1836.] 



of the Southern Mahraita Country. 



453 



will not confine myself to the appearances exhibited by the few speci- 

 mens met with here ; but will also avail myself of the observations I 

 have been enabled to make on the granite in other parts of the penin- 

 sula. 



The granitic tracts of India exhibit the same general features as 

 granitic countries in other parts of the world. Rugged hills, with bold 

 denticulated outlines, lie heaped together in the greatest irregularity, 

 or occasionally form an obscure ridge, the crest of which, when inter- 

 posed between the spectator and the evening or morning sun, presents 

 the most fantastic forms. Some of these ridges, when their dark out- 

 line is seen at twilight, against a ruddy western sky, emulate, in their 

 varied forms, the capricious shapes of summer clouds ; and we can 

 then trace along their summits the appearances of castles, trees, men, 

 and various fantastic groups. Many of the hills have the appearance 

 of collections of large fragments of rock thrown confusedly together 

 by some convulsion of nature ; while frequently larger masses, piled 

 with great regularity on each other, look like the gigantic remains of 

 cyclopean architecture. Huge insulated masses, forming considerable 

 hills, in many instances, rise abruptly out of a plain, to a height of 

 several hundred feet, and present nearly perpendicular faces on several 

 of their sides; thus affording situations of immense natural strength, 

 which have almost invariably been taken advantage of by the natives 

 for the erection of forts. These insulated hills are generally met with 

 at the edges of the granite tract, where it is succeeded by the transi- 

 tion rocks ; and being situated in the midst of very extensive plains, 

 when they are seen from some distance, they have exactly the appear- 

 ance of rocky islands in the midst of the ocean*. 



The hills have very often a mammillary form ; their sides being bare 

 and smooth, and having generally large detached plates resting upon 

 them, which appear as if they would the next moment slide down the 

 smooth surface into the plain below. 



The valleys are irregular, are strewed over with fragments and 

 immense rolled masses of granite, and sometimes afford the most 

 picturesque scenery. Notwithstanding the barren nature of granitic 

 soil, the country is, in many places, covered with junglef. 



Upon a superficial examination, the granite of India might be pro- 

 nounced to have several distinct structures, such as the stratified, tabu- 

 lar, columnar, &c. ; but all of these may (I am convinced, from pretty 

 extensive observation) be referred to the laminar ; the laminae giving 

 rise, by the infinite variation in their direction, form, thickness, extent, 



* Some of the strongest forts in India are of this description, for instance Chittledroog, 

 Gooty, Copaldroog, Eidgheer, &c. 



+ Several species of custard-apple (Annona) grow in great abundance in the jungles of 

 Hyderabad; and even, ia the driest season, their fruits attain great perfection. 



