222
'NO WGONG DISTRICT
northern boundary. A little to the east of Silghat the KALANG leaves
the parent stream, and, after pursuing a tortuous course through the
centre of the District, rejoins the Brahmaputra on the border of
Klmrup. The Diphlu falls into the Brahmaputra east of Silghat,
and the country north of the Kalang is drained by the Sonai.
The other rivers fall into the Kalang, the most important being the
KAPILI, with its tributaries the Doiang, Jamuna, Barpani, and U1vltnlvt
or Kiling. The District is well supplied with streams and rivers, and
there are numerous bils and swamps. None of these is of any great
importance, and many are merely the old beds of rivers that have
altered their channels. Along a great part of its course the banks of
the Kalang are fringed with a continuous line of villages, buried in
groves of bamboo and the graceful areca palm. Elsewhere the scenery
is wild, but not unpleasing. To the south and east blue forest-clad
hills shut in the view, while on a clear day the snowy ranges of the
Himalayas can be seen north of the Brahmaputra. A considerable
portion of Nowgong lies too low for permanent habitation or cultiva-
tion. A large tract south of the Brahmaputra is covered with high
grass, in which patches are cleared for cold-season crops; and there
are great expanses of jungle-covered land in the valley of the Kapili
and along the foot of the hills. Nowgong is, in fact, the most sparsely-
peopled and jungly District in the whole of the Assam Valley.
The soil of the plain is an alluvium, consisting of a mixture of clay
and sand in varying proportions. The northern Mikir Hills are mainly
of gneiss, which towards the south is overlain by sedimentary strata
of the Tertiary period. These younger rocks consist of soft yellow
sandstones, finely laminated grey shales, and nodular earthy lime-
stones.
Where not under cultivation, the plains usually bear high grass or
reeds, of which there are three main varieties-khagari (Saccharum
spontaneum), ikra (Saccharum arundinaceunz), and nal (Phragmites
Poxburghii). Higher land produces ulu (Imperata arundinacea) and
other kinds of shorter grass used for thatching. The hills are covered
with evergreen forest, and patches of sdl (Shorea robusta) are found
here and there.
Wild animals are. numerous, including elephants, rhinoceros, buffalo,
bison, tigers, leopards, bears, and various kinds of deer. Elephants,
if' their numbers are not kept down, cause injury to the crops. In
1904 wild animals were said to have killed 8 men and 1,246 head of
cattle. Rewards were paid in that year for the destruction of 38 tigers
and leopards. Small game include florican, partridges, pheasants, pea-
and jungle-fowl, hares, wild duck, and snipe.
The climate does not differ materially from that of the other Districts
in the `Assam Valley. Between November and the middle of March it
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