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MATHURA A GAZETTEER,
edited and compiled by, D.L. DRAKE-BROCKMAN [1911]

AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE

CULTIVATED AREA

The agricultural development of the district appears to have attained a high level from the earliest introduction of British rule. There were differences no doubt between the tracts on either side of the Jumna. Everywhere villages owned by Jat husbandmen showed better cultivation than those possessed by others. But in spite of the exactions of farmers, the rapacity of amils, and the unsettled state of the country, the proportion of cultivated land appears to have been high from the beginning. As early as 1808 the collector of Aligarh, within whose jurisdiction the trans-Jumna tahsils fell, reported that the lands were generally in a good state of cultivation, and in a letter dated September 29th, 1807, Mr. Ross, settlement officer of the Agra district, expressed similar views regarding the parganas on the west of the river. " The district is in general well cultivated," he wrote, " and no very great further improvement can, I think, be expected either from cultivation being extended, or from the introduction of the cultivation of more valuable articles than what are already produced. The population is by no means deficient, and the zamindars for the most part neither want resources nor seem to be deficient in experience." Forty years later, in a printed memoir prepared in 1847-48, the area of cultivation was returned at 556,812 acres or 66 per cent. of a total area of 846,121 acres for the entire district as then con stituted. The census returns of 1853 give the total as 733,362 acres, representing 71 per cent. of the total area of the district, including pargana Jalesar, but excluding 84 villages afterwards transferred to Muttra from Agra; and Mr. Alexander, who furnished the returns, estimated that cultivation had risen by 9 per cent. over his district in the five years that had elapsed since 1847. Both these returns, however, are useless for the purpose of further comparison on account of subsequent resump tions of rent-free lands. At the last settlement, which concluded in 1879, the recorded area of cultivation for land assessed to revenue only, was 649,293 acres or 83.5 of the total area. For purposes of comparison, the settlement officer was obliged to fall back on the measurements recorded between the years 1848 and 1850 at the revision of records. Complete statistics for all villages were not available; but the settlement officer found that a very noticeable increase had taken place in all tahsils, ranging from as much as 27 per cent. in Muttra to as little as 5 per cent. in. pargana Sahpau. The variations, therefore, in the rate of progress were large. The increase was unmistakably greater in the cis-Jumna parganas in the earlier years, but rapid improvement during the last few years preceding the settlement was a feature common to both tracts. At that time Sadabad had the highest proportion of cultivated area, amounting to 86.8 per cent., followed by Chhata and Mahaban with over 83 per cent., while Muttra and Mat slightly exceeded 79 per cent. In this area, however, was included a considerable amount of fallow land, which was assessed to revenue by the settlement officer; and, high as the proportion is, even after this adjustment has been made, it is still possible to say that the area under the plough has improved. Individual years whenever good seasons have prevailed have witnessed a large expansion of cultivation. This was notable between 1902 and 1904, when over 735,000 acres were actually under crops. The quinquennial average from 1903 to 1907 shows a total of 711,875 acres or 77 per cent. of the entire area of the district under the plough. When allowance has been made for a recurrence of bad seasons, this probably represents the normal cultivated area of the district. The proportions of cultivated to total area have not varied in the different tahsils from what they were at last settlement, though the actual percentages are changed by the exclusion of all fallow land. Sadabad is still the highest developed tahsil with 84.6 per cent. of its total area under crops, and it is followed, as before, by Mahaban with 79.56 per cent. and Chhata with 78.48 per cent. Next comes Mat, 74.32 per cent., and lowest in the scale is Muttra, 71.96 per cent.

CLTURABLE LAND

It may now be fairly asserted that the limits of profitable cultivation. in the district have been practically reached. At the last settlement the culturable area measured 64,081 acres of old waste and 7,472 acres of new fallow over the whole dis trict, excluding the 84 villages transferred from Farah. This was distinct from the barren area mentioned in the last chapter. The largest extent of culturable land out of cultivation was in the old pargana of Nohjhil, and the least in Sadabad. At the present time, excluding groves, culturable waste and new fallow, there are on an average 87,999 acres of old fallow, forming 9.51 per cent. of the total area of the district, which have presumably been under cultivation at some time or other. The proportion as before is largest in Mat tahsil, where it aggregates 12.87 per cent. and is smallest in Sadabad, where it does not exceed 4.20 per cent., the other tahsils holding an intermediate position. The pre-eminence of Sadabad in this respect is explicable from the fact that this tahsil contains a very insignificant amount of khadar. It is in the tracts which have the largest river frontage that the largest proportion of culturable waste and fallow land is found. Cultivation in this land is precarious not only because so much of the soil is poor but also because the Jumna valley is liable to be cut away by the river. In the uplands the area of culturable fallow is nowhere large, and consists of patches isolated amidst cultivation. The whole area has shown little tendency to decrease in spite of the fact that in the last five years irrigation has been developed by the opening of the Mat branch of the canal, and it may be assumed that little or none of it is likely to come under the plough.

CULTIVATION

The system of cultivation in the district presents no un common features. Taken as a whole it is not of the highest order, though different tracts show very different degrees of excellence. The well-wooded, fertile and thickly populated country between Aligarh on the east and the left bank of the Jumna exhibits the high class crops and the careful tillage that betoken the presence of the Jat cultivator. West of the Jumna the less energetic Rajput predominates and, with the exception of northern Chhata, cultivation is often marked by a degree of slovenliness practically unknown east of the river. The difference in cultivation between the two tracts can be attributed partly to other causes than those arising froth the individuality of the cultivators. The trans-Jumna parganas long possessed an advantage over those beyond the river in the abundance and quality of the water-supply which gave them immunity from the worst effects of drought. They had also a denser population, and were less exposed in earlier days to the inroads of Jats and Marathas. There are many signs, however, that, since the introduction of canal irrigation, a more indus trious spirit has spread among even the most indolent castes. Scarcity of population formerly retarded the development of western Muttra. But the returns is of last census show that the population has lately increased in that tract. Since the famines of 1896 and 1899, moreover, the trans-Jumna tract has begun to suffer from a short supply and the brackish nature of the water in the wells, even more than the cis-Jumna tract, Mahaban having been the worst affected tahsil; so that the natural supe riority between the two portions of the district has to some extent been obliterated.

HARVESTS

The harvests are known as the kharif or autumn, rabi or spring, and zaid or additional harvest. The last is of little importance; its extent varies according to the nature of the season, but normally it does not cover more than 3,275 acres, the bulk of which is found in Muttra tahsil. The crops grown in the zaid harvest are chiefly melons and vegetables, which are raised for the most part in the neighbourhood of Muttra city and along the Jumna. About 500 acres of chena or sawan are usually sown increasing in a famine year sometimes to over 2,000 acres. Of the two main harvests, the kharif is the more impor tant, at least so far as the area sown is concerned. At last set tlement, out of a total cultivated area of 711,163 acres, it occupied 414,950 acres or 58.4 per cent. compared with 316,189 acres or 44.5 per cent. sown in the rabi. In recent years the area under both harvests has increased proportionally; and from 1903 to 1907 the kharif has on an average covered 448,368 acres or 62.9 per cent. of the total cultivation; while the rabi has occupied 334,699 acres or 47 per cent. The disproportion between the kharif and the rabi is most marked in the western tahsils and least marked in Mat, while Sadabad and Mahaban hold a position between the two.

DOFASLI

These figures serve to show that a considerable area bears more than one crop in the year, but the practice of double cropping is not followed to the same extent in Muttra as in other more fertile districts. There has, however, been a large increase during the last thirty years. At settlement the dofasli area was returned at only 30,344 acres or 4.3 per cent. of the cultivation, but shortly afterwards the increase was very rapid. From 1885 to 1888 the annual average was 61,913 acres or 9.9 per cent., and for the following decade 71,655 acres or 10.3 per cent. The highest figure ever recorded was in the year 1897-98, when no less than 107,728 acres bore two crops in the year. During the last five years there has been a slight improvement and the average has been 74,469 acres or 10.46 per cent. of the net cultivation. The figures for the different tahsils exhibit no very striking differences, but Mat holds the premier place with an average of 13,772 acres or 13 per cent.; and Sadabad comes last with 8,389 acres or 8.61 per cent. In Muttra and Chhata tahsils, in both of which the double cropped area exceeds 10 per cent., canal irrigation has been going on for many years and there is little likelihood of an increase. In Mat and Mahaban, where the canal has only been recently introduced, there appears to have been an improvement in the area during the last few years. Only a portion of Sadabad at present receives the benefit of irrigation, but the eastern half will soon come under the influence of the Hathras branch which is now under construction.

KHARIF CROPS

The chief kharif staples are the millets known as bajra and juar, and cotton, these three, sown either by themselves or in combination with arhar, occupying on an average over 85 per cent. of the entire area cultivated in this harvest.*(Appendix,tableV1) From 1903 to 1907 bajra alone or in combination covered on an average 59,373 acres or 13.24 per cent, of the kharif. It is chiefly grown on lighter soils, and consequently the proportion is much higher in Sadabad tahsil than elsewhere. It amounts to 19.67 per cent. in this tahsil. It is lowest in Mat and there only reaches 9.49 per cent. Since last settlement the area under bajra has increased by nearly half as much again, the increase ap parently being common to all tahsils. In about two-thirds of the area bajra is sown by itself; but, whereas in Chhata it is only intermixed with other crops in a very small area, the proportion rises to over one-half in Sadabad. The areas under bajra alone and bajra intermixed with other crops are very nearly equally divided in Mahaban.

JUAR

The average area under juar, alone or mixed, is 175,702 acres or 39.18 per cent. of the kharif. The figure rises to 43.72 per cent. in Muttra, exceeds 38 per cent, in Chhata and Mahaban, and falls to 34.44 per cent. in Sadabad. This crop requires as a rule good soil, but little care or trouble; and, though the proportion sown with it has remained substantially unchanged since last settlement, it appears to have increased in popularity in the tahsils east of the Jumna. At that time its prevalence in Muttra and Chhata was regarded as one of the surest proofs of the carelessness of the cultivation in the cis-Jumna tract. Juar, like bajra, is usually mixed with arhar; but, besides being grown as a food-grain, several varieties are sown for fodder only. The area sown alone is normally about 22 per cent. less than the area in which it is sown inter-mixed with other crops; but, whereas in Muttra the proportions are very nearly equally divided, in Chhata it is nearly all grown alone, and in Mahaban and Sadabad it is practically always mixed.

