SCHULTZENSTEIN — NUTRITIVE CONSTITUENTS OE "WATER. 127 



China, Japan, Malacca, Birma, Ceylon, Java, New Holland, 

 Tasmania, and the South-Sea Islands ; in Africa, the Cape, Guinea, 

 Madagascar, Senegal, Marocco, Egypt, Abyssinia, Madeira ; in 

 America, the Brazils, Mexico, Chili, Southern North America, 

 and a part of Canada. In these different countries, however, in 

 spite of the irrigation, the soil is not equally favourable to cultiva- 

 tion, but the nature of the ground is as important an element of 

 fruitfulness as with us. It is a very great error, therefore, when 

 Schleiden, Liebig, <fcc, decide from the very imperfect and one- 

 sided observations of Darwin on the perfect indifference of tropical 

 soils as regards the success of cultivation. 



As regards the nature of the soil in Hindustan, especially 

 Malabar and Coromandel, we have the excellent observations of 

 Franc. Hamilton (Buchanan), ' Journey,' ii. pp. 504-857, as also 

 of Christie (Jameson's 'New Edinb. Journ.' 1829, April-Oct.). 

 Good and bad classes of soil are generally distinguished there, as in 

 Germany, with reference to their constitution, colour, aridity and 

 moisture. The richest black soil is the " cotton-ground," which 

 covers the whole basin of the tableland of Darwar, in the Deccan, 

 in beds which are often from 20-30 feet thick, and are frequently 

 deeply cut by the tributaries of the Kistna. This soil becomes ex- 

 traordinarily hot in dry weather, and affects the plants by its tem- 

 perature. It has arisen from the decomposition of the trap rock, 

 which extends far and wide through the Deccan, and derives its 

 dark colour from root-fibres and animal and vegetable debris. This 

 soil produces from year to year without manure, which is not 

 surprising, from its great depth, inasmuch as its thinnest stratum 

 is at least 3 feet. 



Cotton, however, can be cultivated on this soil only every third 

 year. It is sown at the end of the rainy season in August and 

 September ; it vegetates in a week, and grows in the dry season, 

 with indigo, spring-wheat, and tobacco. The harvest is from 

 January to March. 



A second sowing takes place at the end of May, or the begin- 

 ning of June, at the commencement of the rainy season, as soon 

 as the ground is soft, of barley, eleusine and sesamum, which are 

 capable of enduring considerable moisture. 



The third summer's sowing takes place at the end of June or 

 the beginning of July, during the height of the monsoon rain, 

 especially of leguminous plants, as beans, lentils, Doliclws Labial, 

 *D. Catiang, D. tranquelaricus and Cytisus Cajan, besides sorghum 

 and rice. The mountain-rice, according to Christie, is manured. 



