[424] Cæsalpinia sappan, a handsome tree, with curiously-shaped pods. It yields a valuable dye.
[425] Called jowaree, in Bengalee; jonna, in Telugu; yawanul, in Sanscrit; and doora, in Egypt.
[426] Dolichos lablab, a kind of pulse much eaten by the poor people.
[427] Cotton (Gossypium Indicum) is called parati, in Tamil; putti, in Telugu; and kurpas, in Sanscrit.
[428] The former of these grains has already been mentioned. The latter is Panicum spicatum, or spiked millet. It is called bajree, in Guzeratee; and kunghoo, in Sanscrit; and is made into cakes and porridge.
[429] "The black cotton soil seems to have arisen from the decomposition of basalt and trap. When dry it is dark-coloured, and glistens from the presence of nearly pure grains of silica. It possesses extraordinary attraction for water, and forms with it a most tenacious mud."—Dr. Forbes Watson.
[430] "The district of Coimbatore lies opposite the great gap in the Peninsular chain between the southern slopes of the Nilgiri mountains, and the northern face of those of Travancor. Across this depression the S.W. monsoon has almost a free passage to the eastward; but the great elevation of the mountains on both sides, and the absence of any considerable hills in the district, cause the monsoon wind to pass over without depositing much of its moisture; and, though the climate is humid, the rainfall is very trifling. During the N.E. monsoon the hills of Salem intercept the moisture."—Hooker's Flora Indica, i. p. 132.
[431] Lindley's Theory and Practice of Horticulture, p. 487.
[432] "This is an assurance which no private tenant in any country, not even in England, has obtained."—East India Company's Memorandum, 1858, p. 17.
[433] Koda, a shade or umbrella; and karnal, a jungle.