COTTON

The most valuable autumn crop is cotton, which is largely grown in all parts of the district. For the five years ending in 1907 an average of 149,004 acres or 33.23 per cent. of the kharif has been devoted to this crop, the amount varying from 36.41 per cent. in Chhata to 28.32 per cent, in Mat. At last settlement cotton covered over 15 per cent. of the kharif area, the extent ranging from 26 per cent. in Sahpau to only 10 per cent, in Muttra and Nohjhil. The crop had then begun to decline in popularity, and the decrease in the area of cultivation was regarded by the settlement officer as indicating increased use of English-made cloth, This explanation is hardly satisfactory as since then a considerable increase has taken place in the cultivated area owing to the facilities afforded by the extension of canal irrigation. Cultivators are now able to sow a large area of cotton by using canal water before the bursting of the monsoon rains; and of this advantage they avail themselves freely. The area sown varies greatly from year to year. Cotton is sometimes grown alone and sometimes intermixed with arhar. Normally about one-third of the total area sown is sown with cotton alone. It is very rare to find arhar sown by itself. During the last five years not more than 50 acres on an average have been recorded.

OTHER KHARIF CROPS

The other kharif crops are of little importance. Maize covers an average of 11,007 acres or 2.45 per cent. of the har vest; and of this over one-third is found in Mat tahsil. Moth is found on an average in 9,379 acres, forming 2.09 per cent. of the kharif. Of more importance are the fodder crops guar and khurti. The latter is grown more to the east of the Jumna and the former to the west. For the five years from 1903 to 907 these two crops covered an average of 33,891 acres or 7.55 per cent. of the harvest. Sugarcane occupied only 1,121 acres at last settlement and, in spite of the extension of canal irrigation, its cultivation has not increased to any extent. The quinquennial average only amounts to 2,088 acres. Indigo has declined: not more than 1,329 acres, for the most part in Muttra and Chhata, are planted with this crop. The rest of the harvest is made up of the small pulses urd and mung, covering some 2,000 acres annually, the bulk of which are in Mat, a few acres of oilseeds, sanai, condiments and spices. Some 1,500 acres are usually occupied by garden crops of various kinds. Rice is practically unknown, but a few acres are occasionally planted with it in Mat and Mahaban.

RABI CROPS

Mixed crops, which are generally considered a sign of in ferior husbandry, form a distinctive feature of the spring harvest in Muttra, as in many other districts.*(Appendix,tableV1) The area under pure wheat, the most valuable of the rabi staples, is comparatively small, for the average amount calculated on the returns of 1903 to 1907 is 81,574 acres or 24.37 per cent: of the harvest. The proportion, however, varies greatly in different parts. In Sadabad it amounts to as much as 35.42 per cent; the tahsil next in order is Mat with only 26.11 per cent., and in Chhata the propor tion falls as low as 17.77 per cent. These relative proportions do not appear to have substantially altered since settlement, for at that time also Sadabad held the first and Chhata the lowest place. Wheat is an expensive crop to raise: it needs careful manuring and a considerable amount of labour and irrigation. Consequently, the area devoted to the crop is greatest in that portion of the district where Jats predominate.

GRAM

The area under gram averages 54,114 acres or 16.88 per cent. of the rabi harvest. This figure excludes a small area of 1,750 acres, which is generally sown with gram and peas inter-mixed. The local distribution of this crop is uneven, and the bulk of it is grown in the cis-Jumna tahsils, in which the settle ment officer noted a less advanced standard of cultivation. In Muttra tahsil the area devoted to gram amounts to as much as 27.36 per cent. of the whole harvest. In Chhata it is 25.55 per cent. Nowhere east of the Jumna does it exceed 6.09 per cent; and in Sadabad it touches the low proportion of 2.72 per cent. The crop is seldom irrigated, and is too well known to need description.

MIXED CROPS

The various combinations known as gujai, or wheat and barley, gauchani, or wheat and gram, and bejhar, a mixture of wheat, barley, gram and peas, occupy on an average 179,330 acres or 53.57 per cent. of the spring harvest. A large quantity of barley is grown alone, the average being some 51,500 acres annually, and the area seems to have increased since last settlement, especially in Muttra and Chhata. It is raised on the lighter lands in every tahsil, and 108,500 acres of barley and gram intermixed are found, chiefly in Chhata, Mat and Mahaban. Barley, alone or in combination with gram, thus occupies an average of 160,097 acres or 47.83 per cent. of the spring harvest, ranging from 56 per cent. in Mahaban to 36.57 per cent. in Muttra. The combinations called gujai and gauchani together occupy on an average 19,233 acres or 5.74 per cent. of the rabi over the whole district, and are found in large areas in Sadabad, where the proportion is as high as 10.94 per cent: in Chhata it is only 3.95 per cent. In this respect the cis-Jumna tracts are considerably behind those east of the river. Generally it may be said that wheat, barley and bejhar prevail as rabi staples on the east, and wheat, gram and bejhar on the west of the Jumna.

OTHER CROPS

The other rabi crops are unimportant. Peas have already been noticed, and masur or lentils are almost unknown. About 2,400 acres are annually devoted to potatoes, turnips, carrots and other vegetable crops. They are principally grown in Mat, Mahaban and Sadabad. Of the non-food crops sown, oilseeds, cover the largest area. This amounts to 13,065 acres and they are to a certain extent also mixed with wheat and barley. The varieties known as sarson or mustard, lahi or rape, and alsi or linseed are little grown alone, but a not inconsiderable area is devoted to them in the wheat and barley fields. There is no culti vation of opium in the district, and that of dyes has now practi cally disappeared. Some 700 acres are usually devoted to tobacco, over one-third of which appears to belong to Mahaban; and a few sores sown with condiments, spices, miscellaneous non-food crops, and oats complete the total of the rabi crop statement. Irrigation has always been practised in Muttra though in earlier times there was a great difference in this, as in so many other respects, between the eastern and western tracts. The first accurate statistics of irrigation were compiled at the revision of records carried out between 1848 and` 1850, and it was then ascertained that out of a total cultivated revenue-paying area of 647,481 acres, 249,932, or 38.6 per cent. were watered. The proportion varied from 74.6 per cent. in Sadabad pargana and 72.8 per cent. in pargana Sahpau, which now forms part of Sadabad tahsil, to only 18 per cent. in Chhata and Kosi. At the last settlement, thirty years later, the proportion for the district was 53.5 per cent., the rise being proportionate in all tahsils. In the demarcation of the wet areas, however, consideration was only paid to the state of irrigation before the introduction of the canal, village inspections having taken place in a year when the marks of well-irrigation were still discernible in western Muttra. On the figures as they stood, the settlement officer found that the proportional rise in irrigation since the previous settlement was no less than 70 per cent., varying from 141 per cent. in Chhata to 20 per cent. in Sahpau. He explained the increase by the fact that the population having increased and the area available for cultivation being limited, improve ments in the methods of cultivation had been forced upon the people. An improvement in cultivation need not necessarily, however, have been due to any such cause, but merely to the increase in the intelligence of the cultivator. For purposes of further comparison, the statistics, both of 1848-50 and of last settlement, are useless. For not only was the area irrigated from the Agra canal not recorded, but the area irrigated from the wells was not that actually watered in any single year, but the area of land which was commanded by wells and which was irrigated when sown with a crop requiring water to bring it to maturity. It is therefore very difficult to say how far the actually irrigated area has varied since last settlement. Since, however, this area has been systematically recorded considerable progress appears to have been made. From 1885 to 1888 the average irrigated area from all sources was 165,453. acres annually or 24.29 per cent. of the average cultivation, the highest figure being 217,027 acres or 35.52 per cent. in the first year, and the lowest 134,286 acres or 19.12 per cent. in the last. During the following decade the average area watered rose to 183,370 acres, giving a proportion of 26.31 per cent. of the average cultivation. The capacity of the district was subjected to a severe trial in the famine of 1897 and the cultivated area sank to a lower figure than in any other year of the period, but no less than 283,606 acres or 41.88 per cent. of it were irrigated. High as this area was, however, it has been surpassed during the latest decade for which statistics have been recorded; for, between 1899 and 1908 a total of 252,976 acres or 36.50 per cent. of the average cultivation have been annually irrigated, and during the famine that has prevailed in the last year of the series the area watered reached the unprecedented figure of 310,834 acres pr 51.28 per cent. The introduction of the Agra canal has of course had the effect of entirely altering the relative positions of the tahsils as regards their proportion of irrigated to cul tivated area; and considerable modifications have been effected in recent years by the extension of the Mat branch of the Ganges canal to the eastern tahsils. It is now ascertained from the quinquennial average between 1903 and 1907 that Muttra has the largest proportion of irrigation with 38.71 per cent. Sadabad follows closely with 37.50 per cent., and after it comes Chhata 34.37 per cent., Mat 33.31 per cent. and lastly, Mahaban, which has only 30.46 per cent. If it be assumed that the area recorded as irrigated at last settlement was approximately double the area actually irrigated, it will be found that irrigation has nearly trebled in Chhata and doubled in Muttra, while it has decreased 10 per cent. in Mahaban, nearly 9 per cent. in Sadabad, and less than 3 per cent. in Mat.

SOURCES OF SUPPLY

These results may be further illustrated by a consideration of the sources of supply. In early times wells constituted practically the only available source. Even at last settlement irrigation from other sources, such as tanks and rivers, is said to have been so rare as to be unworthy of notice: in fact there is stated to have been in many villages a strong religious feeling against using the water of the village tanks for irrigation, it being preserved for the cattle in the hot weather. At the same period the only canal in use was the tail of a distributary in Mat, which watered six villages. The supply from this was uncertain. Very shortly after, however, there was an enormous development of canal irrigation in western Muttra, following the opening of the Agra canal. The proportion of the irrigated area watered from canals was 27.3 per cent. for the years 1885 to 1888, a figure which only rose to 28.4 per cent. in the succeeding decade. During the last ten years, between 1899 and 1908, no less than 51.1 per cent. of the area irrigated has depended on canals, the enormous rise during this period being in no small measure due the construction of the Mat branch of the Ganges canal. Among tahsils, Chhata with 81 per cent. has the largest canal irrigated area, followed by Muttra with 73.62 per cent. East of the Jumna the proportion is very much smaller: Mahaban has 47.39 per cent. and Mat has 45.29 per cent., but Sadabad has only 7.96 of its irrigated area watered from this source. Only some 425 acres are irrigated from tanks and other sources, so that practically the remainder of the area is dependent on wells.

WELL IRRIGATION

The area watered from wells during the last five years has averaged 102,535 acres or 41.05 per cent. of the total irrigated. area, as against 146,907 acres or 58.81 per cent. watered from canals. The proportion among the tahsils is highest in Sadabad, where it reaches 91.27 per cent., and lowest in Chhata, where it does not exceed 16.87 per cent. The character of the wells depends on two factors of importance, namely, the depth at which water is found and the nature of the water. Both vary in different parts of the district. At the time of last settlement the depth of water in the trans-Jumna tract ranged from 30 feet in Mat to 40 or 45 feet in Mahaban and Sadabad. In western Muttra, near the Jumna ravines and Chhata hills, it was again about 30 feet, but along the centre line between these points it ranged from 45 to 60 feet. Since that time important changes have taken place. Owing to the famines of 1897 and 1900 the water-level sank considerably in eastern Muttra; and since the latter year its average distance from the surface has been computed at 50 feet in Mat, 60 feet in Sadabad, and 75 in Mahaban. It cannot yet be decided how far it has risen in this portion of the district since the construction of the Mat canal, but in western Muttra the water level is now found to depend entirely on position with reference to the canal. In many villages of Chhata, situated near the main canal or its distributaries, water is only ten feet from the surface: but it does not rise so high in Muttra owing to the drainage cuts round Chhoti Kosi and Parkham. Away from the canal the average depth in this portion of the district is from 30 to 40 feet, the greatest depth being in the centre of Muttra tahsil and in the west of Chhata.

