1839] River Dunes on the hanlcs of the Hogri and Pennanv. 309 



V. — Notice of River Dunes on the hanks of the Hogri and Pennaur.— 

 By Lieutenant Newbold, a. d. c. to Major General Wilson, c. b. 



Passing through Honoor, a village about 20i miles S. by E. from Bel- 

 lary on the Bangalore road, I observed small ranges of sand hills, co- 

 vering the black cotton soil to a considerable extent, that had very- 

 much the appearance of the dunes on the Malabar Coast. Not recol- 

 lecting the vicinity of the Hogri river, I was at a loss to account for 

 their appearance in this locality ; but, on ascending one of the highest, 

 I perceived the wide sandy bed of the river at a considerable distance 

 to the west. This, and the clouds of sand blown in my face, were now 

 sufficiently indicative of the cause of the elevation of these ambulatory 

 hills. The direction of the ridge on which I stood was nearly north and 

 south : it ascends from the west, i. e. from the river, in a broad sweep of 

 drifted sand, covering the intervening land for nearly a mile, and termi- 

 nating in a rather abrupt and steep descent, which falls to the east. 

 This line is by no means regular ; as the arenaceous phalanx advances 

 most in those parts, where there is least obstruction from vegetation. 

 One of these advanced dunes I observed, in the act of crossing the dry 

 bed of a nullah. Many of them are prevented making progress by the 

 embraces of the long fibrous plants that have grown up, and are inter- 

 woven with their substance : the kaki heyru, and jihar chettoo are 

 the plants usually seen in this situation. Small fresh-water shells, prin- 

 cipally univalves, have been carried along with, and imbedded in the 

 sand: the wind has left ripple-like marks on its surface, and it only 

 requires consolidation to transform the sand of yesterday into a rocky 

 fossiliferous ridge. 



On arrival at Honoor, the following information was given me by the 

 head-man, and some of the oldest inhabitants of the place. The sand 

 hills advance in an easterly direction, every year, during the months of 

 June, July and August, when the western winds blow strongest. On an 

 average they progress two, or two and a half yards annually. About eight 

 years ago, when the rain was scant, and the wind unusually high, one 

 of these dunes advanced on, and buried land under cultivation to the 

 extent of more than eight chains, which has not since been reclaimed. 

 During the famine about seven years ago, the dunes threatened to over- 

 whelm Honoor, and the sand actually rose in the streets to the height 



