  

   never, 
  of 
  course, 
  entertained 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  any 
  other 
  connection 
  between 
  

   f 
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