1837.] Mr. James Bird on the Country from Punah to Kittor. 375 



2. — A Statistical and Geological Memoir of the Country from Punah to 

 Kittor, South of the Krishna River*— By James Bird, Esq. M.R.A.S., 

 F.R.G.S. of the Bombay Medical Establishment. 



Some hasty observations, collected during a rapid march that I made 

 in 1824, between Punah and Kittor, gave rise to this memoir, which 

 though brief and imperfect, may not altogether be devoid of interest, 

 since the geology and statistics of few countries are less known than 

 those of India. Connected as this portion of the globe now is with 

 the political and commercial prosperity of Great Britain, the resources 

 of the country, the mineral treasures of its rocks, the capabilities and 

 productions of its soil, the condition of the inhabitants, and their 

 prospect and means of attaining a higher scale of civilisation, deserve 

 the attention of the legislator, merchant, philanthropist, and man of 

 science. Its statistics and geology are yet desiderata: and though 

 the portion of information here communicated be but a speck on the 

 ocean that lies before us, it will perhaps contribute something towards 

 a clearer view and more accurate chart of the whole, which may be 

 brought, I hope, to perfection in the course of time. 



The nature of the soil and appearance of the country. — Two routes 

 may be followed in going from Punah to Kittor. The first lies in the 

 immediate vicinity of the Krishna river ; and, after crossing and re- 

 crossing it several times from the neighbourhood of Satara to the 

 village of Yerur, meets the other route which lies farther north. It 

 leads through the towns of Sangli and Merich ; but, as the vicinity 

 of the Krishna is one unvaried scene of cultivation on a level surface 

 and dark sandy soil, it requires little notice. The other remains to 

 be described. 



From Punah to Kittor, the road runs in a south-east direction, 

 parallel to the west coast of India ; the Ghats, or western Vindiya 

 mountains being on the right-hand, as the traveller proceeds southward. 

 This route crosses the Krishna, Ghatparba, and Malparba rivers, be- 

 sides a few others of lesser magnitude, of which the course indicates 

 a southern declination of the country. The two latter rivers, flowing 

 north-easterly for some distance, indicate a partial declination in that 

 direction. 



The country within this tract, though comprehending a great variety 

 of soil, may be divided,— 1st, Into the table land of the Dekkan, 



* We have introduced this paper as an appendix to Col. Sykes' memoir, as it offers 

 further interestins particulars residing part of the same tract.-EDiTOR, Madras Journal , 



