Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c28.s3.t1.106

v2.c28.s3.t1.106

Soil, Agriculture, Products.—The following is the classification of the different heads of soil in Marwar: Bekal, Chikni, Pīla, and Safed. The first (whose etymology I know not) pervades the greater part of the country, being a light sand, having little or no earthy admixture, and only fit to produce bajra (millet), mung, moth (pulse), til (sesamum), melons and gawar.² Chikni (fat), a black earth, pervades the district of Didwana, Merta, Pali, and several of the feudal lands in Godwar. Wheat and grain are its products. The Pīla (yellow) is a sandy clay, chiefly about Khinwasar³ and the capital, also Jalor and Balotra, and portions of other districts. It is best adapted for barley, and that kind of wheat called pattagehun (the other is kathagehun);⁴ also tobacco, onions, and other vegetables: the staple millets are seldom grown in this. The Safed (white) is almost pure silex, and grows little or nothing, but after heavy falls of rain.⁵