At Deshnokh,[[10]] near the capital, the wells are more than two hundred cubits, or three hundred feet, in depth; and it is rare that water fit for man is found at a less distance from the surface than sixty, in the tracts decidedly termed thal, or ‘desert’: though some of the flats, or oases, such as that of Mohila, are exceptions, and abundance of brackish water, fit for cattle, is found throughout at half this depth, or about thirty feet. All the wells are lined with basket-work made of phog twigs, and the water is generally drawn up by hand-lines [203].[[11]]
Sar, or ‘Salt Lakes.’—There are a few salt lakes, which, throughout the whole of the Indian desert, are termed sar, though none are of the same consequence as those of Marwar. The largest is at the town of Sar,[[12]] so named after the lake, which is about six miles in circumference. There is another at Chhapar about two miles in length, and although each of them frequently contains a depth of four feet of water, this entirely evaporates in the hot winds, leaving a thick sheet of saline incrustation. The salt of both is deemed of inferior quality to that of the more southerly lakes.
Physiography of the Country.
Mineral Productions.
An unctuous clay is excavated from a pit, near Kolait, in large quantities, and exported as an article of commerce, besides adding fifteen hundred rupees annually to the treasury. It is used chiefly to free the skin and hair from impurities, and the Cutchi ladies are said to eat it to improve their complexions.[[13]]
Animal Productions.
Commerce and Manufactures.
Woollens.
From the milk of the sheep and goats as well as kine, ghi or ‘clarified butter’ is made, and forms an important article of trade.