208 COTTON m THE MADRAS PRESIDENCY. [CHAP. YI. 



318 4th, The Shevel, or Red Soil.—" The Shevel soil is 

 of a loose "friable nature, varying in depth from one to 

 three feet. After a heavy fall of rain, the upper sur- 

 face of soil, to a depth of one foot, soon becomes dry ; 

 but the lower portion, to a depth of one and a half or 

 two feet, will retain moisture for one and a half or two 

 weeks. The other crops grown on this soil are red 

 gram, varagoo, castor oil seeds, theny, etc. This soil is 

 not considered fertile. 



319 Geology and topography.—" The Cotton fields to- 

 wards the west in this district are slightly undulating, 

 with general slope to the eastward ; while to the east, 

 the country lies almost flat, the plains sloping very 

 gradually towards the sea. From observation taken 

 with an Aneroid Barometer, it appears that the level 

 of the former varies from 250 to 300 feet, and of the 

 latter from 80 to 120 feet, above the sea. Below the 

 above-mentioned soil, gravel of different descriptions, 

 and kunkur, or decomposed gneiss, are met with ; and 

 in some spots occasional strata of crystaline limestone 

 crop up through the gneiss. The granite formation is 

 chiefly found in the northern portion of the district, 

 and is met with at various depths below the kunkur 

 and gneiss. That which is termed " decomposed 

 gneiss " may perhaps be a species of disintegrated rocks 

 of a comparatively late formation. The northern part 

 of this district is intersected by numerous small streams, 

 and the Cotton fields are consequently well drained. 



320 Climate. — " During the dry months, or from January 

 to September, the heat is excessive. During the south- 

 west monsoon, there are occasional showers in the north 

 of the district, especially in the more western portion of 

 the Cotton fields. The north-east monsoon continues 

 from the middle of October to January ; and during its 

 prevalence, rain falls generally over the whole district. 

 Irrigation is not employed for the growth of Cotton in 

 this district. A return, showing the fall of rain from 

 January to December, 1857, is given on the following 

 page. Rain Grauges are kept at all the chief stations. 



