On the Conditions of Wlieat-Groiving in India. 43 
the north-western division of the Central Provinces, and slopes 
north-west in the drainage areas of the Narbuda and Tapti 
rivers, and south-east in the drainage area of the Godavari. To 
the south and south-east of the Deccan trap there extends the 
vast region of the archfean rocks of India. These two geo- 
logical regions are broken by isolated patches of the Gondwana 
rocks, which follow chiefly the present beds of the great rivers, 
and by the vastly older formation known as the Vindhyan. 
The disintegration of these rocks has contributed to the local 
peculiarities of the soils common through the tableland, 
although the rivers have to a certain extent distributed and 
amalgamated the results. The wheatfields of the northern 
section bordering on the Narbuda owe to a large extent their 
fertility to the Deccan trap, just as the ricefields to the east 
doubtless are indebted to the Gondwana and Vindhyan rocks 
in the region of the Mahanadi. 
Various opinions have been given as to the source of the so- 
called " black cotton soil." "Without entering into this discus- 
sion, we may quote here Mr. Fuller's description of the local 
modifications of the " black or cotton soil " : — 
" This black or ' cotton' soil is known by various names, indicating the 
proportion in which it is mixed with lighter soil. It is of very variable 
depth, lying in much thicker deposits in flat valleys than on sloping ground. 
It is most suitable for -wheat when at its greatest thickness, since, from the 
great capacity which it then enjoys of absorbing rain-water, it can, in a 
monsoon of average intensity, lay up a store of moisture sufficient to carry a 
wheat crop through a cold season in which the winter rains hold off entirely. 
\Mien it is merely a shallow veneer of earth, covering rocks, it dries, of 
course, with far greater rapidity, and is in this case devoted to the production 
of rain (or kharif) crops. This difference is brought out into strong relief 
by a comparison of the agricultural returns for the contiguous districts of 
Hoshangabad and Nimar. In Hoshangabad deep black soil predominates, 
and, in consequence, 63 per cent, of its cultivated area is returned as under 
wheat. The greater portion of the Nimar district is hilly or undulating 
groimd, consisting of trap rock, overlaid with a shallow bed of black soil. 
Wheat only occupies 4 per cent, of its cultivated area." 
Seasons and Crops. — Again quoting Mr. Fuller, from whom 
much that we have written of these provinces has been de- 
rived : — 
" The alternation of raW and kharif cro^s is not so common in these 
provinces as in Upper India, since the soils are of a more marked diversity, 
and are, therefore, more strictly approximated, some to autumn and others 
to cold-weather crops." 
In the use of manure there is considerable diversity. It is 
hardly ever applied to land in the Narbuda valley ; while in 
Nimar, and in the districts of the Nagpur division, its utility 
is fully recognised, each wheatfield receiving a manuring, if 
possible, once in three years. The explanation may lie in the 
