This great sheet of lava,
extending, east and west, from Nagpur to Bombay, a distance of about
five hundred miles, was then, in succeeding millenniums, subjected to
the denuding forces of air and water, until gradually huge tracts of
it were worn away, forming beds of conglomerate, gravel, and clay.
The flat-topped hills have been carved out of the basaltic surface by
the agencies which wore away the massive sheet of lava. The basaltic
cappings of the hills certainly cannot have 'formed part of continued
flat beds of great lakes'. See the notes to Chapter 14, _ante_. Mr.
Scrope was quite right. Vast periods of time must be allowed for
geological history, and millions of years must have elapsed since the
flow of the Deccan lava.
4. In the Sagar district. The last Raja joined the rebels in 1857,
and so forfeited his rank and territory.
5. The name panther is usually applied only to the large, fulvous
variety of _Felis pardus (Linn.) (F. leopardus, Leopardus varius)_.
The animal described in the text evidently was a specimen of the
hunting leopard, _Felis jubata (F. guttata, F. venatica)_.
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