MALKANAGIRI TALUK.
Malkanagiri (the largest, and at the same time the most sparsely-populated, taluk in the Presidency) occupies the southern third of the part of the district which lies immediately west of the main line of the Gháts; and forms a plateau which is from 1,000 to 1,500 feet lower than the rest of this. Its northern boundary is the crest of a sál-clad line of heights which run along the southern edge of the 2,000 feet plateau formed by Jeypore and Naurangpur taluks; but southwards from this it drops sharply down to the south-west, Malkanagiri village being only 641 feet above the sea and Mótu, at the southernmost corner, considerably less. On the west, Bastar State and the Saveri river form the boundary; to the south, the beautiful Siléru divides the taluk from the Gódávari Agency and joins the Saveri at Mótu; 'while on the east the frontier follows an ill-defined line running along the head of the gháts which uphold the 3,000 feet plateau and lying nearly parallel to the Machéru, as the upper waters of the Siléru are there called.
Malkanagiri differs widely from any other part of the Jeypore zamindari or the Vizagapatam district. Almost the whole of it is one vast jungle. As Las already been mentioned (p. 121), there is little good timber in this; but in places (between Balaméla and Kondakambéru and on to the Golgonda boundary, for example) the growth is exceedingly thick and contains much bamboo. Further south, beyond Venkatapálaiyam, are many square miles covered with coarse grass, ten feet high, among which are scattered saplings. As one approaches the extreme southern corner at Mótu, whence there is an outlet by the river to the Gódávari district, tho country becomes visibly more civilized, grass and jungle giving way to paddy-fields, dry crops and palmyras, the last of which are rare in other parts of Jeypore.
The south-west monsoon is heavier in this taluk than in any other in the district except Jeypore, and in the rains the country is impassably swampy. The north-east monsoon, on the other hand, is fended off by the hills and is very light. Consequently for half the year much of the taluk is under water and for the other half it is parched in the extreme. The hills similarly keep off the sea breeze, and the heat is sometimes terrific. Malaria, too, is probably worse here than in any other part of the district.
