During the months April to September the sun, during the day or some part of it, is overhead. Consequently the heat received will be greater than over the ocean at the south, taking a similar area. A direct cause of this is the starting of winds which receive the name of monsoons. These blow from the S.W., and bring vast quantities of moisture with them. This moisture-laden wind is partially robbed of its load as it strikes the Western Ghats and consequently much moisture is deposited here, giving rise to many valuable rivers which water the Deccan or Central Tableland of India. The Mahanuddy, Godavari, Kristna, and Kauvari are rivers fed by the S.W. monsoon. Then, again, the low-lying lands near the mouth of the Indus, the great desert of Rajputana, the peninsula of Gujerat and the district of Malwa--all allow, by reason of their low-lying nature, the S.W. winds to pass over them laden as they are with vast quantities of moisture. They travel on till they meet the Himalayas, where again they help to swell the volume of the waters in the rivers Ganges and Indus. When the N.E. monsoons blow they do not carry anything like the amount of moisture which the S.W. monsoons do, as their areas of collection are very much more limited. Consequently this part of the year is usually a dry one (viz., from October to March). Thus it will be seen that the great plain of Southern India is much less watered than the more Northerly portions and consequently is much less fertile. This fact must be borne in mind as the cotton-growing areas are described and indicated. India, which grows more cotton than any other country in the world (the States excepted), may be said to possess four distinct areas for the production of commercial cotton. They are-- 1. Central Tableland or Deccan. 2. Valley of the Ganges. 3. Western India. 4. Southern India. and the above order shows them also according to their commercial importance. _Central District._--This is a vast plateau bounded on the north by the Vindhya mountains, on the east and west by the Ghats of those names, and on the south by the River Krishna. As is to be expected, the collecting and exporting of the cottons grown in this district are done at Bombay. The finest cottons grown in India are produced in this region. Four centres stand out prominently in the production of cotton, viz., Dharwar, Hyderabad, Nagpore and Berar. The soils generally in the Deccan are very rich and capable of retaining moisture during the growing term of the plant's life. What are known as the black soils of India are to be found plentifully in this district, and these are exceedingly rich in mineral matter. Nagpore should specially be named, as it is in this province that the finest cotton grown in all India is produced, viz.:-- "Hingunghat Cotton."