WELLS

The wells employed for irrigation in this district are of four kinds, known as the pakka or masonry well, built of stone or brick; the garwari well with a wooden cylinder; the ajhar which is supported by a basket-work of twigs, usually arhar stalks; and the kachcha or earthen well, which is unprotected by any lining at all. The type adopted depends largely on the nature of the underlying soil strata, and consequently the pro-portion of the various types of wells varies in different parts of the district. Beyond the Jumna the subsoil is usually firm and the walls-of the well need little support, while west of the river the soil is unsuited to the construction of kachcha wells; hence about five-sixths of the number of such wells of the district are found in the tahsils of Mat, Mahaban and Sadabad. Kachcha wells cannot be sunk so deep as masonry wells, as every foot of depth adds to the danger of their falling in; while the appliances for supporting them vary according to the strata of soil passed through. Where these strata are unstable, resort is had to a cylinder of wood, the slabs being fastened together with strong wooden pegs. The wood used is taken from the faras or other quick-grow ing trees near the well, and a well so made lasts sometimes as long as 50 years. The average cost is about Rs. 2 per foot of woodwork. Where the strata are more stable, a lining of twigs made into rolls is sufficient, but the well so lined, though it does not cost more than Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 to make, does not last more than one year. The number of masonry wells recorded as available for irrigation during the year 1907-08 was 9,847 as against 4,999 recorded at last settlement. The bulk of these are in the cis- Jumna tract. As a rule they command a larger surface than any other kind and are driven down further. They must be driven deep enough to meet the sot or spring and a stratum strong enough to bear the weight of the shaft. The supply of water thus obtained is naturally much more certain than that obtained from a percolation supply at a higher level. Such wells give a sufficient supply of water to be worked by several pairs of bullocks at the same time. When two pairs are worked at each lao or rope, the well is called kili, while those worked with one only are known as nagaur. In the Jumna khadar, where the water is sometimes within a few feet of the surface, the dhenkli or bucket used by hand is employed. The cost of a masonry well varies according to the size and local conditions, but may be estimated at an amount ranging from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300. Kachcha wells with only a lining of twigs are generally preferred by the cultivator to masonry or garwari wells, but their number does not appear to have increased since last settlement, when there were 25,861 such wells recorded. Their number is likely to decrease as canal irrigation spreads. Water is raised from wells by a leathern bucket or charsa drawn by a pair of oxen.: The area irrigated depends largely on the depth of the water and averages 4.9 acres for each well for the district. The duty, however, is somewhat higher than this for old-standing masonry wells, and appears to be larger in western Muttra than east of the Jumna, owing to their smaller number.

CHARACTER OF THE WATER-SUPPLY

The second factor which influences the utility of wells for irrigation purposes is the character of the water-supply. In a large number of cases the water found is distinctly brackish, but this important point can rarely be decided until the shaft is sunk. There are some long stretches of country in which the wells will always be alike; but it is more usual to find water of every variety in the same village. The matter depends entirely on the nature of the substratum; and in the deep diggings for the Agra canal it was observed that this differed completely in neighbour ing localities. In one place would be exposed a vein of pure clay mixed with nodular lime-stone, whilst, near by, the whole undersoil would, be impregnated with salt and would yield injurious water. The worst water is that found in the north-west of Muttra and the south-west of Chhata tahsils, where, in one or two places, drinking water can be obtained only from the village pond or from shallow percolation wells sunk close by. Local experience has divided the kinds of water into twelve classes: some of these are distinctly injurious to crops, while others are only not so when other seasonal conditions are favourable. Khari or salt-water leaves a slight white deposit on the irrigating channels and in the fields; with heavy rains it is excellent for wheat, barley, tobacco, cotton and juar, but, if the rains fail, it does more harm than good. Karua or bitter water turns the crop rusty in colour and gives the surface a light and feathery texture. Spring crops irrigated with it are yellow in the straw, and the straw itself is small in quantity. A fair crop of wheat, barley, cotton and juar can be raised with the help of this water only after plentiful rain. Teliya or oily water has a bad taste and produces a yellowish efflorescence on land. The land becomes caked like clay and rain-water remains on the surface for a long time without soaking in. Teliya water is, however, good for wheat, barley and juar. Other varie ties of water are mitha-teliya, khari-teliya, and karua-teliya; the first two of which differ but little from each other, leave a white efflorescence, and are not usually deleterious to crops, while the last, together with the species known as kharijarel, is not only strongly impregnated with salt, but leaves an oily scum on the ground, and can only be safely utilized for irrigation after a good monsoon. The best water for irrigation falls under an intermediate head, and is known, according to degree of brackishness, as mitha, marmara or sakhar, mitha-bhanga or matwara, khuri-bhanga and marmara-teliya or sakhar-teliya; but none of them, except mitha or mitha-bhanga are good for the germination of seed. When, however, germination has taken place, khari, khari-bhanga, marmara, mitha-bhanga and even marmara-teliya are better for wheat and barley than pure sweet water. Throughout the district, if the water is not absolutely sweet, well-irrigation suffers from an exaggeration of its defects in years of drought; and even the trans-Jumna tract, where the water is more uniformly good, has suffered since the famines of 1897 and 1900 by the increased brackishness of the wells, especially in Mahaban tehsil.

THE AGRA CANAL

The first portion of the district to be provided with canal irrigation was the extreme north of Mat. The distributary which supplied it effected little irrigation and was subsequently merged in the extension of the Ganges canal, known as the Mat branch extension. This will be described further on. Until this was done, the only irrigation channel of real importance was the Agra canal. The Agra canal has its head-works at Okhla on the Jumna near Delhi. After traversing portions of the Delhi and Gurgaon districts, it leaves the Punjab and enters Muttra at the village of Hatana in tehsil Chhata. Thence, rolling along the ridge or backbone of the western Muttra plain in a course roughly parallel to that of the Jumna, it pierces the hearts of tehsils of Chhata and Muttra. It was built originally not only for irrigation but for navigation; and a channel from the main canal near Aring to Muttra was constructed in order to allow boats to have access to the city. But in 1904 the whole was closed to navigation, and since that year this channel has only been used as an escape. The total length of the main canal in the district is 50 miles; and there are nearly 350 miles of distributaries and minors, 85 miles of drainage works, and 21 miles of escape channels. There are four irrigating systems on the right bank known as the Nandgaon, Kosi, Aring and Fatehpur-Sikri distributaries. The Nandgaon distributary, which was only completed in 1904, quits the main canal in the Gurgaon district, not far from the Muttra boundary, and passes down the western portion of Chhata tahsil to the east of Nandgaon, from which it takes its name, and Barsana, and comes to an end in the village of Mahrauli in the north-west of Muttra tahsil. It is provided with four minors on its west bank known as the Dahgaon, Halwana, Nandgaon and Rankauli minors, which irrigate the very dry tract on the western border of the district; and on the east bank with the Palson minor, which waters several villages in tahsil Muttra and comes to an end near the hill at Gobardhan. The Kosi distributary leaves the canal in Hatana near the Gurgaon border, runs through the tract of Chhata tahsil which lies between the Nandgaon distributary and the main canal, and passes into Muttra tahsil, where it ends: it has three minors, the Bathen, Rahera and Deopura, which water Chhata tahsil only, and also ends not far from the town of Gobardhan. The Aring distributary, except for its first two miles, and its five minors, the right Madhurikund, Sonsa, Lalpur, Son and Latakhur minors lie wholly in the Muttra tahsil. Considerable extensions of canal irrigation from this system are in contemplation to water the precarious tract along the Bharat pur border from Gobardhan to Sonkh and Rasulpur which suffered severely during the recent famines. The Fatehpur-Sikri distributary as recently enlarged, is now the largest distributary in the United Provinces. It leaves the main canal at Chhoti Kosi and flows for twelve miles though Muttra Tahsil before it enters the Agra district. Portions of two of its minors, the Malakpur on the left and the Birauna on the right, also provide irrigation in Muttra tahsil.

The left or eastern distributaries are more numerous. The Bukharari distributary, the contruction of which is at present under consideration, will take out from the main canal in the Gurgaon district and will irrigate a precarious tract of country in the chhata tahsil along the Jumna river as far south as Shergarh town. It will have two minors, the Jatwari and Garhi. The Shergarh distributary enters the district from Gurgaon, watering portions of both Chhata and Muttra tahsils. It has nine minor channels, the Agaryala, Chhata, Ajnothi, Shergarh left branch and Sehi minors irrigating the Chhata tahsil, and the Chaumuha, Jait, Atas, and Kotah minors watering tahsil Muttra. Starting on the border of the Gurgaon district, the Sahar distributary traverses the same tahsils as the Shergarh and like it tails in the old navigation channel. It has five minors, the Sahar, Umraya and Bharna minors watering Chhata and the Ral and Junedhi watering Muttra tahsil. The Junedhi minor has recently been extended across the navigation channel and now reaches just beyond the Bharatpur road. The Muttra distributary with its four branches, the Jinsuthi, Muttra left branch, Rampur and Dhangaon minors, as also the Farah distributary with its two off-shoots the Dahana Teja and Bhai branch minors lie wholly within the Muttra tahsil. The Hasanpur distributary falls into the Jumna river in the extreme north of Chhata tahsil. This channel is in the charge of the executive engineer of the upper division of the Agra canal and only irrigates three villages of Chhata tahsil. Five small minors take out direct from the main canal and provide irrigation in Muttra tahsil. These are the Shahpur minor on the right bank and the Madhuri Kund, Uncha, Tharaoli and Parkham minors on the left bank. The tail of the main canal is at milestone 100, in the extreme south of tahsil Muttra. Here the canal splits into four branches, the Agra, terminal. and Sikandra distributaries, the last named having replaced the old Agra navigation channel, and the Kitham escape which carries off surplus water to the Jumna. Not more than a mile of these lie within the Muttra district. There are no important masonry works on the canal in this district. Bridges are provided on all roads and at many other points where cross ings are required. There are canal bungalows at Sessai, Azizpur (near Kosi), Bhadawal, Sahar, Basaunti, Chhoti Kosi, Jarauli and Baroda on the main canal; at Bathen and Barsana on the Nandgaon distributary; at Ladpur, Agaryala and Akbarpur on the Shergarh system; and at Aruki on the Muttra system; and a new bungalow is being built at Hussaini on the Bukharari distributary. The Agra canal and all works connected with it in this district are in the charge of the executive engineer of the lower division of the Agra canal whose headquarters are at Muttra.

