I 
16 A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
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6 
CHAPTER 
I. 
, Appearance 
of the coun- 
try. 
by it ripens, the inhabitants must either allow their crop to perish, 
or use the Yatam. One Ganay of ground (1^%%- acre) requires the 
constant labour of four men to supply it with water for the cultiva- 
tion of rice, The same number of men are able to water three 
Canays of garden ground, which requires a comparatively small 
supply ; a deduction of rent is generally allowed, when the cultiva- 
tor is reduced to the necessity of watering by machinery. 
28th April. — In the morning I made a long jourqey to Arcot. ' 
From Oulur to Kdmry-pdk, the barren ridge on which the road leads, 
is very narrow ; and the country, being abundantly supplied with 
water from the Kdvary-pdk tank, has a fertile delightful appear- 
ance; and with its distant hills, verdant fields, and running streams, 
would afford a most beautiful prospect, were it somewhat better 
wooded. The great Erciy, or tank, is about eight miles long and 
three broad, and fertilizes a considerable extent of country. I never 
viewed a public work with more satisfaction, a work that supplies a 
great body of people with every comfort which their moral situation 
will permit them to enjoy. Kdmry-pdk is a large but dirty village, 
with a stone mosque in its centre. The fort by which it was 
protected, is also built of stone, but is now ruinous. 
After passing Kamry-pak, I found the barren ridge more ex- 
tensive, reaching almost from the Polar to the northern hills, and 
in most places consisting of immense beds of granite, or of that 
rock decomposed into harsh coarse sand. The whole country is 
almost destitute of verdure, but a little withered grass affords sus- 
tenance to a few wretched sheep. Other parts have somewhat ox a 
better soil, and in the rainy season may produce some of the dry 
grains; several reservoirs have been formed in the waste, the water 
of which produces crops in a few narrow strips of land chiefly 
near the river. The bed of the river Polar at Arcot , where we 
crossed it, is above half a mile wide, but at present is quite a dry 
loose sand, except in two narrow channels, containing a stream not 
sufficient to turn a mill. 
