2l2 
PLANTS OF NORTHERN GUJARAT. 
south-west. All the streams shown in the map drain sooner or later 
into the Sabarmati. The region represented by the western half of 
the map is practically stoneless. The bed of the Sabarmati though 
deep (100 ft. below its banks near Ahmadabad and 200 ft. a little north 
of Prantij) is entirely sand. South of Ahmedabad city is a tract con- 
taining rice fields, partly original and partly rendered possible by the 
Khari Cut Canal. North of the city rice fields become fewer until 
they entirely disappear, except for a patch around Sonasan, where 
water is taken from the Hathamati Canal. A word is required regard- 
ing these canals, which form one system. The head works consist of a 
dam across the Hathamati River close to Himmatnagar (late Ahmedna- 
gar), the modern capital of the Idar State. Thence the water is taken 
southwards and what is not absorbed by the lands under command is let 
off into the Bokh on the west and the Bhujawa on the east, through 
both of which it finds its way into the Khari. This river is dammed 
lower down to form the Khari Cut Canal, water from which is distri- 
buted to South Daskroi, and also stored in the Chandola Tank, which 
is itself then used as an irrigation source ; while the Khari is again 
sluiced lower down outside our limits. These irrigation works, while 
they profoundly modify the vegetation under their immediate influence, 
do not materially affect the distribution of species since in the areas 
crossed by the canals natural lakes and swamps are common. To revert 
to the general character of the country, the sand area may be taken as 
fairly accurately embracing the basins of the Sabarmati, Khari and 
Meshwa, and the basin of the right bank of the Majham as far north 
as a line drawn from Himmatnagar to Bavsarr North of that point 
stony hills commence and continue northwards to beyond Mount Abu. 
In addition to being intersected from north to south by the above- 
mentioned rivers and smaller streams, the sand area is crossed by 
several depressions which do not naturally contain running water. Of 
these the principal are the Bokh, the Bhujawa and the Harsol Tank 
Chain. The Bokh is a narrow valley with escarped banks, which has all 
the appearance of being an old river bed, and thereby bears out the very 
strong local tradition that it was the original bed of the Hathamati, the 
waters of which were artificially diverted into the Sabarmati, by the 
earlv Ahmedabad kings in order to beautify their capital. At present 
it is* throughout the year a marsh with two permanent lakes in it. The 
marsbv conditions are still further accentuated by its annual conversion 
by the Irrigation Department into a storage reservoir during the 
monsoon. This has not, however, had any marked botanical effect 
The Bhujawa may be described^ as a natural drainage channel, which 
is annually converted into a stream in the winter by the Irrigation 
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