THE MAT BRANCH EXTENSION

The Mat branch canal was constructed between 1851 and 1855 as part of the original Ganges canal. The work consisted of a feeder channel 10 ½ miles long, known as the Mat branch, with its head at Dehra, mile 110 ½ of the Ganges canal, and two channels at the tail, namely, the Baroda distributary on the left and the Mat sub-branch on the right. In 1874 a provision of seven lakhs was made in a revised estimate for remodelling the Ganges canal for the extension of the Mat branch; but the preparation of a project for its extension into the Muttra district was held in abeyance for two years after sanction to the estimate had been received, and it was not until 1876 that Mr. W. Thatcher, executive engineer, surveyed the country to be served by the extension, laid down trial lines and prepared the preliminaries. The ques tion was taken up in 1878 by Mr. W. Bligh, executive engineer, in connection with famine relief. He re-aligned several of the channels, and prepared a report on the project and estimates of the probable cost. The extension was accordingly begun as a famine relief work in 1879, and about 10 miles of the main canal were excavated; but further work was abandoned when relief works were closed towards the end of 1879, and all proceedings with regard to the completion of the project were then ter minated. The project was abandoned owing to the opinions expressed by the local officers. Mr. Whiteway, the settlement officer, found that 81 per cent. of the area to be served by the extension was protected by wells; and thought that the available water in the Ganges canal would be more suitably utilised else-where. This opinion was endorsed by Captain Home, R.E., superintending engineer, in 1879; by Mr. Tidy, collector of Muttra, in 1880; and by Mr. Robertson, Commissioner of Agra, in 1881: but, in 1882, the director of agriculture and commerce, Mr. W. C. Benett, reported on the Mahaban pargana as a tract of exceptional insecurity, and pronounced in favour of the intro duction of canal irrigation into the tract, mainly on account of the brackish nature of the water in the wells and the spread of baisuri. At the famine conference held at Agra in November 1896, the extension of the Mat branch canal into the Muttra district was reconsidered; but in view of the opinions expressed in 1878 it was decided to assign the water, which would be utilised for the Mat branch extension, to the Fatehpur branch of the Lower Ganges canal, and to consider the question of extending the Mat canal as finally abandoned. This decision having been arrived at, the land acquired for the extension in 1878-79 was restored to the former owners, and those portions of the channel which had been excavated were partially filled in. In October 1899 Mr. A. C. Evans, executive engineer, was deputed to make further enquiries into the question of the Mat branch extension, in view of the severe distress that had occurred in the trans-Jumna tract of Muttra during the famine of 1897. Mr. Evans found that all landlords were in favour of the intro duction of canal water, because the greater number of their wells had run dry, and those wells that still held water yielded only a very limited supply for irrigation. In rather more than half the area in Mat and Mahaban spring-level had sunk below the bottom of the existing wells, the fall in the water level during the previous 26 years having been estimated at between 12 and 18 feet; while masonry wells were fewer by 4 per cent. and earthen wells by 10 per cent. than they had been 30 years before. In January 1901 the Board of Revenue were addressed on the subject of the extension of canal irrigation into the trans-Jumna portion of Muttra. In their reply the Board showed that the statistics of well irrigation collected in 1874—79 were fallacious, that the tract was not well protected and that statistics collected subsequently in 1896 showed an immense increase in the area cultivated and a great decline in the area irrigated. The com missioner of Agra, Mr. W. H. L. Impey, and the collector of Muttra, Mr. A. W. Trethewy, both pronounced strongly in favour of the execution of the project. Finally orders were issued, in May 1901, for the preparation of a complete project for the Mat branch extension.

The construction of the canal was commenced at the end of 1902 and it was completed at the beginning of 1906, at a total cost of Rs. 9,89,424 for works only or of Rs. 12,18,466 on works, establishment, tools and plant. The main channel enters the Mat tahsil at the village of Bhureka, five miles due east of Barauth, and flows for 9 miles along the Aligarh border. At the village of Karahri it sweeps westwards and then southwards, passing down the centre of southern Mat and northern Mahaban to the village of Pachawar. At the extremity it tails off into the Wairni minor and two distributaries, the Baldeo and Daghaita. These two distributaries escape into the Jumna ravines in the south of Mahaban tahsil. The northern portion of Mat is watered by portions of the Jewar and Bajana distributaries, and by the Jarara distributary, with its two minors the Surir and Bera. South of Karahri, the canal runs close to the watershed along the Jumna, and there is no distributary on the right bank till Raya is reached: here the Mahaban distributary starts. The two longest distributaries take off from the left bank of the canal. Of these the chief is the Sadabad distributary which, leaving the main canal at Nasithi, waters portions of Mahaban, Aligarh and Sadabad: it tails off into the Karwan river, three miles south of Sadabad. From the Sadabad distributary take off the Aira Khera distributary and the Barahna minor, which provide for the irrigation of the country in the north of Mahaban, lying between the Sadabad distributary and the main canal. The Jagsana distributary leaves the main canal at Pachawar near its tail, and irrigates southern Mahaban and portions of western Sadabad: it escapes into the Karwan river just beyond the Muttra border, 3 ½ miles below the Sadabad distributary. The canal crosses in this district no marked drainage lines nor depressions, and there are no works of any note on it. Bridges are provided at all the main lines of crossing. There is a number of inspection houses at intervals along both the main canal and the larger distributaries: these are situated at Khaira, Nasithi, Raya and Pachawar on the main canal, and at Bajana, Sumera and Mirpur on the distributaries.

THE HATHRAS BRANCH

So far no provision has been made for a supply of water to that portion of the Sadabad tahsil which lies east of the Karwan river. To make good this deficiency as well as to provide water for the country lying between the Sirsa and Karwan rivers from Aligarh to Hathras, Itmadpur and Firozabad the construction of the Hathras branch has recently been sanctioned. In the portion of this district to be served 47 per cent, of the wells contain brackish water and this water is said to have been res ponsible for the spreed of baisuri. The spring level is from 60 to 70 feet below the surface and many wells have fallen in. Owing to the extensive calls made on the water of the Ganges canal, it was thought at one time that the supply would not be sufficient for the Hathras branch. But it has been decided that it will be possible to meet the requirements of the system by running water through this branch in alternate weeks and giving water in other weeks to the tail portion of the Mat branch below mile 46. The Hathras Branch takes off from the Mat branch at the village of Bhureka in Mat tahsil and crosses the Aligarh border almost immediately. It does not re-enter this district till it raches the village of Chamarpura in tahsil Sad abad. Irrigation in that tahsil will be provided from the Bisana, Muraha and Sahpau distributaries and the Gahrauli minor on the right bank, and the Zaripur minor on the left bank. The total area commanded comprises 300 acres in Mat and 12,140 acres in Sadabad tahsil.

AREA AND REVENUE

The Agra canal was opened by Sir William Muir on the 5th of March 1874 and irrigation was commenced in the follow ing cold weather. The average area watered from it during the first ten years was about 60,000 acres, but this figure has steadily increased as new distributaries and minors have been made and a greater volume of water has become available for irrigation. During the last five years on record, 1904 to 1908, the average area watered has been 135,658 acres in both harvests, 71,969 acres being irrigated in the kharif and 63,689 acres in the rabi. The receipts have amounted during the same period to Rs. 3,88,255 on the average every year, of which Rs. 39,901 were on account of owner's rate. The highest amount realised was Rs. 4,46,356 in the year 1905-06. The Mat branch extension of the Lower Ganges canal was opened for irrigation in the spring of 1904. In that year 15,989 acres received a watering from it. The area soon increased and no less than 84,387 acres were irrigated in 1905-06. The average area irrigated during the five years ending in 1908 was 59,010 acres, the receipts amounting to Rs. 1,42,806, of which Rs. 7,788 were realised in the shape of owner's rate.

FAMINES

The district was in early days extremely sensitive to the effects of drought, especially in the cis-Jumna tract; and though the extension of irrigation has had the effect of securing a very large portion of it, it by no means enjoys immunity from famines. There are no records of the state of the district during the great calamities of earlier days, such as occurred in 1645, 1631 and 1601; but as in each ease Dehli appears to have been a centre of distress, Muttra is certain not to have escaped. The notable famine of 1783, long remembered as the chalisa, seems to have attacked this and some neighbouring districts with great severity. The prices of grain for many months previously are said to have indicated a steadily increasing scarcity. In the upper Doab an extraordinary drought had prevailed for two years, and a practical failure of both harvests took place in that year. The people migrated in thousands in the direction of Oudh, and many died of starvation on the road. Little is known of the famine of 1803-04. This took place almost directly after the district had come into the hands of the British; but, though Muttra is not mentioned as one of the famine-stricken portions of the pro vince, it cannot have escaped the effects of the calamity. The first famine of which any record remains was that of 1813-14. It took place before the administration had settled down and while the people, who had not yet recovered from the disorders that preceded the conquest, were feeling the effects of earlier settlements. The rains of 1812 failed, causing a loss of the kharif, and the rabi was indifferent; while the monsoon of 1813 was late and gave scanty rain. Mr. Boddam, writing 15 years later, says of this famine: " During these years almost half the landed property in the Agra district changed owners................and numerous cultivators deserted the soil, which would no longer repay the expense and trouble of cultivation." Sahar is specially mentioned as having suffered severely. "Many died from hunger," says Mr. Hamilton, "and others were glad to sell their women and children for a few rupees, and even for a single meal." Those who could recall the past considered that the distress in this year exceeded even that of the chalisa. Severe droughts again prevailed over the district in 1825 and 1826. The headquarters were at that time at Sadabad, the cis-Jumna portion of the district being administered from Agra. The collector, Mr. Boddam, calculated that there was a deficiency of 208,349 maunds on the produce of the year, the deficiency being greatest in Jalesar and Mahaban. He gave these calcula tions in reply to an order of the Board of Revenue, calling for a report of the extent to which the crops had failed. This order indicates an intention to grant relief on the basis of estimated failure. But there is no extant record as to what active measures of relief were taken. Presumably some such measures were taken in Muttra, as it is known that large sums were distributed as takavi in other districts and collectors were generally author ised to suspend collection of one-fourth of the revenue demand.

