INTRODUCTION. 



clay and flint (sand). To the continual changes in the river bed and consequent variations in the 

 currents must be ascribed the great irregularity in the distribution of sand and clay beds both above 

 and below the surface, which is one of the most striking geological features of the Provinces. The 

 irregularity in surface distribution must have forced itself on the attention of every one who has had 

 occasion to examine the soils of even a single village, and that this irregularity prevails to a consider- 

 able depth beneath the surface is shown by the very different strata through which even closely 

 adjacent wells are often found to have passed. 



In the portions of the Provinces which lie north of the Jumna, soils are classified by native 

 cultivators mainly with reference to the proportions in which clay and sand enter into their composi- 

 tion. The general term for a clay soil is matydr ; if very stiff, such as is found along drainage lines, 

 it is known (in the Eastern Districts) as dokm, and if of the poorest quality, only fit for rice cultiva- 

 tion, as dhaukar or hhaput. At the other end of the scale a soil of almost pure sand is called hMr or 

 halua, while loams are collectively known as domat, local terms being rosli and sewai in the Meerut 

 Division, and seolah in the Eastern Districts. The 'light reddish loam which is found over a great 

 portion of the Provinces, and which is generally accompanied by extensive irrigation from earthen 

 wells, is known as saigiui (Meerut), or more generally pi7m ov pilotah. Usar is the name applied to 

 the reddish clay which is rendered infertile by saline matter. 



In the tract known as Bundelkhand* south of the Jumna, soils exhibit much more diversity, the 

 most characteristic of them being the stiff black loam called {par excellence) " cotton soil" or mar. 

 This stretches in extensive isolated plains over a large tract of country, and is of remarkable fertility, 

 producing excellent crops of cotton, millets, wheat and gram without irrigation, and with very rough 

 cultivation. Irrigation is rendered unnecessary in ordinary years by the great retentiveness of mois- 

 ture which characterizes this soil, but even were it necessary it would be impossible, since mdr when 

 dry splits up into fissures of surprising depth, one or two of which would effectually swallow up a 

 whole day's watering. A lighter coloured mdr is known as kdhar, which is also very sparsely irrigated. 

 A grey loam which is greatly benefited by manure and water is called parwa, and rdnkar is a light 

 yellowish infertile soil which extends over a great portion of the country, especially in tracts inter- 

 sected by ravines. 



As to the alluvial origin of the soils of Bundelkhand there can be no doubt, and their dissimi- 

 larity from those north of the Jumna may be explained on the hypothesis that they were derived 

 from Central Indian instead of from Himalayan dSris. The chemical composition of mar is com- 

 pared below with that of the soil of the Government Farm at Cawnpore. The farm soil may be 

 accepted as a fair sample of the light reddish loam which occurs over a large portion of the Ganges- 

 Jumna Doab. Both analyses were kindly made by Mr. S. A. Hill, B.Sc, Meteorological Reporter 

 to Government, and represent the condition of the samples after having been freed from all uncom- 

 bined water by exposure to a heat of 125 C. 





Composition per cent. 





Composition per cent. 





Cotton soil. 



Farm soil. 





Cotton soil 



Farm soil. 



Combined water, 

 Organic matter, 

 Carbon dioxide, 



3-21 

 t 1-74 

 1-28 



2-04 

 16 

 0-16 



Ammonia, ... 

 Nitric pentoxide, 



Trace. 

 0-13 



None. 

 0-11 



Total volatile constituents, ... 



6-36 



2-47 



* Comprising the Districts of Banda, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur. 

 t Containing J)6 carbon. 



