SEONI, or Seonee, a British district of India, in the Central Provinces, lying between 21° 36' and 22° 58' N. lat. and 79° 14' and 80° 19' E. long., with an area of 3247 square miles, is bounded on the N. by Jabalpur, on the E. by Mandla and Bálághát, on the S. by Nagpur and Bhandâra, and on the W. by Narsinhpur and Chhindwára. Seoni is a portion of the upland tract formed by the Sátpura Hills which extend along the south bank of the Narbadá (Nerbudda) from the plains of Broach on the west to the Maikal range in the east; and it is remarkable for the beauty of its scenery and the fertility of its valleys. The northern and western portions of the district include the plateaus of Lakhnádon and Seoni; the eastern section consists of the watershed and elevated basin of the Wainganga; and in the south-west is a narrow strip of rocky land known as Dongartál. The plateaus of Seoni and Lakhnádon vary in height from 1800 to 2000 feet; they are well cultivated, clear of jungle, and their temperature is always moderate and healthy. Geologically the north part of Seoni consists of trap hills and the south of crystalline rock. The soil of the plateaus is the rich black cotton soil formed by disintegrated trap, of which about two-thirds of the district are said to consist, but towards the south, where cliffs of gneiss and other primitive formations occur, the soil is silicious and contains a large proportion of clay. Seoni is hilly throughout, the hills for the most part being clothed with small stunted trees; but in the valleys and on the plateaus forest trees are very thinly scattered and are seldom of large size. The chief river of the district is the Wainganga, with its affluents the Hirí, Ságar, Thelí, Bijná, and Thánwar; other streams are the Tímar and the ...