FAMANINE OF 1837-38

These previous calamities, however, cannot be compared to the terrible famine of 1837-38. This for a large number of years formed an epoch in native chronology under the name of chau ranawe. There had been a succession of bad seasons since 1832. The season of 1837 was marked by an almost total failure of the monsoon. Crime increased in every direction, indicating that the people were driven to extremities. On October 20th, 1837, the famous John Lawrence, who was collector of Gurgaon, wrote: "I have never in my life seen such utter desolation as that which is now spread over the parganas of Hodal (Kosi) and Palwal. The people have been feeding their cattle for the last two months on the leaves of trees, and, since this resource failed, are driving them off." At the beginning of 1838 Mr. R. N. C. Hamilton, officiating commissioner of the Agra division; went on tour in his own division: " In the district of Muttra, he writes," I was surprised to find such extensive waste. From Mursan, passing through a few villages of Sonai, the centre of Raya, a few villages of Mat and of Mahaban, the crops were scanty, the soil dry and the cultivation only in the vicinity of the pakka wells. Around Muttra... the people were almost in despair from the wells fast turning so brackish and so salt as to destroy rather than refresh vegetation. All of the Aring and Gobardhan parganas which came under my observ ation was an extensive arid waste, and for miles I rode over ground which had been both ploughed and sown, but in which the seed had not vegetated, and where there seemed no, prospect of a harvest." Frequent mention is made in this report of the terrible straits to which cattle were reduced; and the extent to which desertion and emigration had taken place excited the gravest apprehensions of the commissioner. Here again official records are silent as to what active measures of relief were undertaken in the bulk of the district. There is some mention of what was done in Agra which then included a portion of Muttra and it is known that Rs. 3,03,760 of land revenue were remitted, and that Rs. 18,000 were received from the Calcutta Relief Committee for the support of the aged and infirm. The highest price of wheat during the famine was 12 sers for a rupee. But when it is considered what a high purchasing value money then had, it will be seen that such prices as this indicated a appalling deficiency in the supply of grain. No means of finding how great the loss of life was during this calamity are forthcoming, but from contemporary estimates it must have been very great.

FAMINE OF 1860-61

The famine of 1860-61 was the natural result of the dry and unfavourable weather which the North-West Provinces had experienced since the middle of 1858. Up to July 13th, 1860, Doab is said to have received scarcely a drop of rain; and though subsequent falls served to bring a certain proportion of the kharif harvest to maturity, prices were very high, and emigration began towards the end of October. The distress however, on this occasion seems to have been very unequally distributed, nor did Muttra as a whole suffer so much as some other districts. A central relief committee was established at Agra, having local committees in all the affected districts, and Rs. 800 seem to have been sent to this district for the relief of the indigent and infirm, while a sum of Rs. 16,227 was locally subscribed for the same object. In, the spring of 1861 relief works had to be opened in the district, and alto gether 1,247,321 persons were relieved at a cost of Rs. 26,360. Most of this money came from local and English charities. Some remissions were made in the land revenue, and when abundant rain had fallen in July and agricultural operations were resumed, the Agra central committee made an allotment of Rs. 50,000 to the district to enable cultivators to purchase seed, grain and cattle.

FAMINE OF 1868

Extreme famine was not felt in Muttra in 1868-69; but there was great distress, especially in the western tahsils. The most noticeable features of the year were the entire failure of fodder and grain and the miserable out turn of the kharif. The long drought which set in in August destroyed all hopes of good crops, except in irrigated lands. Grass entirely disappeared, and cattle were driven away to Rohilkhand or sold to butchers at ruinously low prices. Slight rain fell in February 1869, but with the hot months the lack of fodder drove the cultivators to strip trees of their leaves in order to feed their cattle. Relief was sanctioned by the Government in December, when distress was perceptible in Chhata and Muttra tahsils; and in Chhata and Mat 71 miles of road were raised at a cost of Rs. 18,757. Besides these local works, the excavation of the Agra canal employed considerable numbers of the Muttra people. Poorhouses were opened at Kosi and Chhata in February, and at Muttra, Brindaban and Mat in August. These, after relieving a daily average of 187 persons at a cost of Rs. 1,868, were closed in October.

FAMINE OF 1877-78

The next drought was in 1877-78, and was very severe. Muttra and Agra are said to have been worse affected than any other district in the division. The rainfall from June to Septem ber only amounted to 4.30 inches, as against 18.28 inches in the preceding year, the latter figure being much below the normal. This deficiency affected the main food-crops of the people, for, although much of the district was served by both wells and canals, the protected tracts were mostly reserved for remunera tive crops of sugar, indigo and cotton, cereals being as a rule confined to unirrigated lands. Prices rose and were high as early as July; but no actual distress was apparent till September. Relief projects were then framed and relief works were opened on October 1st in all parts of the district. On November 25th a poorhouse was started at Muttra. The classes of the population most affected were the non-agricultural and immigrants. Up to the middle of February a daily average of 3,634 persons had been relieved. The numbers rose considerably until the gathering of the spring harvest brought down prices in the middle of March. With the close of harvest operations the numbers again increased. There was no deficiency of grain but the want of employment and inability on the part of the landless class to provide themselves with food at the prevailing high rates drove increasing numbers to the relief works. In order to provide employment suitable for the large numbers likely to require it the embankment of the Muttra-Achnera light railway was com menced on May11th, 1878, and later on, work was started on the Mat branch extension of the Ganges canal. By July 13th the daily numbers relieved had risen to 9,255 on the works and 1,145 in the poorhouses. The rain came but did nothing to relieve the situation, and with the first break the numbers on the works actually increased until they reached a daily total of 21,409 on the 17th August. It was then discovered that work was available on wages sufficient to support life elsewhere than on relief works and that the rates paid on these works had become extravagantly high and were depriving the cultivators of many persons available for casual labour. The scale of wages was accordingly revised. Many labourers then went back to the fields. Those too infirm to work had been all along in the poorhouses and their number was not appreciably diminished. By September 21st there were only 2,355 persons remaining on the relief works, and a month later, as the new kharif grains began to come into the market, it was found possible to close all of them. The rains, however, of 1878 were slight, partial and ceased early. The rabi area was in consequence restricted, and the exportation of the cheaper grains in the direction of Bombay made itself felt in a rise of prices. The classes chiefly affected were the labourers of the towns and villages and the poorer zamindars. The poorhouses, which had never been closed, began to attract increasing numbers, and on February9th, 1879, it was found necessary to reopen relief works. By February 22nd the numbers employed had risen to 1,874; during March a daily average of 3,029 attended, which, after a temporary lull in April, rose to 3,900 in May and 4,781 in June. It was not until plenti ful and general rain had fallen in July 1879, that it was found possible to close both poorhouses and relief works. Besides the repairs done to roads and the other works already mentioned, the Jait tank was excavated at a cost of Rs. 6,787; the Balbhadr tank was deepened for Rs. 5,770; and the Jamalpur mounds adjoining the magistrate's court-house were levelled at an outlay of Rs. 7,238. The total number of units relieved on works in the district during the two years was 2,028,494, and the total expenditure incurred Rs. 1,25,158. Besides this, 3,95,824 units were relieved in the poorhouses at a total cost of Rs. 43,070. Takavi loans for the purchase of bullocks and seed were distributed to the extent of Rs. 35,000. The mortality in Muttra in 1879 was higher than in any other district of the province, the rate reaching the high proportion of 71.56 per mille, or over 13 per cent. more than the district next on the list. The death-rate of the following year rose to 72.23 per mille, though Muttra was not on this occasion pre-eminent among the districts of the province. The cause of the excessive mortality in 1879 was due to an epidemic of fever of unusual virulence which found ready victims among pers one exhausted by previous privations. This double calamity was mainly res ponsible for the decrease of population between 1872 and 1881, which was no less than 14 per cent.

FAMINE OF 1896-97

Though the district was not officially declared to be affected by famine in the year 1896-97, relief on a considerable scale was administered. In the previous year a disappointing kharif had been followed by a restricted outturn in the rabi, and prices began to rule high at the beginning of 1896. The monsoon of that year opened well in the middle of June, but it practically ceased in the middle of July and hardly any more rain fell till November. The kharif area sown was above the average but, except where irrigation was available, the crops fared badly; and the estimated outturn was only from five to six annas, Sadabad and Mahaban, as might be expected from their position as regards canals, being the worst affected tahsils. A lucky fall of rain in November enabled the area sown with rabi crops to be brought within 11 per cent. of the normal. But prospects, which improved after some more rain in December, deteriorated owing to the recrudescence of hot winds in February and March. Relief meas ures started with the suspension and remission of Rs. 1,23,904 of land revenue and the distribution of takavi, the whole sum given in loans during the year amounting to Rs. 86,430. This was followed later by a suspension and remission of Rs. 53,168 in the rabi. In October it was observed that numbers of people were migrating from Mahaban towards the canal-irrigated tracts, and some test works started by the district board in the same month began to attract labourers in search of work. By December the pressure on the latter appeared sufficient to justify their conversion into relief works. The maximum attendance of labourers in that month was 3,948; the number increased to 19,551 in February, fell in March and April to a few hundreds, rose again in May to 12,000, and reached its greatest height with 23,000 in June, just before the first burst of the monsoon. Owing to a break in the rains the total rose for a short time as high as 10,000 in July, but on the 22nd of that month it was found possible to close the works altogether. Two poorhouses were opened, one at Muttra and the other at Sadabad, in December. The former remained open throughout the year, but the one at Sadabad was closed in March, this form of relief failing to attract the inhabitants. The number of inmates never exceeded 1,938. From January till the end of the year village relief was distributed to the poor at their own homes. The greatest number so relieved on any day was 5,531. Altogether 1,146,117 units were relieved by the Public Works department at a cost of Rs. 1,06,766; and an expenditure of Rs. 41,473 under all heads was incurred by the district authorities. A sum of Rs. 60,000, received from the Indian charitable relief fund, was in addition distributed to cultivators, for the most part in Mahaban and Sadabad tahsils, to enable them to buy cattle and seed. The famine ended with the kharif harvest of 1897. Prices of food grains had then receded nearly to their normal level. But the end of that year saw a virulent outbreak of fever. Every endeavour was made to cope with the epidemic. But the outbreak was beyond control. Mortality was high and in the month of October rose to 8.37 per mille.

SCARCITY OF 1899-1900

There was scarcity during the year 1899-1900, owing to partial failure of the rains in that year and the consequent rise in prices. The kharif crops, which were damaged by hot winds in August and September, proved less than half the average, and the rabi only covered 42 per cent. of the normal. The winter rains also failed; but as most of the area sown was irrigated the yield was on the whole good. The tahsils of Mahaban and Sadabad suffered more than the rest of the district as they did in 1897. No regular relief works, however, were opened as labourers did not come on the preliminary test works. A poorhouse was maintained in Muttra city during the year at the expense of the municipality, chiefly in order to provide for immigrants from native states: and the greater part of the cost was eventually refunded to the municipal board by the Government. The sum of Rs. 26,047 was advanced as takavi for the construction of kachcha wells; Rs. 1,02,152 of land revenue were suspended and Rs. 80,000 were remitted. It is noticeable that the canal was unable to irrigate on this occasion as large an area as it did in 1896-97 owing to the short supply of water in the Jumna. There was in this year another epidemic of fever which considerably increased the death-rate.

