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man, fitting at the porch, alked with a fneer, if every body did not know that it hadbuilt itfelf. The Muffulman, attempting to be witty, alked the Brahman if he had feenthis. “ How Ihould I,” replied the other, “ when it happened fo long ago ?” Theprevalent language at Tayculum is the Karnataca, called by us Canarefe. I couldnot purchafe a bullock here for lefs than double the price that I had paid at Madras.I found the people very unwilling to give me information ; and I am clearly convinced,from what I have already feen, that without authority to demand it, very little ufefulinformation on ftatiftical fubjefts could be procured by a mere traveller.
7th May. —In the morning I went to Waluru. On the whole day’s route I faw nohills, except thofe mentioned yefterday; but at leaft fix-tenths of the whole countryfeemed never to have been cultivated, and of this the greater part is covered with brulhor copfe wood. There is no large timber ; but in fome places the trees grow to a fizefufficient for building the natives’ houfes, and other country purpofes.
gth May. — I went to Catcolli, through a country containing much lefs granite thanany that I have yet feen above the Ghats. The arable land may amount to leven-tenthsof the whole, and perhaps a twentieth part of it is watered. The rice lands aremoftly fituated near the banks of the fouthern Pennar, or Dakfhana Pinakani, as it iscalled in the Sanfcrit language. This river paffes fouthward by the eaft fide of Catcolli.At prefent it contains a good deal of ftagnant water ; but in the rainy feafon its currentis rapid, and it is frequently not fordable. The wafte land contains much lowbrufh wood, in fome places intermixed with Hunted mimofas. The hedges furround-ing the villages in this part of the country, rife very high and thick, fo as almoftentirely to conceal the mud wall, which enlivens the profpeft confiderably, efpecially asat the villages there are a good many mango trees.' The planting of thefe, or otherfruit trees, is here attended with a confiderable expence; as every young tree is fur-rounded by a mud wall, three or four feet high, and perhaps twenty in diameter; andin the dry feafon the plant requires to be watered every fecond or third day for threeyears.’
There having now been feveral fhowers, the foil has been foftened, and the farmersare bufy ploughing their dry fields. Their plough and manner of working referablethofe of Bengal. Both oxen and buffaloes are ufed, and frequently an animal of eachkind is yoked in the fame plough. This ftrongly marks a deficiency of flock ; the twoanimals, from their different paces, being very ill fuited to work together. Beforethe field is ploughed, it is manured with a compoft of cow-dung, allies, and mud.The manure is carried out by the women, in bafkets placed on their heads, and isdiftributed very fcantily, the bafkets being emptied at the diftance of about thirty feetfrom each other.
All the way between Arcot and this place I have frequently obferved ftrata of gneifs,confifting of the fame materials with the common grey granite of the country, anddifpofed in vertical ftrata. Under the great tank here is a remarkable bed of it, con-fifting of rough grains, and divifible into laminae from one quarter to one inch thick jand thefe are united into ftrata from one to two feet wide. Thefe ftrata run by thecompafs north and fouth ; and are intermixed with others of hornblende-llate, inter-fperfed with fmall grains of white quartz, which thus compofe a granitell. Thefeftrata, as are alfo thofe of the grey granite throughout the country, are interferednearly at right angles by veins of quartz, often a foot and a half wide. Thefe veinscrofs the various ftrata of granite, gneifs, and hornblende, to great lengths, withoutaltering their direction ; they frequently alfo contain felfpar, or felfpar and quartz in-termixed, as is the cafe at Catcolli, where the veins are filled with a mixture of red-
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