114 MYSORE DISTRICT. fall in the level of the plain from west to east, following the course of the Káveri (Cauvery); and the extreme south, along the skirts of the Nilgiri Hills, is occupied by a tarii of marshy and dense jungle. Lofty mountain ranges, covered with primeval forests, shut in the District on the western, the southern, and the greater part of the eastern frontier. The only break in this barrier is where the Káveri bursts through the Gháts and forms the celebrated falls of Sivasamudram. The highest range of hills is the Biligiri - rangan in the south-cast, which attain a height of about 5000 feet above sea-level. The general elevation of the plateau varies from 2300 to 2800 feet. The great river of the District is the Kaveri (Cauvery), which in usefulness, in sanctity, and in picturesque features is scarcely surpassed throughout India. It rises in Coorg, and crosses the District of Mysore from west to east, flowing by the ancient capitals of Seringapatam and Talkad. At the District boundary it encircles the island of Sivasamudram, near the magnificent waterfall of that name; and finally, after forming the no less sacred island of Srirangam, it reaches the Bay of Bengal through the fertile delta of Trichinopoli and Tanjore, the two main arms being called respectively the Coleroon (Koládan) and the Kaveri (Cauvery). Its chief tributaries in Mysore District are the HEMAVATI, LOKAPAVANI, and SHIMSHA on the left bank, and the LAKSHMANTIRTHA, KABBANI, and HONNU-HOLE on the right. All these streams, as well as the main rivers, are abundantly used for irrigation. The geological formation principally consists of granite, gneiss, quartz, syenite, and hornblende. In some places these rocks are overlaid with laterite. Iron abounds in all the hills, and is extensively smelted and worked into a great variety of implements. Stones containing magnetic iron are especially valued for medicinal purposes. Gold is washed in insignificant quantities in some of the hill streams. Other mineral substances applied to a practical use are talc, asbestos, Aint nodules, and potstone. The prevalent soil throughout the District is a red loam, but the more fertile black cotton-soil is found in the south-east. A great belt of forest extends along the western frontier of the District for a distance of about 80 miles, varying from 2 to 6 miles in width. Besides the common forest trees, sandal-wood, teak, and black wood are to be seen; the date palm also is very abundant. Even the most highly cultivated tracts yield a plentiful supply of wood for fuel. There are altogether 180 square miles of forest reserves, for the most part in the Heggada Devanakot táluk. These forests harbour herds of wild clephants, which occasionally commit great devastations on the cultivated fields. In recent years, however, their numbers have greatly diminished, owing to the spread of agriculture, and since 1868 orders for their strict preservation liave been in force. A khedda party, in a single day in 1874, captured a herd of 55 of these animals, including