FAMINE OF 1905-06

Famine again visited this district in 1905-06, in com mon with some other portions of the Agra division and Bundelkhand. It was aggravated by the loss of a large part of the preceding rabi crop by the unprecedented frosts of 1905. On account of this Rs. 42,916 of land revenue were remitted. The succeeding monsoon was a very poor one, only 7.41 inches of rain being received from June to October, against a normal of 16.84 and the failure of the kharif harvest necessitated a suspension of Rs. 77,770 and the remission of its. 2,47,214 from the kharif instalment, to be followed later by the remission of Rs. 1,92,222 for the loss of the rabi. Over two lakhs of rupees were distributed in loans for the purchase of seed, bullocks and fodder, and the construction of wells: but, in spite of these measures, it was found necessary to add the district to the famine area on December20th, 1905. From this date until the first week in July regular relief works both under the control of the Public Works department and under that of the civil authorities were opened: these mainly took the form of raising roads, and the construction of the earthwork of the Nagda-Muttra railway employed a daily average of 2,500 people for some weeks. The pressure on the works was greatest during the first week of March, when the numbers rose to 13,602; and after that date the numbers rapidly diminished as the spring harvest was gathered in. An average of about 2,500 persons was daily relieved, by the district authorities, for most part at their own homes, and this relief continued until the second week in September. The total expenditure incurred in connection with direct measures of relief in this famine amounted to Rs. 86,137 in the Public Works department and Rs. 37,958 by the district authorities. One of the most noticeable features in this famine was the acute scarcity of fodder.

FAMINE OF 1907-08 The last famine to be recorded is that of 1907-08. On this occasion the district appears to have not been as severely affected as in 1897; nor was there the same scarcity of fodder as in 1906. The portions of the district in which dis tress was most serious was the khadar of the Jumna, the northern half of Mat tahsil, a number of villages on the Bharatpur border, and the Karwan river tract in Sadabad. The kharif harvest of the district was estimated at only 36 per cent. of the normal: the rabi sowings were restricted and the yield was ultimately reckoned to amount to 59 per cent, of the normal outturn. Prompt remissions of land revenue to the extent of Rs. 2,67,721, with Rs. 88,792 of suspensions, were granted; and these were followed later by the remission of Rs. 1,62,322 on account of the spring harvest, in addition to a sum of Rs. 37,106 which was suspended. Cultivators were assisted with loans aggregating Rs. 5,70,113, mainly for the purchase of seed and construction of petty works. Early in November a test work was opened, but it did not disclose at that time any demand for employment; and it was not until the middle of December that gratuitous relief was found necessary. In the latter half of January regular relief works were opened under the Public Works department; and these attracted their greatest numbers, 18,823, on March the 14th. The spring harvest, however, had less effect on the progress of scarcity in Muttra than in Agra; and the two principal relief works remained open until the break of the rains, being attended throughout by about 10,000 workers and dependants. The remaining works were converted into civil works towards the end of May, but the number of persons attending the same was small. Gratuitous relief was dispensed on a relatively smaller scale than in Agra, the greatest number relieved in this way being 8,797 on July 11th, and was closed with a final dole is the middle of August. There was little need for poorhouse relief, mainly owing to the fact that there were few wanderers from the surrounding native states; and the last of the three that were constructed in the district as a precautionary measure was closed at the end of May. The total expenditure incurred in direct measures of relief during this famine amounted to Rs. 2,89,875, of which Rs. 1,80,660 were incurred by the Public Works department. A severe epidemic of fever supervened later in the year, and was responsible for a very great rise in the mortality which stood at 18.42 per mile in October and 17.64 in November. All classes of the popula tion suffered. Even animals were not immune, one half of the cavalry horses in the cantonment being incapacitated by fever.

PRICES

An interesting return of prices obtaining in Jalesar a then (part of the Muttra district) and the Bajana market at harvest time as well as of those prevailing in Muttra city was prepared in 1879 by Mr. Whiteway, the settlement officer, for the years from 1813 to 1876. For purposes of comparison the settlement officer divided his record into three periods, omitting the years in which exceptional conditions were known to have prevailed. The first period embraced the years from 1813 to the famine of 1837-38 and included. 17 normal years, during which the harvest prices of wheat and barley, for which alone returns were available, averaged 41 and 59 sers to the rupee respectively. During the second period, which lasted from 1839 to 1858 (or 18 years, excluding 1857 and 1858, when prices were abnormal) there appears to have been little change; for wheat sold on an average at 39.4 sers and barley at 58.2 sers for a rupee, corresponding rates for gram being 48.7 sers, for bejhar 53.8 sers and for juar 46.9 sers a rupee. In the last period, that from 1859 to 1876, or a period of 14 years, omitting those years which were exceptional, the average price of wheat was 26.7 sers, of barley 35.8 sers, of gram 33.5 sers, of bejhar 35.4 sers and of juar 33.8 sers for a rupee. This represented a rise of 55 per cent. in the case of wheat and of 65 per cent. in that of barley on the prices obtaining in the first period; and of 45 per cent. in the case of gram, 52 per cent. in that of bejhar and 38 per cent. in that of juar on the prices prevailing between 1839 and 1858. The bazar prices at Muttra throughout ruled somewhat higher; for whereas wheat sold at 32 sers or a little more per rupee in the first two periods, its price rose to 22.8 sers in the third, while that of gram gradually increased from 43.5 sers in the first to 37.5 sers in the second and 28.3 in the third. From both sets of figures it is clear that prices, whether harvest or bazar prices, remained practically unchanged during the first two periods and that a substantial rise took place after the Mutiny the turning point being about the year 1862. Altogether the rise of wheat and gram between the first and third periods was reckoned to have been 42 per cent. in the case of the former and 53 per cent. in that of the latter grain. Since 1876 the enhancement has steadily continued. For the ten years ending in 1888, according to the returns, wheat sold at 17.08 sers, barley at 24.56 sers, gram at 22.46 sers and juar at 22.60sers for the rupee. During the earlier years of this decade a slight fall took place, but about the year 1885 widespread economic forces, such as the fall in the price of silver and a large develop ment of communications and of export trade, came into play, and a general rise commenced which, with a few fluctuations, has continued since. From 1889 to 1898 the average price of wheat was 14.42 sers, of barley 21.74sers, of gram 21.82 sers and of juar 21.33 sers for the rupee, the rise in the price of wheat being the most marked. The last decade for which records are available, ending with the year 1908, has seen a further enhancement; for wheat has sold on an average at 13.54 sers, barley at 20.15 sers, gram at 16.88 sers and juar at 20.14sers to the rupee, these being the chief grains consumed by the people. On no occasion during this period, except in the year 1904, has there been any relaxation of the market; and it may now be concluded that the prices of the chief staples have attained a permanently high level.

WAGES

It does not appear that wages have increased commensu rately with the rise in prices, but they have steadily risen. At the time of the Mutiny blacksmiths and stonecutters earned a daily wage of four to five annas; carpenters, masons, tailors and shoemakers three to four annas, and coolies and beldars one-and-a-half to two annas. Ten years later blacksmiths and stonecutters were paid on an average five annas a day; the wages of carpenters and masons had risen to an average of four to five annas, and that of coolies and beldars to two or two-and-a-quarter annas: the wages of tailors and shoemakers remained unchanged. No further enhancement appears now to have taken place for a period of about twenty years, but in the last 15 years of the century an upward tendency was again observed, due doubtless to the large increase in prices during this period. In 1900 the average wage of a carpenter was six-and-a half annas a day; while stonecutters, carpenters and masons commanded between five and seven annas. The daily wage of tailors and shoemakers had, during the same period, increased to four and-a-half annas, while coolies and beldars were earning from two-and-a-half to three annas. This scale still obtains.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

The weights and measures in common use in Muttra do not exhibit any remarkable features. The pukka bigha em ployed at the settlement survey had an area of 3,025 square yards, and is also known as the sarkari, Shahjahani or Akbari bigha. It is exactly five-eighths of an acre. The kachcha bigha is one-third of the pukka bigha and has an area of 1,008.33 square yards. The local measure of distance is the kos, which amounts to a mile and three-fifths. Time is calculated in the usual way by pahar and ghari, a pahar being equivalent to three hours of ordinary time and a ghari to twenty-four minutes. The Government ser of 80 rupees and its subdivisions are in general use in all the towns and larger markets; but local weights are also used, which vary in different parts of the district and for different commodities. No account of the latter has ever been prepared: nor are they of any importance at the present day, all ordinary transactions being calculated according to the recognized weights. The standard coinage of the district has always been King's coin from the earliest days of our administration.

INTEREST

The prevailing rates of interest present no peculiarities when compared with those of other districts. In small cash loans on personal security the rate, which is calculated monthly, varies from 18 to 37 ½ per cent per annum, varying with the status of the borrower: such loans are usually for small amounts and for short periods. When articles of value are pawned the rate charged is somewhat lower, averaging usually about 21 per cent., but when land is mortgaged as security, the rate is considerably more favourable and averages between 6 and 12 percnent. In large transactions where valuable property is offered as security the terms obtainable are much the same as in the case of land, the rate varying between 6 and 12 per cent. again. Bankers between themselves charge interest on hundis at a rate which ranges from 3 to 9 per cent., according to the state of the money market. The most common form of loan is not in cash but in kind, the borrower obtaining seed or food in the period preceding harvest. In such cases the prevailing custom is that of sawai; that is, repayment is made in grain with an addition of one-fourth of the original amount added. This amounts by itself to interest at the rate of 25 per cent; but it is considerably increased by the difference in prices prevailing at seed-time and harvest. Harvest prices being lower the lender gets all the advantage.

BANKS

Many wealthy Hindus come to live at Muttra, attracted by the sanctity of the place; and generally there is more than enough money to finance current business. There are about a dozen large banking firms in the city who supply the local merchants with funds. Of these the most important are the firms of Devi Das and Ganga Bishan (Seth Keshab Das); Shiam Sundar, Badri Das (Lala Jagan Pershad); Gur Sahai Mal, Ghansham Das (Seth Radha Krishn). Messrs. Incha Ram and Co. of Lahore have a branch of their bank, conducted on European lines, in the sadr bazar, their business being largely connected with the troops stationed in cantonments. In the district the money-lending business is practically all in the hands of the village grain-dealers, or the zamindars finance their own tenants. In 1901, agricultural banks were started at five places; but the movement was not a success, and at the present time there are none of these institutions in the district.

TRADE

The trade of Muttra is of considerable importance, and steps have been taken on more than one occasion to ascertain the amount of traffic between it and adjacent territories. Between 1876 and 1879 registration posts were maintained along the Dehli, Dig and Bharatpur roads; and again in 1900 similar measures were undertaken with the object of testing the need of further railway extension. At the former period, if the small extent of the East Indian railway in the extreme east be excluded, the only railway in the district was the metre-gauge line running from Muttra city to Hathras junction. It was then ascertained that 66 per cent. of the earnings of this line were derived from passenger traffic; and that the total traffic carried by it did not amount to more than that of an ordinary first class metalled road. Raw cotton, cotton goods, hides and saltpetre formed the bulk of the exports, and an overwhelming proportion of the imports consisted of grain, practically the entire traffic being with Muttra city. Along the roads the chief imports were food-grains and salt. In 1900, registration posts were established at Kosi to test the trade with Dehli; at Gobardhan, Sonkh and Rasulpur to gauge how much came in from Bharatpur; and at Farah, Sadabad and Raya to register the traffic with the districts of Agra, Etah and Aligarh respectively. By this time, more-over, the Hathras-Muttra line had been linked up with the Rajputana-Malwa railway at Achnera and uninterrupted com munication was available between the Bombay, Baroda and Central India system and the important centre of Cawnpore to the east. The statistics then compiled disclosed the fact that the Muttra-Hathras road was at that time by far the most important of all the main lines of communication, Muttra receiving from the Hathras market large quantities of wheat, sugar and cotton goods, and sending in return raw cotton, coarse grains and oilseeds. Next in importance came the roads connecting Muttra with Dehli and Dig. Dehli supplied Muttra with cotton, grain and oilseeds, and received in return grain, salt and sugar. Muttra imported raw cotton, grain and oilseeds from Dig; while sugar cotton goods And salt were exported to that Place.

Along the other two, the Sonkh and Rasulpur, roads, located on the south-western boundary of the district, a smaller amount of traffic was carried on with the Bharatpur state: this did not amount, in each case, to a lakh of maunds a year both ways. The traffic passing along the Agra and Jalesar roads was comparatively larger, the only noticeable feature of it being the import of sugar to and the export of cotton from Muttra. A comparison of the figures of the road-borne with those of the rail-borne traffic showed that a large quantity of cotton was imported from Bharatpur and was exported, together with the cotton grown locally, to Hathras and Agra; while the cotton sent to Kosi did not leave the district but, after being ginned, was exported through Muttra. Cotton piece-goods are imported mainly for local consumption, the re-export to Bharatpur or the Punjab being small. The two latter tracts export oilseeds to Hathras and Agra through Muttra, receiving in exchange sugar, salt and metals. In speaking of the trade of the district, how-ever, it must be remembered that not all of it belongs to the people of Muttra; for the town happens to be on several trade routes, and most goods other than grain and cotton, in which some local business is done, pass through it on their way to or from the markets of Hathras and Agra, without changing hands or breaking bulk in transit. Since 1900, however, a new railway has been introduced into the district, giving it direct communication with Agra and Delhi. The result has been the absorption of the through road-borne traffic between the Punjab and places beyond Muttra: but the traffic to east and west along the old routes has remained substantially unchanged.

MANUFACTURES

The manufactures of the district are not of very great importance. Plain cotton cloth is imported in considerable quantities into Brindaban, where it is skilfully stamped with patterns. Another curious branch of industry may be noted. On the occasion of any large fair at Allahabad or else-where there is extensive importation of loi or flannel from Marwar, and more particularly from Bikanir. It is an article much affected by natives for winter clothing, and is ordinarily preferred to pashmina as cheaper and more durable. Much of that brought to Brindaban is old and worn; but the tailors of the place, who are chiefly of the Bania or Bairagi class, repair it very skilfully. Coarse cotton cloths are made by Koris in many villages; and in Muttra city the industry of cotton-printing on mill-made cloth is carried on. The Gokul silversmiths have some celebrity for the manufacture of small toys of rather crude design generally representing animals such as the rat, peacock, wild boar, antelope and so forth. They are made by a family of Sonars which traces its descent from three men, Kashi, Banarsi and Ram Dayal, who came from Jaipur to Gokul about four hundred years ago. The style of these toys is stereotyped. The metal of which they are composed is beaten out into thin plates and moulded on a brass model. The different parts are made separately and then joined together, after which the whole is cleaned and polished. The mixed metal employed contains less than 50 per cent. of silver, the proportion being silver 7 annas, copper 8 annas and zinc one anna. The workmanship is cal culated at four annas per tola, and the profits about 20 per cent. There is a considerable export trade in these toys, the amount being estimated at Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per annum. The Krishna cult supplies the motif of some skilful brass work in Muttra city, the finished article representing the deity in various forms, the most usual of which are known as Laddu Gopal, in which the god reclines on one knee and supports himself on his right hand, holding a ball in his left, and the Bansidhar, or flute-player. These brass ornaments have deteriorated in quality at the present day, and their out-put has declined; but there is one that never fails to attract the devout pilgrim, and large numbers of it are annually sold. This is the Vasudeva or Basdeo katora. This consists of a bowl in the centre of which is a figure holding a seated infant in its arms. If water be poured into the bowl it will not rise beyond the infant's feet, being emitted through a siphon hole beneath. This represents a well-known episode in the early life of Krishna;*(Vide infra p.90) and the article is the most popular of all those made in the city. Thirty years ago paper-making was an import-ant industry in Muttra, there being then, it is said, one hundred manufactories, turning out about 150 gaddis, each containing 10 dastas of 24 sheets, a day. The industry is still carried on in five manufactories which produce a maund of paper daily. This is made in two sizes, bichanda or medium, selling at Rs. 12 a maund, and sailkoti or large, which costs Rs. 17 a maund. The paper is employed for native account books, and is much esteemed on account of its strength and durability. It is exported in considerable quantities.

FACTORIES

In addition to the purely native industries there is a number of enterprises of European origin or conducted on European lines. They are all connected with the cotton trade and some are of old standing. The centre of the industry is the town of Kosi. Here no less than seven of the ten factories in the district exist. The largest of these is the New Mofassil Company's combined cotton-ginning mill and press which employs on an average 165 hands during the season. The other six are smaller. Two belong to Bombay firms, namely, Messrs. Tyeb All, Isafi and Dhunji Shaw, Sorabji Cooper, Parsis; these employ on an average 72 and 95 hands respect ively, and are cotton-ginning mills. Combined ginning-mills and presses are owned by Messrs. Rati Ram Zahar Mal and Lalas Harmukh Rai Gobind Ram, employing 94 and 99 persons respectively; while two other ginning-mills, with an average attendance of 53 and 51 employes, belong to the firms of Sukha nand Shiam Lal and Lala Zahar Mal Narayan Das. In Muttra city there are two large combined mills and presses owned by the firms of Seth Keshab Das Gopinath and Banka Mal Niranjan Das, which give employment to 130 and 112 persons. There is a similar factory at Gobardhan which belongs to Lalas Ram Chand Harcharan Das and employs some 95 persons.

STONE-WORK

With the exception of Agra and Benares, there is no city in the provinces more beautified by the art of the stone-carver than Muttra. The predominant style is almost pure Muham madan; the patterns are mostly delicate arabesques, an occa sional peacock being the only sign of Hindu workmanship. Jali or reticulated screen work is also carried on to a large extent, and this work is particularly effective on the balconies which adorn the upper storeys of the houses in the city. There are now about 100 first-class stone-carvers with a flourishing trade in Muttra city whose services are in demand as far as Hathras, Aligarh and Bulandshahr. The finest specimens of modern carving in the city are the local museum and the cenotaphs of the Seths in the Jumna Bagh. The best work in the museum is that of a Muhammadan mistri, named Yusuf, and is remarkable for the elaborate intricacy of the carving; the work on the cenotaphs is that of a Hindu, Ghasi Chaudhri, but is purely Muhammadan in style. At Gobardhan, Mahaban Brindaban, Gokul, Barsana and other places in the district, are ancient temples and pavilions of great beauty and historic interest. They are in an early style of carving and have little in common with the modern Muttra work. The greatest contrast between the old and new styles is afforded by the two temples which crown the small hill of Barsana. The older temple with its three solid square-based sikharas is totally devoid of ornament, except for the fine marble chhatri of a Gwalior Raja: the new temple which is being erected by the Maharaja of Bharatpur is of much more elaborate design and has lost the classic purity which distinguishes the older work. In this case, however, the workmen are Jaipur men who have not followed Muhammadan designs. It is somewhat remarkable that in a town like Muttra, a centre of Hinduism, delineation of living creatures in carving is not more in favour. Such figures are seldom found, and where they are found their pourtrayal has been subordinated to a scheme of floral or geometrical design. The stone used in the district is almost entirely the red and white sandstone quarried in the Paharpur tahsil of Bharatpur. The average prices at Muttra are 9 annas a maund for the red and 12 annas a maund for the white variety. The latter is the better adapted for elaborate carving. Where marble is employed it is invariably the white marble from Makrana in Jaipur territory. The art is carried on by Musal mans, Gaur Brahmans, Rajkumars, Gadariyas, Chamars and others; but only the rough work of shaping and smoothing the surface of the slab of stone is entrusted to the last two. The work of carving is done by the mistri in person, who first draws the design. (usually some conventional floral or geometrical pattern), with a pencil on the stone. The design is then worked out with hammer and chisel. The general average of wages is only three to four annas a day for rough work, but Rs. 15 to Rs. 20 per month are paid for carving. Low though this remuneraticr may appear at first sight the price of a piece of carving may amount to a considerable sum in time. The work is done very slowly and the Hindu objects to leaving the smallest space vacant. As it may take one man two months to carve one square yard of stone, it will be seen that the decoration of even a small building may take a long time and cost a large amount of money.

MARKETS

Excepting Muttra itself, the only market of importance in the district is Kosi. A list of the local bazars will be found in the appendix. The chief are those lying within easy reach of the line of railway such as Farah, Raya and Chhata. The more remote markets, such as those of Sahpau, Kursanda, Bisawar, Baldeo, Bajana, Surir, Ol, Aring, Gobardhan, Kamar and Sahar, which in old days attracted considerable trade by their position on the various highways, have fallen off in im portance, though they still perform a useful function as local collecting and distributing centres. Most of the small bazars supply only the modest needs of the surrounding villages.

FAIRS

A list of the fairs in the district will be found in the appen dix. None are primarily of a commercial character, though advantage is taken of a large concourse of people to do a little trade. The majority are connected with incidents in the life of Krishna and take place for the most part during the months of August, September and October. The city is then thronged with pilgrims from all parts of India, bent on accomplishing the paikarma of the sacred land of Braj. The description of the latter, known as the Banjatra, has been left to a future chapter. Apart from the Banjatra the chief festivals are the two perambulations of the city known as the Jugal Jori ki paikarma, and the Aksha Naumi which take place in Asarh and Kartik, respectively, in Muttra city; the Brahmotsav or Rath Mela at Brindaban, the DipMalika at Gobardhan, when the sacred hill is illuminated; the Bharat Milap, representing the meeting of Ram, Sita and Laksh man with Bharat and Satrughna, on their return from Ceylon; and the Ram Lila. The last two take place at Muttra. In addition to these a large fair called the Kumbh Mela is held every twelfth year at Brindaban. This is frequented by crowds amongst whom are hosts of ascetics of various kinds. Con siderable traffic in various articles of every-day use is done at this fair. Order is preserved during the large fairs by additional forces of police drafted to the scene of the same. In the case of Kumbh Melas, which last seven to ten days, special sanitary measures are also adopted.

COMMUNICATIONS

The district is admirably supplied with means of com munication, as Muttra lies on the main railway line from Agra to Dehli and is connected with the East Indian railway on the east at Hathras by the metre-gauge Cawnpore-Achnera railway. In addition to this, the Muttra-Nagda railway, which has been completed recently, brings the city into direct communi cation with the south; and if, as is contemplated, a line is built to Aligarh, Muttra will become a junction of considerable import ance. There is also a good system of metalled roads which give access to the Punjab and Bharatpur territory to the west of the river; and the city is well connected with every tahsil east of the river except perhaps Mat. The country roads, too, are of a fair description and afford a ready means of communication with places lying off the main roads. The Jumna forms some obstacle to internal traffic during the rains: but on the main lines of communication, as at Shergarh, Majhoi, Brindaban, on the road from Muttra to Mahaban and elsewhere ferries are provided; and the railway bridge over the river near the city is always open to cart and passenger traffic. Owing to its position on the road from Agra to Dehli,western Muttra has always been well provided with roads. In former days the old imperial highway from Dehli traversed it from north to south. The kos minars erected by Akbar still mark the alignment. With the advent of British rule road construction rapidly developed; by 1840 the main routes to Dehli and Aligarh past Sadabad were in regular use; and continuous progress has been made since the Mutiny.

RAILWAYS

The first line of rail to be constructed in the district was that portion of the East Indian system which cuts across the eastern part of Sadabad tahsil. It was opened to traffic between Tundla and Aligarh in 1863. In 1875 a light line of rail on the metre-gaueg system was constructed between Muttra and Hathras,where it linked up with the East Indian railway. Its construction cost 10 ½ lakhs, of which 3 ¼ were contributed by local shareholders under a Government guarantee of 4 per cent. interest. The section between Muttra and Achnera was opened to traffic in 1881, the principal portions of the earth-work having been carried out as a famine relief work in 1878: but it was not until 1884 that the Cawnpore-Farrukhabad line was continued to Hathras, or that through communication was accomplished by the erection of the fine bridge that spans the Jumna near the city. For two years the line was managed by the State; but from October 1st, 1886, it was leased to the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Company; and, since that year it has been managed as a portion of the Rajputana-Malwa railway. Just three years later, in August 1889, the small branch line from Muttra, to Brindaban was thrown open to traffic. The construction of a line from Agra to Dehli to traverse the district had been on several occasions suggested previous years, and was finally sanctionedin 1898. But the commencement of the work had to be postponed owing to want of funds, and it was not until 1904 that the line was finally opened to traffic. The last line built in the district is the Nagda-Muttra railway. Work was commenced on the section between Nagda and the Chambal crossing in November 1904, and on the crossing of the Chambal river in August 1905. The entire line was opened to traffic on June15th, 1909, and the district has been provided with practically direct connection with Bombay.

RAILWAY STATIONS

The only station in the district on the East Indian railway is that known as Jalesar Road in the east of Sadabad. The metre-gauge line from Achnera to Cawnpore has stations at Parkham, Bhainsa and Muttra cantonments to the west of the Jumna, and at Raya on the east of the river. On the line from Agra to Dehli there are, within the district boundaries, stations at Farah, Bad, Muttra, Chhatikra, Konkera, Chhata and Kosi, and at Hodal just beyond them; while there is one station, at Magorra, on the Nagda line.

ROADS

A list of all the roads will be found in the appendix. There were in 1907, exclusive of the numerous roads within the limits of the municipality and cantonments, 501 ½ miles of road. Of this total 173 ½ miles were metalled, 54 miles having been added during the last twenty-five years. The roads are divided into two main heads, provincial and local, the former being in the charge of the Public Works department and maintained from provincial revenues, while the upkeep of the latter is met from local funds under the control of the district board. The provincial roads include the two sections of the Agra-Dehli road which run through the district, the portion of the grand trunk road which, on its way from Aligarh to Agra, cuts across the Sadabad tahsil, the road which runs from Muttra to Hathras and forms part of the trunk road from Muttra to Bareilly, and several short railway approach roads. These are all metalled, bridged and drained throughout and the cost of their maintenance amounted in 1908 to Rs. 390 per mile. The local roads in the district are divided into four classes, officially designated as first-class metalled roads, bridged and drained throughout; second-class roads, unmetalled, partially bridged and drained; fifth-class roads, cleared, partially bridged and drained; and sixth-class roads, cleared only. The metalled roads and the bridges and culverts on those of the second-class are maintained by the Public Works department at the cost of the district board, while the rest are entirely in the hands of the latter authority. The metalled local roads, 93 ½ miles in length, cost on an average Rs. 303 per mile for maintenance in 1907, the figure being considerably swollen by the heavy charges entailed on the road from Muttra to Brinda ban, along which there is at all times much traffic. The chief local metalled roads are those from Muttra to Bharatpur, to Dig, Jalesar and to Brindaban. The position of all the various roads will be seen in the map.

BUNGALOWS

There is a dak bungalow at Muttra; and provincial inspec tion bungalows at Farah, Muttra and Chhata on the Dehli road, and Sadabad on the Agra-Aligarh roads. Besides these, there are district board bungalows at Baldeo, Mat, and Surir. Imperial camping-grounds lie along the provincial roads and are to be found at Farah, Muttra, Jait, Chhata and at Sadabad; but there are no local encamping-grounds maintained by the district board. Accommodation for district officers on tour is now also supplied by the large number of canal inspection houses of which a list has already been given. There is in addition a municipal bungalow at Brindaban.

SARAIS

Along the road from Agra to Dehli, following the alignment of the old irnperial highroad, are found at intervals fine fort like hostels, with massive battlemented walls, flanking turrets and high arched gateways. They were originally five in number, one at Jamalpur, near the collector's office in the civil station; the second at Azimabad, two miles beyond the city on the road to Dehli; another at Chaumuha, two miles beyond Jait; the fourth at Chhata; and the fifth at Kosi. Primarily built for the imperial convenience, they were soon thronged by all members of the public who desired a night's rest free from attack by beast or man. For the highway was then, as indeed many years after, beset with gangs of robbers or beasts of prey, which found ample covert in the dense jungles abounding at that time in the district. The last three of them are generally ascribed by local tradition to Sher Shah; but it is also said that Itibar Sher Khan was the founder of the two at Muttra and Kosi, and Asaf Khan of that at Chhata. The latter person is probably to be identified with Abdul Majid, governor of Dehli in the first few years after the accession of Akbar. Smaller than the rest and much modernized, the Jamal pur sarai has for many years been known as the Damdama, and is now occupied by the police reserve. Almost complete destruction has overtaken the Azimabad sarai, which seems to have been the largest, as it certainly was the plainest and most modern of the series. Its erection is locally ascribed to prince Azam, the, son of Aurangzeb; but, as with other buildings of the same charac ter, its real founder was a local governor, Azam Khan Mir Muhammad Bakir, also called Iradat Khan, who was military governor of Muttra from 1642 to 1645 A. D. As the new road did not pass immediately under its walls it ceased to be of any use to travellers, and about 1875 it was to a great extent demolished, its materials being used in the paving of the streets of the adjoin ing city. Though there was little or no architectural embellish ment in it, the foundations were most securely laid, reaching down below the ground as many feet as the superstructure which they supported stood above it. The original mosque attached to it is still standing, but is now little used as the resident Muham madans are very few in number. The Chaumuha sarai is always described in the old topographies as at Akbarpur, which is a village some three miles distant: but the imperial hostel appears in reality to have given that village its present name; for the separ ate existence of Chaumuha dates from a very recent period, when the name was bestowed in consequence of the discovery of an ancient Jain sculpture, supposed by the inhabitants to represent the four-headed (chaumuha) god, Brahma. Little of the sarai now remains, the solid walls having been in past years undermined and carted away piecemeal for building materials. The Chhata sarai is still in a fair state of preservation; the inner front, which is plain and heavy, appears to be an earlier erection than the lighter and more elaborate stone front which looks towards the town. One corner of the building is occupied now by a school, and another by the offices of the tahsildar and local police, while the rest of the broad area is inhabited by traders and others. Lastly at Kosi the principal market street of the place runs between the two gateways of the sarai and forms the nucleus of the town.

FERRIES

In the appendix will be found a list of all the ferries in the district. They are fourteen in number, are all situated on the Jumna and are all managed by the district board. The most im portant are those at Brindaban, which connects that town with the direct road to Mat; and that known as Gokul Ghat, but at some distance from the place of that name, on the metalled road which leads from Muttra to Mahaban and Sadabad. At both these points the ferry is replaced, during the cold and hot weathers, by a bridge-of-boats; but at both, and more especially the latter, a considerable stretch of sand on one side or the other has to be traversed before the bridge is reached. These two ferries bring in an income of some Rs. 7,500 yearly to the district board. Of the remaining ferries the most important are those at Shergarh and Majhoi in the Chhata tahsil, and at Lahrauli in Mahaban; but the others lie on minor lines of com unication, and, with the exception of those at Koila in Muttra and Behta in Chhata, contribute far smaller sums to the coffers of the district board.

BRIDGES

The chief permanent bridge, and the only one over the Jumna, in the district is the railway bridge on the Achnera-Cawnpore railway at Muttra city. This is provided with a roadway for carts and passenger traffic, the contract being leased by the railway company annually for a large sum of money. The bridge was constructed at a total cost of Rs. 8,49,000, including protective works, and was opened to traffic on December15th, 1884. It consists of seven spans, each 150 feet in length, supported on stone pillars sunk to a depth of 71 feet below low water level, the length over all being 1,146 feet. Besides this, the stone bridge on the Aligarh-Agra road, over the Jhirna river near Sadabad, which forms a part of the equipment of that road, deserves a pass ing mention. If a line of rail from Muttra to Aligarh is built, it is possible that the river will again be bridged above Brindaban; but the alignment has not yet been decided, and an alternative proposal contemplates the utilisation of the existing Jumna bridge.

NAVIGATION

In former days the Jumna was one of the chief trade routes of the district, but since the opening of the railways the waterborne traffic has rapidly decreased in volume and is now a negligible quantity. Till within fifty years ago, however, the Jumna used to carry down large quantities of salt and cleaned cotton, taking in return sugar, rice, tobacco and spices; and even now a certain number of boats may be found plying between Agra and Dehli, and even markets further afield. The size of the boats that are able to navigate the stream depends on the season of the year; but as a rule, owing to the diminution in the volume of the water since the construction of the Agra canal, those of more than 500 maunds burthen are unable to ascend the stream as far as the city, and navigation is impeded by the existence of numerous shoals and sandbanks. The Agra canal was constructed to carry boat traffic but navigation did not prosper and as the working expenses amounted to more than the receipts, it was closed to navigation in 1904. A channel which was cut from Aring to a goodshed near the city is now only used as an escape channel. While the canal was open to boats the traffic was chiefly through traffic between Dehli and Agra, the cargoes being mainly building materials, especially stone and fire-wood.